Family trips get overrated as you get older...
I'm back from an oh-so-lovely whirlwind family trip to Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite National Park. I have a vague suspicion that my mom threw most of the trip plans together a few days before my sister Andrea and her boyfriend Solomon flew in; half of the trip she and my dad argued a lot about what they were doing and how to drive places.
Reno's basically a very small Las Vegas, minus some of the flashing lights and tourists. We got to stay in a casino, but I'm still two years under the legal gambling age, so I got kicked out of the slot machine area (I was only watching Andrea and Solomon playing!) and went to the arcade. Nothing like playing DDR among a bunch of middle school kids to remind you how you still have a ways to go before being old enough to do the fun-looking stuff.
Lake Tahoe was a very large and cool; my inner-artist loved all the blues and greens of the water. We took a cruise to this bay in the lake; the boat people played a video about Lake Tahoe that was narrated by Leonard Nimoy!! xD http://tahoestore.stores.yahoo.net/stoflatavo1.html
Another reminder of how I'm underaged- Andrea and Solomon shared a marguerita, and even my mom had a bloody mary. I got to drink an Asian juice box.
Yosemite was also very large and very cool- most of the mountains were sheer vertical granite cliffs that were smoothed by glaciers, and there were tons of waterfalls and streams. There were also a lot of meadows; I had an amusing thought about running around and singing songs from "The Sound of Music"...
In between each destination, we drove about 200 miles each day. So it was a lot of time spent in a minivan with my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend. During the time at the destinations, I ended up being a third wheel a lot to Andrea and Solomon. I've determined this in my time w/ them- I've never liked Solomon, and I never will. This next statement might be a bit mean, especially since I know Andrea really likes him, but I really hope that they never get married, because I can't stand the thought being related to him.
Reno's basically a very small Las Vegas, minus some of the flashing lights and tourists. We got to stay in a casino, but I'm still two years under the legal gambling age, so I got kicked out of the slot machine area (I was only watching Andrea and Solomon playing!) and went to the arcade. Nothing like playing DDR among a bunch of middle school kids to remind you how you still have a ways to go before being old enough to do the fun-looking stuff.
Lake Tahoe was a very large and cool; my inner-artist loved all the blues and greens of the water. We took a cruise to this bay in the lake; the boat people played a video about Lake Tahoe that was narrated by Leonard Nimoy!! xD http://tahoestore.stores.yahoo.net/stoflatavo1.html
Another reminder of how I'm underaged- Andrea and Solomon shared a marguerita, and even my mom had a bloody mary. I got to drink an Asian juice box.
Yosemite was also very large and very cool- most of the mountains were sheer vertical granite cliffs that were smoothed by glaciers, and there were tons of waterfalls and streams. There were also a lot of meadows; I had an amusing thought about running around and singing songs from "The Sound of Music"...
In between each destination, we drove about 200 miles each day. So it was a lot of time spent in a minivan with my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend. During the time at the destinations, I ended up being a third wheel a lot to Andrea and Solomon. I've determined this in my time w/ them- I've never liked Solomon, and I never will. This next statement might be a bit mean, especially since I know Andrea really likes him, but I really hope that they never get married, because I can't stand the thought being related to him.