Camping Griswolds' Style

Finally this was the weekend that everyone was able to meet up to go camping at Yuba Lake. It's been a pretty unusual summer since this marked my first time jet-skiing and it's August. Unfortunately, the winds decided to turn our campsite into a tornado. We had the campground and lake to ourselves. We figured we were the only ones brave enough to face the elements. My mom and dad bought a tent at Wal-Mart so we wouldn't be cramped in the trailer, but wouldn't you know? It's a shotty piece of work. We didn't even have it set up an hour before one of the poles broke. We had to move it a few times and jimmy-rig it together. Luckily, Tash and Chris got one night of shelter out of it. I guess it was a one-time use tent. This is the quality you get from Wal-Mart. Other than that, we enjoyed the sun, the food, and just chillaxin' as Tash would say. Just one of the broken poles

Learn from my mistakes :)

Paris

This being my first trip out of the country, I was a bit apprehensive. I was worried about the language, the people, and just being...lost. Yes, although most of these proved to be barriers, I still had a blast and found that I can be anywhere in the world and be ok. The flight was long, our hotel was in shambles, and we walked about 50 miles during the 5 days we spent in Paris. Ok, the last part may be a bit overexaggerated, but seriously I could barely walk from all the soreness in my muscles. The city of Paris is a bit on the dirty side. It smells like garbage and everyone smokes. The amount of people walking the streets all the time is mind-boggling. There are people everywhere. Doesn't anyone work? We did have a couple of snooty looks, but overall the people there weren't as rude as I've been told. The food...my goodness...the food. I loved how fresh and simple everything was. Sandwiches, crepes, pastries and even the Coke tasted better.

We mainly stuck to the touristy sites. I've never seen so many sculptures and paintings. Notre Dame was awesome! After climbing up the the bell tower I thought my knees were going to give out. Definitely worth it though. The Louvre was very grand and it was hard to take it all in. The Mona Lisa was a bit disappointing since I'd built it up in my head. Still cool though. I loved the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing to stand atop and look down onto the city. And when the twinkle lights came on after dark, it was simply breathtaking. The day before we came home we made a quick jaunt to the Arc de Triompe since we missed it during the first leg of the trip. I wouldn't say I loved Paris, but I did love the architecture and culture that represents it. I do hope to go back someday.

From beyond the grave

I'm finally breaking my unintentional blog hiatus. I wish I could tell you that my summer has just been jam-packed and I couldn't possibly find the time to blog, but alas I'm just lazy. I've been working quite a bit since I spent all my vacation in April when I went to Europe. (First on my list to blog) I've been stuck at work watching everyone else leave for vacation...and it sucks...big time. I tortured myself by watching The Bachelorette on yet another disappointing season. My first concert of the year was American Idol in July. The best part of the entire concert was Adam who completely stole the show from Chris what's-his-name. Jared, Ro, and I have spent quality time watching movies, playing games, and even taking a trip to the Nickelcade which I still have a bag of nickels to spend. All in all, it's been a great laid-back summer and I'm sad to see it end.