Roadtrip
Took a roadtrip to a friend's wedding in Jamez Springs, New Mexico (the 49th richest state in the US).
There were 3 of us. First we took about 6 hours to get to Phoenix, Arizona. We stopped at the center of the city, and there wasn't much there. Some restaurants, monuments...nothing really special. It was also 119 degrees...HOT! We ate at a Tom's Tavern. I had a really good turkey sandwich on rye bread. The bread was so soft and chewy.
Then we went to Scottsdale, Arizona to Fashion Square. It this huge mall with all kinds of shops. They have the department stores, as well as those upper class ones (LV, Coach, etc), and some regular ones like Clair's. I normally would never walk into some of those shops, but one of my friends normally shops in them. So I got to see what it was like, though I couldn't afford a thing. Those stores have a lot of space, and when we walk inside, people would greet us and ask if we need any help. Not a lot of minorities at this place. I like some of the stuff, but none of it is necessary, and I feel I'm not missing out on much.
We stayed at a hotel called 3 Palms. It was so luxurious. They had big soft beds, with sheets, a woven blanket, and a down comforter. Oh, it was like sleeping on a cloud! They had a pool and jacuzzi, so Joanna taught me how to swim frogie style. She's a good teacher, she'll give me details and she's encouraging. I felt my abs burn when I was swimming, so I'll do more of that. In the bathroom, they folded the toilet paper into a triangle (just like what Monica on Friends does). It came with alarm radio, coffee/tea maker, hair dryer, safe, TV, wireless internet, iron board, and an iron. I wish I had more time to just relax there.
The next day we left early in the morning for New Mexico. New Mexico has a different time zone, so we had to leave early to make up for that. Took some whiny mountain road that was supposed to be scenic, but the scene was a bit ugly. Desert with cactus, yellowish scene. The winding road made me a bit sick. We stopped at a Chinese buffet place to use their restroom. We felt bad using their facilities, so we bought some food to go. Their food was sick... that was when I missed LA... LA has such a nice variety of delicious food. We tried to make the car ride better by playing word games. Then we tried to take pictures of signs on the road, like "Welcome to New Mexico" and "speed limit 75."
It took 8 hours of driving. We passed by many Indian centers, and stores that sell Indian made things. I wish we could of made a stop. As usual, we were rushed. I wanted to buy some Indian jewelry and get souvenirs for my brothers and friends. *sigh*...
We made a stop in Albuquerque, but only at a Mexican fast food place to use their restroom. The rest of the way to Jamez Springs, we were trying to figure out which mountain we were heading towards, and it turned out we were between mountains. Going up and between mountains makes me car sick because of the winding roads.
When we finally got there (the Bodhi Manda Center), Carrie (the bride) and her mom greeted us and help carry our luggage. I'm so glad they did, because my luggage was HEAVY! Also because my back had been acting up, and I try to relax, but it was just very tense. Anyway, it turned out we weren't camping (as we had planned), but we were staying at a bungalow (or dorm). There were 7 beds...so we each got a whole bunk. Not that we could sleep on a whole bunk, but it was nice to have all the space. There was no air conditioning, and it was a bit ghetto, but I liked it. We had to share a community shower and deal with bugs, but I figure this is the closest experience I'll ever get to college dorming. And it was nice because my roomates were so cool! They taught me how to do makeup, use tampons, and we had a lot of fun. Plus, right outside the back of our room is the natural hot springs!!!!
Keep in mind that every good thing at the center is paired with something ghetto. So I had been waiting SO LONG to experience a hot spring. We get in, and I feel something slimy and icky...it's algae! Eww...gross! However, I got used to the slime, and enjoyed the hot springs.
The food at the center was all freshly made from scratch. They even made their own butter and beer. They have the best tasting butter, it's orange honey butter... the only butter I've ever allowed myself to eat. And for one breakfast there was freshly baked scones; mmmm the center was so soft and warm. So here comes the ghetto part. We have to wash our own dishes (which I thought was okay), but without soap. So we put water in our bowl, we and use our finger to swirl it around, then pour the dirty water in a bin (with other ppl's dirty water) and then wipe the bowl and save it with our name to be reused. The really gross part, the part that made me want to puke, is that the bins of dirty water were right next to the food. So I'll be eating great food, and then I feel like puking it all. I like their sopapillas, mmm so good.
I'll have to continue this later:
Wedding, marambas, Jewish
Mom
Monk
Ride home, signs, gas station, sand wind
There were 3 of us. First we took about 6 hours to get to Phoenix, Arizona. We stopped at the center of the city, and there wasn't much there. Some restaurants, monuments...nothing really special. It was also 119 degrees...HOT! We ate at a Tom's Tavern. I had a really good turkey sandwich on rye bread. The bread was so soft and chewy.
Then we went to Scottsdale, Arizona to Fashion Square. It this huge mall with all kinds of shops. They have the department stores, as well as those upper class ones (LV, Coach, etc), and some regular ones like Clair's. I normally would never walk into some of those shops, but one of my friends normally shops in them. So I got to see what it was like, though I couldn't afford a thing. Those stores have a lot of space, and when we walk inside, people would greet us and ask if we need any help. Not a lot of minorities at this place. I like some of the stuff, but none of it is necessary, and I feel I'm not missing out on much.
We stayed at a hotel called 3 Palms. It was so luxurious. They had big soft beds, with sheets, a woven blanket, and a down comforter. Oh, it was like sleeping on a cloud! They had a pool and jacuzzi, so Joanna taught me how to swim frogie style. She's a good teacher, she'll give me details and she's encouraging. I felt my abs burn when I was swimming, so I'll do more of that. In the bathroom, they folded the toilet paper into a triangle (just like what Monica on Friends does). It came with alarm radio, coffee/tea maker, hair dryer, safe, TV, wireless internet, iron board, and an iron. I wish I had more time to just relax there.
The next day we left early in the morning for New Mexico. New Mexico has a different time zone, so we had to leave early to make up for that. Took some whiny mountain road that was supposed to be scenic, but the scene was a bit ugly. Desert with cactus, yellowish scene. The winding road made me a bit sick. We stopped at a Chinese buffet place to use their restroom. We felt bad using their facilities, so we bought some food to go. Their food was sick... that was when I missed LA... LA has such a nice variety of delicious food. We tried to make the car ride better by playing word games. Then we tried to take pictures of signs on the road, like "Welcome to New Mexico" and "speed limit 75."
It took 8 hours of driving. We passed by many Indian centers, and stores that sell Indian made things. I wish we could of made a stop. As usual, we were rushed. I wanted to buy some Indian jewelry and get souvenirs for my brothers and friends. *sigh*...
We made a stop in Albuquerque, but only at a Mexican fast food place to use their restroom. The rest of the way to Jamez Springs, we were trying to figure out which mountain we were heading towards, and it turned out we were between mountains. Going up and between mountains makes me car sick because of the winding roads.
When we finally got there (the Bodhi Manda Center), Carrie (the bride) and her mom greeted us and help carry our luggage. I'm so glad they did, because my luggage was HEAVY! Also because my back had been acting up, and I try to relax, but it was just very tense. Anyway, it turned out we weren't camping (as we had planned), but we were staying at a bungalow (or dorm). There were 7 beds...so we each got a whole bunk. Not that we could sleep on a whole bunk, but it was nice to have all the space. There was no air conditioning, and it was a bit ghetto, but I liked it. We had to share a community shower and deal with bugs, but I figure this is the closest experience I'll ever get to college dorming. And it was nice because my roomates were so cool! They taught me how to do makeup, use tampons, and we had a lot of fun. Plus, right outside the back of our room is the natural hot springs!!!!
Keep in mind that every good thing at the center is paired with something ghetto. So I had been waiting SO LONG to experience a hot spring. We get in, and I feel something slimy and icky...it's algae! Eww...gross! However, I got used to the slime, and enjoyed the hot springs.
The food at the center was all freshly made from scratch. They even made their own butter and beer. They have the best tasting butter, it's orange honey butter... the only butter I've ever allowed myself to eat. And for one breakfast there was freshly baked scones; mmmm the center was so soft and warm. So here comes the ghetto part. We have to wash our own dishes (which I thought was okay), but without soap. So we put water in our bowl, we and use our finger to swirl it around, then pour the dirty water in a bin (with other ppl's dirty water) and then wipe the bowl and save it with our name to be reused. The really gross part, the part that made me want to puke, is that the bins of dirty water were right next to the food. So I'll be eating great food, and then I feel like puking it all. I like their sopapillas, mmm so good.
I'll have to continue this later:
Wedding, marambas, Jewish
Mom
Monk
Ride home, signs, gas station, sand wind