July 28
I forgot to mention the best part of yesterday. As, um…mean?....as it is, I thought it hilarious when Brooke was given Excedrin PM for her headache. She was so loopy and tired. It was great. We laughed so hard. It was good thing that the Canadian guard didn’t ask each of us to speak. Brooke would have been accused of being drunk. She was so funny.
Despite some bad moments for me, I will not explain them and instead focus on what good things happened today.
Today we went to a water fall that I will not attempt to spell because it is just too weird. Anywho, it was fun. It was very peaceful walking alone towards the waterfall. Don’t worry, family was both in front and behind me, but I walked so that I could be by myself. It was really, really nice.
On our way to the hotel, we saw a black bear on the side of the road. Yes, we got a lot of pictures. It was pretty neat seeing the bear so close. It looked like a baby, however there was no mother nearby and Dad said that this bear might be fully grown.
At dinner today, I was social! Yes ladies and gentlemen, I talked to people who were not in our group. They were pretty cool. The family was from England. It was their first time in Canada and they were looking to move here. They had cool accents. Sometimes, one of the boys’ accents sounded a bit Scottish, but that’s fine. They were fun to talk to anyway. We played darts. My cousin Lisa was pretty good, as were the two boys from England, Tommy and Ryan. I on the other hand was not so good. But as I always say, that’s fine.
Once we got to Lake Louise, we took many pictures by the lake. It was interesting because we were basically blocking the view of people eating dinner in the hotel. I guess they enjoyed themselves because later in the evening a lady came up to us and said that she saw us taking pictures while she was eating dinner. She said she enjoyed watching us. After a bunch of picture taking, we listened to the All-American Boys Choir. They were pretty good. The boys ranged from 9 to 14. Man could they sing high. It was a pretty enjoyable evening.
As excited as I am about being here with my cousins, I can’t help but count down the days to when we go to Disneyland. 3 days!
July 29
Today was a good day. We woke up at 8:30 AM, had breakfast, and then hiked up the beehive. It took us 5 hours and 30 minutes to hike round trip. By us I mean Brooke, Dad, and me. Lisa, David, John, Ivana, Randy, Mom, Mary-Jo, Marline, and Joseph hiked longer to a glacier. Mark and Sarah headed back to the chateau sooner than the rest of us. Leilin and Steve didn’t go up the beehive. And the Grandmas stayed at the bottom of the lake for 5 hours. Brooke and I probably would have gone to the glacier had 1) Brooke’s stomach not been feeling bad and 2) my ankle and knees not hurt. However, these unfortunate things happened. I think it was good that we went down a different way though. Had we not, we wouldn’t have gone swimming twice and we would have basically died from exhaustion. Remember, Hillsboro is at basically sea level, while the mountain we climbed was at Timberline Lodge height. So we were allowed to be out of breath and slower than the rest of the pack. Today was very peaceful. I really enjoyed myself. After today, Brooke and I will have the best calves and quads. We’ll jump so high no one will know what happened.
I really enjoy my time with the cousins. They are a neat bunch of kids. We were talking about where to go next year. Brooke and I threw out Disney World, just because we haven’t been as a group for 10 years and we knew that it probably wouldn’t happen anyways. However, all of the kids really wanted to come…..even my cousin Mark and his wife. Of course Sarah (his wife) really likes Disney World as it is…what a coincidence. Mark is pretty determined to fly down and visit my family in Disney World when we go with the dance studio. Of course, he and Sarah will come after the group has left. I hope that all of the kids can come to Disney again. It was so much fun the last time we went as a group. I can’t believe the trip is almost over. Tomorrow we’re hiking around Marine Lake and then canoeing and then we leave. I must admit, the good times definitely outshine the bad. I can’t wait to get together again!
July 30
Today was the last day with the cousins. We went to Moraine Lake. It was really pretty. We took a lot of pictures, as usual. I was almost eaten by a bear. OK, not really. But we started hiking up a trail that we could’ve gotten fined $2,000 if 6 people weren’t hiking in our group. Lucky for us, there were 13 people hiking, so 6 of us hiked for about 20 minutes up and then went back down. It was a smart thing because 1) I hurt still from the previous hike and 2) we were leaving at about 2:30 and we didn’t know when we would get back had we gone with the other group. Instead, once we were off the bear trail, we walked around the lake. Like I said, the lake was really pretty. Much prettier than Lake Louise. It’s surprising that Lake Louise is so much more popular. We ate lunch at the Lodge. It was good. Then we went shopping. Brooke and I bought a coat/sweatshirt each. Then we packed up and left for our next adventure.
We drove to the Tri-Cities. This means we only have about 3 hours until we get home. I can’t wait to see home again.
July 31
Today ended one journey and started another. After getting about 7 hours of sleep, we left our hotel to continue our journey home. Let me tell you, it was a long, long trip. We ended up an hour and a half later than we thought we’d be getting home. The reasons? Well, 1) Dad underestimated the time it took to get from the Ti-Cities to Portland and 2) a freshly made accident blocked all but one lane of the highway. By the time we passed the accident, an ambulance had just arrived. It was pretty bad. A truck had totaled a really small car. As far as we could tell, no one was hurt. Once home, we ate lunch, talked with Courtney and Aunty Bette, picked up Nathan, and dropped off unwanted clothing. Then we left for our trip to Disneyland. We drove for a long, long time. However, we did stop for ice cream at a really good ice cream shop Dad and Mom always stop at when leaving from Shasta. It is in the town of Rice. I highly recommend it. The ice cream was superb.
As of right now, we have about 10 hours to Anaheim. I can’t wait t be in Disneyland!!!!
August 5
The reason I haven't written for a while is because I was enjoying Disneyland with my family. And yes, Disneyland was awesome. I had a great time...well except for the part where I felt really sick on the last day so I went to the hotel to sleep for 2 and a half hours and then went back to the park feeling better but still slightly sick. I do have to say that Space Mountain was amazing. It was totally dark. I definitely couldn't see where the car was taking me next...even when I was up front. Space was my favorite ride...though others came in close. On this trip, I got soaked on Spalsh Mountain, something that hasn't happened in a long, long time. Usually it's just a slight splash on the pants or shirt. But this time I was drenched. It was wonderful. I won't try to explain the wonder of our three days in Disneyland. I will finish by saying, I had a magical time.
This morning we woke up at 6:00 AM to pack and head for home. 17 hours later, we made it. I can't tell you how good it feels to be here in my own bed. Sigh. Well, that's it from this end. I need sleep because I definitely need to catch up from the past 2 weeks of no sleep.
