(no subject)
I'm back.
Donna sucks. :(
Yes, I know this is a public entry.
Honestly, I don't know where to start. Or even how to write this thing.
I was thinking about doing this while we were driving. I'm just going to go by state, since I went through lots of the states. Overall, it was an awesome trip. We travelled almost 10000 kilometers, which is 6000 ish miles. Americans are very nice, but the ones we visited seemed very opinionated. o_O. I got 80+ pictures, but I won't share them all.
Here's a little conversation:
My Mum: "Where do you like to travel?"
My friend in IL: "Anywhere where they speak english. Ugh. And the british accent bugs the hell out of me. And I can't understand any other languages."
Good luck, girlie.
And yes, I know my pictures suck. I had to take many of them from the car window. >.> The pictures are good quality. I was too lazy to resize them, so I put them in thumbnail format.
Michigan
- I've been here many times before, so it's no new thing to me. We stayed at my aunt's, which was boring as hell. But you gotta hand it to her. She's 88 years old and still living on her own in the middle of the country, still managing some vegetables and such. They used to grow melons. She has grandchildren. Though after we went to bed, we opened our door because it was hot. Bad idea. She tends to *loudly* sing hyms in her sleep. :| I woke up from a pleasant dream hearing "PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD." :"( No joke, I swear. I didn't have the best of sleeps. That's for sure. Mum said we should call her on our way back from Nevada, but I told her I'd rather see Ohio. :"( She let me.
On the way home, we also went through Detroit... At 6:00 AM, anyway. Not the greatest. Mum said it was good that it was dark, because she didn't like seeing the poverty. We didn't go under the water, because apparently it smelled worse. I was asleep until we crossed the bridge into Canada. Who wouldn't be? We went for a nap at 12 at a rest stop, woke up at 4 and then crossed the bridge at 6. I got home around 9:45 AM.
Illinois
- Nice state, but I think I fell asleep watching the corn. It's endless! Chicago was a mess, and we just wound up in a "darker" suburb >.>. We got out of it quickly. Mum needed a bathroom, so we had to walk around for a little, trying to find one. Sure, I felt safe. We stayed with our friends in Southern IL for a week, in total. We did lots of shopping. I mean, lots. They can't leave the stores without spending at least $50, I'm sure. She has 75 pairs of shoes, I'm sure... What's a 76th going to do? And jeans. Holy shit. Her counter was covered, I mean literally covered in body products. :| Who needs that much stuff? I had a hard time deciding whether her brother (13) was flirting with me, or was playing around. *shrug* A relationship? With an American? For a week? Puh-leeze. :| It was only a week. Only.
My favorite conversation:
Boy: "Girls like to think that they have more than they really do. It's a known fact." (In reference to his sister's *large* breasts)
His mother: "Yeah, and so do guys." (In reference to his penis)
:"( I laughed so hard.
On the way back, we went shopping for another day in Carbondale, then went to their boat and swam in the lake. The water was 85 degrees. I got burned badly. :'| Then, just as we were going to leave, our car didn't start. Turns out the battery was leaking and dead. :"( Thank God for warranties. Waiting around a car dealer's lounge is not fun. We finally left, and got home the next morning, through Michigan.
Missouri
- I actually thought this state was pretty. Though I'm not too sure about the wealth issue. This is where the first sex store was, and immidiately following it: "Pornography breaks up families." and right over it was a large cross. :| That's the only thing I can remember about the state. Oh, and the Mississippi was kind of cool. Heh. The Ozarks reminded me of Virginia, of all places.
Oklahoma
- Interesting state. Er... Could someone explain to me the following highway signs?
"Do Not Drive Into Smoke" (Well, erm, duh?)
"SMOKE" (So you pull out your pack of cigs and light up? Or better yet, light up a joint?)
"Keep Our Land Grand" (As in, don't litter? But it didn't say that anywhere on the sign.)
"Drive Friendly" (Isn't that what you should always do?)
And DAMN those parkways. o_o Why can't you just pay once and never again? I think we ended up paying $10 before we realized we shouldn't have been there. Shit. We eventually found a hotel.
It all ended with a beautiful sunset.
Sunset - On the turnpike
- It took me forever to get it right, so the picture kind of sucks.
Texas
- We only drove across the panhandle. Interesting landscape. Including the 3 dead armadillos we saw at the side of the road. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but I took 2 pictures from the visitor's centre around the border. We went shopping in Amarillo. It's... interesting to see cowboys walking through the local Target. :"(
Texas Visitors Centre - Near Amarillo, TX
- I was feeling artsy.
Texas Visitors Centre - Near Amarillo, TX
- The landscape was just starting to change.
Farmland - Outside of Amarillo, TX
- I was just facinated by the visibility. I mean, there was absolutely nothing but flat farms for miles.
New Mexico
- Beautiful state. Especially Santa Fe. We saw our first fellow Ontarian here. :'D. I got a pair of earrings with some kind of stone on them. Blue lapis? I'm not a rock lady. They're pretty, anyway. We stayed overnight in Albuquerque, after getting lost several times. Big enough city.
Church - Santa Fe, NM
- I wasn't used to seeing everything in adobe style. o_O Kind of neat.
Mountains - New Mexico
- Random shots from the car window.
Arizona
- We went to 2 national parks here. The Grand Canyon was nice, but slightly packed. We stayed overnight the first night in Flagstaff, and the second in Williams. We also went to the petrified forest for the afternoon. Not much there, IMO.
Petrified Forest National Park - Near Holbrook, AZ
- Not much to see, really. A bunch of pieces of petrified wood are on the floor, but it looks like they were put there intentionally. Even if they didn't. A bit commercial.
...
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
- I didn't record the points. :x If you want to see more rocks, IM me.
Pool Sign - Williams, Arizona
- I thought the third point was cute. :"(
Nevada
- We went to Vegas and saw the Hoover Dam, but my camera died just as I got out of my car. Yeah. Pretty sweet. :( We went onto Vegas in the evening, and stayed at the largest Motel 6 in America. :| See, we stayed in a Motel 6 every night we were on the road except for 3 because they were either booked, or it was pointless to get a hotel so close to home. We walked around for 2 hours, down the strip. I noticed people being commissioned to sell cards with whores on them. :\ Pimping? I feel so stupid. But anyway, we had fun.
Signs - Las Vegas, Nevada
- 10:30 PM and 35 C. :|
Utah
- We went to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Arches (*cough*) National Park.
Zion National Park - Inbetween St.George and Cedar City, UT
- So the story behind this beautiful place, is that we originally wanted to find a place called weeping rock, that was maybe 100 yards from the trailhead. Well, we took a wrong turn and ended up here. We talked to some people and asked them where it was, and they looked at us blankly and said "You're on the wrong trail." Since we were only 30 mins to the top, we kept going. We were nearly there, until we heard booms of thunder. We still went on. Just as we reached this hidden cavern, after hanging onto the chains for dear life, it started to rain. There was one point, where you had a steep sloping rock and only an old chain, bolted into the rock to hold onto. It was well worth it. We made it to the bottom quickly, while it poured and thundered. By the way, the second last picture is the final point in the trail (Excuse the darkness, I didn't have long).
...
Bryce Canyon National Park - Not far from Zion National Park
- This park was a huge letdown. It was interesting for 10 mins, then nothing. We walked for 3 hours, just along the rim, and didn't see much of anything, really. It was really commercial, in my opinion. Oh well. You decide what you think they look like. :P
...
Arches National Park - Near Moab, UT
- This did start out as a letdown park. Until we took the guided tour around this gorgeous area, and climbed through narrow caverns and such. This had to be one of my favorite parks. If you feel stupid, thinking that those formations look like large penises, you're not alone. In fact, we heard numerous people talking about them. Overall, it was a neat park.
Colorado
- Denver was pretty cool. We ate Japanese that night. The next morning, I had a Starbucks Green Tea Frappuchino. It's wonderful. We stayed in yet another Motel 6 (Yay.)
Rocky Mountain National Park - Near Denver, CO
- This park was a huge disappointment... Hands down. Compared to Banff and Jasper National Parks, it's ugly and touristy. I guess I'm just used to the Canadian rockies, but I swear. A few Elk were grazing by the side of the road, and not one car stopped, but the whole line does, from first sight of the Elk as you turned the corner. And you know what pissed me off even more? There were 20 motorcyclists, going up and down the mountains and smoking cigarettes. It was so dirty and disgusting. Then we went into the visitors centre, and saw how "pristine and beautiful" it was on camera. It sure is when you have bikers in front of you and polluting the environment. If they really wanted to keep it beautiful, they should have let cars and only cars through the park. Ugh. [/rant]
So... Yeah. Please comment (Even if you're not an LJ member) and make me happy for writing so much (Almost 2000 words). :)
Donna sucks. :(
Yes, I know this is a public entry.
Honestly, I don't know where to start. Or even how to write this thing.
I was thinking about doing this while we were driving. I'm just going to go by state, since I went through lots of the states. Overall, it was an awesome trip. We travelled almost 10000 kilometers, which is 6000 ish miles. Americans are very nice, but the ones we visited seemed very opinionated. o_O. I got 80+ pictures, but I won't share them all.
Here's a little conversation:
My Mum: "Where do you like to travel?"
My friend in IL: "Anywhere where they speak english. Ugh. And the british accent bugs the hell out of me. And I can't understand any other languages."
Good luck, girlie.
And yes, I know my pictures suck. I had to take many of them from the car window. >.> The pictures are good quality. I was too lazy to resize them, so I put them in thumbnail format.
Michigan
- I've been here many times before, so it's no new thing to me. We stayed at my aunt's, which was boring as hell. But you gotta hand it to her. She's 88 years old and still living on her own in the middle of the country, still managing some vegetables and such. They used to grow melons. She has grandchildren. Though after we went to bed, we opened our door because it was hot. Bad idea. She tends to *loudly* sing hyms in her sleep. :| I woke up from a pleasant dream hearing "PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD." :"( No joke, I swear. I didn't have the best of sleeps. That's for sure. Mum said we should call her on our way back from Nevada, but I told her I'd rather see Ohio. :"( She let me.
On the way home, we also went through Detroit... At 6:00 AM, anyway. Not the greatest. Mum said it was good that it was dark, because she didn't like seeing the poverty. We didn't go under the water, because apparently it smelled worse. I was asleep until we crossed the bridge into Canada. Who wouldn't be? We went for a nap at 12 at a rest stop, woke up at 4 and then crossed the bridge at 6. I got home around 9:45 AM.
Illinois
- Nice state, but I think I fell asleep watching the corn. It's endless! Chicago was a mess, and we just wound up in a "darker" suburb >.>. We got out of it quickly. Mum needed a bathroom, so we had to walk around for a little, trying to find one. Sure, I felt safe. We stayed with our friends in Southern IL for a week, in total. We did lots of shopping. I mean, lots. They can't leave the stores without spending at least $50, I'm sure. She has 75 pairs of shoes, I'm sure... What's a 76th going to do? And jeans. Holy shit. Her counter was covered, I mean literally covered in body products. :| Who needs that much stuff? I had a hard time deciding whether her brother (13) was flirting with me, or was playing around. *shrug* A relationship? With an American? For a week? Puh-leeze. :| It was only a week. Only.
My favorite conversation:
Boy: "Girls like to think that they have more than they really do. It's a known fact." (In reference to his sister's *large* breasts)
His mother: "Yeah, and so do guys." (In reference to his penis)
:"( I laughed so hard.
On the way back, we went shopping for another day in Carbondale, then went to their boat and swam in the lake. The water was 85 degrees. I got burned badly. :'| Then, just as we were going to leave, our car didn't start. Turns out the battery was leaking and dead. :"( Thank God for warranties. Waiting around a car dealer's lounge is not fun. We finally left, and got home the next morning, through Michigan.
Missouri
- I actually thought this state was pretty. Though I'm not too sure about the wealth issue. This is where the first sex store was, and immidiately following it: "Pornography breaks up families." and right over it was a large cross. :| That's the only thing I can remember about the state. Oh, and the Mississippi was kind of cool. Heh. The Ozarks reminded me of Virginia, of all places.
Oklahoma
- Interesting state. Er... Could someone explain to me the following highway signs?
"Do Not Drive Into Smoke" (Well, erm, duh?)
"SMOKE" (So you pull out your pack of cigs and light up? Or better yet, light up a joint?)
"Keep Our Land Grand" (As in, don't litter? But it didn't say that anywhere on the sign.)
"Drive Friendly" (Isn't that what you should always do?)
And DAMN those parkways. o_o Why can't you just pay once and never again? I think we ended up paying $10 before we realized we shouldn't have been there. Shit. We eventually found a hotel.
It all ended with a beautiful sunset.
Sunset - On the turnpike
- It took me forever to get it right, so the picture kind of sucks.
Texas
- We only drove across the panhandle. Interesting landscape. Including the 3 dead armadillos we saw at the side of the road. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but I took 2 pictures from the visitor's centre around the border. We went shopping in Amarillo. It's... interesting to see cowboys walking through the local Target. :"(
Texas Visitors Centre - Near Amarillo, TX
- I was feeling artsy.
Texas Visitors Centre - Near Amarillo, TX
- The landscape was just starting to change.
Farmland - Outside of Amarillo, TX
- I was just facinated by the visibility. I mean, there was absolutely nothing but flat farms for miles.
New Mexico
- Beautiful state. Especially Santa Fe. We saw our first fellow Ontarian here. :'D. I got a pair of earrings with some kind of stone on them. Blue lapis? I'm not a rock lady. They're pretty, anyway. We stayed overnight in Albuquerque, after getting lost several times. Big enough city.
Church - Santa Fe, NM
- I wasn't used to seeing everything in adobe style. o_O Kind of neat.
Mountains - New Mexico
- Random shots from the car window.
Arizona
- We went to 2 national parks here. The Grand Canyon was nice, but slightly packed. We stayed overnight the first night in Flagstaff, and the second in Williams. We also went to the petrified forest for the afternoon. Not much there, IMO.
Petrified Forest National Park - Near Holbrook, AZ
- Not much to see, really. A bunch of pieces of petrified wood are on the floor, but it looks like they were put there intentionally. Even if they didn't. A bit commercial.
...
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
- I didn't record the points. :x If you want to see more rocks, IM me.
Pool Sign - Williams, Arizona
- I thought the third point was cute. :"(
Nevada
- We went to Vegas and saw the Hoover Dam, but my camera died just as I got out of my car. Yeah. Pretty sweet. :( We went onto Vegas in the evening, and stayed at the largest Motel 6 in America. :| See, we stayed in a Motel 6 every night we were on the road except for 3 because they were either booked, or it was pointless to get a hotel so close to home. We walked around for 2 hours, down the strip. I noticed people being commissioned to sell cards with whores on them. :\ Pimping? I feel so stupid. But anyway, we had fun.
Signs - Las Vegas, Nevada
- 10:30 PM and 35 C. :|
Utah
- We went to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Arches (*cough*) National Park.
Zion National Park - Inbetween St.George and Cedar City, UT
- So the story behind this beautiful place, is that we originally wanted to find a place called weeping rock, that was maybe 100 yards from the trailhead. Well, we took a wrong turn and ended up here. We talked to some people and asked them where it was, and they looked at us blankly and said "You're on the wrong trail." Since we were only 30 mins to the top, we kept going. We were nearly there, until we heard booms of thunder. We still went on. Just as we reached this hidden cavern, after hanging onto the chains for dear life, it started to rain. There was one point, where you had a steep sloping rock and only an old chain, bolted into the rock to hold onto. It was well worth it. We made it to the bottom quickly, while it poured and thundered. By the way, the second last picture is the final point in the trail (Excuse the darkness, I didn't have long).
...
Bryce Canyon National Park - Not far from Zion National Park
- This park was a huge letdown. It was interesting for 10 mins, then nothing. We walked for 3 hours, just along the rim, and didn't see much of anything, really. It was really commercial, in my opinion. Oh well. You decide what you think they look like. :P
...
Arches National Park - Near Moab, UT
- This did start out as a letdown park. Until we took the guided tour around this gorgeous area, and climbed through narrow caverns and such. This had to be one of my favorite parks. If you feel stupid, thinking that those formations look like large penises, you're not alone. In fact, we heard numerous people talking about them. Overall, it was a neat park.
Colorado
- Denver was pretty cool. We ate Japanese that night. The next morning, I had a Starbucks Green Tea Frappuchino. It's wonderful. We stayed in yet another Motel 6 (Yay.)
Rocky Mountain National Park - Near Denver, CO
- This park was a huge disappointment... Hands down. Compared to Banff and Jasper National Parks, it's ugly and touristy. I guess I'm just used to the Canadian rockies, but I swear. A few Elk were grazing by the side of the road, and not one car stopped, but the whole line does, from first sight of the Elk as you turned the corner. And you know what pissed me off even more? There were 20 motorcyclists, going up and down the mountains and smoking cigarettes. It was so dirty and disgusting. Then we went into the visitors centre, and saw how "pristine and beautiful" it was on camera. It sure is when you have bikers in front of you and polluting the environment. If they really wanted to keep it beautiful, they should have let cars and only cars through the park. Ugh. [/rant]
So... Yeah. Please comment (Even if you're not an LJ member) and make me happy for writing so much (Almost 2000 words). :)