The End is Near...

So sorry this has taken so long to write everyone. I have had some personal things going on in my life right now that are more important than blogging, and I have not had much wifi, so no blogging for me.

Let’s see. We still had one more day in LA... 

Day 28- After having coffee and breakfast, we joined my family and we all went to Laguna, CA for the day. There is a beach there called the Thousand Steps Beach, it actually only has 218 steps down to the beach but the beach itself is supposed to be only 1000 steps long. Even though there were quite a few people there it didn't seem crowded at all. The waves, however, were very strong, we kept getting caught in the undertow. We left the beach and back at the house enjoyed the pool some more. I had to go and get my phone fixed because it decided to go dark. Got that fixed and back at the house Luis made us an authentic Mexican meal. It was delicious!

Day 29- After packing all of our stuff up and into the car we headed out. We made it through Sequoia National Park and saw the General Sherman tree that we didn’t think was that impressive. It was just a big tree in the middle of a bunch of other big trees. We were also a little bit sore from climbing up and down the 218 steps to get to Laguna Beach, and then walking on the sand. We decided to just keep driving and made it to Yosemite that night. It was later and all the campgrounds were full so we parked the car next to a bunch of other cars that were just parked there. We hoped that nobody would notice and just leave us alone. Alas, that did not happen. We were awoken a couple hours later when two park rangers knocked on the car window. Susan and I were still half asleep and just talked to them through the partially opened window. They told us that we were not allowed to sleep anywhere in a national park but in a campground. So we drove about an hour to get out of the park and slept in the car in a turnout by some other people doing the same thing.

Day 30- We woke up early again and went back into the park. Went to Half Dome Village and marveled at the raw beauty of El Capitan, it was a pretty humbling morning. Then we moved on to the next park, Death Valley, which happens to be my least favorite place on earth. I don’t do well with heat so the 118 degree temperature while we drove below sea level, was not the best. We had to turn off the AC so my car didn’t overheat so it was even worse. Susan loved it because it is so different from anything in New Zealand. Which, it is very different from anything I’ve ever seen, it has its own beauty just like the rest of God’s creation, but I don’t ever want to go back there again. One time was definitely enough. Once we got into Nevada, we opened the windows and the cool breeze was delightful. I think it was still over 90 degrees outside, but it felt so amazing we didn’t care. We ate at Dairy Queen that night and had blizzards because we decided we needed some ice cream to counteract the hotness of the day. And to continue with that theme we stayed in a hotel with AC and a pool. It had just been so hot that day that we needed a pool and a shower to bring our bodies back to their normal temperatures. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bed again.

Day 31- We left the hotel and had to put some anti-freeze in my car, it was getting a little low. Las Vegas was next on our agenda. It was so hot when we were driving through that we just decided to not get out of the car and to just take pictures as we drove through. We then headed to Zion National Park,  it was beautiful. Zion is definitely a must see! We just drove through it, because again, it was too hot to do anything else. But Zion reminded me of a colorful Yosemite, it has the high mountains, but they are red rock. Bryce Canyon was the next place we hit and also just drove through. It was cool but definitely liked Zion better. We drove to Lake Powell and slept in the car again.

Day 32- We checked out Horseshoe Bend, which is super cool! It is very pretty and definitely worth the half a mile walk to see it. Then on to Antelope Canyon, we found out when we arrived that you have to pay to see the canyon. It is on Native American land so there are tours that you can do to see it, but we are too cheap to do that. We decided we’ve seen canyons before and they were cool. So we went to Antelope Point Marina, there were pictures of Antelope Canyon so that almost made up for it. Next, we headed to the Grand Canyon, and let me tell ya, it is a very grand canyon. It is huge! I’ve never been there before so it was cool to experience it with Susan. We just stood there and looked and looked at the canyon. The place is beautiful but there are so many people there that it isn’t as fun, we did get Dippin’ Dots though.

Finally, we made it to Megan and Luis’s place in Tempe. They made us dinner and we all just relaxed for the rest of the night.

Day 33- I needed to get my oil changed and tires rotated so we did that all morning. It took forever, and it was hot. I think we left Phoenix area after noon and drove all day. We made it to the place we stayed, near El Paso pretty late. The family we stayed with was great. They have 10 kids and all of them are still at home. They made us dinner and throughout the whole meal they kept asking us questions. It was fun though, we were even asked to join in their family worship time after we ate. We slept in a little house, a casita, which is on the property they are renting. It was adorable.

Day 34- We all had cereal for breakfast and Mrs. Flory made some chai tea and gave us some for the road. This was the day we drove from El Paso to San Antonio; it was a pretty boring drive. So when we could find nothing on the radio we called people. It seemed to work out pretty well, except when we ran out of cell service. Finally arrived in San Antonio at Susan’s relative’s place, Anita, and she took us to Buc-ee’s, a Texan convenience store. It was huge! So many gas pumps!

Day 35- Anita took us to breakfast with some more of her family. It was great to meet them all. Then we all went our separate ways and Susan and I went to the Alamo. I love history so that was pretty cool to see. We drove to Houston then. Susan’s mom has an Indian friend whose daughter lives in Houston and her mom happened to be visiting now so we stopped to meet their family. They were all so lovely. They made us a meal and we visited for a couple of hours. We got back on the road and kept heading north. We made it to a rest area a little bit south of Texarkana and slept in the car again, our last night without a place to stay.

Day 36- Another day of driving with nothing exciting to stop and see. We made it through Arkansas and into Tennessee. We arrived at the place we are staying, the couple we are staying with started the Above Rubies magazine. They are from New Zealand and are very sweet. She made us okra and we talked for a very long time. Then we joined their extremely large family for a prayer meeting for their grandson who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma not too long ago. 

Day 37- We joined the family for breakfast and family devotions in the morning. Packed our stuff up in the car and stayed and talked to a couple of them for longer than we had planned. We didn't make it to Nashville until after noon and all we did was walk around downtown. It wasn't as great as we had hoped it would be, it was also hot so we decided to just keep driving. We made it to West Alexandria, OH where we stayed with the family of a friend of Susan's, David. We had a really great time, they fed us, they showed us around the farm, and we played on the trampoline with David's little brothers. 

Day 38- After eating with the family we packed up our car and actually left on time. We headed to the Ark Encounter, it was a pretty cool experience. Walking around and exploring how they think Noah and his family lived on the ark with all the animals. There was even a part that showed how they think the world was before the flood, pretty interesting stuff. Then we decided to go check out the Creation Museum, it was about 45 minutes from the ark, we explored around there for a bit and headed north. We made it to my Aunt and Uncle's house last night and they fed us while we told them all about our adventures. It was really fun to relive everything we've been through, we have been so blessed on this trip to just be able to do a trip like this and with all the people we have met in our travels. God has been so good!

The rest of home week and back to LA

Day 21- Wedding day! Abby and I met at the salon to get our hair done and drove to the venue together. We helped with some last minute things and did our makeup and got dressed. Picture time. So many pictures. A good time hanging out with the other bridesmaids and Morgan is so beautiful! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was fun. Yummy food and great company. But I was very ready for bed when I got home.

Day 22- I had to work today. I don't know what crazy person decides to pick up the day right after a wedding but... It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When I got home, Susan and I went to the store to pick up some stuff and headed home. We had some pizza and watched movies, needed to relax after the crazy day before.

Day 23- I mowed the lawn. Cleaned the house a bit. Took a nap. Watched some more Lord of the Rings. Then everyone showed up for the Freedom Party. Better Way Imports is a company that helps women in India get off the line and work a respectable job to earn a fair wage. They make products like bags, blankets, scarves, and jewelry, it is sold in other places around the world and the women are given a fair wage on which to live. I really love what they are doing, making a difference one woman at a time. You should really go check it out here.

Day 24- We just relaxed for this day too. Bible study later on and hanging out with friends. It had been a long time since I'd seen them.

Day 25- I went to Delta today to talk to an advisor about school and after that Mom took us to Olive Garden for lunch. So yummy!!! The breadsticks are the best part and our waitress gave us and entire bag of fresh ones to take home. She was the best! We packed all of our stuff up and got ready to head to the airport when I got a text update. Our flight had been delayed twice, and then finally they cancelled it. Apparently there was bad weather down near Chicago so we had to rebook a flight for tomorrow morning. At least we were able to finish Lord of the Rings, Susan has now seen them all, sleep at the house one more night, and not get stuck in the airport.

Day 26- We finally left for LA today. And in true form we made a friend in the Chicago airport and Susan made friends with her neighbors on the plane. I, on the other hand, did not. Listened to my music and read. We made it to LA, to our car, and then to Aunt Marsha's without anything going wrong. When we got to the house we jumped in the pool and were able to relax the rest of the day. Were able to hang out with some of my cousins and make some s'mores in the backyard.

Day 27- Woke up early today, probably still on Michigan time, had some coffee and breakfast and headed out to see the town. Santa Monica Pier was first and we walked along the beach for a bit and went to see the Disney Concert Hall. We found a Chinese place on Hollywood Blvd. and saw some of the stars on the Walk of Fame. Then off to Griffith Observatory where we ate our lunch and walked around looking at the city and the Hollywood Sign. After rush hour traffic for 2 hours we got back to the house, had some dinner, and jumped in the pool. Aunt Marsha even joined us after a bit. We sat in the hot tub and watched a show while enjoying the night air. It was a great time just relaxing.

And I promise that the Hollywood sign is in the background, we were just too far away to see it! 

The Wedding and our week after

Day 12- The day of the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Susan and I went to Portland with Kailie to get everything ready for the day. We were planning a hike to Bridal Veil Falls and a picnic there. Then we went back to Trina's sister's house for the continuation of the party.

Day 13- The day before the wedding and the day of the rehearsal. Susan, Kailie and I drove together and didn't have to be at the venue until at least 1 PM. So when everyone arrived we tried to find stuff to do, setting up chairs, wiping them down, and other last minute things. We ran through the ceremony and had some pizza for dinner. A few of us were chosen to help teach some folk dancing to the guests so we learned those. It was really fun to do the Virginia Reel and the Scottish Polka. Ready for the wedding day!!!

Day 14- The day of the wedding!!!!! Woohoo!!!! All the girls arrived at the venue by 11 AM to do our hair, makeup and get dressed. We all got ready early and had time to just sit and relax waiting to take pictures. Trina is so beautiful and was a gorgeous bride. I am so blessed to call her my friend and to have been included in this very special day! The ceremony was beautiful and the Gospel was shared, I know that God is using it in the hearts of those that heard the message that day. On to the reception,we had good food, good fellowship and dancing. There weren't many from our class at Mdub but we did get a picture of the 4 of us minus Trina, because she and Matt had already left around 8. The rest of us helped clean up before leaving and headed back to the house around 9:30. We cleaned the house so we wouldn't have to in the morning before we all left.

Day 15- I took Kailie to the airport at 3 AM because she was trying to get on a flight at 5:45 AM. We had a great talk on our way into town, it was so good to reconnect with her. I miss that amazing lady! I drove back to the house and slept for a few hours and then Susan and I packed up our things and headed off to Crater Lake. We had invited Calvin to join us for the 4th of July and it took us forever to find him. We finally did and after getting some food headed into Crater Lake National Park. We kept stopping at places along the way to take pictures and look at the lake. It is absolutely stunning! The lake itself is 1943 feet deep in the deepest part and is a very dark blue. It's crazy to think that the only thing feeding the lake is snow melt and rain water and yet its the deepest lake in North America. We finally made it to our campground and set up our tents. Then we went back up to the lake to try to see the sunset, but we weren't able to watch the sun set over the lake because that part of the road was closed. So we just saw the colors of the sun on the mountains, which was pretty amazing anyway. Back at the campsite we had a fire, talked for a bit, and stargazed. I'm pretty sure we saw 6 satellites that night.

Day 16- Independence Day!!! Calvin made us breakfast and we had coffee and sat and talked for a while. Then Calvin went into town to get some more supplies and Susan and I hung out at the site for a while in our hammocks and then went up to the lake to take some more pictures. We all met back at the site where Calvin BBQ'd some dinner for us and then we headed to Klamath Falls to watch the fireworks. We didn't know what to expect but it was actually a pretty great show.

Day 17- After waking up pretty early, we had some coffee and packed up our stuff. Said good-bye to Calvin and were on our way. Susan drove almost the whole day. We made it from Crater Lake through the Redwoods and all the way to San Francisco, we even took Highway 1 which goes along the California coast. It was beautiful but it took so long to get anywhere because it was so windy. We finally found a rest area where we could spend the night somewhere between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Day 18- In the morning we decided to head into San Francisco and check out some points of the city. Had to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Alcatraz, and the crooked road. We didn't spend much time there and we had to head on to LA to make it to the airport in time. I have a wedding on July 9 so we had no other choice but to fly back for it, there was no way we would've been able to drive back in time. Barely making it to LA, we had just enough time to stop at my Aunt and Uncle's house, repack our things and make it to the airport in time for our flight. We parked at a long term lot and took a shuttle to LAX. Our flight left at 11 PM and we flew through the night arriving in Chicago at 5 AM local time and onto MBS.

Day 19- My mom picked us up at 9:15 and brought us back to the house. We both napped for a bit and when we woke up just relaxed at the house for a bit. Went to see Nanny and had to go to the store to get a few things.

Day 20- Susan and I went to the venue for Morgan and Whes's wedding to help decorate for the reception. We cranked it out in a couple of hours and were free for a bit. So we got some lunch, went to my work, got pedicures, and headed back to the venue for the rehearsal. About 10 minutes in to rehearsing it started to pour so we all headed to where we were going to have the rehearsal dinner. It was a great time of fellowship and getting to know the others in the wedding party. Now Susan and I are watching Lord of the Rings. She hadn't seen them yet and everyone keeps asking her about them because they were filmed in New Zealand.

Tomorrow is the wedding so I should be heading to bed soon. Will hopefully post sooner than later.