Day 6: The Extraordinary, Phenomenal, Amazing, Fabulous, and Brilliant Arches!

7/14/13

Arches was really, really fun. It was probably my favorite national park so far. Everywhere in Arches there were arches. They were arches made out of rock. They were really, really cool. One of the first ones we went to was the landscape arch. It was the third longest arch in the world. The landscape arch was really, really long. The scary part was that it was very thin too, so it looked like it was about the collapse. It was really amazing. There was also a “Double O” too. There was a hole through the middle of the rock, and when I looked closely, I saw another little hole through the rock next to it! I of course had never seen anything like it before. It was pretty amazing.

The fun part of the day was when we climbed the Sand Dune Arch. The arch was located between two big walls of rock, so it was all shaded which was nice. And the ground was completely covered in sand! I took off my shoes and ran around, finally glad to get away from the heat, and see something completely new. As we walked, there were random piles of rock on the side of the “trail”. Jasmine just had to climb onto them, so I decided to follow her. Surprisingly, climbing these rocks wasn’t so hard, but it was pretty fun! And then we saw the arch.

It was different from the Landscape Arch. This arch was thicker and a lot sturdier. We also had clear access to it… which meant I could climb it! So without giving myself a chance to back out, I followed Jasmine up the rock. The climb itself wasn’t hard, and standing on top of the arch wasn’t scary either. It was kind of like standing on a bridge. There was a small breeze, and everyone standing on the ground looked really small. It was great being high up there.

The next arches we went to were beautiful. It was the North and South Window; two arches next to each other. When we got there, it was already getting dark and the sun was setting so it was cooler. Only my mom went up with me, so it was a lot more peaceful. Standing under the North window, I could see really far. The ground was really far below, and there were little bushes everywhere. We had to back up a lot to see both the North and South Window at the same time. We had to walk all the way back into we were standing next to the Turret.

The Turret was a big hole next to a really tiny hole. It was really easy to climb up, so of course I had to. The sun was slipping down into the rock, casting orange and pink light over the clouds. The sky was a color palette of pink, orange, red, and gold. It was really beautiful. I sat on the high rock watching the sun slowly sink down, until all I could see were rays of golden light. Then even that disappeared, and I was left with darkness.

It was a really wonderful day, one of my favorites on our vacation. 

Day 5: Nothing Much, Just Driving

7/13/13

Today we were leaving for Arches! It was a long, boring drive.

Day 4: Bryce, Home of the Flaming Rocks

7/12/13

Today was Bryce National Park. My mom said that it would be even prettier than Zion. Zion was already pretty amazing… As soon as we got there, I knew that it was even more amazing. The rocks were all bright red, and in the sun, it looked like they were mountains of fire. Unfortunately, the mountains of fire seemed to be giving off waves of heat. It was really too hot to walk on any trails, although we had to. After a long time in the sun, I swear I was fried. Fortunately, the little kids found a rock in the shade to climb on. It was way cooler there. 

Looking down on Bryce.

We took a long walk down a small canyon. Surrounding us were magnificent red rocks. Dotting the red slopes were scarce green trees. It was quite a contrast. All the weird rock formations were different, and it all looked really cool. Everywhere I looked I saw something different. Unfortunately, the weather was hot and the road was long so I couldn't enjoy the scenery as much as I hoped.

The next day, we were going to Arches, so I was super excited!

Day 3: Visiting Zion... in The Rain

7/11/13

Zion National Park was beautiful especially in the rain. Zion was full of tall mountains dotted with green pine trees. In the morning, the skies were all gray and clouded. At first I was afraid it was going to rain, but as then rain started coming down slowly, I didn’t mind.

The rain slid off the sides of the mountains, making the mountainsides all shimmery. And as we drove down into the valley, the rain came down harder. Soon, waterfalls formed on the edges of the mountains. There were some small ones by the side of the road, but it was really beautiful to spot those big ones. The water started to accumulate on the road, and it was pouring. It was really, really amazing. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from the window as we drove.

Finally the rain got so heavy that we stopped in a parking lot to wait for the rain to pass. When the rain finally became a drizzle, we left to take a trail into a canyon. The happy surprise I got when we got to the end was a little stream. There were little pebbles, and the walls of the canyon were close on my sides. It was just a narrow stream, but really pretty. The air wasn’t warm either; it was just a bit moist from the rain.

The walk was very peaceful. On one side there was rock, and on the other there were trees. I could smell the grass and the rain, and it was just like Massachusetts. It was a soothing walk. There were even squirrels that would stop and stare at us! They weren’t afraid at all, which was a little worrying though. The walk wasn’t tiring, and we got back right away. I was starting to get a little tired as we boarded the shuttle to leave.

We saw elk! There were two big ones grazing by the side of the road, and one had antlers! His antlers were all velvety, and they looked so fuzzy! Neither of the elks seemed bothered by the cars going by and people pulling out cameras, even though we got really close. It was really cool. The elk and rain were the highlights of the day.

Day 2: Bye Vegas, Hello Utah!

7/9/13

Today we were driving to the Hoover Dam! It was the biggest dam in the U.S. so I was really excited to see how big that was. We were stopping by it on our way to Zion National Park. But as soon as we got out of the car, I felt like dying. The sun was giving off extreme heat, and by the time we walked down some stairs I was panting like a dog. Already I had a bad feeling that this trip wouldn’t be as good as I had hoped. It was really, really hot.

The dam itself was big. On one side the water was really, really low. We walked along the top of dam, and I occasionally had to stop in bathrooms with air conditioning-but not for going to the bathroom, just for cooling off. Massachusetts had never been this hot before. I could barely take it. Even worse, everyone was walking slowly. So on the way back I ran ahead of the group to get to the car first. But, when I got to the end of the dam, I realized I didn’t have car keys! This meant I’d have to wait in the heat for my parents to catch up. It was awful.

Finally we left Hoover Dam, escaping the heat. The dam was pretty cool but it just wasn’t worth it to stand in the heat looking at a block of cement… but now we were on our way to Zion!

Day 1: Enjoying the Thrills Las Vegas!

Las Vegas was a really fun start to our vacation. All the buildings I had seen were huge and covered with flashing neon lights. Our hotel fit right in to the rest of Las Vegas, towering with reflective gold windows. Everything inside was shinier, cleaner, and bigger than what I was used to. The best part was that there were three big swimming pools.

Jasmine and my cousin playing in the waves.

I really liked the biggest pool. It was just like a beach: there were waves, there was sand, and the sun was really, really hot. But it was pool water, so it was even better than a beach! It was fun just to jump when the wave came, or go under the wave. Jasmine, my cousin and I played in the pool until it was in the afternoon yet we still didn’t want to get out. But when my mom said we were going to watch a show, the Cirque du Soleil, well, none of us wanted to stay in the pool anymore.

A fancy hotel with a casino in it.

Before the show, we walked around in Vegas for a while. The weather was really hot. We also went to some casinos in hotels, which were much cooler. Unfortunately we were walking in the heat for most of the time, without even knowing how far we’d walk.

Finally, when I was just about to collapse, we got to ANOTHER casino. By this time, they weren’t even interesting to me anymore. I was just wondering when I’d be able to sit down. And I was also dreading the walk back. But thankfully, we were at the casino where the show was. I was really excited, because I had heard from multiple people that this was really fun. As we went in the room and sat down to take our seats, the show began.

There was a well-dressed man walking through the audience and playing with a bucket of popcorn. He put the bucket of popcorn on a man’s head. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but then he tipped the popcorn right into the man’s lap! It was funny, since I was expecting it, and neither was the man covered in popcorn, waiting for the “clown’s” next prank.

He looked around behind him for something… and pulled out a huge bowl of popcorn. All of a sudden, I knew what he was going to do, and I couldn’t wait to see him do it. Unfortunately, another man came out from the shadow and grabbed the “clown’s” collar. He started to drag the clown out. I was disappointed that he didn’t get to spill the big bucket of popcorn… but then he started tipping some into the audience! As they walked along to the stage, he was dropping popcorn everywhere! As they disappeared backstage, I knew I was definitely going to enjoy it.

The show itself was just absolutely amazing. There were so many acts with trapezes, trampolines, and some with just bare hands and feet. All of it was just breathtaking, and all of the performers were extremely talented. The show was not low on humor and entertainment either. It was full of laughs and soon I was laughing along with everyone else. The performers poked and teased at the audience, and it was hilarious.

The flying trapezes were really cool, but I found the trampolines more exciting to watch. The people on the trampolines looked so happy that I wished that I could go on and bounce on them too. But the tricks that they did I would never be capable of. Everything was just wonderful. I never once got bored during the whole show, and I was disappointed when it ended. I really wished that it hadn’t ended so quickly. But I told myself that one day, I’d come back to watch again.

After the show I was still bubbling with excitement. We took a cab back to our hotel, and by then I was ready to collapse. It had been a wonderful day, and I just knew the rest of our vacation was going to be fabulous!

Vacation!!!

Okay, so my vacation posts have officially started! I'm uploading them day by day so... may take a while. :)

Puerto Rico: Day 5- Looking at Fortresses

Day 5:

Today, we were going to Old San Juan to look at historical fortresses. It didn't sound very exciting, unfortunately. We set out in the morning to go look at old Spanish fortresses. When we got there, it was pretty hot out, but still bearable. There were two main fortresses that the Spanish built. The Spanish were fighting the English, but after 400 years of holding the fortresses, the English took over them. The fortresses must be pretty old then.

We walked around the fortresses for a bit. They were pretty grand and complex. The Spanish were good at building and architecture. The forts were made out of stone, being a gray color. They weren't really painted. We saw where they had built cannons, in little rooms pointing out to the sea. The sea was…I guess I could say vicious. It smashed itself onto the rocks mercilessly, and I watched the foam spout out. The water sprayed up, leaving the smell of salt dangling in the air. That was about the only exciting except for walking around. Jasmine and I were in a rush to get out of the sun’s annoying and irritating glare. So, that was just about it.

More Poems!

Yes, I know, this is a really awkward post, smacked in between my posts about Puerto Rico. But that's too bad, because if I don't do it now, I'll forget. Yes, I am that forgetful. Live with it.

Poems I wrote in school for homework, some might be bad, but, hey! I'm not a poet!

I have 3 haikus...

A young bluebird chirps,
light peeks from behind the clouds,
the morning has come.

(I didn't write this one, I found it)
Five syllables here,
and seven syllables here,
and five more, happy?

I stared at the cat,
and so it stared back at me,
but soon- I was alone.

And 3 limericks, and no, I'm not a funny person, so, don't criticize these too badly, okay?

There once was a student named Joyie,
one day she got stuck in a tree,
she cried for some help,
with a loud high-pitched yelp,
but she was heard only by a bee.

There once was a cow named Balloon,
he wanted to jump over the moon,
his equipment was sound,
but he stayed on the ground,
he sighed saying, "I'll try again soon!"

There once was an orange named Green,
and all the fruit were being so mean,
laughing behind its back,
but when they became a snack,
the last one to laugh became Green.

Puerto Rico: Day 4- Kayaking and Snorkeling with Turtles!

Day 4:

Today was going to be another exciting day, I could tell! We were going to ride a ferry to the island of Culebra, and kayak and snorkel. The ferry ride was… pretty awful. At first, I was reading, which was a huge mistake. I got seasick, and regretted reading. But at least I wasn’t as bad as my mom, who threw up in the end. Anyways, I got scared of the ferry ride, and was afraid to go back, but there was nothing I could do about that.

Once we got to the island, we were allowed 2 hours for relaxation on Flamenco Beach (one of the top 10 beaches in the world) and lunch. The beach was breathtakingly beautiful. The sand was white, really white. The water was completely clear. It was like swimming in drinking water, it was even clearer than pool water! I could see the bottom really clearly; I was so astonished that I forgot it was saltwater! Well, I was reminded after getting a mouthful of water… it’s not fun. It was so beautiful. No wonder it was top 10. No, it was really, really, really good. The water got bluer and bluer, but at the edge it was white, because you could see the sand! It was really pretty. I keep saying that, but… IT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. GO THERE. Lunch was okay (meh). And finally, it was time to go on our tour!

It was with the same company at Bio Bay, and I had high expectations (commercializes company :D). We were going ocean kayaking. The kayaking was great as usual; my mom and I were subtly racing with my dad and sister, so we won (yay! Not really). And then, we were going to get directly in the water for snorkeling!

The snorkeling equipment was weird. The goggles look weird, feel weird, and smell weird. At first, it was kind of hard to breathe. But it got easier the more I tried. We also had flippers (yay) which made things a lot easier. That way I wouldn't drown and die (no life jacket). The coral reef was pretty cool, I saw some interesting coral. But, truthfully, I wasn't listening that much, I was mostly just looking. I didn't dive down that much, I was new to snorkeling. There were fishes swimming among the coral. After that, we got back into our kayaks. My mom had a really hard time getting back in, but it was hilarious. I won’t describe it for her privacy, but yeah…

We kayaked back to shore after I took a little break… And then I was ready to go chasing turtles! Just kidding, not chasing. We got into the water again, and I spotted a spotted eagle ray and two turtles. I found out that one of the turtles was 5-6 years old, and the other one was a female around 60. You could tell the gender, if the tail is longer, it’s a male. And if the paddles are longer, it’s a male also. It was pretty old, so therefore pretty big. We trailed after it, watching it come up for breath a couple times. It could hold its breath from 15 to 45 minutes in these waters, the best breath holding turtle, a green turtle. We also saw black sea urchins, and apparently the bottom of them aren't prickly, but the tops are really sharp. The guide in the front would help me take close up pictures, which was really nice. It was great fun to snorkel and kayak on the island of Culebra!

Oh, and just in case you were worried, the ferry ride back wasn't bad. Jasmine and I had a great time laughing at our sleeping dad and laughing at other… things… while I was trying not to fall asleep. And finally, when we got back, I didn't have to try not to fall asleep anymore, which was... relaxing.

Puerto Rico: Day 3- In the Rainforest

Day 3:

Today was going to be GREAT. I could feel it in the air. We were going to a rainforest  I was going to go rappelling and zip lining! It already sounded awesome. Our family rode in a van with our tour guide and two other families, also from the US (United States, not “us”). I was literally bouncing in my seat. When we finally got to the rain forest, I was so excited. We first got our gear on, a harness around our waist (it felt kind of weird) and a hard hat (which messed up my hair). Despite all the complaints, my mood didn't go down at all! We climbed up a huge hill, and got to the entrance of the rainforest. It was STEAMING. But obviously, because it’s a rainforest. There was a huge puddle of water, which we had to wade through. From there, we hiked on. It was hard, because there wasn't really a trail, and some of the rocks were slippery. There were random puddles of water too. And finally, there was an exciting part. There was a steep cliff (not a huge one, just a small one) which we had to climb. There was a rope hanging down, which we could use to help us. It was so… nerve racking! I climbed up without much difficulty. It wasn't exactly “fun”, but it wasn't “scary” either. After that we moved on.

The next exciting part was REALLY EXCITING AND SCARY. It was time for rappelling. Ooh, it was so exciting! We were supposed to go down a cliff/waterfall. A rope was attached to our harness, and we were supposed to use the rope, by letting it go to go down, and pulling it to stop. Our feet would be balancing on the wall. The bottom was 65 feet below. Scary! Well, actually I wasn't that scared. Jasmine and my mom were though. I knew that even if I messed up, I wouldn't die. So, it was okay! My mom went down pretty quickly. Jasmine, on the other hand, took quite a while. And finally, my turn! I was attached to the harness, I stepped down. It wasn't really uncomfortable, I was a bit too nervous to feel that. It wasn't too hard… I got to the point where I had the waterfall behind me. People below kept yelling, GO TO THE LEFT! But on my left was the waterfall! Yeah, I knew I had to get my feet wet in the waterfall, but STILL. THAT WASN'T THE PROBLEM. THE WATERFALL WAS LIKE 10 FEET AWAY! And how was I supposed to reach that? Finally, thankfully, I figured it out. Dangle in midair! Wonderful. It was actually fun, but how was I supposed to know to do that? When I got close enough to the waterfall, I put my feet on there, and slowly descended to the ground. I got that feeling where you know you could have done something better, so you want to do it again. I wanted to rappel again, because now I knew how to do it. I wanted to do it again!! Seriously, I did.

My dad came down after me. The next exciting thing was… (Drumroll please) ZIP LINING! Fun, but easy! They attached the rope to my harness again, and I swung through the treetops, whooping happily! WHOOOO! Like that. We went through 3 zip lines. It was really, really, fun! After that, we had lunch at a nearby house. The food was homemade and REALLY GOOD. It was amazing. It was simple, just rice and chicken, but it still tasted great! I had a good time in the rainforest!

100th Post!!!!!!!

HI!

This is my 100th post!! Isn't that AMAZING? No, not really. But it's cool...I guess. :D

Puerto Rico: Day 2- Not Much, A Beach Day

Day 2:

This morning when I woke up, the first thing I heard was: no mini boating and snorkeling. And my first reaction was: …huh? Yeah, I was pretty sleepy. And my second reaction, after I was awake was: WHAT?! But…but… Yeah, they had to cancel it because “the winds were too strong”. So now what were we supposed to do? We had to spend another day on the beach. The beach was fun, but I was looking forward to our trip. Oh well, that would have to wait for Monday. Anyways, we got changed to go to the beach, and all that stuff. We walked along the beach, to the place with a pool. We swam around in the pool, and played around in the ocean. Jasmine and I jumped waves, and swam under the surface. It was a fun day, but also pretty boring too. That was about all we did. So, yeah…

Puerto Rico: Day 1- Beach Day and Kayaking!

Day One:

The first day of vacation in Puerto Rico! I was so glad to get away from slushy, cold New England. I mean, I do love it, but sometimes summers and beaches are much more appealing, right? So today, we were going to the beach! Our apartment was right next to the beach, literally. It was only, well, you could see and smell the ocean from our room. Our apartment room is nice, I get to sleep on the bottom of the bunk bed while my sister, Jasmine, sleeps on the top. Our car is also pretty cool, it’s red. My parents would never pick a red car, but they didn't pick the color of this one. ;)

This morning I woke up at 11. No joke. I know I've never woken up that late. But you can’t blame me after I went to bed at 4am last night because of the airplane. After I woke up, I realized that no one was really awake yet. My parents and Jasmine were still wandering around like zombies. My parents were just telling Jasmine that they were going to go buy breakfast. So when they were gone, Jasmine and I went out onto the patio. It was really, really, warm. There was a breeze, but it wasn't cold, it was nice. We had breakfast when they came back (bacon!!) by the sea and then we got ready to go to the beach.

After I was done changing, Jasmine suddenly pointed outside and yelled something. I looked outside and there was an iguana. A pretty big one. It was like the size of a cat. It had a weird beard thing under its chin dangling there. It was kind of cool and creepy at once, because it is cool to see an iguana, but now I wasn't sure we should leave our door open…and no, I don't know what's wrong with it's tail.

The beach is right next to our apartment. The water isn't cold, but it isn't warm. I got used to it quickly. Jasmine and I splashed around in the waves, when, all of a sudden, a drop of water hit my nose. Now this drop of water was cold. I looked up to the sky, and there was this huge looming cloud above us, a rain cloud. Suddenly, more water pelted down on me and Jasmine. I jumped in excitement, because who cares? We were already wet! Jasmine and I stayed out for another 10 minutes dancing in the rain. And then, the rain stopped. I looked up and there was the sky, no cloud. But to the side, the cloud was there. The cloud moved really fast! It was exciting!

When my mom and dad came out, we walked along the beach. Jasmine and I still played in the waves, jumping at bigger ones. She accidentally went under once, but came up laughing. The beach trip was fun, but I was looking forward to our next trip.

Next, we were going to Bio Bay kayaking. It would be so awesome! I’m not very good at kayaking; I have a bad history with it. My mom and I were going together. The guide said that if our kayak flipped, the water was only three feet deep. We also had life jackets, so he said that if we drowned in three feet of water with a life jacket, it was our time to go. He was a pretty funny guy. Kayaking in the bay was pretty easy, but the waves kept pushing us up or down. Soon, we were entering the channel. The mangrove trees created a dark cave, like we were entering a tunnel. The trees had lots and lots of roots sticking out from the trunk and delving into the water. For me, it was really creepy. I was freaked out. On the other hand, my mom thought they were beautiful and amazing. Yep, contrasting points of view. After a while, I kept getting tired, and let my mom row. But finally, we got to the lagoon, or Bio Bay.

I was half-expecting the whole lake to be lit up. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The guide told us to put our hand in the water and shake it out. All of a sudden, I saw little sparkles flying off my hand, and an aura of blue radiating off of my hand. It was so…unusual, amazing, weird, cool, AWESOME. Apparently the creatures were “pyrodinium”. I kept shaking my hand around in the water because it was so cool!

On the way back through the channel, I couldn't see the mangrove roots. I could only see black masses of stuff, which I could tell were the roots. It was so, so, so scary. It was, and don’t laugh at me. The whole time back I was tense and alert, ready to turn our kayak back into the middle of the channel if it started getting just the tiniest bit close to the roots. No, really, it was scary. My mom was laughing at me though. She wasn't scared at all. I could finally breathe when we got out to the bay- the smell of the ocean saved me! My arms were sore and I was sleepy. It was a great end to a great day!

Puerto Rico: Day X

Hiiiiiiiii,
Whoa I'm starting my posts with a greeting. Have I ever done that before? Oh well, I'll stop. Maybe. But anyways, I went to Puerto Rico!! No, nevermind, change that to I am in Puerto Rico. Exciting, huh? Yup!
This is just an introductory post, it'll start later. So, yeah... =P

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.... we just moved to Acton, I just joined PSC, and I just took my piano exam/history exam...oh, and I got into Junior Districts. Teehee.
Anyways, there's a lot going on, but I just don't have time. Sorry, I'll try!! And I like love oranges. Hehe bye!!