Bucket List: Visit the Redwood Forest

I visited the Redwood Forest in March of 2008 on an Alternative Spring Break trip to Boulder Creek, CA which I wrote about here.

This was a great experience.  We didn't get to spend as much time really exploring the forest as I would have liked but it was definitely neat to see these humungous trees.  It is unreal how tall they are!

Facts About Redwoods: 
 Redwood Trees grow to be approximately 112 meters tall (367 feet), but can be as tall as 370 feet.
Redwoods have cones that grow on the tips of the higher branches.  Only 1 or 2 of 10 seeds with germinate.
Redwoods thrive in a moist climate.
Redwoods can hold approximately 34,000 pounds of water!
Redwoods can live to be about 2000 years old.

I definitely hope to go back to California and explore more of Redwoods National Park :)

Sometimes I Wonder, Who You'd Be Today

Brent, 

I still can't believe it has been four years since I got the worst phone call of my life.  Four years since we lost you.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of you.   Every wedding that goes by, every party we have, you should be there.  I will always remember you protecting Heather, Kristin and I from creepers at the club, racing around the deck, your random spaz attack in the pool, the night you had boobs, your awesome fireworks, drunk singing, and of course, Aflack!   You were a great friend to all of us and an incredible boyfriend to Heather and while I am sad for her, I am also happy that she got to experience true love while she was with you.  You will always be in our hearts and we will always love and miss you. 

P.S. I still have aflack and he lives on my night stand :)

Creeper

 

"Would you like to buy Aflack insurance"??

 It ain't fair you died too young
Like a story that had just begun
But death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I been through
Just knowin' no one could take your place
Sometimes I wonder
Who you'd be today.

Miss you, friend

Brent Michael Hall
Feb. 3 1989 - July 11 2009

Liebster Award :)

I was nominated for another Liebster Award!!!  I was nominated by Megan @ Barefoot Bluejean Princess!  Thanks Megan!  Since I have already done this a few times, I will not be nominating anyone but I will answer Megans Questions :)

11 Random Facts: 

1.  I lived in the same house from the time I was born until the day I left for college.  I moved back home briefly after finishing college, then moved in with friends.

2. I played the Clarinet for 4 years and guitar for 2 (lessons, I still play guitar occasionally).  I also taught myself the basics of both piano and violin.  

3. I could literally spend all day in the Museum of Natural History in DC.  It is my favorite museum ever.

4. I am mildly obsessed with Bananas Foster smoothies from Wawa.  I feel bad for anyone who doesn't have a Wawa near by because the smoothies are so good!

5.  I did work for Wawa though, and it was the only job I have ever hated.  With an undying passion.

6.  When I was little I had scarlet fever ... twice.

7.  I love concerts!  I am seeing Jason Aldean on August 10th and I can not freakin' wait!

8. I wish that Professional Student was a legitimate job.  I would be perfect for that job!

9.  I ran track in high school.  My events were the 100M and 300M hurdles.  I loved every minute of it.  Ok, maybe not, but I do miss it and I met some great people!

10. I loved Rollercoaster Tycoon and still play it sometimes.

11.  If I could have any job in the world I would be a Marine Biologist or a Zoologist.

Megan's Questions:

If You Won A Million Dollars, Who Would You Call First?

Either my Mom or Josh

If you were to walk into an airport, money nor time is an object, where would you jet off to?

That is a tough one!  Probably either Ireland or Zimbabwe!  I am Irish and I would really love to go to Ireland and learn more about my heritage!  Also, Africa has been on my mind for a while and I would love to work with animals or do a safari in Botswana/Zimbabwe

Coke or Pepsi?

 Neither.  Water.

Tell us about your favorite toy as a child.

My favorite toy was "outside".   Seriously, I didn't care what we were doing as long as we were outside.  We played kickball, dodgeball, colored eggs, tag ect.  So, maybe my favorite toy was the ball we played kickball, dodgeball and colored eggs with.

What is your favorite thing about blogging

I follow a lot of travel blogs and I love seeing the different places that people explore and what they learned about the culture.  I also love seeing how people live in different parts of the world as well as different parts of the US. 

If you could go on any reality TV show, which would you audition for?

The Voice.  No, I cant sing but it would be worth embarrassing myself just to get a look at Adam Levine!  *DROOL*

 
If you could only visit 5 websites everyday, which would you choose?

Hmmmm..... Bloglovin, Facebook, Pinterest, Hotmail and National Geographic

Which Iphone game is your favorite?

I don't have an Iphone but I used to play candy crush.  I didn't want to buy any levels so I just deleted it after I beat level 35.  Now the only game I have is word search.

What was your favorite part about your fourth of July celebrations this year?

Just chilling out with friends by the pool.  It was a nice relaxing 4th of July.

Are you a morning person or a night person. 

It depends.  Lately I have been a night person but usually I am a morning person.  Now that my summer class has started, I am starting to become a morning person again.

People to People

I plan on recapping my trip to Europe rather randomly, otherwise the posts would be really long.   However, I thought I would start with talking about the reason why I was in Europe in the first place.  It is very important to understanding some stories I may tell.

In high school, one of my teachers anonymously recommended me as a People to People Student Ambassador.  I actually got papers in the mail for the trip in 2005 first but was unable to go because I had to choose between P2P and my Uncles Wedding in CO/youth group road trip to Maine.  I was bummed not to be able to go (the trip was to Australia) but I think it worked out great because they sent me the papers again the next year and the trip was to France, Spain, Italy and Monaco with layovers in Germany!  I was beyond excited!  Italy had always been the number one place I wanted to go.

A few of us with one of our (teacher) leaders, Julie

What is People to People:  It is an organization started by Dwight D. Eisenhower as a way to educate Americans about cultures and preserve peace through diplomacy after World War 2.  The first delegation went to Europe in 1962.  Right now, the goal of People to People is increased cultural understanding and respect for those cultures.   

I think they are doing a great job!  As a Student Ambassador, I toured for 20 days with a delegation manager who was from Austria, a bus driver from Italy and other students from MD, FL, NC and CA.  We also got the opportunity to live with families in France and experience day to day life!

P. Luigi and Josef

How Do You Get Involved:  I was recommended by a teacher but I am pretty sure you can just go online and get information to attend a local meeting, but I had never heard of it until I got papers in the mail.  There is also a process to go through before becoming a Student Ambassador.  You need to go to a meeting which gives parents and students and idea of what P2P is and what will be expected of the student.  Then after going through interviews, getting signed recommendations from teachers, and filling out applications a delegation is chosen.  After which there are monthly meetings where the students are able to meet the other travelers and the teachers accompanying them and so that the parents can understand the program.  We also had a fun party for all of the delegates about a week before the trip so that we could just have fun and get to know each other before beginning our journey.

What Is Included:  EVERYTHING.  Well, except for souvenirs.  All activities, food, hotels (3 star and up), bus, flights, tours, tips ect. are included in the price.   We got behind the scenes tours, got to live with a host family, and do a ropes course with people from New Zealand.  The price tag is a bit on the high side, but totally worth it and I truly believe we got what we paid for!

 Where Does P2P Go?  People to People has officially traveled to all seven continents.   They also have P2P International which is for P2P alumni who still want to be involved.  I am a member but have not participated in any of the trips.  They also have trips for sports, leadership and college students.  I highly recommend reading more about it especially if you have kids.  They can participate as early as 6th grade, I believe!

What Is A Delegation:  A delegation is made up of 2 teachers and 30 students.  Our delegation was slightly different in that we didn't have enough people from MD to make up a group of 30, which is what is required.  So, we met up with another group from NC and a group from FL and there was a random person from CA in there as well.  That made 30 people plus another two teachers and we didn't meet them until we got to Italy, which is a whole different story in itself.  We are also assigned a delegation manager who is a native European and is in charge of getting us to tours and occasionally giving a tour.  Our DM was Josef, who was a first time DM and from Austria.  He was great!

Being able to travel with People to People was a true honor and a unique experience which I am very grateful for.  If I ever decide to have kids, they will definitely be participating.  Not only does it look great on college apps but you can also earn college credits by participating (only through certain universities such as American).

I had always enjoyed traveling but this trip truly began my obsession with travel and cultures and is actually the reason I chose to study Anthropology (more on that later).  I can not wait to share my experiences and hopefully inspire others to get their children involved with this amazing organization.

Check back next Tuesday as I begin to share my experiences in Europe!

Something to Think About

I am very much against gun control so I definitely did more research on this SAFE act and it is absolutely insane, the rights that people are willing to give up!  The right to protect themselves against intruders in their home and the government. 

Book Club Friday: Sisterhood Everlasting

Sisterhood Everlasting

By: Anne Brashares

Pages: 349

Read: 4/6/12

"Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one."
{GoodReads}

 Although I couldn't put this book down, I really didn't like how she ended the series.  I can't really state my opinion without giving too much away.  Lets just say, it wasn't that this was a bad book, because it was actually a good story, but I really didn't like what happened.  I really wish that the series had just left off with the fourth book because this one doesn't fit well with the others and is just depressing.  I did like that she kind of rounded off the romances between Bridget and Eric, and Lena and Kostos.  I still think it is worth reading but you might be mad at what happens.

 I gave this book a 3/5 on my GoodReads because while it was a good book, I didn't like what happened. 

Independence Day

Happy Birthday to my favorite country in the world!  And thank you to those who protect her!

'Merica!!