This has been a rough week.
There have been so many back and forth decisions surrounding the housing situation. First the problem was that the real estate agent kept changing the terms on the MLS to a bigger deposit because only Zach was employed at that point. After several emails and phone calls between her and Donna we threatened to walk if they didn't give us back the original terms. They agreed so we submitted our applications. 24 hours after submitting our applications Kyle realized he didn't want to sign the lease because he hadn't found a job yet and realized how difficult it was going to be to find one in this economical situation. I completely understand his decision and everything, it was just tough timing for us. So then we told the realtor we may replace him on the lease with this girl that we had found if we decided to do a three bedroom place. I had emailed her to make sure she still needed a room and she did. Then after we told the realtor she tells me she has bad credit. That's fine, everything is still going to work out. Then she tells me her mom won't let her sign a 12 month lease because her mom pays half her rent and just got laid off, but she would let her sign a 6 month lease as long as it was with us - not the condo owner or any agency. That concerned me so I called the whole thing off. Bad credit + not wanting to sign a real lease just seemed sketchy. I email the realtor for Donna because we knew it was terrible news, and she calls me this morning saying they will reduce the rent if we'll still move forward. I figure it was worth taking the chance of having this girl sign the 6 month lease with us since Donna could still make it a legal document that we could take to court. So I tell the realtor we're just waiting for her to email me back, blah blah blah. She emails me back and is going to live at home for a few months to save money and move in with her best friend. So we just called the whole thing off. It is fairly relieving not to have to worry about this absurd situation anymore, but it's also terrifying trying to find another place we like, can afford and that will accept our dog. Most places we've lied to by saying hes a mixed breed, but these people knew he was a pitbull and they were fine with it. Plus, now that we're looking for a studio or 1 bedroom instead of a 2 bedroom we are more likely to be in a condo or apartment and less likely to find a place that wants a large dog, let alone an "aggressive breed." We could be screwed.
On top of all that Isabella is in California to visit and since we haven't moved out yet she is in Santa Barbara.. but was coming down once we moved in, which was supposed to be tomorrow. We canceled today so now we have to figure out what exactly we're going to do. She may sleep on the couch tomorrow night, and then Mitch and Donna are out of town so there will be a little more room in this house. Kyle told us today that he booked a ticket home for September 3rd. We knew he was leaving by he 6th because of the girls school and it would be just too many people in the house while they were in school. So now we are trying to get as much fun stuff in as possible so he can enjoy the rest of his time here. He does plan on moving out here in the future, just needs to have saved up more money. Hopefully that all works out because we would love for him to live here. Its hard to be around someone constantly for over a week, and we have been with him and we're getting along fine.
So the good news?
Well Mitchell and Donna seem alright with the concept of us staying longer since it would be all three of us. I am very fortunate to have such a tight knit and incredible family. We are still focusing on making sure we dont wear out our welcome and are searching for a place, but at least we aren't stuck on the street. Also I started babysitting for this family that needs help at least 4 days a week because they have 4 children, which go to three different schools, three of them are in sports, and the husband has to travel often for business. They are great people with really well behaved kids, and two of the kids are like 9 and 11 so they are helpful with the younger two. I get along with them very well and with the amount of hours I'll be working I will be making enough money that I don't really have to worry about rent until I find a job I really want to take. Plus, they know another family that needs a lot of help so I am going to watch those girls as well. So essentially Zach and my income fully depends on our nanny/manny skills. We are both taking care of children for our living, but at least they aren't children of our own. Oh, and Donna thinks she may know of a part time assistant/secretary job for me so I will have that kind of experience on my resume if I get it. That would be great. Another good note? The room Donna and I are renovating is coming along really well. We've had a lot of fun doing it and it looks great. At least there are a few things to keep me positive.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
California Drivers..
Need a hug. This isn't to say that DC drivers aren't crazy or mean, but its a different kind of crazy and mean. DC drivers will try and cut you off, will refuse to let you over in a merge lane or when you try to switch lanes, etc. The main difference between the two are that DC drivers usually wont make eye contact with you to let you know they're being jerks. They rather just go on with their day and ignore what you're trying to do. California drivers want to be as mean to you as possible. There have been at least 3 times where I have done literally nothing wrong and been beeped at like crazy. I have had either Zach or Kyle in the car with me and they also cant figure out what the heck I'm getting beeped at for. For example, yesterday I think I got beeped at (pretty sure) because the person didn't like that I was only going 7 over in a construction zone. The 2 lane road was turned into a one lane road so there were people directing us through and construction people all around. It was literally 30 yards long in a 25 mph area, yet this guy was mad that I didn't fly through, I'm assuming, because he beeped at me twice. I don't understand. Had quite a few people act like that. Usually they just lay on their horn forever, in case you didn't hear it the first five seconds. I'd be concerned I'm doing something wrong, but every single time its for something different, and every single time no one in the car knows why they're beeping. Annoying.
Also, today is one of the first times I wished I was in DC instead of California. Joey texted me this morning saying he wished we could go in and mock the Glenn Beck idiots, and I totally would have loved to be there. You can only see crazy like that every so often, and this would have been a great opportunity. Its alright though because it will definitely save me some stress and concern for the world by not being there, plus I think we're about to head to Manhattan Beach.
Also, today is one of the first times I wished I was in DC instead of California. Joey texted me this morning saying he wished we could go in and mock the Glenn Beck idiots, and I totally would have loved to be there. You can only see crazy like that every so often, and this would have been a great opportunity. Its alright though because it will definitely save me some stress and concern for the world by not being there, plus I think we're about to head to Manhattan Beach.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Oh, and..
Two more things.
1) I am already thinking about my next big thing, which is definitely a trip to Europe. I already had a whole trip planned out before I knew I was definitely moving here so I think I will work from that plan but change it a little. My idea back then when to land in Portugal or Spain and do a tour of all the major cities and a few other places all the way up and around to Turkey before flying home. I had some amazing hostels picked out and had done a lot of research about what I wanted to see, so I will still use all of that. However, now I am thinking I want to experience living there as well, not just visiting. So now I am thinking I will move there for a few months, up to a year, and use my weekends or time off from a job there to visit the other places. I'll probably just look for jobs in places a lot of Americans visit since I only slightly speak English and then nothing else besides that. It wont be anytime soon, definitely not for a few years, but its on my radar. I used to always envy people who had lived a lot of places or traveled a lot, but didn't think I had the guts to move around like that, but so far I'm thinking I'm better at it than I expected.
2) Nevermind, already forgot #2. :(
1) I am already thinking about my next big thing, which is definitely a trip to Europe. I already had a whole trip planned out before I knew I was definitely moving here so I think I will work from that plan but change it a little. My idea back then when to land in Portugal or Spain and do a tour of all the major cities and a few other places all the way up and around to Turkey before flying home. I had some amazing hostels picked out and had done a lot of research about what I wanted to see, so I will still use all of that. However, now I am thinking I want to experience living there as well, not just visiting. So now I am thinking I will move there for a few months, up to a year, and use my weekends or time off from a job there to visit the other places. I'll probably just look for jobs in places a lot of Americans visit since I only slightly speak English and then nothing else besides that. It wont be anytime soon, definitely not for a few years, but its on my radar. I used to always envy people who had lived a lot of places or traveled a lot, but didn't think I had the guts to move around like that, but so far I'm thinking I'm better at it than I expected.
2) Nevermind, already forgot #2. :(
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Getting Things Started
Well another week down in California. A lot has been accomplished but at the same time there is a lot more to do. We found a couple couches we're deciding between. Oh, and an apartment to put them in (hopefully). All along I've been worried about finding a place because we have this beast of a dog and I didn't even consider the application process. Turns out Zach's less than perfect credit and the fact that Kyle and I currently lack jobs (not for long, but still.. we need to get the apps in now) doesn't help. That and our dog's incredibly annoying behavior at Mitch's house, i.e. running around with crap in his mouth constantly, is really stressing me out.
Besides that everything is going really well. Kyle seems to be really enjoying California. I have to give it to him, I never would have moved to a city, let alone a state, that I had never even visited. He and Kyla have completely fallen in love - sorry Thomas ;). We went out two nights ago to BJ's Brewhouse while we were babysitting Keira and Kyla and celebrated his arrival. We had a super good deep dish buffalo chicken pizza that blew all of our minds. We will definitely be going back there more often. Actually we liked it so much that I'm considering applying for a hostess or waitress job there.
It took me longer than I expected to starting looking for jobs, primarily because every time I would dedicate a day to that something else would come up. For example we were going to go do that Saturday after Kyle got here but then we had a ton of errands to run and had to babysit the girls. Then I was going to go yesterday but we went to Jerry's house to go swimming. When we got there one of those Hollywood tour carts was down the street from his house because he lives near a lot of celebrities. Right after we arrived (Donna, the girls and I - the boys went to watch Mitch play beach rugby) Jerry's grandkids arrived the tour cart was blocking their way into the house and once they realized they were coming into the house they flipped around really quickly so they could see through the gate when it opened. Pretty funny.
We finally went and looked for jobs today - just Kyle and me because we found out today that Zach is definitely working for a lady Donna knows - and it went pretty well for Kyle, but just made me realize I don't want to work in a normal restaurant. I went into Cheesecake Factory in Sherman Oaks because it was near a place Kyle was applying to and it was just dead. As I was about to walk out the manager came over and said they were only hiring in the bakery anyways. Then Kyle and I shopped around this place called Urban Home which was so ridiculously awesome and definitely the highlight of the trip. I ran into PF Changs on the way to the car but they were dead too and only interviewed during certain times, which I didn't feel like waiting for anyways because I knew I'd make no money there. So I'm pretty sure I am going to find a country club again or do a front desk of a gym so I can have a free membership.
Speaking of free membership - one of the highlights of having our own place is that I will go back to eating like a poor person. When Zach and I are only feeding ourselves we usually just eat stirfry of some sort which is super cheap and healthy. Mitchell makes such incredibly delicious food and they eat out for lunch usually so I now know what I will look like when I am three months pregnant. Not so horrible if you're actually pregnant but seeing as I'm not.... yea. Don't love it.
Today we went to Home Depot to figure out what we want to get to renovate the girls' playroom and turn it into a place they can do HW and stuff as well. I have a sick love for Home Depot or anyplace that sells lumber and paint the way they do. I mean.. come on.. it's heaven. Wait, maybe heaven was the frozen yogurt place we went afterward. We usually go to Menchies but Donna said this place is cheaper and better, so we gave it a shot. I haven't had enough to say if it is better than Menchies, but it was definitely cheaper and still delicious. Then we came back to the house and emptied out the playroom and... wait for it... ripped up the carpet. I won't go into too much detail because I realize I'm the only one that can get so thrilled about this stuff, but let's just say that today was a really awesome day (besides job hunting).
The only part of job hunting that was fun happened while I was waiting for the Cheesecake manager. Some lady walked in to ask me if I would be interested in modeling or acting in commercials and stuff for the company she scouted for. It was probably bogus, and even if it wasn't I still wouldn't do anything about it probably, but I enjoyed it because it just seems so LA. The woman has called me twice already so this may come back to haunt me.. but still, its an experience.
Besides that everything is going really well. Kyle seems to be really enjoying California. I have to give it to him, I never would have moved to a city, let alone a state, that I had never even visited. He and Kyla have completely fallen in love - sorry Thomas ;). We went out two nights ago to BJ's Brewhouse while we were babysitting Keira and Kyla and celebrated his arrival. We had a super good deep dish buffalo chicken pizza that blew all of our minds. We will definitely be going back there more often. Actually we liked it so much that I'm considering applying for a hostess or waitress job there.
It took me longer than I expected to starting looking for jobs, primarily because every time I would dedicate a day to that something else would come up. For example we were going to go do that Saturday after Kyle got here but then we had a ton of errands to run and had to babysit the girls. Then I was going to go yesterday but we went to Jerry's house to go swimming. When we got there one of those Hollywood tour carts was down the street from his house because he lives near a lot of celebrities. Right after we arrived (Donna, the girls and I - the boys went to watch Mitch play beach rugby) Jerry's grandkids arrived the tour cart was blocking their way into the house and once they realized they were coming into the house they flipped around really quickly so they could see through the gate when it opened. Pretty funny.
We finally went and looked for jobs today - just Kyle and me because we found out today that Zach is definitely working for a lady Donna knows - and it went pretty well for Kyle, but just made me realize I don't want to work in a normal restaurant. I went into Cheesecake Factory in Sherman Oaks because it was near a place Kyle was applying to and it was just dead. As I was about to walk out the manager came over and said they were only hiring in the bakery anyways. Then Kyle and I shopped around this place called Urban Home which was so ridiculously awesome and definitely the highlight of the trip. I ran into PF Changs on the way to the car but they were dead too and only interviewed during certain times, which I didn't feel like waiting for anyways because I knew I'd make no money there. So I'm pretty sure I am going to find a country club again or do a front desk of a gym so I can have a free membership.
Speaking of free membership - one of the highlights of having our own place is that I will go back to eating like a poor person. When Zach and I are only feeding ourselves we usually just eat stirfry of some sort which is super cheap and healthy. Mitchell makes such incredibly delicious food and they eat out for lunch usually so I now know what I will look like when I am three months pregnant. Not so horrible if you're actually pregnant but seeing as I'm not.... yea. Don't love it.
Today we went to Home Depot to figure out what we want to get to renovate the girls' playroom and turn it into a place they can do HW and stuff as well. I have a sick love for Home Depot or anyplace that sells lumber and paint the way they do. I mean.. come on.. it's heaven. Wait, maybe heaven was the frozen yogurt place we went afterward. We usually go to Menchies but Donna said this place is cheaper and better, so we gave it a shot. I haven't had enough to say if it is better than Menchies, but it was definitely cheaper and still delicious. Then we came back to the house and emptied out the playroom and... wait for it... ripped up the carpet. I won't go into too much detail because I realize I'm the only one that can get so thrilled about this stuff, but let's just say that today was a really awesome day (besides job hunting).
The only part of job hunting that was fun happened while I was waiting for the Cheesecake manager. Some lady walked in to ask me if I would be interested in modeling or acting in commercials and stuff for the company she scouted for. It was probably bogus, and even if it wasn't I still wouldn't do anything about it probably, but I enjoyed it because it just seems so LA. The woman has called me twice already so this may come back to haunt me.. but still, its an experience.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tarzana Time
Well we've been in California for about 5 days now and my family flew home this morning. We've had a really great time and it was very sad to say goodbye. Zach and I dropped them off at LAX and it may be for the better that about 3,400 cops (give or take a few) were there rushing people along because it wasn't fun. While they were here we went and did some touristy things but also spent a lot of time in the backyard (and eating).
One of the days we went to Paradise Cove in Malibu. Through some weird family relationship that I wont bother explaining we had access to this huge estate right on the cliffs so we walked down to the beach from there. Instead of staying on the private beach part we walked down to the public beach because it was supposed to be more calm and Connor wanted to go out in the water. It was like 60 degrees at the beach that day so the rest of us weren't going in the water, but the walk was nice anyways. There were some incredibly huge estates right on the beach - most of which were gorgeous and you couldn't imagine ever being able to live in them, but others were very run down and obviously just sitting there empty. What a waste of $30 million. By the time we got down to the beach we saw how packed it was and all of the Adirondack chairs they have out for people (probably about 100) were all taken already. We only stayed there for a little while because of the crowd and low temperatures, but I was still able to fall asleep. ;)
Yesterday we went to Chinatown and had dim sum for breakfast. It was incredible and we are officially a dim sum obsessed family. We walked around afterward, as always, and got some fun stuff. I love some of the shops there, especially a place that is just a market for kitchen type stuff. I told my parents that now they know where everyone will be getting their Christmas presents from.
We've seen a few places but Kyle doesn't get here until Saturday so we're taking our time. We are meeting a potential room mate on Tuesday so we will hopefully do a three bedroom place to keep costs down. The real thing now is finding a place that will accept our pitbull (or mixed breed dog as I'm telling them) and deciding whether we prefer an apartment or a house. The house will potentially have more space and a backyard, but an apartment will probably be more updated and have a pool and such. Soon after Kyle gets out here Isabella arrives, and then Kristen a couple weeks later, so we'll definitely have it all sorted out in the next week and a half at the latest.
Its very sad thinking about being this far away from the rest of my family. I have never lived far enough away from my parents that I didn't see them at least once every 2 weeks. It is also hard being this far away from my grandparents because they don't like to fly and probably wont make the drive out here. This doesn't mean, however, that I won't be harassing them constantly to make the trip and eventually move out here. My mom said this morning that they are still definitely considering moving out here in a year or two (Cameron/Hannah- you better move west to make this happen!) so I'm holding out hope for that. If I didn't have family out here now I don't think I would have done this though, so it could be worse. At least I have them.
On a random note, we're watching a golf tournament right now that is actually INTERESTING. Everybody record this date and time, because it will never happen again. But there have been some crazy things happening in this tournament and it's just ridiculous. Also, golf always reminds me of working at CCF, and Katie just text messaged me. Weird timing.
One of the days we went to Paradise Cove in Malibu. Through some weird family relationship that I wont bother explaining we had access to this huge estate right on the cliffs so we walked down to the beach from there. Instead of staying on the private beach part we walked down to the public beach because it was supposed to be more calm and Connor wanted to go out in the water. It was like 60 degrees at the beach that day so the rest of us weren't going in the water, but the walk was nice anyways. There were some incredibly huge estates right on the beach - most of which were gorgeous and you couldn't imagine ever being able to live in them, but others were very run down and obviously just sitting there empty. What a waste of $30 million. By the time we got down to the beach we saw how packed it was and all of the Adirondack chairs they have out for people (probably about 100) were all taken already. We only stayed there for a little while because of the crowd and low temperatures, but I was still able to fall asleep. ;)
Yesterday we went to Chinatown and had dim sum for breakfast. It was incredible and we are officially a dim sum obsessed family. We walked around afterward, as always, and got some fun stuff. I love some of the shops there, especially a place that is just a market for kitchen type stuff. I told my parents that now they know where everyone will be getting their Christmas presents from.
We've seen a few places but Kyle doesn't get here until Saturday so we're taking our time. We are meeting a potential room mate on Tuesday so we will hopefully do a three bedroom place to keep costs down. The real thing now is finding a place that will accept our pitbull (or mixed breed dog as I'm telling them) and deciding whether we prefer an apartment or a house. The house will potentially have more space and a backyard, but an apartment will probably be more updated and have a pool and such. Soon after Kyle gets out here Isabella arrives, and then Kristen a couple weeks later, so we'll definitely have it all sorted out in the next week and a half at the latest.
Its very sad thinking about being this far away from the rest of my family. I have never lived far enough away from my parents that I didn't see them at least once every 2 weeks. It is also hard being this far away from my grandparents because they don't like to fly and probably wont make the drive out here. This doesn't mean, however, that I won't be harassing them constantly to make the trip and eventually move out here. My mom said this morning that they are still definitely considering moving out here in a year or two (Cameron/Hannah- you better move west to make this happen!) so I'm holding out hope for that. If I didn't have family out here now I don't think I would have done this though, so it could be worse. At least I have them.
On a random note, we're watching a golf tournament right now that is actually INTERESTING. Everybody record this date and time, because it will never happen again. But there have been some crazy things happening in this tournament and it's just ridiculous. Also, golf always reminds me of working at CCF, and Katie just text messaged me. Weird timing.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Vegas Baby!
From Zion we went straight to Vegas instead of camping our final night. It had been a long vacation and I think everyone was excited to get to LA, plus it had been raining so the idea of camping was a little intimidating plus there wasn't much left for us to do with the dog in Zion. Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce are all managed by the same company and that company seems to hate dogs. I certainly don't understand their reasoning for not allowing dogs on some of these trails (some I do).
Driving to Vegas was another beautiful ride. We got there fairly early in the day so we jumped into the pool before going to do anything else. We were staying with my dad's best friend, Manny, and he cooked us a great pasta dinner. That night we went to drive up and down the strip, but since we were so exhausted we didn't get out of the car or anything. The next day we started off the day back on the strip so Zach could gamble for the first time and everyone else could just see the sights. Gambling went well at first.. and then not so well. But that's how it always works, so I personally wasn't too upset about it, but he definitely was. He learned a few good lessons about it though, and didn't lose enough money that it wasn't worth it.
For lunch we had dim sum and it was so delicious. We had a really fun time there and it was some of the better dim sum I've ever had, plus the prices in Vegas are so much better than DC or LA. Well, if you go to the restaurants that the locals go to, at least. We planned on going back to the strip afterward but we were all a little gambled out and exhausted from all of our traveling. (We went back and forth across the time zones - Arizona is weird - so we were all a little off) We just hung out around the house and in the pool until dinner, which was more Chinese food. Kaos and Manny's dog were going crazy while we were in the pool, running all around it barking at us. Zach pulled Kaos into the pool and he sank immediately so he was so scared and now hates pools. If I could take back anything from this trip it would have been that. Kaos also got a few cactus things stuck in him, and then I got the little prickler parts of the cactus in my fingers when I pulled them out. It wasn't fun, at all. For dinner we went to the Chinatown in Vegas (who knew they even had one??) and we waited probably 45 minutes for a table. Manny said there is never a wait there, so we're assuming that it was just because we were there because the first day we were in Vegas it rained and that only happens about twice a year there. We were bringing all the strange things. Dinner was kind of family-style because we all ordered what we wanted and then shared our plates. It was also really good, but I personally liked dim sum better. We went home exhausted and watched Avatar until we fell asleep.
The next morning we got up and headed to LA. It was pretty exciting to realize we were almost there. Crossing the line into California and then Los Angeles County was very cool. The only point where it felt real was when we started setting the radio to the stations here and realized I wouldn't be changing away from those stations anytime soon. That night we just swam in the incredibly heated pool and enjoyed the hot tub before having some grilled pizza that Mitchell made. Oh and we also had CPK for lunch, which seems to be a tradition now because I have CPK on one of my first days every time I come here.
Time to go to Malibu :)
Driving to Vegas was another beautiful ride. We got there fairly early in the day so we jumped into the pool before going to do anything else. We were staying with my dad's best friend, Manny, and he cooked us a great pasta dinner. That night we went to drive up and down the strip, but since we were so exhausted we didn't get out of the car or anything. The next day we started off the day back on the strip so Zach could gamble for the first time and everyone else could just see the sights. Gambling went well at first.. and then not so well. But that's how it always works, so I personally wasn't too upset about it, but he definitely was. He learned a few good lessons about it though, and didn't lose enough money that it wasn't worth it.
For lunch we had dim sum and it was so delicious. We had a really fun time there and it was some of the better dim sum I've ever had, plus the prices in Vegas are so much better than DC or LA. Well, if you go to the restaurants that the locals go to, at least. We planned on going back to the strip afterward but we were all a little gambled out and exhausted from all of our traveling. (We went back and forth across the time zones - Arizona is weird - so we were all a little off) We just hung out around the house and in the pool until dinner, which was more Chinese food. Kaos and Manny's dog were going crazy while we were in the pool, running all around it barking at us. Zach pulled Kaos into the pool and he sank immediately so he was so scared and now hates pools. If I could take back anything from this trip it would have been that. Kaos also got a few cactus things stuck in him, and then I got the little prickler parts of the cactus in my fingers when I pulled them out. It wasn't fun, at all. For dinner we went to the Chinatown in Vegas (who knew they even had one??) and we waited probably 45 minutes for a table. Manny said there is never a wait there, so we're assuming that it was just because we were there because the first day we were in Vegas it rained and that only happens about twice a year there. We were bringing all the strange things. Dinner was kind of family-style because we all ordered what we wanted and then shared our plates. It was also really good, but I personally liked dim sum better. We went home exhausted and watched Avatar until we fell asleep.
The next morning we got up and headed to LA. It was pretty exciting to realize we were almost there. Crossing the line into California and then Los Angeles County was very cool. The only point where it felt real was when we started setting the radio to the stations here and realized I wouldn't be changing away from those stations anytime soon. That night we just swam in the incredibly heated pool and enjoyed the hot tub before having some grilled pizza that Mitchell made. Oh and we also had CPK for lunch, which seems to be a tradition now because I have CPK on one of my first days every time I come here.
Time to go to Malibu :)
Rewinding to Utah
Utah, Utah, Utah.
I have to be honest and say that had you asked me a year ago if I wanted to visit Utah I would have said no. Obviously this is because I knew essentially nothing about the place besides that is was associated with Mormons. Well, now I love Utah. Talk about a beautiful state! Driving from one state park to another was beautiful, but the state parks themselves were even more incredible.
Our first park was Bryce Canyon. We had already been on the road for so long that Zach and Connor were kind of antsy to get to LA so they couldn't figure out why we were going out of our way when we had already seen one canyon, and that one was Grand. Well, Bryce was well worth the visit and they ended up agreeing. It was like visiting another planet. Everything was shades of white, pink, orange and yellow. The canyon is filled with these things called hoodoos that seem like they're in a cave on Mars. We got there kind of later in the day (partially because we had to find a place to stay and everywhere was booked, and the rain made it so we couldn't camp like we planned) so we just kind of walked the rim our first night there. Since it isn't nearly as big as the Grand Canyon it was easy to walk a lot of the rim at one time. This was the only path the dog was allowed on, so that's another reason we stayed there for the time being.
The next morning we woke up to crazy thunderstorms and 50 degree weather. We went out to breakfast at the restaurant attached to our hotel and had by far the worst waitress I've ever come across. She was the manager of the hotel and was so beyond rude I couldn't believe it. It actually made the experience that much more memorable because we were laughing at her and another lady came over to tell us how rude she thought the servers were too. There were like 5 hummingbirds at their hummingbird feeder so my mom asked what their recipe was because she was jealous. The lady refused to tell her and said its a secret recipe blah blah blah. Fine, that was a little weird, but whatever. Then my mom asks me to open the blinds so she could see the birds better and I do. They easily slid open, yet the lady comes over and screams at me for opening the blinds because that isn't how they open. I told her, as did other people, how easily they slid open so obviously that way either works or the blinds were broken, to which she continued to yell about how I don't get it and that the blinds are 20 years old. My thought? Get new blinds psycho, because these are ugly. I said how rude she was fairly loudly and later she sent over another waitress with a second glass of hot chocolate for me, but I was angry the rest of the meal. She was clearly embarrassed because she probably heard the other lady come over and say how terrible the service was there or heard me telling my dad (who was tipping her..) the story once he got off the phone. Being a waitress I usually have sympathy for other servers, but I also know when something is incredibly out of line, and this was. As annoyed as I was, it made the meal something we will all remember.
After breakfast we all piled in the car with pants and jackets on figuring we would just drive around and see the views instead of hiking. We went to an area that had a waterfall because I figured it would be cool to see the water higher than usual and we ended up hiking it anyways. The rain let up just in time and it was awesome. There was also a cave along the short hike so it really had a lot packed into a 5 minute walk. We were so muddy afterward, but it was worth it and made us willing to keep hiking since we were already messy. We went over to the main part of the park to do the hike I had really wanted to do, but didn't know how we would be able to all do it together since it didn't allow dogs. Turns out it being 50 degrees worked in our favor because we were able to leave the dog in the car with the windows cracked. The walk was ridiculous in every way. It was hilarious how muddy it was because the first leg of the walk is literally just a walk down a very steep part of the canyon, so the path just zig zags down it quickly. The mud made it pretty slippery but the place was packed anyways (again with almost entirely Europeans, which we prefer in the long run) so it was really fun getting down. At the bottom you're in between these huge rocks that create really tall walls - it's called Wall Street. Despite the very deep crevice there are still trees growing in between the walls that are incredibly tall and tower over everything. It was just so awesome. That part of the walk was so great and the weather was so iffy that I thought we planned on just going down it and back up, but we ended up doing the entire walk which was very worth it. There were two natural bridges along the way and a ton of views that we could only see from the bottom of the canyon. We had a really great time on that hike and I think we all agreed that Bryce was the coolest place we went. Sedona was probably the best vacation spot and best location all together, but that's partially because it has so many shops and restaurants and is more built up while still being very natural. Bryce had hardly any options when it came to food or lodging. We did have one great meal there though at a place that had homemade pies. Connor and I both got this Western Burger thing, which was a burger with two cheeses, lots of ham and bacon. So beyond good and huge. Then we all had the pies which were delicious. It was a good way to end that leg of the trip, especially because we think my dad had his shoes stolen from the hotel (yes, the same hotel managed by the terrible waitress.. disaster).
We left the restaurant to head a hotel right outside of Zion, which was a great stop. We had a river right behind our hotel so the boys and dog had a lot of fun there. The dog pulled Zach down in the water so they both got so filthy and Zach had to give Kaos a shower in the hotel bathroom. The entire place got soaked but it was really funny. The next morning we had a great buffet breakfast in a restaurant that (surprisingly enough!) was also filled with Europeans. The parks were so foreign to us already because there is really nothing else like them, that having people from other countries all around us really made us feel like we were overseas or something. We packed up and headed into Zion and (another surprise!) it started to pour again. I was really disappointed at that point because I knew we weren't staying in Zion as long as I had originally planned (we had a campsite and that just wasn't going to work out) so I thought we wouldn't get to see Zion in the sun at all or get out and hike. When we hiked in the rain in Bryce the rain had let up by the time we got out of the car, but this time it was really heavy rain and had just started when we got to the park. It turned out to be really nice because the rain was rushing down the massive rocks and waterfalls were created from all of the water. You could easily see why flash floods are such a threat there. By the time we got through all of the tunnels and around all of the crazy turns the rain completely cleared and we got to do a hike. I don't think we got to see Zion the best way possible, but since we had gotten to hike so many other places that were incredible we weren't really that disappointed. Plus, now that we live much closer to Utah we'll have the chance to go back more often.
Long story short, Utah is amazing and worth the visit.. I definitely plan on going back and visiting the same parks again, plus a few others.
No Internet Connection Means... We're Already Here!
As you can tell from the title, we're already in Los Angeles! We haven't had a very good internet connection for the past week, and when we did I didn't have enough time to keep up with this blog, but I'll go through and give some details of our last week of travels.
After Sedona we went to Grand Canyon. We arrived right before sunset so after setting up our campsite we went to see the Canyon. You can see all the pictures you want of that place and you will never grasp how huge it is until you get there. My mom's word for describing it is probably the best - dizzying. It is pretty overwhelming looking over the edge at first. The campground there was fantastic. My dad has camped a lot and said that may be his favorite campground ever. You could see the Milky Way at night, our spot was huge and there were plenty of trees around so we had a good amount of shade when it was warm enough that we needed it. There were also these humongous ravens flying around the area that were literally about up to my knee. I'm used to having to make sure you put all of your food away to keep the bears away on the east coast, so it's nice only having to worry about some birds (of course these birds would also probably be able to destroy us).
We hiked down Bright Angel Trail a little, which essentially zig-zags down the canyon from where all of the lodges are. The Park doesn't allow dogs to hike below the rim, so my dad and Connor stayed up at the lodges and had some coffee and such. It takes about 5 1/2 hours to hike down or up the entire trail, which dead ends at Phantom Lodge so people can stay the night because it is very dangerous/deadly to go up and down in one day. We only went down for about 20 minutes or so because they warn you that it is twice as hard to come back as it is to get down. They were right on because it took us the next 40 minutes to get back up. One day I would like to hike all the way down to the Lodge (they serve a family size dinner and have bunk beds and everything so it just seems like a great concept, plus you're at the Colorado River essentially), but we weren't prepared to do that long of a hike at all. There are signs all over the place saying how dangerous the hikes out there are, even if you don't try to go up and down in one day, so it makes you pretty weary of doing too much. Well, it makes normal people weary, Zach thinks he can defy the odds. There were even signs about a girl who was 24 or so, had run the Boston Marathon and was in Med School, yet she went on a hike where she didn't realize how long it was and wasn't fully prepared food/water wise and died. Pretty sobering.
One of the really cool parts of that national park was all of the elk just walking around. In Maine I'm used to seeing Moose Crossing signs, but you never actually see a moose. Well we saw elk probably 5 separate times - once in our campground and twice the elk was RIGHT next to my car. The second time an elk came right next to my car was actually kind of scary, because he walked straight towards my car, staring at me while I took his picture, and he had huge antlers. But it was definitely more awesome than scary.
The ride out of Grand Canyon was pretty incredible. We stopped at other overlooks which looked fairly different than the part of the canyon we had camped at. The colors change a little and there were more trees. There was also an area that had a lookout tower so that was pretty nice. As you drive towards Utah you go through an Indian Reservation so there are a lot of little places on the side of the street where people are trying to sell jewelry and pottery and stuff. The mountains and ridges on the side of the road were beautiful, and sometimes the entire area would be pink so the clouds were reflecting pink.
And now its time to go to California Pizza Kitchen. Stay tuned for Bryce and Zion blogs later :)
After Sedona we went to Grand Canyon. We arrived right before sunset so after setting up our campsite we went to see the Canyon. You can see all the pictures you want of that place and you will never grasp how huge it is until you get there. My mom's word for describing it is probably the best - dizzying. It is pretty overwhelming looking over the edge at first. The campground there was fantastic. My dad has camped a lot and said that may be his favorite campground ever. You could see the Milky Way at night, our spot was huge and there were plenty of trees around so we had a good amount of shade when it was warm enough that we needed it. There were also these humongous ravens flying around the area that were literally about up to my knee. I'm used to having to make sure you put all of your food away to keep the bears away on the east coast, so it's nice only having to worry about some birds (of course these birds would also probably be able to destroy us).
We hiked down Bright Angel Trail a little, which essentially zig-zags down the canyon from where all of the lodges are. The Park doesn't allow dogs to hike below the rim, so my dad and Connor stayed up at the lodges and had some coffee and such. It takes about 5 1/2 hours to hike down or up the entire trail, which dead ends at Phantom Lodge so people can stay the night because it is very dangerous/deadly to go up and down in one day. We only went down for about 20 minutes or so because they warn you that it is twice as hard to come back as it is to get down. They were right on because it took us the next 40 minutes to get back up. One day I would like to hike all the way down to the Lodge (they serve a family size dinner and have bunk beds and everything so it just seems like a great concept, plus you're at the Colorado River essentially), but we weren't prepared to do that long of a hike at all. There are signs all over the place saying how dangerous the hikes out there are, even if you don't try to go up and down in one day, so it makes you pretty weary of doing too much. Well, it makes normal people weary, Zach thinks he can defy the odds. There were even signs about a girl who was 24 or so, had run the Boston Marathon and was in Med School, yet she went on a hike where she didn't realize how long it was and wasn't fully prepared food/water wise and died. Pretty sobering.
One of the really cool parts of that national park was all of the elk just walking around. In Maine I'm used to seeing Moose Crossing signs, but you never actually see a moose. Well we saw elk probably 5 separate times - once in our campground and twice the elk was RIGHT next to my car. The second time an elk came right next to my car was actually kind of scary, because he walked straight towards my car, staring at me while I took his picture, and he had huge antlers. But it was definitely more awesome than scary.
The ride out of Grand Canyon was pretty incredible. We stopped at other overlooks which looked fairly different than the part of the canyon we had camped at. The colors change a little and there were more trees. There was also an area that had a lookout tower so that was pretty nice. As you drive towards Utah you go through an Indian Reservation so there are a lot of little places on the side of the street where people are trying to sell jewelry and pottery and stuff. The mountains and ridges on the side of the road were beautiful, and sometimes the entire area would be pink so the clouds were reflecting pink.
And now its time to go to California Pizza Kitchen. Stay tuned for Bryce and Zion blogs later :)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
I've Fallen in Love
Just a random side note, on the way to Sedona, we drove along the Mexican border for hours. Its crazy how close the border is to the highway, and its also weird going through checkpoints where they ask you if you are a citizen, or seeing highway signs that have a US town with an arrow pointing one way and a Mexican town with an arrow pointing the other way. Definitely a fun part of the experience, and since we didn't get to go through Roswell or Albuquerque (to save time and money? not my choice..) this was definitely a good trade-off.
Anyways.. Talk about BEAUTIFUL! Sedona is it.
I used to say I had two favorite places in the US - Bar Harbor, Maine (and a lot of areas around it) and Santa Barbara, CA. Well, now I have three. I went there expecting just to see amazing scenery, but found a town that had incredible shopping and even more to offer than I expected. The red rocks can't be described. Pictures don't do them justice (same with the Grand Canyon). Every time you move your head it seems like you've found a better view or angle.
We planned on camping here but when we arrived we found out it had been pouring the two days before and that there was a chance of rain that night. In this area flash floods are a real concern so we just didn't want to risk it. The weather was nice (but we did get to hear thunder echo off the rocks) but I'm still very glad we stayed in a hotel. Usually I think it is a waste of money, but this hotel had a great location at the top of a mountain with incredible views. More importantly, within an hour of checking in we saw two tarantulas and a squished rattlesnake within walking distance of the hotel. If I saw those and had to sleep in a tent.. I would have freaked out, and let's not get started on what my mom's response would have been.
I would try to explain how gorgeous the views were, but it's really just pointless. There is no way to do it justice. The first evening we were there it stayed pretty cool so our hikes were very pleasant. The next morning we woke up and went to hike Bell Rock and Cathedral Butte. I almost wore pants and a sweater because the morning was so cool and then I ended up dying of heat in shorts and a tank top - it got REALLY hot. The dog was dying but Zach and Connor were able to run up Bell Rock and see some great views from (almost) the top. I went up pretty high, but felt bad leaving the dog with my parents, plus I think I felt a lot better not on the edge of a huge rock.
After that hike we went back to hang out the hotel and enjoyed the pool for a while. I didn't plan on going all the way in, but Zach gave me no choice (shocker). Since then my hair has been curly because I've been too lazy to straighten it. We went back to do some shopping after that because we were all way too tired to hike anymore. When we first arrived in Sedona we went to this place called Tlaquepaque (T-Lackey-Packey) which had AMAZING shops and the most beautiful layout. The shops all had really artistic and unique things in them, and I wanted to buy everything. I knew there were a lot of other nice shops in town so I decided to see what the rest of the places had before buying anything, and we ended up never going back so I only got one thing! My only disappointment in this trip so far.. After the pool we went to the shops downtown instead, which were pretty tacky and touristy. By the time we tried going back to Tlaquepaque the shops were all closed - they closed at 5. Super lame. But, I will one day name a cat Tlaquepaque because it is SO fun to say.
The next morning we went on another hike, which was completely different than hiking Bell Rock. It was about 7:30 AM when we got there and mostly in the shade so I was cold most of the time. It was a lot more wooded than Bell Rock, but the end had this incredible rock that Zach climbed and almost got stuck on.
We ate at two places twice - Wildflower Bread Company and NY Bagels and Deli (or something). Both were really good. Wildflower had a great patio with an amazing view and the people that worked there loved the dog. They would bring him water and came out to take pictures with him. Their food was really unique, but along the lines of Panera.
Zach's rushing me - I'll finish later. (and food is on the grill...)
Anyways.. Talk about BEAUTIFUL! Sedona is it.
I used to say I had two favorite places in the US - Bar Harbor, Maine (and a lot of areas around it) and Santa Barbara, CA. Well, now I have three. I went there expecting just to see amazing scenery, but found a town that had incredible shopping and even more to offer than I expected. The red rocks can't be described. Pictures don't do them justice (same with the Grand Canyon). Every time you move your head it seems like you've found a better view or angle.
We planned on camping here but when we arrived we found out it had been pouring the two days before and that there was a chance of rain that night. In this area flash floods are a real concern so we just didn't want to risk it. The weather was nice (but we did get to hear thunder echo off the rocks) but I'm still very glad we stayed in a hotel. Usually I think it is a waste of money, but this hotel had a great location at the top of a mountain with incredible views. More importantly, within an hour of checking in we saw two tarantulas and a squished rattlesnake within walking distance of the hotel. If I saw those and had to sleep in a tent.. I would have freaked out, and let's not get started on what my mom's response would have been.
I would try to explain how gorgeous the views were, but it's really just pointless. There is no way to do it justice. The first evening we were there it stayed pretty cool so our hikes were very pleasant. The next morning we woke up and went to hike Bell Rock and Cathedral Butte. I almost wore pants and a sweater because the morning was so cool and then I ended up dying of heat in shorts and a tank top - it got REALLY hot. The dog was dying but Zach and Connor were able to run up Bell Rock and see some great views from (almost) the top. I went up pretty high, but felt bad leaving the dog with my parents, plus I think I felt a lot better not on the edge of a huge rock.
After that hike we went back to hang out the hotel and enjoyed the pool for a while. I didn't plan on going all the way in, but Zach gave me no choice (shocker). Since then my hair has been curly because I've been too lazy to straighten it. We went back to do some shopping after that because we were all way too tired to hike anymore. When we first arrived in Sedona we went to this place called Tlaquepaque (T-Lackey-Packey) which had AMAZING shops and the most beautiful layout. The shops all had really artistic and unique things in them, and I wanted to buy everything. I knew there were a lot of other nice shops in town so I decided to see what the rest of the places had before buying anything, and we ended up never going back so I only got one thing! My only disappointment in this trip so far.. After the pool we went to the shops downtown instead, which were pretty tacky and touristy. By the time we tried going back to Tlaquepaque the shops were all closed - they closed at 5. Super lame. But, I will one day name a cat Tlaquepaque because it is SO fun to say.
The next morning we went on another hike, which was completely different than hiking Bell Rock. It was about 7:30 AM when we got there and mostly in the shade so I was cold most of the time. It was a lot more wooded than Bell Rock, but the end had this incredible rock that Zach climbed and almost got stuck on.
We ate at two places twice - Wildflower Bread Company and NY Bagels and Deli (or something). Both were really good. Wildflower had a great patio with an amazing view and the people that worked there loved the dog. They would bring him water and came out to take pictures with him. Their food was really unique, but along the lines of Panera.
Zach's rushing me - I'll finish later. (and food is on the grill...)
So, Texas is Huge
I haven't had internet in quite so time so even though I'm currently sitting in the Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon, I'm going to do this Texas blog and then the Arizona blog separately.
Austin was supposed to be our first major stop, but obviously New Orleans replaced it in the final weeks before the trip. Surprisingly I liked New Orleans more than Austin, I think. Austin was a nice city to live in (if it weren't in the middle of Texas), but New Orleans was more fun to visit as a tourist. However, I still really liked Austin and I'm very glad we went.
One of the best parts of Austin was how it felt like a small town, just with a lot of fun restaurants and parks to visit. They have off-leash dog parks which makes any city awesome. Unfortunately we didn't trust Kaos enough to take him off his leash, especially since it was a place he didn't know and there were dogs (and statues that he found terrifying) everywhere. There were also little parks throughout the city streets that made for nice resting spots because it was ridiculously hot. I think the first week of our trip saw 100 degrees everyday.
Austin has the largest urban population of bats in North America so we went to watch them come out from Congress Street Bridge at night. We got a picnic at the first Whole Foods ever, which was fun, and waited for the bats. Apparently they were coming out later than normal because of the heat, so we were way early, and we went back to our room for a little while to finish waiting. We got back to find a huge crowd. The bats didn't come out til it was pretty dark, so it wasn't as impressive as it usually is unfortunately. That's not to say it wasn't entertaining - half way through the wait a little boy went up to the fence in front of the entire crowd and started peeing on it. Everyone was already watching and applauding (he had no idea it was for him) and he proceeded to try and go #2 on the fence. At that point his dad ran over and grabbed him, so everyone started clapping for him too. It was so priceless.
The best part of Texas was definitely the BBQ. In Austin we ate at a place called "Iron Works BBQ," which was very laid back just like the city. You went up to essentially a cafeteria window and said what you wanted, they gave it to you, you went to an ice bucket to grab your drink and opened it right there since they were all glass bottles (the beers and soda) and then you went to check out. The seating was also awesome, we sat on a back patio that overlooked a little creek and had bamboo growing around it. On the way out of Austin we stopped at a place called "Salt Lick BBQ" which was in Driftwood, Texas. This was definitely one of my favorite stops in Texas, and I'm not as obsessed with BBQ as the guys in our group are. You have to go on some little back road to get there because it's about 30 minutes outside of Austin, so on the way you get to see the real Texas - ranches and such. The drive was gorgeous and then you pull into this restaurant that has literally nothing but other ranches around it. You park in one of the several huge parking lots, which are essentially fields so they look nice, and basically just show you how packed it gets there. The restaurant is laid out in several buildings, all of which are one story and made out of stone and covered in trees or other plants. It had a real Australian Outback feel. My mom and I sat outside because of the dog so we got to watch a helicopter land so three people could come grab some lunch. You know, the usual. The boys sat inside because that was the only place you could order the all-you-can-eat deal. Inside the part of the restaurant they sat in you could see where they made their own sausage. It was just hanging from the ceiling near the cash register. Very cool. Once I have more time I'll add that picture. It was beyond delicious and just an incredible experience.
San Antonio was our next stop and was just as hot as Austin. We were staying in a KOA Kabin there, which fortunately had air conditioning. It was super cute, but the beds were very uncomfortable and I hardly slept. On the way into San Antonio we visited San Jose (or Juan?) Mission which was gorgeous and the highlight of that town. Because we took so long at Salt Lick (well worth it) we only got to see one mission, but we definitely saw the best one. It was huge and very detailed. There was a wedding taking place while we were there which was interesting. The brides maids dresses were very cute. The inside of the church, however, was pretty boring. We stayed there for at least an hour despite the incredible heat, so that tells you just how nice it was.
We went to the Riverwalk for dinner, which was a very unique downtown area. All of the restaurants and some shops line the river, which has nice sidewalks and bridges going along it. By river, its really more of a dirty waterway that comes from the river, but still.. the effect is nice. The restaurant we ate at wasn't exactly delicious, but it was the perfect Riverwalk experience. We were out on the sidewalk with all of the people walking by. The Dallas Cowboys (vomit) were in town for the week for training camp or something, so the place was packed. About 50% of the people were in Cowboys jerseys and 100% of them were incredibly unfortunate looking. People in Texas (and Arizona..) are really ugly. Like, really really UGLY.
While walking along the Riverwalk we went into the Hyatt, which had glass elevators. As we were in the lobby my mom turned just in time to see some chick lifting her skirt to moon us (we were the only ones there to see it, unfortunately). The rest of us were incredibly disappointed we missed it, but once her friends pointed out that people had actually seen and she turned around humiliated, we all waved and were cracking up. It was awesome.
Austin was supposed to be our first major stop, but obviously New Orleans replaced it in the final weeks before the trip. Surprisingly I liked New Orleans more than Austin, I think. Austin was a nice city to live in (if it weren't in the middle of Texas), but New Orleans was more fun to visit as a tourist. However, I still really liked Austin and I'm very glad we went.
One of the best parts of Austin was how it felt like a small town, just with a lot of fun restaurants and parks to visit. They have off-leash dog parks which makes any city awesome. Unfortunately we didn't trust Kaos enough to take him off his leash, especially since it was a place he didn't know and there were dogs (and statues that he found terrifying) everywhere. There were also little parks throughout the city streets that made for nice resting spots because it was ridiculously hot. I think the first week of our trip saw 100 degrees everyday.
Austin has the largest urban population of bats in North America so we went to watch them come out from Congress Street Bridge at night. We got a picnic at the first Whole Foods ever, which was fun, and waited for the bats. Apparently they were coming out later than normal because of the heat, so we were way early, and we went back to our room for a little while to finish waiting. We got back to find a huge crowd. The bats didn't come out til it was pretty dark, so it wasn't as impressive as it usually is unfortunately. That's not to say it wasn't entertaining - half way through the wait a little boy went up to the fence in front of the entire crowd and started peeing on it. Everyone was already watching and applauding (he had no idea it was for him) and he proceeded to try and go #2 on the fence. At that point his dad ran over and grabbed him, so everyone started clapping for him too. It was so priceless.
The best part of Texas was definitely the BBQ. In Austin we ate at a place called "Iron Works BBQ," which was very laid back just like the city. You went up to essentially a cafeteria window and said what you wanted, they gave it to you, you went to an ice bucket to grab your drink and opened it right there since they were all glass bottles (the beers and soda) and then you went to check out. The seating was also awesome, we sat on a back patio that overlooked a little creek and had bamboo growing around it. On the way out of Austin we stopped at a place called "Salt Lick BBQ" which was in Driftwood, Texas. This was definitely one of my favorite stops in Texas, and I'm not as obsessed with BBQ as the guys in our group are. You have to go on some little back road to get there because it's about 30 minutes outside of Austin, so on the way you get to see the real Texas - ranches and such. The drive was gorgeous and then you pull into this restaurant that has literally nothing but other ranches around it. You park in one of the several huge parking lots, which are essentially fields so they look nice, and basically just show you how packed it gets there. The restaurant is laid out in several buildings, all of which are one story and made out of stone and covered in trees or other plants. It had a real Australian Outback feel. My mom and I sat outside because of the dog so we got to watch a helicopter land so three people could come grab some lunch. You know, the usual. The boys sat inside because that was the only place you could order the all-you-can-eat deal. Inside the part of the restaurant they sat in you could see where they made their own sausage. It was just hanging from the ceiling near the cash register. Very cool. Once I have more time I'll add that picture. It was beyond delicious and just an incredible experience.
San Antonio was our next stop and was just as hot as Austin. We were staying in a KOA Kabin there, which fortunately had air conditioning. It was super cute, but the beds were very uncomfortable and I hardly slept. On the way into San Antonio we visited San Jose (or Juan?) Mission which was gorgeous and the highlight of that town. Because we took so long at Salt Lick (well worth it) we only got to see one mission, but we definitely saw the best one. It was huge and very detailed. There was a wedding taking place while we were there which was interesting. The brides maids dresses were very cute. The inside of the church, however, was pretty boring. We stayed there for at least an hour despite the incredible heat, so that tells you just how nice it was.
We went to the Riverwalk for dinner, which was a very unique downtown area. All of the restaurants and some shops line the river, which has nice sidewalks and bridges going along it. By river, its really more of a dirty waterway that comes from the river, but still.. the effect is nice. The restaurant we ate at wasn't exactly delicious, but it was the perfect Riverwalk experience. We were out on the sidewalk with all of the people walking by. The Dallas Cowboys (vomit) were in town for the week for training camp or something, so the place was packed. About 50% of the people were in Cowboys jerseys and 100% of them were incredibly unfortunate looking. People in Texas (and Arizona..) are really ugly. Like, really really UGLY.
While walking along the Riverwalk we went into the Hyatt, which had glass elevators. As we were in the lobby my mom turned just in time to see some chick lifting her skirt to moon us (we were the only ones there to see it, unfortunately). The rest of us were incredibly disappointed we missed it, but once her friends pointed out that people had actually seen and she turned around humiliated, we all waved and were cracking up. It was awesome.
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