Carpet-picking-out-ing

Today we picked out carpeting out for my sister and my room. We still have the faded rose colored carpeting that we've had forever. Ever since we redid our room, we said that we'd get new carpeting, and now we finally have. The whole family went out this afternoon, and went to Home Depot. The carpet we picked out is eco-friendly (of course), really soft, and is a shade of brown. My sister and dad are still out buying the right amount. Our subdivision is having it's yearly party, and we, of course, didn't go. My family never does any subdivision-y things, as least as far as I can remember. Because of the party, the streets near the park, where it's being held, are packed with cars. That's pretty much the extent of what happened today. Wasn't it exciting!!

Regritration Day

Today was school registration. We had to wait in a long line just to get our schedules, and take picture, etc. When we finally got everything. I found out that my schedule is messed up. Apparently everyone has a schedule that is messed up. What happens, is that for most of my core classes, I have a certain period and teacher for each class, but for the second semester, you change the hour and the teacher!! How stupid is that? You'd think that someone could work a computer in this day and age. I mean, it's been working for the past how many years, and now it doesn't? So, halfway through the year, I have a new teacher, with a different teaching style, and everyone is in a different part of the book. What genius thought that was okay? And to cap it off, I'm going to have to get up at 5:45. Also, I only have 1 semester class with a friend. That's it, except for lunch. Oh well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it.

Trip to the Dentist

After my sister's registration, we all went to the dentist. Unfortunately, the only book I brought, I had already finished. As soon as I opened the book, I realized my mistake. So for the whole time while waiting for my turn, and afterwards, I read old magazines and worked on some puzzles I brought, which weren't as good as a book would be. Anyway, my sister's schedule is all messed up. For 3 of her classes, she has different hours and teachers for each semesters. But the lazy people who put them together, can't or won't undo the mistake. Apparently, the whole grade is messed up. I'm crossing my fingers that my schedule is normal, and I have some friends in class. Also, the time for the morning bus pick up is 6:29 AM!!!!!!!!!!!! That's like torture!! My sister and I have already decided that my dad will drive us in each morning, unless he has morning conference calls. My brother is freaking out about the estimate about deaths of the swine flu. I think we'll be okay, but whatever.

Pianos and Laptops

The picture is of my first day outfit. Everything is new, from shopping and from the trip. Kingsley looked cute, so I put him in, as well. I also went through my pencil case and threw out used up pens, and sharpen pencils. Exciting!! We (my sister and I) went to piano lessons today, as well. My sister is only doing a few more lessons before schools starts, after which she is quitting. My mom decided today that she'll take my sister's place, because she always wanted to learn. Anyway... my dad has been using my computer all day! My brother broke his, so they're using mine to fix it. But, now he tells me that the file he downloaded to fix my brother's laptop doesn't even work! It was all for nothing! Kingsley's getting a bath today, finally. He's stinking up the house and is more a grayish tint than white. I don't even remember how long ago his last bath was. That's pretty much it.

Another Day for Which I Have no Creative Name For

This is a wordle that I made from this blog. I thought it would be cool to make one to post. Today, we went shopping because my Aunt "Rose" gave us a 10$ off coupon to Kohl's and JC Penny. I got a pair of shorts and a scarf. Thanks Aunt "Rose"!!! We then went to Costco to get salmon and a few other things, but my mom got so annoyed about the long check out lines among other things, that we just left. All the while, my brother and dad went to Laingsburg Middle School in Laingsburg, MI, where there was a Science Olympiad seminar thing about one of the events. My mom and I also went through the ceder closet in our basement for me to try on her old blazers and skirts, some of which were vintage. I liked most of them, and would like to include them in my wardrobe. My sister thinks the waist is "too high" and length "too long", but that's how they're supposed to be and how I like them. That's pretty much it. I got to go eat dinner.

The Dwindling Summer

I know I haven't posted for a few days, but I haven't done anything worth noting. Today the whole family (including Kingsley) went down to get the CSA (community supported agriculture) at Tantre Farms. We watched Christmas Vacation on the way there and back. I couldn't hear it very well, but I generally thought it was funny. My sister is staying at a friend's house for an overnight. I also finished Night, and just have to finish the summary for the write up for English. This is the second time I read Night, and it was just as moving and sad. Anyone who hasn't read it should. Oh yeah, my dad put in a stronger Internet signal and secured it, so this is the first time I have used the Internet in my room, which is where I am writing this. Other than that, I haven't really done anything. Just getting ready for school :( .That's pretty much it.

Let's Go Shopping!

Today I actually did something!!! My mom, sister and I all went back-to-school shopping! Surprisingly, I wasn't bored the whole time while shopping. It was even sort of fun. Anyway, we first went to Pac Sun to get a dress that I tried on and liked in Oregon. Unfortunately, the store we went to didn't have it. Next we went to American Eagle, where I got a plaid tunic, and Aeropostle, where my mom got my dad and brother shorts. It was getting on in the afternoon, so we ate lunch at Panera Bread. We went over the round-a-bout to Khol's, where I got 2 tee shirts, and a couple unmentionables. To speed things up, by the time we got home, I had 4 shirts, 1 cardigan, and 1 pair of jeans. We'll probably be good for a while. While we spent the whole day shopping, my dad put up the long awaited wooden molding around the doors and window, which had been empty since we redid my sister and my rooms. That's pretty much it... also, the FINAL COUNT of CORVETTES for the trip is (drum roll please)... 290.

This and That

Today I'm hoping that my family can go see the the Dream Cruise in Detroit. My Dad's co-worker lives a few streets away from Woodward Avenue, and invited people to come to her house for the cruise. We probably won't because my mom and sister probably don't want to. The only excitement since the last post, was going down to Tantre Farms, an organic farm, where we have a CSA (community shared agriculture) share. You get a certain amount of crops every week, and I went with my mom and Kingsley to get it. I also went swimming in the lake in our neighborhood, even though we weren't sure if we were allowed to or not. Every summer, right in the middle, they use chemicals to clean it, at which time we aren't allowed to swim for a while. There was a sign up informing about it, but it didn't say you couldn't swim. Next week is Registration Day for school. My summer is dwindling! I have to start reading Night, for school, soon. I read it a while back, and enjoyed it, but for some reason I don't feel like reading. It's short, so it won't take long, but that's not the problem. I should probably just start reading and get all the summer homework (a definite oxymoron, but still true) done.
Corvettes: 4 (I'll keep on counting, even though the trip is over.)

Just Another Summer Day

Thank God for air conditioning! A guy came out to our house on Tuesday, and fixed the air conditioning. Apparently, there was a dead earwig between the contact and the contact plate that prevented them from connecting. Or something like that. Tomorrow supposed to be around 90 F, so I'm soooo glad it's fixed. For today's news, it's my grandma's birthday. We're still trying to get back to our normal summer routine, after the vacation. Today's probably going to be just a regular day, nothing too interesting. We're probably going to be stuck in the house ironing or washing clothes all day. Yeah! Until my next post, then!

Back Home

(The picture is a map that I drew the approximate route we took.)

After 6929 miles, 498.4 gallons of gas, and 13 states, I'm finally home. We ate breakfast at Java Joe's in St. Ignace (which is the best!!!), and then took off on the 5 hour drive home. We arrived home at around 3:47 PM Eastern Time. Unfortunately, the air conditioning isn't working, so inside the house is almost as warm as outside, which is hot and humid :(. Kingsley was a little tired and lonely on the drive home, since he was with 3 other dogs for 2 weeks! One thing I forgot to add yesterday, is that my stupid brother stuck his head out the window to spit, while the car was moving, and lost his hat in the road. Fortunately, we were able to turn around and get it (it hadn't been run over). Now that we're home, we have this huge pile of dirty clothing built up from the past couple of days. I'm kind of glad to be home and to sleep in my own bed, the trip was soooo fun. I should thank my parents (especially my mom), who planned the whole trip- every minute detail, who without, there would be no trip. I only have less than one month before school starts, so I'm going to spend the rest of the summer wisely.

Corvettes: 9

The Last Night

You don't know how hard it was to get on this Internet, so you had better enjoy it. Tonight is the last night away from home. We're in St. Ignace, MI, which is 5 hour away from where I live. We usually stay in another hotel, but it wasn't dog-friendly. Yesterday was very interesting. When got to the Roseville, MN hotel, my uncle and Aunt "Rose" were there to meet us with the 4 dogs. It was so good to see Kingsley after 3 weeks! They were staying at my uncle's brother's house with the dogs, who had invited us to eat dinner with them. We went swimming in their pool, which felt really good. It had rained recently and was soooo humid. Apparently, Kingsley had tried to walk on the pool before the cover was taken off. After a dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, the area got a tornado warning! Yeah! Everyone went down into the basement for about 30 minutes or so until it passed over. Luckily, there wasn't tornadoes near us. This morning, we had to re-pack into our Suburban from the conversion van, and then ate breakfast at Panera Bread. We ate lunch in Menominee, which is right inside the border of Michigan, at 3 different places. Most of the family ate at Culver's, my brother ate in Taco Bell, and I ate at this pasty store. For those who don't know, a pasty is like a dry pot pie, that looks like a turnover. It's a UP specialty. It's kind of sad that tomorrow is our last drive of the trip, but I'll be glad to be home. For those who are wondering, I will keep on posting after the vacation ends.
Corvettes: 8

The Longest Drive

(The English Room)
Today was a veeery long drive. 11 hours, the majority in Montana, to get to Dickinson, North Dakota. Let me tell you, driving across Montana is no easy task. There's not a lot of variation of to the landscape, and it is a lot of miles to cover. Luckily, we got to watch Season 2 of Burn Notice to pass the time. The bed and breakfast, Hartfiel Inn, where we're staying at is nice. My sister and I are sharing the English Room, and we have 2 other rooms. We get breakfast, and the whole place is beautifully decorated. The people who run the B&B have traveled the world, and have different things from the places they went. There is this picture in the downstairs area of the inn keeper's dad, and he looks almost identical to my dad!! Coincidence, I think not! For dinner, we ate at Elk Lodge, and I got broiled chicken breast, which was tasty. Tomorrow, we're driving to Roseville, Minnesota, where we'll meet up with my uncle, Aunt "Rose", and all the dogs!! I've missed Kingsley (my westie), and will be glad to see him.

Corvettes: 1!!!

Glacier National Park

Yesterday we drove to Montana, where we are staying at North Forty Resort. We have our own cabin, and it's pretty nice. We got here late, and I didn't feel like blogging. The next few days are going to be long driving days, so the post might be spotty. Today, we went to Glacier National Park. It's really beautiful. We drove the Going to the Sun Road, which goes up to the Continental Divide (which we have passed 5 or 6 times on this trip), and then back down again. The views of the valley are spectacular. We had to wait for about 5 minutes in traffic, so we all got out and took pictures. In total, we hiked 5.4 miles in the park, the longest being in Logan Pass, where we hiked 3 miles (round trip) to Hidden Lake. It's name is definitely appropriate. We saw a bunch of animals, including big horn sheep, mountain goats, ground squirrel, etc. After leaving the park, we ate lunch/dinner at the 2 sisters Near Babb, Montana. I got this huge chili cheeseburger, which I didn't finish. They had some interesting decorations inside, including a Gay Pride Flag. We also got some pie, which we'll eat later. To get back to the cabin, we drove the long way around the bottom of the NP, and went into Whitefish, MT to get some ice cream. Uncle "Frank" didn't get to read his USA Today, today, which he buys and reads daily. Tomorrow we'll be driving to Dickinson, ND.

Corvettes: 18 (it's cumulative of a few days)

1st Day of Leaving

Today marks the first day of returning home. I'm happy (I'm glad to finally get home), but sad (I've enjoyed my time on this trip). Last night, we stayed in my relatives' home in Hillsboro, Oregon. We got in late, an I didn't feel like blogging. Yesterday, was my cousin's birthday. She got the Twilight DVD, and some other Twilight paraphernalia. We also stopped at a bookstore in Gold Beach, and she got a few books. After that, we drove all the way to the Oregon Sand Dunes, or a name similar to that. After running up and down, we went to Florence (Oregon) and ate lunch at this restaurant in town. I had a cup of clam chowder and a piece of cake. Later we got ice cream and saltwater taffy. They were all good. We watched Twilight for the rest of the drive and commented on the bad acting in it. The other van was stopped by the Oregon Highway Patrol because the light over the license plate wasn't working. Made the trip interesting. We're leaving soon, so I'll update later.

Gold Beach and Redwoods

(Since the clock is 3 hours ahead, the date is actually the 3rd)

Let's backtrack a little. Last night's play, Much Ado About Nothing, was wonderful, as expected. Very amusing. Anyway, for today's events. We checked out of the Ashland House at about 10 AM, and started driving to our next stop. We took a detour into California to see the redwood forest, where we took a mile long walk through to see. I knew that they were big, but you don't realize how massive until you're right next to them. There were a few that were hollow, and quite a few people can fit into them. It was cool to see. We also ate a picnic lunch near this beautiful scenic overlook of the Pacific Ocean. Today was the first time I saw it (Pacific Ocean, that is)!! We then looped back into Oregon, and to Gold Beach, which is where we are staying. My family and Uncle "Frank" are staying in a condo, and the other 6 vacationers are in another rooms because of the dog policy. It was 40 F cooler than it was the first day in Ashland, 98 F to 58 F. Tomorrow is my cousin's 13th birthday, so we'll celebrate it at midnight. It's also the day that we set off to Hillsboro, Oregon, which is where my cousins, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Linda live.

Bunches of Plays

In our time in Ashland, I'll see 3 plays, Don Quixote, All's Well That Ends Well, and Much Ado About Nothing. So far, I've seen the first two. Yesterday's rendition of Don Quixote was rainy, it was delayed by 30 minutes or so. It was entertaining, but I didn't really understand the big picture of the story. They recycled some materials, using a bunch of socks for sheep, etc., which was really cool. This morning, we went on this tour of the different theaters and back stages. I learned a lot of interesting stuff about how the play is ran backstage. In the New Theater, the smallest, my dad, sister, and I, went to see All's Well That Ends Well, while everyone else saw Macbeth in another larger theater. AWTEW was really funny, and fun to watch. There was one actor that played 5 or so characters, servant, messenger, tramp, army guy, and more. Everyone was laughing out loud. MAAN, which is in the Elizabethan Theater, which is outdoors, is what some of us are going to see. I've seen the movie with Emma Thompson, and enjoy the story, but this one is set during WW2. Should be good! Next stop, is Gold Beach, Oregon.

Ashland, Oregon

Hey, from Ashland, Oregon! Sorry, but Crater Lake Lodge doesn't have any Internet access. So, I'll recap the 2 days you miss, as well as today. Well, on July 30th (the days on the blog title, for the most part, are a day forward because of the time change), we drove to Crater National Park. My cousin came in the conversion van, and she, my sister, and I all played a game of Connections, which is where you say one word and the next person says something connected to it. When we pulled over at the scenic overlook, we saw the first view of Crater Lake. It is beautiful; the water is this azure blue that looks like a painting. When we got to the lodge, all we did was hang out and ate dinner at the lodge restaurant. My Uncle Joe had to stay in a tent for the night with their dog, because there is a No Dog Policy at Crater Lake Lodge.

On July 31st, we actually did something. My mom and Uncle "Frank" got up early to get sunrise pictures , and then decided to get tickets to a 2 hour boat tour in Crater Lake for 11:00 AM. To get down to the boat dock, you had to walk down this 700 ft hill on a 1.1 mile trail. The walk down was okay. When we got to the bottom, they said all kids 12 and under have to wear a life jacket. My cousin, who was 13 in 4 days, didn't want to wear one, but her brother made such a big fuss that she had to wear one and everyone was annoyed. The main thing I remember of the boat tour was this vertical floating log, called the 'Old Man', which has been floating around for 100 years or so. It was really hot and sunny, so after the tour, I went swimming in Crater Lake, in all my clothing. It felt really good, especially during the grueling hike up the cliff. My dad, cousin, and I all had to share a half a water bottle, and we were exhausted by the time we finished. My dad wanted me to mention this Raoul who was diving off a 20 ft cliff into Crater Lake. That is pretty much the extent of that days events.

Today, we drove to Ashland. All 4 girls (my sister, 2 cousins, and I) were in the conversion van, and we played a bunch of word/acting games, which were fun for the short drive. The house we are renting, which is huge (4 bedrooms and bathrooms, and more!), wasn't ready for us when we arrived, so we walked downtown and ate lunch. Man is it hot and relatively humid outside, 95 F!! Luckily, this house has air conditioning, unlike the Bend rental. Tonight, we are going to see Don Quixote in an outdoor theater, which should be fun. Until tomorrow!