AZ trip!

I had so much fun this past weekend! I got a chance to get away and spend time with my family which is always nice. Let's see, where should I start? On Wednesday night, we had dinner with the bride (my cousin, Lynnea), groom (Mike) and her family - my Uncle Bob, Aunt Paula, and cousin Jarrot - at this place called "The Organ Stop." It's a pizza place that has a live organist in the center and he plays all sorts of music. His organ is huge and controls a number of lights, instruments, and even a set of puppets! It was really entertaining to see!

Thursday, we went to my Uncle Don and Aunt Connie's house in Peoria. They live in a really nice retirement community (my uncle likes to call it "age restricted"). They moved out there maybe about a year or so ago and absolutely love it. The houses are set up in a way where there are no fences and that everyone is forced to be sociable with their neighbors. There's a community center where they've got a spa, pool, gym, library, pool hall, cafe, classes, you name it. They also have their mailboxes there so you're forced to go there at least once a day which also allows you to be sociable with the people in the community. Their house is absolutely beautiful! They got to customize it to their liking as the community is very newly built. They also have a spectacular view each night of the sunset, which is the picture you see above. We had burgers and hot dogs, and got to meet their neighbor Lee, who is a nice gentleman, and his beautiful collie, Sammy. It was fun.

We told Uncle Bob and Aunt Paula that on Friday we were available if they needed help in setting things up, but luckily they didn't so we decided to go to the Commemorative Air Force Museum, which was my dad's idea. It was alright. My dad really enjoyed it, which is good. After the museum, we took a little trip to a botanical garden/park in Mesa. That was really nice also. Lots of pretty desert flowers and cactus. There's a tree there that the bark is green! I thought that was awesome! After that, we decided to go to Arizona Mills (developed by the same people who built Ontario Mills) for dinner. We ate at Rainforest Cafe. My sister LOVED it! She loved watching the animals move and make noise. LOL.

Saturday was the big day! We woke up and got ready and went to the church. The ceremony was lovely. And after the ceremony we went to the reception. OH MY GOODNESS! It was so fun! Lots of dancing and having fun just being with the family. Lynnea looked gorgeous in her dress (which I was told that I was the only one that got to see the dress before she wore it - other than her mother - which made me feel priveleged). The couple was so happy and full of love for not just each other but everyone that came to their wedding. They were so grateful of the out of town guests (we got a welcome basket when we checked into the hotel from them, as well as a parting gift). And they made sure to come to each table to greet the guests which was really nice as well. All in all, it was an awesome day!

On Sunday we went to Uncle Bob's house and had a nice gathering of family, including the newly weds (they leave for their honeymoon sometime next week). I got to meet family members that I had never met before (like my Aunt Joan's daughters, Tracy and Kelly Anne, and their families), which was great. Then, we took the trip home and here I am, writing about it at work.

It was such a great weekend filled with exciting new places, family, love and amazing experiences that will stay with me forever!

My OCD in packing items

I'm leaving for a quick trip to Arizona tomorrow for my cousin's wedding. I realized today, just how incredibly OCD I can be when I'm packing things. I have to have everything that is mine in MY luggage. My mom has offered countless times to put things of mine in with her stuff but I can't stand it. I gave in to her offer of taking my dress for the wedding and putting it in her garment bag. It kills me. I don't know what it is about not having control over my stuff that bothers me so. I just like knowing that it is safe. Anyway, I leave at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning but hopefully I'll be able to have some rest and relaxation this weekend. We'll see...

Is it bad...

...that every time I see a picture of Prague, I want to burst out into tears because of how much I miss it? I was browsing through blogs the other day and found pics of Prague that desperately made me want to jump on a plane that instant and want to go back and just live there forever. I can't express enough how beautiful I think this place is. It's absolutely amazing. This pic is of Vysehrad. It used to be the main castle in Prague and housed the royal family for centuries until Prague Castle was built across the river. It's located in the New Town (Nove Mesto) just south of Old Town (Stare Mesto). It's the most beautiful and serene place ever. I miss it more than anyone could possibly know.

I've got a hitch in my giddy-up

So as I was ending my adventure at Colby this weekend by driving down the mountain this morning, this is what I saw. Well, not literally but I could definitely see the orange glow of the fire. I didn't expect to be able to see that much of it. I thought I'd only see the smoke. Luckily, Colby has not been evacuated as of yet but with the Santa Anas in full force, you never know. I have a feeling that things will be fine up there as Mark, the camp manager, is really good about keeping things well watered up there.

As for the title of the blog, as a result of my hiking adventures yesterday, I now have some pain in my hip. I blame the whole "almost breaking my ankle 5 times" thing. It was somewhat rough and uneven terrain so that's why. But it was still very much worth it. Now, it's back to real life. Ugh.

Hiking adventures at Colby Ranch...

I'm housesitting for the McConnells up at Colby Ranch this weekend.  I come up here every year for the Jr. High Camp for my church and love it.  It's honestly one of my favorite places.  I just came back from a hike and I love this place even more!  I've never gone hiking on the trails up here (I don't even think I've ever really gone hiking period!) and I never realized just how truly beautiful this place really is.  I came across this one view (not the one pictured unfortunately) that is just absolutely amazing and I can't even believe the beauty that the Angeles National Forrest actually holds.  I mean, sure I've always loved driving up here because I love experiencing the nature that God created.  I truly feel like this place is holy and every time I come up here, it just reaffirms my faith that there is a God because who else could create such wondrous beauty and majesty?  It's absolutely amazing at how nature and being in nature can do that.  I can't tell anyone enough how much I love coming here.  I always hate going home after being up here because when I am up here, I feel like I'm in a bubble because I'm away from everything; my everyday people, cell phones, life in general.  It's wonderful.  But every time I have to leave, and it makes me sad; but then, I ALWAYS look forward to coming back.  And, eventually, I always do.

August 4, 2006 (12:00 AM, U.S. time)

Well, I have been back from Camp for almost a week now. The last week of my trip was fun but pretty uneventful. We stayed in a hostel in Salzburg which wasn't something I was expecting but it was nice. It used to be a monastarty and was converted sometime in the last century to help with tourism. I got to see the birthplace of Mozart which, sadly, was a let down. I don't think it was so much of a let down rather than me just being bored of going to like the 500th museum. It was just a bunch of artifacts and, although it was cool to see pieces of musid that he had written - see top image (okay, actually, that was REALLY cool!) - and some of the instruments he played as a child, it got tedious and boring after awhile. I did buy a music box that plays "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik" ("A Little Night Music") though.

We got to go into the castle up there and our Art History teacher found out about these Roman Ruins underneath one of the cathedrals there and so we went down there and got to see things that were built by the Romans over 2,000 years ago! (Image #2.) Then, the young kids decided to take some Olde Time photos which was fun. I even bought one of those hats that the Germans wear along with their Liederhosen!

I should interject here that on our way to Italy, we got to stop and see the Italian Dolomites which is possibly the most beautiful mountain range I think I've ever seen (even more beautiful than Yosemite). I remember stopping for lunch that was at the top of one of the mountains. We had to take a people-mover (like the ones they used to have at Disneyland); I guess they could be called air-gondolas. Anyway, we rode all the way to the top and I remember after exiting the building and seeing these illustrious mountains (the third pic is literally what I saw when I came out of the building); I was speechless. No words can describe the beauty and wonder that these mountains hold. At lunch, I actually had the nerve to try a dish called Polenta which is an interesting (in a good way) dish and is difficult to describe. I've been told it's a lot like cornmeal but I've never tried cornmeal, so I wouldn't know. All I know is that if given the opportunity, I would probably try it again.

Venice was nice. Not quite what I was expecting because I was a little disappointed by the lack of up-keep of the city. A lot of the buildings were closed due to water damage. I did get to see St. Mark's Cathedral and OH MY GOD is it beautiful! The whole ceiling is covered with gold mosaic tiles! Then there's Piazza San Marco (image #4) (it's famous for having a lot of pigeons). We even got to go on a Gondola ride (image #6), which is something I wasn't expecting. The best part about it was that it was free! The trip coordinator, Luigi, paid for it!

And of course the first meal I had there was Spaghetti Bolognese (spaghetti w/meat sauce) (image #5). I also tried pizza, lasagna, and tira misu. There was this place in Piazza San Marco close to the canal that served the best gelatto also! They were all delicious!

We took a bus from Salzburg to Venice and we had to walk from the bus depot to our hotel because of the fact that most of Venice is under water. Anyway, when we got to the hotel, there was no elevator and our rooms were on like, the 3rd or 4th floor! I had to make multiple trips because I had 3 large bages (and they get pretty heavy after collecting souvenirs for a month!). As I kept going up and down the stairs, all I could think of was that episode of "I Love Lucy" where they have arrived in Italy and they need to keep going up and down the stairs of their hotel because they want to try and call Little Ricky on his birthday. Now, whenever I see that episode I laugh a little louder because that really is how things are there, LOL.

The plane ride home was uneventful. I do remember that no sooner than when we landed, the girl next to me started talking on her cell phone. How typically American of her. I did, however, get some really nice overhead shots of Greenland. (Image #7.) That was thanks to Lance because if it wasn't for him signaling to open up my window, I never would have noticed it.

It was so nice to see my parents after so long. I remember actually feeling nervous and thought that my heart was going to jump out of my chest but then feeling relieved after hugging them and greeting them. It felt so nice to be home because, like Dorothy says, "There's not place like home!" (Que dramatic "movie ending" music).

July 16, 2006 (1:20 PM, Cesky Krumlov time)

So we're on the bus to Salzburg. We just spent like 2 hours waiting because the bus broke down. That's the first image you see. We broke down literally just after passing the Austrian/Czech border. Because we were on a bus, they didn't stamp our passports but when we broke down, a bunch of us walked back and had our passports stamped. Then I considered running around in the fields singing "The Sound of Music" but didn't feel like hopping a barbed wire fence. We ended up eating at a little restaurant down the road. That's where I found out that Schnitzel is basically just fried chicken, lol. And now, finally, we are on our way.

Cesky Krumlov was fun. I didn't get the chance to find the historical motorcycle museum (I actually have a feeling now that what used to be the motorcycle museum might be the Egon Schiele museum based on the location of it but whatever) but that's okay. That just means that I'll have to come back and find it. We went up to the castle and walked around the gardens which were beautiful. That is the second image. If I had the money, I'd consider having a wedding there. Then we saw that there was going to be a jousting tournament and decided to watch it image #3. That was fun and the guy that I wanted to win did. Man they were all (the knights) pretty gorgeous! I was jealous of the girl who got to play the princess. Oh well.

After that, a bunch of us rented inner-tubes and floated along the Vltava River. The bottom was very rocky so our feet got a little beaten up. They had a few small rapids and in the first one, I got swept under and lost my sunglasses. In the fourth pic, the first rapid is just beyond the bend. I'm still upset about that to this day, but I still get a good laugh out of this story. Then, after the second one, we were all supposed to get all the way over to the opposite side and I didn't and ended up going past the finish point and had to swim against the current about 75 yards. So now my arms are pretty sore. But I still had fun doing it.

I'm slowly getting more and more ready to go home. I'm getting a little annoyed by the people on the trip. I still like them but I think that because I've seen them EVERY single day for the past month, it's wearing on my nerves. I wouldn't be surprised if everybody else felt the same way. So we'll see how the next few days go. Hopefully we all won't part on bad terms. I don't think we will. I guess that's pretty much it for now. I go on to talk about how camp is starting the day after I get back and how excited I am for it to start. I also neglected to mention that I made a phone call home earlier that morning because it was the annual car show and I wanted to talk to everybody. It was really neat to talk to everyone and tell them how much fun I was having.