2019 Winter Break Vacation

On Friday, December 20, my dad told me to pack 10 pairs of clothing. I didn't know why, but my parents said we were going to go on a trip. It was completely last minute and unplanned. I was procrastinating, so the night I was packing I didn't sleep until 11 PM. On Saturday morning we left, we were planning to just drive around aimlessly but we decided to go from California to Arizona. We stayed at Holiday Inn that night. On Sunday, we went to Saguaro National Park, we didn't stay there for long. We just looked around, and hiked a bit. We also watched a movie there. We then left the national park and drove to Phoenix. There, we met up with my cousin and uncle. We went to a mall and bought rolled ice cream. Other then that, we didn't do much. After the mall we went to our hotel, which was Springhill Suites. This hotel was very nice, with a modern feel to it. My cousin and uncle stayed in the same hotel, a room away from us. We all went to eat dinner together. We ate Thai food, it was the best meal for the entire trip. I got so full that I could barely walk. We then went back to the hotel and stayed the night. The next day we said goodbye to our cousin and uncle and they drove to California. On Monday morning, we drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We spent the whole day driving, and we stayed at Holiday Inn at night, again. On Tuesday, everyone in my family was tired. So we decided to book another night at the hotel. Everyone just used their electronics for a few hours, but my parents decided that we should try going somewhere. So we drove to a mall nearby and just stayed there for a few hours. For dinner we ate at a fancy Italian restaurant. Then we went back to Holiday Inn. The next day was Wednesday, December 25. It was Christmas! We drove to a city in Texas, and since it was Christmas most restaurants and stores were closed. We stayed in a Holiday Inn, again, and my dad and I went to look for food. We finally found an open store and bought a pizza. We were also very last minute and booked the hotel during dinner, or on the road. The next day was Thursday, and we drove to Austin, Texas. We arrived at night time and we ate at Outback Steakhouse, it was pretty good. On Friday, we stayed in Austin and drove around. Since we lived there ten years ago, we drove back to our old house, and also other houses that we had bought. That night we at County Line Steakhouse. On Saturday, we drove to San Antonio, Texas. We went into the mission and explored. After that we went to the San Antonia River Walk. We at Vietnamese Pho that night. On Sunday, we decided to head back. We drove back to New Mexico and stayed the night. Then on Monday, December 30, we drove 13 hours and made it back home. We stayed at Holiday Inn for most of the nights on vacation, and it turned out to be 9 days long and it was a fun experience. Most of the trip was driving or being on electronics, but it was still fun!

Guide Dogs of America Girl Scout Outing

Today, I woke up at 6:15 A.M. to get ready to go to my troop leader's house. From there we would drive to L.A. and go to the Guide Dogs of America center. After I woke up, I went downstairs to eat breakfast and left at 6:40 A.M. Everyone was supposed to be at our troop leader's house by 7:00 A.M. but everyone was late. I just waited out front for the other people in my troop to arrive. At 7:40 A.M., we left for a 2 hour drive to L.A. It was really boring at first, but I remembered that I brought my math homework so I worked on that. I got two out of three pages done, and then I just talked with my friends. When we got off the car (there were multiple cars) we waited for the girls in the other cars to arrive. At 10:00 we went inside the auditorium to listen to our guide. She talked about the guide dogs, and lots of stuff. It wasn't really the fun party because I just wanted to meet the dogs. We watched a video on people talking about what type of blindness they had, and how the guide dogs really helped changed their lives and made their lives much easier. After the 10 minute video, it was 10:30. The guide had brought in a two year old guide dog. It was a labrador retriever named Walter. It was so adorable and friendly. The guide said that some dogs were fit for the job because they had a good temperament. All the guide dogs were breed by them, and they have to be healthy to help the blind. Our guide let Walter meet everyone, and he was so cute. After that, we went outside and went to see other buildings. She showed us the dorm rooms for blind people that were in training to own a guide dog, they stay there for 3 weeks and for free. The dogs were also free, but each dog takes $48,000 dollars to help train and support. Even though they are so expensive, the blind person gets it free as long as they meet the requirements. Outside, we saw a little play area with volunteers playing with the puppies that were only around 7 weeks old. They were so cute, and small I just wanted to hug them. The guide said we were not allowed to touch them because we wouldn't want to spread germs to the puppies because they have to be healthy. After taking pictures and watching the adorable puppies, we went to see the dogs that were around 2 years old like Walter. They were much more hyper, and they were running around and jumping up everywhere. We weren't allowed to put our hands over our fence or else the dogs might make a habit of jumping up, and if they're going to be guide dogs they can't do that. We had to pet the dogs through the holes in the fence. After that we went back into the auditorium to talk more about the dogs. We took pictures with Walter and then we went to the gift shop. We didn't buy anything though. After the gift shop, we went to eat lunch. We ate at a place called Teriyaki Madness. It was pretty good, there were signs saying "Warning: Food extremely addictive". The food was good, but it was not so good to the point where it was addictive. I got teriyaki beef with fried rice. It was pretty good. Then, we got on the car and drove home. I finished the last page of my math homework and talked with my friends. Our car was the first one back, and we were driving with the troop leader so we played in their backyard. They had a tree house with a swing. There was also a little elevator that other people had to pull, it was a pulley sort of thing. It took 3 people just to pull up one person. It was really hard, and it hurt my hands. My mom and my sister went on the trip too, and their car got their after 15 minutes or so. Then, I drove home. Going to the Guide Dogs of America center was really interesting and fun. I learned lots of things and saw lots of cute dogs.

Comics, Manga, and Games

Today, at 5:00 P.M.  I went to listen to a lecture on comics, anime, and games. I was a little late, and I arrived when she was talking about the history of China and stuff.  She also said things about China's history and how most Chinese parents did not like their children to read comics, but her parents gave her comic books to read.  She was confused, and she didn't want to read them because she wanted to study hard. When she got into college, she met top students who read comic books and manga which really surprised her and she started to learn to like comic books. Then she talked more about the history of random other things and I kind of got bored. Near the end, we started to talk about games. It was probably the most interesting thing. She said that playing games isn't necessarily bad and that parents should let their children play a little bit. We also talked a little bit about rap for no reason. Some guy recommended a weird song called "sicko bambo". It was interesting, and I somehow felt like I had heard it somewhere before. After the lecture ended, we went out to eat dinner. It was really good, we also ate with friends and the person that gave the lecture. I had a fun experience today.

Boomers Birthday Party

On Saturday, I went to a friend’s birthday party. It was at an arcade type place called Boomers. As a guest, I got a card with five dollars worth of "Boomers money". I had to use my Boomers money to play the games that gave you tickets but there were ones that were unlimited, I didn’t have time to do those though. Outside there are cool things to do, and we also had it free for four hours starting from when we first activate the card. Outside. Here were go karts, a big track and a small track. There was also rock climbing. There was a water park, but it’s still winter so it was closed. There were five more cool rides, one was where there were a bunch of seats on a circular platform, it spins and does cool things, it was closed though. The second one was a boat ride that rocks back and forth, and it sadly was also closed. There was a merry go round that I didn’t ride because the horses were really small. There was also a teacup ride that I went on the last time I was at Boomers, but I didn’t go on it on Saturday. The last ride was a two seater that went in circles and you would swing with it. There was a part where you go upside down for a while and that was scary because my seatbelt or whatever it was that was keeping me from not falling off was too loose. When we went upside down, I was holding on really tight and gripping my legs, if I hadn’t done that I probably would have fallen head first (maybe not though). That was all just a description, now I’m going to summarize what happened. First, I arrived at the part at 4:25 P.M. and a lot of people were already there. We all waited with the birthday girl for 30 more minutes to see if more guests were going to arrive. We stayed in the arcade, but I didn’t do much because I was just watching other people. There was a connect four game and I helped many people win, but later on when I did it, I didn’t win. After all the guests arrived, we waited in line to go onto the big go kart ride. My friend was too short to drive, so we went on the two seater together. I didn’t press the brakes even once and they let us drive for a really long time, maybe 15 minutes. Many people collided with us, and I didn’t press the brakes even once, I also drove into some water on the side of the road so I got slightly wet. After we were all done, most of us went onto the circular ride that brought us upside down. Then we went to eat. We had pizza, juice, and fruits. After that we sang happy birthday and ate cake, the cake was really good but the frosting was way too sweet. After eating, we all went out to the arcade part to play. I didn’t use any of my money so I spent 2 dollars on a game where you pull down a lever that spins a circular thing and it lands on an amount of tickets, I only got 4. Then, I played connect four twice for 1.5 dollars each round, I lost both even with some help because I didn’t look at the buttons and pressed enter instead of go to the side. After that, we all went outside to ride the go karts again. Somehow the friend that rode with me before magically grew and was able to go on the go karts by herself so I went alone. I beat everyone, even the people who started before me and I only bumped someone once in the beginning. After we finished that ride we ran back into the line to go on again and we didn’t even have to wait. It was really fun and I beat everyone again. I was planning on running back into the line but my dad was there to pick me up so I left. I left at 8:30 P.M. and the friend that rode the go kart with me in the beginning didn’t leave until 10:00. I said thank you to the birthday girl and left. It was really fun, I only had 44 tickets in the end. I bought a Chinese Yo-yo for 25 tickets, I had 19 left so I used 15 tickets to buy 3 bracelets, and I used the last 4 to boy tiny candies. The experience was really fun and I hope I can go to Boomers again someday.

Sunday 12/30/18 ~ Thursday 1/3/19 - Carnival Imagination Cruise

On Sunday (12/30) I woke up in the morning, and I didn't really do anything. I just ate breakfast and did other things to pass the time. At around 2:50 P.M., my entire family, which is my dad, mom, 2 brothers, sister, and grandparents; 8 people left to board the cruise in Long Beach. My brother called it a "luxury moving hotel". We got there at around 4:40, because we got lost. I saw the ship from far away so I told my dad to go there and we arrived. They even called us to tell us that we needed to be on the ship in a while. The ship didn't leave until 6:30, but everyone had to be on board by 5:00. First we got to our rooms, we were on the 5th floor which was also called the main floor. My room number was M220, and I was supposed to share it with my mom, dad, and my brother. The other room we had was M224 for my sister, my younger brother, my grandma, and grandpa. We didn't actually sleep like that though. My parents, my sister, and my younger brother slept in M220. My brother and my grandparents slept in M224. When I first saw the room, I loved it, because it reminded me of those tiny house tours that you can find on YouTube. When you enter there are huge cabinets to store suitcases, and on the right is the compact bathroom. When you walk forward, on your left there is a small desk with information, and right in front of you is a queen bed (it was actually 2 smaller beds put together). We had a fake window, sadly. There were two beds that could go up into the walls, one on top of the bed already there, and one on the other side. After we explored the hotel room, we had to go to a meeting talking about what to do in an emergency. Then, we navigated to the dining room. The food was really good, but I don't remember what I ordered. I loved the bread, in the beginning. I watched T.V. with my sister, and I used the restroom, and it wasn't my favorite. After showering, I went to bed, and the bed was super comfortable. The next day was Monday (12/31), we arrived at Catalina Island. We at breakfast at the same place, and it was pretty good but I was so full after that. We had to be back on the boat by 2:45, so we just decided to skip lunch and eat lunch on the boat. Did I mention that all the food on the boat (not alcohol) was free because it was all included in the ticket? At around 9:30, we left the boat. We had to go on a smaller boat to get to Catalina Island. When we first arrived, we saw a cute little park near there, and some golf carts that were rentable. We played around for a bit, then we rented the a 4 person golf cart for 2 hours. My dad brought my brother and my grandparents for the first hour to drive around. My mom rented two bikes for my sister and me. For 40 minutes, we just biked around. Then my dad came back, and my grandparents went to go on a tour, they saw fish through a glass-bottomed boat. My mom drove the golf cart with my sister, my little brother, and me. It was really fun looking at the view. After the two hours were over, we returned the car. My older brother said he wasn't feeling very well, so my mom brought him and my little brother back to the boat. I wanted to buy a sweatshirt as a souvenir, so we went to a store, and I got a really soft and fluffy one. After that, my dad saw a roundish building, so we went to check it out. It was closed, but it was a movie theater. Then we went back to the boat. I didn't do much after that, but I ate lunch at the buffet. For dinner, I ate at the same place, but they had a different menu because it was New Year's Eve. I had a headache, so I wasn't in the mood for eating. There was a party where many of the waitresses and cooks were dancing. It was really fun, but I couldn't participate because of my headache. I went back to the hotel room and I ate some pain reliever and went to sleep. After I slept I was feeling much better, and I showered then I went to sleep for the night. We arrived in Ensenada, Mexico on Tuesday (1/1). I was really happy that it was finally 2019. I was just in the hotel room watching T.V. when my dad said that we needed to decide what we were going to do in Ensenada. I looked at one of the brochures and decided that I wanted to go horseback riding. We left the boat, and we saw activities for Carnival, but they were all pretty expensive. So we went outside and bought tickets for buses. My brother wasn't feeling very well so he stayed in the hotel room and slept. We got to a booth where we could buy tickets for other places. There was horseback riding, zip lining, and looking at the blowhole. My sister, my dad, and I decided to do all three. My mom did ziplining and blowhole. My grandparents only did the blowhole, and my little brother was free because he was so young. We had a really nice driver who used to work at the ziplining place. When we got there, it was so nice looking. I got my harness on, and my sister and parents did too. We took pictures then we climbed up the ladders and waited in line to go on the first line. There were 5 zip lines and 5 bridges. I went on the first zip line, it was pretty short but it was really fun. I waited for the rest of my family to finish. Then, there was a bridge, it was really simple. There were wooden planks that were full, and other planks were cut in half. Then, there was a zip line that led to a place near the place where we started. You would get off of that zip line and head back to the building where you started and go up a blue ladder. Then you would go on the third zip line to head back to an area full of more bridges. The second bridge was the hardest of all. There were two sides, each with planks that were nailed down the long way with more secure wire in the middle of each plank. My entire family did it, and it was really fun. Then we went on the third bridge with single planks and then a barrel, and it repeated. After that bridge, the fourth bridge with square-shaped planks that had four thick ropes keeping them above. That one was pretty easy. The one thing I had to have was balance. If I didn't keep my balance properly, I would have fallen off. The fifth bridge was very easy, the planks were rectangles that were nailed down the wide way. The planks were also very close so it was very easy. I got too confident so I started to go pretty quickly and I almost fell, but I saved myself. Then, after a short hike, it was time for the fourth zip line. The fourth zip line was supposed to last for a whole minute. It was really fun, but I wasn't light enough so I had to go with my mom. My sister and my dad went together. Then, we waited in line for the fifth and final zip line that led back to the building we started in. Overall, the entire experience was really fun and I hope to do it again someday. Then, we went to the blowhole and bargained with the merchants there. The blowhole didn't blow the water very high, but we still bought some food and other things. We bought these cute bracelets that had our names on them and a cute unicorn backpack. We were running late for the horse-back riding. We ended up only get 35 minutes on the horses when we should have had an hour. Then we rushed back to the cruise at 5:30, and my mom was saying that we were probably the last ones on the boat (we weren't). Then, we ate dinner at the same dining room and it was pretty good, but I ate something called mango cream. It had the tiniest mango jello and then they poured the "cream". It was so sweet, and there was a slight spicy tinge and I get queazy just thinking of it now. The next morning which was Wednesday (1/2) was a "day at sea". I forgot to mention that I watched many cool shows run by the cruise director named Melessa, they were all really fun. Wednesday was just doing random things on the ship. I went up to deck 12, which was the sports deck. There was mini golf, which was pretty fun. At 12:15, there was a hairy chest competition that was really funny and weird. After that, I went to eat lunch at the buffet. Then, I watched some ice-carving, and the outcome was so cool, it was the cat in the hat. Then, I watched a movie called Elliot the Littlest Reindeer. It was a pretty cute animated movie. Then, I watched Skyscraper which was really cool because of all the special effects. Then, it was night time and I ate with my family at the same dining room. The food was really good, and then there was a farewell party. Then I went to sleep. The next morning was Thursday (1/3). I was sad that the four-night vacation was over. The trip was definitely worth it and super fun. We were packing up everything and getting ready to leave, and then we went to breakfast. We had to be out of our room by 8:30 A.M. We left the cruise and we went back home and took our clothes out of our suitcases to wash. I've been writing this blog for a while, and now I am done. The trip was really fun.