NIAGRA FALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm back part 2)

You know those paintings of sunsets with bunch of seagulls around it and you think"I wonder what that really looks like"...well after where I went today I can tell you how it looks....it is incredible.
When you look at post cards of Niagra Falls and you wonder if that sweat it really looks like...or occasionally way it would feel like if you fell over the rim of the lookout area  and right down the waterfall and landed super hard on jagged rocks...na normally the first one...anyway.I know that when I lok at these post cards I normally think both.And although the first one seems super gross..it is actually quite beautifully proven wrong..as weird and confusing as that sounds...but I will explain.

We went tot his thing today called Madens of the mist.And this a boat ride right around and almost under Niagra Falls.There are to parts of the falls.The over lapping part of the falls,and then the horseshoe part of the falls.Most of the postcards show the overlapping part of the falls, but the horseshoe is amazing.

You get your tickets,and then you take an elevator up to the top floor,where you walk down this long path to this tent,where they give you these water proof "vests"a.k.a.giant plastic bags.It was super windy there and putting on the plastic bags wasn't necessarily a walk in the park.You first have to unfold the plastic bag and then you have to find the head and try and put it over the baggy sweatshirts you have to wear.Then for some reason the people who designed these plastic bags melted the arms shut.So you have to  rip the arms open and then try and put your arms three the ripped bag.Once you get the plastic bag on you go and stand in line ad watch other people stubble to put on there bags.Than of course my parents being who they are...tightened the headstraps and looked like totally mental homeless people  who somehow snuck onto this ship.But they were super funny about...and i think they scared some tourists ...anyway.once you get in line and they start boarding the ship you have to shove your way to get a good spot... and i got an excellent spot.right at the front of the ship.And it was beautiful...what I saw..you see at some points it was so windy and we were so close to the falls that you had to close you eyes..or take really quick looks.And all of a sudden,when i could see,there was the painting...the painting of the seagulls...millions of them just soaring right next to us...that was so beautiful.

I cannot tell you on a computer how amazing this was...or if i tried it would take me like 20 pages.If you want to know exactly what I'm talking about...your gonna have to go see it yourself...unless I know you than I can just tell you when I see you haha...anyway...Well,even if i do know you,you should real go see it.it will blow your mind.  

I'm back.

So.For the past 4 days I have been in Milwaukee.In Milwaukee I have my Aunt Jodie and her husband Steve.And while I was in Milwaukee I also got to see my 2 cousins Mikail and Ryan.They used to live in Milwaukee but now they live in Chicago and have a job at this restaurant called Next.Now let me give you a little back story.

A few years ago,Mikail,his friend Peter,and his friend Gordy,came to live with us for awhile.Mikail staid for about a year,But peter left a few weeks before that and Gordy left a few months before that.But anyway...while Mikail was living with us we formed this kind.....this sounds weird but we formed this kind of um..."relationship"...meaning like brother sister relationship...sort of...You know.We were eating dinner and he flicked my face and i punched his arm and then he put me in a headlock and spit in y hair and then i got out of the head lock and spit on his arm and aaaallll of that kind of stuff...

I also have a little cousin named Mable.She is the daughter of my uncle Dan and his wife Jen.Mable is 2 years old and extremely intelligent and loves to read.Whe we took her into the RV the first thing she said was"neat"and when we left she turned around and said"I want to go back" haha so cute!

My mom grew up in Milwaukee along with her 5 other siblings.She lived in shore wood were my aunt Jodie lives now.

There were a few  bad things that happened in milwaukee but none of them had to do with people.When we were eating dinner all of a sudden my phone freaked and deleted all of my pictures so i don't have anything from my trip except for 10 pictures from Milwaukee which I will show but i was really sad that I lost them all.

Ok,one rrreeeaaaalllllyyyy annoying thing that happened...we went shopping.Oh my god it was awful,i don't hate shopping but on a weekend with my mom...shopping is bad.It wasn't all her fault that the only shopping trip for the first few months was total torture.I was not the best shopper either but...im not gone tell you who's fault it was I am just gonna tell you....IT WAS SSSSSOOOOOOOOO BAD!!!!!!!
I am not against shopping.If I go with my friends I am totally fine...but with my mom by herself...never again...

Some other stuff happened in Miwaukee but for some reason right now I cant think of it..probably from driving so long and then having a super crappy dinner.....oh well Ill tell you if i think of anything.


P.s.i am so sorry if there are a few typos...honestly i am... :)

last few days

Ok...for the last few days I have been in Minneapolis.Where I did a few things.

We stayed at our friend Donnas house.And....I GOT MY OWN ROOM!!!!!!!In the rv I kinda get my own room.Well,my room is right above the drivers seat and it s a little bed and both ends there is a huge space to store my close,laptop,and all that stuff.But of course its an rv so...you get the idea.It was os nice having my own room.I got a tv,an awesome lava lamp,a really good bed and a few other things.

In Minneapolis we went to the art museum where my dad used to teach art.And there is a funny story about that.Ok.When my dad was teaching art there one day,he saw that they were going to have an art show  that looked like crap.So,to show my dad and his classes displeasure with that crappy art show,he took his students into his basement one night,and he took a bunch of chicken wire,paper mache,and a lot of poster paint,and they created giant pieces of...crap.Yes.To show how much they hated that crappy art show,they created crap,and in the middle of the night,they all dressed in black,and they put about 8 get of fake crap outside the museum.And the museum staff had no idea what was going on so they just left it there 2 weeks.

On the first day we got to Minneapolis we went to this restaurant that was really good but the cool thing is that Martha Stewart had eaten there just a week ago.Here are some more pics.and this pic is f the crazy horse monument.

One other thing that we did go to see was the sculpture garden.And there is this one thing in the sculpture garden and it is like a green house and in the middle of it is this pond and in the pond is a giant glass fish which my dad made.

friends

Now we are in Minnneapolis.Where some of our friends live.

Our friends our letting us stay in there ouse for a few days.My room is awesome!!!I get my own tv and my own bed with an awesome  view of the outside street.

In Minneapolis,the weather is either really hot,or really cold.....there is absolutely no,in between. So,they created these things called skywalks.The skywalks or the skywalk,is basically this giant mall that always changes its inside temperature to be the opposite of the temperature outside.It will be freezing cold,like cold the you are not supposed to be outside.And you will se people with shorts and tank tope or short sleeve t-shirts and a giant back pack,and they will be going to the skywalk mall because the temperature is always the right weather.The skywalks part of the skywalk mall,are these walkways that go straight three the city right across the buildings.And,a few years ago,my dad installed an art piece in one of the skywalks.

There are so many big buildings and pieces of art work in Minneapolis.A few years ago,a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis,and sssoooo many people died.The memorial for them are 6 giant glowing neon tubes in front of a fountain.Anyway here is a pic of me next to a jackalope.A long time ago,there were these hunters,that would attach antelope horns to jack rabbits,and would trick tourists that these animals were real ,but they were going extinct,and people would believe them and buy these jackalopes for hundreds of dollars.We found this one in one of the biggest tourist places of all.it is well known for all of the junk that they cell.They also are known for there free iced water which is only occasionally cold.More pictures will be posted on the next blog post.

pictures!!!!!!

HOT SPRINGS!!!!!

there were about 100 buffalo out there.and here are just a few.

you might not know this

Crazy Horse.When you here that what do you think of.When I first heard we were going to see the Crazy Horse monument I thought we were going to go see a giant horse head  that had been carved into stone.When you here the name Mount Rushmore what do you think of.Do you ever wonder why the presidents are in that order or why those are the 4 presidents that have had here faces carved into stone.You see.Where I went today explains all those things.The Crazy Horse monument and Mount Rushmore.But do you know these things.The crazy Horse monument was created by a man named Korkczak Ziolkawski was born in Boston of polish decent.He had started carving crazy horse when he was fairly young and he brought his ten children five boys,five girls,and hid wife into the process.Even though Korkczak is now dead,7 of his 10 children continue to work on crazy horse to this day and i even saw them work on it when i was there.The head of crazy horse is 87 and a half feet long.His arm,263 feet.His hand,33 feet.His horses mane,62 feet and his horses head,219 feet.The feather in crazy horses hair is 44 feet.The total hight of this monument is 563 and,it is 641 feet long.

Now I have a question for you.why were those 4 presidents put on Mount Rushmore...




pictures from this post and the previous post will be shown on the next post.

Best so far

The last few days have been the best days of the trip.We went to Yellowstone and it is such a beautiful place.

The first day at Yellowstone we went to Mammoth hot springs.Mammoth hot springs is full of some amazing things to see.My dad went to Yellowstone a few years ago and he said that it was different back then.He said that the hot springs had more color and that there were much more that were actually working and less that had stopped and sat there with all of the left over  minerals that used to help it bubble and boil.


In the brochure that you will see about Yellowstone...must have been takin a few years ago because it does NOT,look the same.Yes it still has patches of color but most of it is covered in white mineral.But,that mineral did make some beautiful things.In one of the hot springs were bunch of fossilized bugs...and it was ssssooooo cool!There were fossilized butterflies dragonflies crickets bees and there were also some flowers which were really pretty.

The next day when we were driving to see Old Faithful, or what we called for the day Old Unfaithful,we saw smoke in the distance and we decided to stop and take a look.It was the hot springs again,but,since it had rained the night before,they had ssssooo much more steam and it was ssssooo many different colors!some were blue some were red some green,....it was amazing.Anyway back to old unfaithful.


Old faithful is a geyser that is supposed to be faithful in the time that she explodes...meaning spits boiling water super high in the air for 1 to 5 minutes...well we were there for about an hour and she wouldn't spit anything up!!!so we decided to go have lunch in the biggest wooden structure in the world instead of waiting for the poor old unfaithful to not spit up on time.

Today we were planning on leaving Yellowstone and when we were driving out of the park we saw HUGE clouds of smoke rising in the distance.it was the hot springs but not mammoth hot springs...this hot spring was not as well known so it did not have as many people...but it was better than mammoth!!!!!

There were so many amazing springs!some looked like huge pots of bubbling clay and then there were some that were super hot and spitting up aaaalllll over the place!But,my favorite was......the Dragons Mouth...it was so amazing.there was this huge whole and at the back was this cave and every 2 seconds a giant puff of smoke would shoot out so it looked like a dragon was back there blowing fire!!!!or should i say blowing smoke....IT WAS SO AMAZING!!!!!!it also looked like something you might see out of Pirates of the Caribbean.....IT WAS SO COOL!!!!

once we started driving again we saw....about 100 buffalo and one of them cam right up next to the RV..it was soooooooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are such rental animals although they look big and scary and if they poked you with one of there horns you would probably die....but they would only do that if you got them mad....but if you don't get them mad they are super nice....and SUPER COOL!!!!!


(pictures will be shown in the next blog)

another long drive

Today, we had another,very,very,long drive.

Our mane destination for this week is to get to Yellowstone,and so far it has taken 2 days to even get close.While we were driving to our beautiful K.O.A campsite,we passed through Montana ,where the only thing I saw was bunch of old people trying to get out of there car at a gas station/rest stop,and it was painful.It looked like they were all having seizures! But, they were just having major problems getting out of there little cars that should have gone to a junk yard 10 years ago.The second place we passed through was Idaho.The place everyone calls the "home of the potato".But that is actually a misconception.Grant County, Washington State, is the real "home of the potato".Grant county produces the most potatoes every year,but for some reason everyone thinks it is Idaho..probably because of those commercials where an old guy stands in a pile of dirt , and  holds up potatoes and says"Idaho,home of the potato"

Commercials are weird.There are some commercials that make sense, but some are just strange..like that cheese commercial where it starts in a cheese factory saying"we don't make produced cheese"and then it flashes to a little cottage on a farm,with a perfectly good looking guy cutting cheese..that just doesn't happen in real life.Anyway,back to my "adventure"

Another kind of interesting thing that I saw today was a huge train.Now here is a math problem for you.each car was at least 10 and a half feet long, and there were at least 150 cars...you do the math.

on the road again.

Yes,today we moved on from Seattle and we are now in a crapy little hotel that smells of cigaret smoke and super salty corn chips....it also is ssssssssooooooo hot.When we got out of the RV its like someone hit us with a flame thrower.

While we were driving to the hotel we are staying at we went through this one ssssssuuuuupppppper hot desert where we kept on seeing mirages.A mirage is an optical illusion ,and if you don't know what an optical illusion is...well it basically means it looks like something is there but its really not...or that is what an optical illusion means when you are talking about mirages.So many people who go into the dessert or a very hot place,they will be walking around and they will think they see water and they will spend days or weeks, walking around to try and find the water they see.Well,most of them end up dying because there was no real water obviously....it was an optical illusion........it was a mirage.


Well,tomorrow we are heading to Yellowstone and I can not wait for that 8 hour drive.

still here

Today I am still in Seattle.But today,I can't think of anything really exciting to write about.I mean,maybe I could talk to you about what I did today but it wasn't super exciting.

When I woke up I went out to a breakfast place,than we went shopping for food,than I went swimming,than we had dinner and met some new people.

The people we met were named Daren and Mary and they are both very nice.Daren owns a restaurant on lopez island and it is really good.

missing something

Although the trip is getting better, and all though it has only been a couple of days,I find that I am already missing all of my friends.Yes I text them all the time and yes since I got a new computer I can video chat them, I still miss them alot....anyway, back to my trip.

I am still in Seattle visiting my godfathers. Now when most people here the name SEATTLE..they think rain,and most of the time it is true,but it is also a misconception...for us..you see ,for some reason, whenever my family visits Seattle,it is always super sunny.There has maybe been one time when we have visited that it has rained.

Now i know that on my blog i always talk about food.......but i have to do it again.ok ,so have you ever heard of chicken and waffles.....I know that it sounds disgusting but it is actually hecka good...when done correctly...the sweetness f the syrup covered waffle and the then you have the salty chicken just sitting on top ooooo it is sssssssssooooooooo good!now i do have a little history about chicken and waffles...it was a dish for the poor in the old south and it was mostly eaten by black or native american people....thats it...

now i have one last food topic on this blog post....what is a curd such as a lemon curd.....now this word can be misconceived because when you hear curd you normally think curdle like spoiled milk or some other gross thing like that but its actually quite good ..and i will tell you what it is ...next time...........   :)

family!!!!

Today we had the shortest drive of all.We went from Westport to Seatle in only three hours.

When we got to Seattle we saw my godfathers,Animal ,and Bennett.

My godfathers own a hotel called The Gaslight In ,a building that a very successful  restaurant  is in and it is called Ba Bar ,a metal shop ,and another smaller hotel like thing that we are staying in.

 There hotel has many rooms and a big pool , an outside eating area ,and a BIG kitchen.

While we were driving to Seattle we stopped at a restaurant called Bettys home cooking,and the only server there was the 90 year old Betty herself.Watching her walk around was painful,and whenever she would ask you if you wanted anything you wanted to say no because you didnt want to make her walk anymore.

Not only was watching her walk painful,but the food was even more painful.I had ordered a chicken sandwich and it said it had cheese on it ,but when BETTY brought it she added some canned cheese sauce on it and it was disgusting!

We are in Seattle in the hottest week of the year! We are staying in Seattle Washington which is one of the rainiest and coldest parts of Seattle , it only gets really hot weather once a year ,and we are here in that part of the year.

p.s. here is a picture of the fresnel lens

fun times..finally!

Finally .The best day of the trip so far .Today was only filled with laughter.

Our laughter began with our waffle filled breakfast which turned into a long walk where I got to ride my bike!!!Unfortunately a guy raced up behind me, scared  me,and I flipped myself right off my bike...but I did it with a smile on my face and only a few cuts and bruises left over.When I happily limped back to my parents we all shared a huge laugh and made every single bird in a near by tree, fly away.

Than at lunch we went to an amazing deli called the mermaid deli where I had an amazing pork sandwich .And, we also found an old juke box which had some of the greatest musicians such as..Elvis,the Staple Singers,Queen,Bob marley,and of course..Lady gaga.

After lunch we went to a museum.Now normally I get bored thinking about museums..but this museum was different,and changed my perspective about aaaalllll museums...and that is all becuase of one mane artifact...the giant glass lens of a lighthouse.

It was created by Augustine Fresnel..I know,not exactly a beautiful name..but definitely a beautiful creation.

Augustine Fresnel was a French physicist.He invented the "Fresnel Lens"in 1882.Unlike other light house lenses (which lost up to 97 percent of there flames light)The fresnel lens only lost 17 percent and could be seen 20 miles away.

When we came back,my dad and I played a game of teatherball where I gloriously.... failed..

p.s.the answer to yesterdays question is....the Columbian river
p.p.s my name is spelled L-i-l-y..not L-i-l-l-y ..although it says that on the front of my blog....also ..although it says posted by Cork... its actually posted by me Lily..Cork does not matter...he just pays the bills:)

day 5...not again.

On September 1st ,we left our house to start this three month road trip.And that day was only filled with boring.But then,the next three days,there was less driving, and more exploring wherever we landed.But today,once again,we had the longest drive so far!It was about 10 hours long, and I had to sit, and once again, listen to the same songs on my ipod over and over and over again.The upside to that day is I finished my book!I was reading "The Lost Hero" and if you have not read it, I suggest you do..its really good.any way,the abridged version of my day is......I did nothing.But,once we finished our painful drive,we landed in Westport.

Several hundred years ago ,5000 Chehalis Indians lived on the beaches of Westport.In the summer they would fish ,hunt and trade.And now,several hundred years later,people from all over the world fish,hunt and trade on the beaches of Westport.They trade there fresh caught fish, for food or water.When we got to Westport we went on a short, exploration.And on that exploration,I saw a man catch a huge salmon,and trade it to someone else for dinner.

One other very funny thing that happened when we were walking around is,we were taking pictures,and i went to take a pic of my parents, and something looked very odd.And I am trying to figure it out, and then, I look down,and my dad is wearing two different shoes...


While we were driving, we did take one pit stop.And we stopped at the river were Luis and Clark traveled to the Pacific ocean.What is the name of that river?????

day 3..alittle better

Day 3.The day when everything is supposed to start falling into place.Well everything in this RV is still pretty bumpy but it is starting to smooth out.

Today is our second day in Florence Oregon.Florence has my favorite beach in the whole world,not only because it is huge and beautiful,but it also holds important memories.About two years ago,we came to Florence,and one day when we were walking on the beach,we saw a weird thing washed up on the shore,and as we got closer,we realized it was a baby great white shark....but it was a pretty big baby...anyway.About seven other people passed by,and only one other person besides us stopped to help.The shark had got hit by a boat ,and the only way sharks can breath is if water is moving through there gills.So i sat with it in the water and moved it around for 45 minutes until I finally let it go.

Food.I love food,and Florence has some of the best food.Tonight for dinner I had he most amazing pork sliders.THEY WERE SSSSSSOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you ever come to Florence Oregon,make sure to walk on Heceta beach.You will find so much wild life on that beach.Jelly fish,seals,sharks,everything.

Now,to every great day..there is a down side.And the only down side to today is that when we were driving we hit a nasty bump and I flew right off my bed and hit the floor super hard, and I now have a huge bruise on my head.

September 1st. First day on the road

Hi.I am Llily,and my family and I are taking a three month road trip around the U.S.
Today was our first day on the road and it was ssssssssooooooooo boring.At first ,it took us 2 hours to pack the rv (recreational vehicle)and when we finally got on the road,all I did was sit in my bed and text friends,look out the window (hoping to find something interesting to look at),and listen to the same songs on my ipod again and again and AGAIN! But,a few "interesting"things did happen today.

First,when we were driving on 101 right outside Willits,we almost hit a wild turkey.And then, only a few miles later,we hit a HUGE bump and almost every single cupboard flew open,and everything inside those cupboards fell on the floor.

Right now,we are in Eureka,a town right outside of Arcata California, and we are in the koa campground.
This tiny little campground has an office,many different types of RV's and the most amazing pool!Which I have the honor of NOT swimming in since we got here at 8:00 (and it closed at 7:30)and then we have to leave fairly early tomorrow morning.

Well,thats all I have to say about the first boring day,of this three month road trip:(

Lily