Travel day to Salt Lake City, UT

Day 21

Today, nothing really exciting happened. We had a 10 hour drive for one day. I just stayed in my pyjamas, I didn't even bother getting dressed. 

   At first, we snoozed, then we had a Walmart lunch stop. We watched 3 movies, "Cowboys vs Aliens", "Just go with it" and "In her shoes". We made one quick stop at the Salty Flat lands, which was an interesting sight to see. This desert lake had so much salt in it, the  whole surface of this yucky swamp was white. You could still walk on it and take awesome pictures. I figured out why Salt Lake City is called the way it is.

   After what turned out to be 12 hours, we finally arrived to the hotel in Utah. I didn't do much, I just ate dinner at the hotel room, and fell asleep quite early. Not an exciting day, but a necessary one, if we really want to travel across the country.

Lake Tahoe, CA

Day 20

Lake Tahoe CA

I can't believe that now, if somebody says we have a 4 hour drive ahead of us, I don't even blink. 4 hours is nothing to Discover America students. It took us about that long to get from San Fransisco to Lake Tahoe. 

  We went to the hotel at first, where I had another set of roommates again: Caroline (Belgium), Adele (Slovakia), and Charlotta (Finland) again. Everybody wanted to go to the lake, which was a few minutes walk from the hotel. I didn't bring a bathing suit, because a bunch of girls didn't either. 

  Lake Tahoe is beautiful. We quickly realised, that everytime there was a murder or suicide in a lake in a TV show, it was shot here. Even the Supernatural season 1 episode 3 called "Dead in the water" was filmed at this lake. Of course, we didn't see how it could be scary. The scenery was beautiful, and the water was shallow and warm. We rolled our pants up, and started walking in it. It was very nice, and I had a feeling not bringing a swimming suit was a bad idea. Soon, a group of girls caught up to me, that didn't make that mistake, and sure enough, I was pushed in the two feet water. I didn't min though, at the moment, being soaked in my clothes sounded like an acceptable idea.

  When it got kind of cold, I went to the shore. After some time in the pharmacy helping a girl who injured herself on one of the rocks, I got back to the hotel. Thankfully, they had a jakuzzi, so just as I was, fully clothed, wet and shivering cold, I jumped in. After coming out, taking a shower and changing my clothes, I was ready to socialise again.

   Luca, Mikayla and me, we ended up ordering a Pizza Hut pizza, for the first time this year. I heard from everybody that I met, that American Pizza Hut was disgusting, but it was literally across the street, so we figured we'd try it. We got a chicked-bacon-tomato pizza with cheesy bites pretzel crust. And it was absolutely delicious. Myth busted!

   For the rest of the evening, we hung out in the garden of the hotel. A Belgian guy, Tibaut was on the edge of being sent home, because he was in upstairs where the girl rooms are. So that was a topic of conversation. I chatted with different people in different languages. I promised myself and my Mom I would find some French speaking people to practice with. Unfortunately my French is bad, luckily though, there are so many, absolutely adorable people on this trip, who didn't judge but helped me. I also chatted with the German kids in their native language, and it was so much easier! Even though I haven't practiced it for 5 years. Switching between all these languages was difficult nonetheless.

  We had our curfew at 10:30, so we hurried back to our rooms 5 minutes before. Everybody wanted to be on the chaperones' good sides after the last few days. Although the free time today was short, I enjoyed Lake Tahoe. If I would live in California, I could see myself come and camp here in the summer. 

Newport Beach, CA

July 16th, Thursday

This Day was supposed to be a  fun day, but turned out to be the worst one so far. Having said that, you have to know that I enjoyed it nonetheless.

   No one really wanted to go to the beach. Last time on the beach was super fun, but most of us struggled with the sand in our clothes for a week. But this was the itinerary, so we made the most of it. I got in my bathing suit in the hotel, and after a 20 minute drive to Newport Beach, everybody jumped into the water. It was kind of cold, but that wasn't our biggest problem. Just like at Myrtle Beach, the waves were horribly big. The first bigger one knocked me off my feet. At the second one however, 5 minutes into the fun, my foot got stuck in the sand, and the wave hit me hard. The same thing happened to me as in October in volleyball: my knee jumped out of its place, but the force of me falling popped it back in. Worst part was, I couldn't stand up, so the waves just kept hitting me. Finally Eduardo grabbed me amd helped me to shore. Walking hurt, but I knew it was gonna get better. My hair, mouth, nose, and swimming suit was full of sand. I must have looked horrible. 

  I limped to the shower facilty a hundred meters and washed the sand off. It turned out, that I wasn't the only one that had a bad experience with the ocean. Sarah had her face pushed in the sand by the waves, her face was full of scars.

  It took me an hour and a bag of ice to walk again. By then, I let my group go and explore the stores and restaurants on the beach. I joined Nike, Kika and Iiro for a little bit of shopping, but I only bought postcards. When I got back to the beach, I could walk much better than before. The drama of the day was, that Nick from Denmark hung out with another group today. I didn't worry about it much.

  I did however go back in the water. My middle name should be "Stubborn". We swam in between the waves to the ocean, where the waves didn't break yet. It was nice, swimming there.

  At 6, the bus picked us up. What was a 20 minute drive there was a 1,5 hours back because of traffic. Turns out, sitting down too much was not something that my knee liked, so it hurt again when I got off. But I'm tough as a viking, so I just iced it and moved on. I did laundry and ramen for dinner. I wanted to go to Downtown Disney, but I figured I'd see it the next day anyway. 

   So this is what this day turned out to be like. I have mixed feelings about it. At least now I can say, that I swam in the Pacific Ocean!! And that's pretty cool for me.

Universal Studios and Hollywood, CA

Day 15 CA 

July 15th, Wednesday

Today started out as a travel day. We left Las Vegas early morning and we drove to California. We arrived at Unversal Studios Hollywood at 11, and we had half a day to spend there. 

   I was very excited! I've been to Unversal Studios Florida in February with Saki, but this one was so different! The whole experienced started interestingly. I found a phone in the bathroom 2 minutes after we got off the bus. I wanted to bring it to the lost and found, but the girl who it belonged to called the number. We met up inside the park, and she got her phone back. It felt good, doing something nice to a stranger. I just hope, that if I ever get in a sitiation like this, someone will help me too. 

  The first thing we did in the park was watch a Waterworld show. It was rated the #1 show, and I understand why. It was a stunt performance by Hollywood's best stunt actors. It was a in a giant pool, that reminded me of dolphinshows. But the decoration was very steampunk. It was an exciting performance about finding dry land in a futuristic land of water. Lots of explosions, pyrotechnics, jetskis and stunts. It was very impressive.

  Afterwards, we could meet the cast of the show, so we chatted with the actors. Some of them were in famous movies and TV shows. For example I met a dancer from Magic Mike and Mac's stuntdouble from Marvel's Agents of Shield!!

  Of course we had to go on the behind the scenes tour of the studios! Whoever knows me, that my life is watching movies, so this was my scene. We sat in these carts, and we drove through a still functioning studio area. A narrator told us about the history of the place, and we just sat there, watching in awe. I did anyway. I was at the  square where Back to the Future was shot!!!! That is a whole new level of awesome!

  There was also two different 3D experiences built in to the tour, one of them was directed by Peter Jackson. It was a King Kong vs T-Rex fight, that we found ourselves in the middle of. It was said to be the most intense 3D experience in the world, and it really was something new. I was very impressed, we all felt like we were in the dino era again!

  The whole tour was around 1 hour long, and it was so worth it! I saw sound stages, the sets of Back to the Future, Jaws, Spider-man, and so many more!! Anybody who goes to Universal Studios can't miss this!

   Afterwards, the group had dinner at Krusty Burgers, in the Simpson themed part of the park. The last attraction we went on was Krustyland, another 3D experience. We were put in this room with a giant quarter globe screen. and these cars that moved to the image's changes. It was very believable and so much fun. 

  We went back to the bus, and after everybody gathered, we headed to Hollywood. It's much different to hear about LA traffic and be in it. I noticed that right away. It took us a while to get there.

   Honestly, Hollywood was one of the funnest places we've been so far. It's just one street, but it's filled with people, sounds, and sights to see. For most of the time, we were walking around with our heads down, reading the hundreds of stars that bear the names of famous actors, actresses, singers, directors, sporters and many more. I took a pictures of almost every one I knew (there are lots of old movie stars I never heard about, so there wasn't a lot), but I was specifically looking for Steven Spielberg's star. Once I found it, I took a picture with him, and I didn't care about the dirt when I lay on the ground. I really admire his work as a director. 

  I was really sad, that we only got one hour to spend there. We should have had a full day Universal, and at least half a day in Hollywood. We didn't even see the Hollywood sign, only for a few seconds from the bus. But being there was just a dream come true. I'm definitely going to come back! This day was filled with movies and TV, literally my life. I'm very happy that we had this day on the bustrip. 

Las Vegas, NV

Day 14 

July 14th, Tuesday

Las Vegas!!! The city of party! It's kind of amazing how they made one of the biggest attractions of the US in the middle of nowhere in the desert.

  After a 5 hour drive, we arrived to Vegas at 1:30 pm. I was super excited! We went into the closest hotel lobby, which was the MGM Grand, because it was very hot outside. It was incredible! Everything was covered in gold, everything smelled amazing, and it was all clean (after two weeks in a bus and tiny motels, it's a special sight). Of course the hotel casino opened from the lobby. Just to demonstrate the luxuriousness of the place, the sinks in the bathroom had tiny ipads on them, and the soap smelled like hybiscus.

   We went through the casino, and we left the hotel to get to the Strip. Las Vegas Boulevard is the main street of the city. All the major casinos, hotels and stores open from here. So the San Antonio Squad set out to explore! We went to the Coca Cola store, which had a giant, several stories tall coke bottle for an entrance, the Hard Rock Cafe and countless of souvenir stores. Everything was colorful, bright, and crowded. I loved it!

  Our main goal was to get to Hotel Bellagio, where Ocean's 11 takes place! All we wanted is to walk in the footsteps of George Clooney and Brad Pitt! The hotel is fabolous! It's very fancy, clean, but it was somehow different than in the movie. There was a room decorated like an undersea world, that was pretty fun to look at. I have a very funny story to tell that happened, but I'm only gonna post it in August, because it involves a surprise for my Dad. 

  I've seen and heard of buildings in Vegas that are mini replicas of famous places. We saw the mini-Eiffel Tower, the mini-New York, and the mini-Egypt. There was also a mini-Venice somewhere but we didn't see that. Of course, these aren't as fun if you've seen the real ones. But I appreciate the thought. I'll be happy if there will be a mini-Budapest. Would be cool.

  It was 5 pm when we started heading back on the Strip, 8 o'clock was our curfew. I had a slushie for dinner, and we stopped at Starbucks too. We went to the Hershey's store in the mini-New York too. By the time we were finished, it was 7:30, and it was time to go back to the bus. I'm really glad I got to see this too. We saw everything we wanted, and was worth looking at. We talked to random strangers, did some stupid stuff, but we are young, we are friends, and we were in Vegas. Everything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Except for weddings, but we didn't do that, so it's ok! 

Grand Canyon National Park

Day 13 AZ

Grand Canyon National Park

I was very excited for today, but I was also strangely sad. When my parents got married, my Mom made my Dad promise he would take her to the Grand Canyon for their honeymoon. But he never did, so I've been hearing my Mom nag my Dad about it for all my life. Of course, he's taken her to countless beautiful places, but the Grand Canyon just didn't make this list yet. 

  So I've been wanting them to go there, and now, 18 years later, I'm the one to get there first. So I was missing my parents today. This place has been a major topic in our household all my life.

  We took a 2 hour drive to the National Park. When I first saw the view at the Bright Angel lodge, my breath was taken away. It was really beautiful. It was a little before noon, so the whole valley was covered with a purpleish color.

  If I think about it, it' just a huuuuge hole. The San Antonio Squad assembled again, and we took the rim trail for a while. We must have taken hundreds of pictures while walking. Even though my Dad told me not to, we went to the edge (very carefully!!), and we took some awesome pics! (sorry Dad!)

  We went back to the lodge after a smaller hike, and we had lunch in the restaurant. With 2 and a half hours to spare, we decided to get on one of the shuttle buses. We took the express bus to the Visitor's center, and there we went on the "orange" bus route. 

  The first stop we got off was beautiful, and quite far from anywhere we've been in the park. But when we got off at the second stop, my breath was taken away once again. Orange light covered the rocks on the other side of the valley, and it was just like people imagine it to be, but no picture could truly grab the beauty of it. 

  We got back to the Bright Angel Lodge the way we came, and by the time we got back, it wa time to get on the bus too. As the bus left the Grand Canyon, I took a final look at the valley I was just in. I felt kind of sad, I want my Mom and Dad to see this too. But I'm glad I got to experience this. I was tired from the walking and the heat, but I survived the Grand Canyon!!!

  The rest of the day, I was trying to upload my fabulous pictures to the Internet, but with little success with bad Internet. I got to however send some pics to my Mom, which she loved. One day, she'll send me her pictures!

Albuquerque, NM

12th of July, Sunday

I was very excited for today, to explore Albuquerque. Whoever has watched the TV show "Breaking Bad" wants to go there. It was a superpopular show about a chemistry teacher, who's diagnosed with lung cancer, so he starts cooking crystal meth as a sidejob. It is very intense and dramatic, and it all takes place in Albuquerque.

  Well, the place we went to looked nothing like the TV show, but I could see a certain influence. We went to Old Town Albuquerque, where the city began. I felt like I was in Mexico. Mexican architecture, orange and yellow houses, and Native American jewelry and craft stores everywhere. 

  We formed the San Antonio group again. This group seemed to work very well. I'm so glad I'm part of it! We walked around, looked in shops, snapped some cool pictures. We had lunch at a cute restaurant, I shared a veggie burger with Mikayla. The last time I ate a veggie burger, I was back in South Africa, 2 years ago. Nice memories. That one was much better than this. Meat is life!

  We were in Albuquerque from 9:30 to 1 pm. When the bus picked us up, we looked at what the others bought at the souvenir shops. I only got postcards. This was a nice trip, we did whatever we wanted, and that felt good. 

  In the 5 hours of driving, I spent some quality time on studying biology. We passed into Arizona. In Flagstaff, when we arrived, the San Antonio crew took off to have dinner. We found our spot quickly: a 50's diner, that was still in perfect condition! We felt like we traveled back in time! I really loved that place. The red chairs, the booths, the bar, the menu, everything was so retro. There was even a juke box, but it wasn't working. All this time on the trip, I tried to eat healthy, but this was just a must have milkshake + flapjacks place. And diners like this do live up to the expectations, the food was awesome! We had an awesome time.

  Back at the hotel (which was the sketchiest so far), we played Uno, some played pool, and everybody just hung out and chatted. There was finally some drama with some love triangles. Oooooh! I wish I had popcorn. Our curfew was 10:30 tonight. 

NASA and San Antonio, TX

July 9th, Thursday

I've always wanted to go to visit NASA, and today, I finally did!!! We arrived to the Houston Lyndon Johnson Space Center at 9. We had a private guide, but he wasn't the usual commercial guide. Al is a Rotarian, he was the head of international youth exchange a few years ago, and he worked in NASA for all or at least most of his life. He was in the control center when they landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. He met several astronauts personally. I think it's really cool that we got to meet him!

  The first thing we did in the Space Center was get on a tram ride, that took us to two sites that were away from the main building. The first was the old control room. The one they let us in is on the third floor, and not functioning anymore. We sat in the room the relatives of astronauts and journalists sat, in the very same chairs, and we could see what the old control room looked like. It's pretty incredible, that they landed people on the moon with equipment like that. The memory space of those computers is 2 MB!! My Iphone takes bigger pictures than that! Pretty amazing. A camera showed over a TV, the status of the current, functioning control room. That one is much more modern, and it's keeping contact with the International Space Station.

  After a young man told us the history of the room, we went over to the Rocket Park, where we could see some huge soace traveling equipment. One rocket, that was inside a big building was so big, it didn't fit in my camera, only when I stood in the far corner could I get the whole thing in one picture. Al gave us a tour, explaining how the rocket was built, but due to budget cuts, it never flew. He presented the Apollo missions, and told personal stories of what happened to him as a control room worker. When the astronauts were in trouble, and they would say: "Houston, Houston, we have a problem!", they would call Al and his team. Really cool.

  We had 2 hours to spend when we got back to the main building. I went around the exhibition, looking at special clothings, history of space travel and presentation of equipment. I saw the pod of Apollo 13, and I even touched a rock from the moon!!! 

   We watched a movie on the history of NASA with some original footage of voyages. We saw the landing on the moon, astronauts jumping with different gravity circumstances, takeoffs and the Challenger catastrophe. It was sometimes sad, sometimes inspiring, but all in all, it was very interesting. The whole experience at NASA made me want to become an astronaut. I still might, who knows?

   After the Space Center, Mike Wilcox said goodbye, and we drove to San Antonio. I didn't know anything about the city. It was very close to the Mexican border. We were dropped off at the Alamo, where we formed our little groups. I was with Mikayla (Australia), Non (Japan) and Sarah (Germany). And we had 5 hours to discover San Antonio by ourselves.

  We started with the Alamo. It was a house, where a battle was fought in the civil war. We didn't stay long although it was very nice inside, because it was cold. Outside, we could feel the typical summer Texan weather: hot hot hot!! Even in Houston in the morning, we were boiling.

  After the Alamo, the others got ice cream at one of the sidestores of the Mengler, a supposedly haunted hotel right on the main square. We walked down to the famous riverwalk, and suddenly, I was in love. In the middle of San Antonio, a tiny river flows in a tiny canyon. This river is surrounded by beautiful little restaurants and shops of all sort. It was just breathtaking. I could really live here!!

  In the Riverwalk,  we picked up Luca (Germany), and Nikolaj (Denmark), and the 6 of us continued on exploring. We spent a lot of time walking around, enjoying the view. At dinnertime, we sat down at a Mexican restaurant, which was the perfect place to eat. The cuisine fit the style of the city, it was pretty and relatively cheap. We just drooled at the site of giant fishbowl margaritas with an upside-down beer in it, that were on the neighbouring tables. They seemes so cool and refreshing, but of course we couldn't get them. I shared a guacamole with Luca, and it was plenty for dinner. It was very good! 

  Afterwards, we walked around more, untill the buses picked us up at 9 pm. We just went to the hotel and slept. Everyone was super tired, after a busy day. This day was one of my favoyrites so far. So many things happened, and I've done and seen so much, I'm very happy I had the opportunity to do so.