8/20/09

La La Land!

Just when you thought I was done traveling for the summer, I surprise you by jetting off to Los Angeles for a few days. Oh yeah, that's right...there's a new Samantha Brown in town! (Samantha Brown is a TV host for the Travel Channel...I like to watch her shows. You can check out all of her adventures here: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Samantha_Brown) Unlike my other "adventure" this summer (to Washington), my Mom came with me on this trip. Now, I have officially been to all of the West coast states (with the exception of Alaska)! This was our first trip to La La Land (L.A.), and we were here to see my brother (we'll call him Trent), where he lives, and to check out the place he calls home.
Along the way, we saw and discovered some pretty cool parts of L.A.. From gawking at the palm trees lining Beverley Hills Blvd. to walking on the sandy shores of Santa Monica beach. From attending the symphony performance at the Hollywood Bowl to seeing Hollywood Blvd. (no stars, besides those on the sidewalk, were spotted). From strolling through booths of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables at a local Farmers Market to watching fish swim below a fountain at a hidden-gem of a park named after Will Rogers. From sipping coffee at the Coffee Bean cafe to cruising around in my brothers very sleek Porsche. You could say we have now been to and done L.A., but in reality (i.e. in a city with 21 million people), we've only skimmed the surface. Here are just a few of the photos that I took.

The Palm trees were as gorgeous as the houses they towered beside (or should it be the other way around?).


Two fish in a pond at Will Rogers Park.


Santa Monica Pier and Beach.


The Coffee Bean, and a tree that likes to lean.

8/13/09

There's No Place Like Home!

That is what Dorothy said on The Wizard of Oz...one of the rare snippets of TV I was able to watch while interning at Lavender Hill Farm for 3 1/2 weeks this summer. And now that I am home (I arrived 2 weeks ago), I couldn't agree with the girl in the red heels more. Oh man, did I miss home! No wonder why people write books... all the drama (both good and bad, funny and sad) that comes with traveling, meeting new people, living in a new place with the new people, and working rigourously day after day for the new people needs a place (or a person...thanks again Mom!) to be expressed. But, instead of harping on all those unforgettable parts of my internship (or, as I like to call it, my interntrip) that I hope to soon forget, I've decided to share some of the best parts of it...parts that I know will remain with me forever.

My first ride on a ferry, crossing Puget Sound, breathing pure-as-can-be air, and watching the sun set over the Olympic Mountains.



The tall Fir trees. This one couldn't even fit into my camera shot from 30 yards away!

Mt. Rainier (at sunset or any time of day).


Shopping at Pike's Place Market with Rosalie, Maya, and Riley. We bought some nectarines and bing cherries (they were so fresh, and so good), and some fashion accesories, but we opted out of having our fortunes told by a cat...I am not kidding!


The Space Needle and the view from the top. It was such an amazing, jaw dropping, 43-second elevator ride. Warning: 360 degree views of Seattle act as a very powerful magnetic force, and you will have a very hard time leaving the observation deck and taking the elevator back down.


Going biking...in style, of course!

Swimming and Sailing (for my first time) in Puget Sound.
Last, but certainly not least, the lavender. Who could forget!
In the end, this is the reminder I came away with from my internship...just in time for my Freshman year of college: In life, there will probably be some moments that we wish we could change, just as there will be moments (whether good or bad, funny or sad) that will shape who we are and who we are becoming. The most important thing we can do is to be open to those moments...to those learning opportunities, and to have faith, because as the Lord tells us in the Bible, "He knows the plans He has for us, plans to help us, not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future." And what could be more enocuraging and inspirational than that. Except for maybe that airline ticket that promised my return to a place I like to call home. Just kidding! ~April~

(P.S.) I just saw a preview for the TV (now that I'm back to watching TV) series "Jockeys." It looks sooo good...I hope to get to watch it (we don't have Animal Planet)! This will be the show's second season (1st episode will air on Aug. 21st at 9pm CT). Here is a link to a preview from Season 1 that I found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoasX0I0Lgg&feature=PlayList&p=00B984A0F25FA014&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1#watch-main-area
Let me know how it is, and also how your summer has been so far! Have a great day!

8/11/09

About the lack of posts...

Hey everyone, Sorry I've been AWOL. I will try to write and update my blog ASAP. Wow, using acronyms is sooo much fun! ~April~