#28. Go to an aquarium

I have always thought it would be cool to go to an aquarium. And I'm not talking about the fish exhibit at the zoo or at the Cabelas. So I started looking for one to go to. After much searching I decided to do a little better than just going to an aquarium. I decided to go to Sea World!
Last summer my sister, Allie, and my mom went out to Utah and picked me up and we all went to California. We had some excellent adventures on this trip. We encountered everything from crazy traffic, to getting pulled over in Vegas, to dealing with my mom's and my sister's crippling fear of heights. Eventually we made it to the beach and we spent several days there. We spent one day out on the ocean in a whale watching boat. It was so amazing to see the whales breeching (jumping out of the water). I even got whale spray on my face at one point. It was awesome!
On our last night we decided we needed to stay in a hotel close to San Diego. So we booked a hotel about halfway between L.A. and San Diego. We used our trusty gps and of course it took us to the wrong hotel. Eventually we got it all figured out and we made it to our hotel. Allie decided to try out the pool, but of course, California in August is like 70 degrees and the water was freezing. I can't understand why people flock to the beaches there when it's always relatively cool out and the ocean is always frigid!
Anyway, our last morning in California dawned cloudy and cool and it looked like rain. We headed to San Diego anyway to go to Sea World. It was amazing! Immediately when we got there we headed to see the dolphins. People were crowding around the dolphin pool putting their hands in the water and the dolphins were swimming right up to them. We all got to touch the dolphins. It was really cool. Then we went to see the sharks, which are my favorites. They were in a large building and we walked through and got to look at them all, and then near the exit to the building there was a huge tunnel with sharks swimming all around and over us. Right next to the sharks were the turtles and they were all really cute. I loved the turtles and the sharks, they were my favorite part of Sea World. Then we went to the Shamu Show and that was really cool. It's crazy that they can train those huge animals to perform like that! It was too cold and gross out for us to go on any of the water rides while we were there, but we did ride up the observation tower so that we could see the surrounding area. I think we saw just about everything there. We even went to the Arctic exhibit and everything!
Sea World was so cool! It was kind of like a zoo on steroids, and I love the zoo! I absolutely loved it, I just wish they would have let me swim with the sharks while I was there.

This day was top-notch!

Roswell, NM is #48!

Last summer I went on a road trip with my mom and little sister. We went to California and spent some great time on the beach. We also went to sea world, but that's a different blog post. On our way back to Kansas we drove through Arizona, which was so stinking hot. It was like over 120 degrees outside. Then we went through New Mexico. We decided to take a little detour through the back roads of the state and check out the alien capitol of the world, Roswell, NM.
The trip there itself was pretty eventful. As we were driving past the White Sands Missile Range in the wee hours of the morning, with no other cars on the road, all of a sudden we came to a military check point. Imagine, sleeping in the back seat of the car and out of nowhere you hear someone tapping on the window to have you roll it down. Then there are all of these military guys shining their flashlights in on you and checking out everything that's in the car. And all the while you're completely disoriented because you've been woken up in the middle of your REM cycle. Well, luckily we were carrying nothing illegal and they let us go on our merry way. When I woke up the next morning I thought it was all a really weird dream until my mom affirmed it.
Anyway, we made it to Roswell by morning and we were greeted by a charming little town with lots of alien themed stuff. We went to the alien McDonald's for breakfast, and then we went to the UFO Museum. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more stuff in it, but it was entertaining and they had a ton of information on the crash that happened there in the 1940s. I really enjoyed it because I am a nerd and I love the alien stuff. I think it's intriguing. I wish I had more time to spend there.
I'm glad that I got to go to Roswell, but now I really want to go back for the UFO convention some year. Maybe I should add that to the list. It could be number 101!

Outside the UFO Museum

(P)Ark City, USA

Curtis at Newman Park.

If you're poor and you love being outside, there isn't a better place to live than good 'ol Ark City, KS. This town has so many parks in it! There are three within easy walking distance of my house. But there are also some really cool ones a little farther away. Since Curtis and I are poor and we love to play outside and just do fun stuff together, I decided we should start going "parking." You know, playing in the parks. We have starting going to different parks on Saturdays for picnics and it's been a lot of fun!

Last Saturday we went to Walnut Park. It's a little used park right down by the Walnut River. It's really nice because it isn't very busy, like the bigger parks in town. We were able to enjoy a nice little lunch without other people bothering us. It was also really cool because we got to go down by the river to look for arrowheads (people find them there all the time).

This is the Walnut River at Walnut Park.

Curtis playing by the steamboat at Walnut Park.

Today Curtis and I went to Newman Park. I think this is probably the least used park in town. It's so cool though! It has a big fort that looks like a fort lookout post. We ate our lunch and then had fun with the equipment. My only complaint about this park is that it isn't kept up as well as the other ones in town. The grass is full of stickers and the fort is starting to get a little rundown, but as it was built in the 1920s I guess that's to be expected.

Curtis on the Fort!

Numero Seis, Leave the country.

I have always loved to explore cool places. The only problem is that for me this usually occurs not far from home. For our honeymoon, Curtis's parents were so kind as to send us on a cruise, thus fulfilling one of my lifetime goals, to leave the country.
Everything about our cruise was wonderful! We left on New Years Day on a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We spent a couple of lazy days at sea, exploring the boat and eating a lot, before getting to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. When we got to Cabo, Curtis and I headed straight for the beach. We had to walk around the huge marina to get there and we got to see part of the town on the way to the beach. Unfortunately the part of the town adjacent to the marina was pretty much just bars, so there wasn't much of interest to me there. Anyway, it was really hot and humid, not to mention I was carrying a huge bag with our towels and books and Curtis's sunscreen, so we were ready to jump in the water when we finally got to the beach. IT WAS FREEZING!! But it was still great to cool off and we just laid on the beach the whole afternoon and relaxed.
When we finally decided to head back to the boat we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe, because that's one of my favorite places to go when I'm traveling. (I always have to get a shot glass.) We went in and sat down and picked up the menu. We then realized that the prices there were outrageous. It was $24 for a Coke! We asked the waitress and found out that the prices were in Mexican money, which made more sense. I had no idea that they used the dollar sign in Mexico!
We spent two days in Cabo. The second day Curtis and I walked around some of the shops a little bit, but they were mostly just tourist traps.
The next day we were in Puerto Vallarta. I decided to try out the ocean one more time. It wasn't freezing! Who knew that the ocean could actually be enjoyable? It was wonderful. We spent the day on the beach again. Other than having to tell the vendors over and over again that no, we did not want to buy anything, it was a wonderful, relaxing day. In the late afternoon we decided that we should walk some in town. We saw a Mexican Wal-Mart and all of the crazy drivers. I was sad when we had to get back on our boat.
We then had to more days at sea before we landed back in California. I loved our boat. It was the Carnival Splendor. The food was great, especially dinner in the formal dining rooms. Our wait staff was so awesome. They were funny and they knew us so well!
Probably the only thing I would do differently if I get the opportunity to do this again would be to research the places where I'll be going on shore so I'll know about cool things to go do.
I love traveling and I hope I get more opportunities to do so in the future. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely no place like home and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I am one of those crazies who actually still believe in America and I think it's the greatest country in the world, I'm just fascinated with other cultures and I want to go everywhere before I die!

This is curtis and I on the beach at Cabo San Lucas. Note our boat in the background.

"I have a new name!"

...said my blog. Actually I do too.. In honor of my marriage I decided that it was time to change the name of my blog. I know what you're asking yourself..

"When did this happen?"

"Why didn't I know about this?"

"What does this mean for the future of everyone's favorite blog?"

Not to worry, I would be more than happy to answer all of these questions for you!

This happened on December 30th, so I've been married for over two months now! I got married in the Logan, Utah, temple which, as those people who know me the best can tell you, has always been my favorite! And it is absolutely beautiful. Someday I will have pictures available for all of my fans!

If you didn't know about this it probably means you don't know me very well. Not to worry, if I actually start blogging consistently like I keep saying I will you'll know me well in no time!

This won't change anything for the purpose of my blog. I'm still going to do everything on my list! The only difference is that now instead of doing it before I'm married I'll just do it before they ring my death toll!

This is where I got married: Logan, UT Temple

This is some more information about temples: Temples

It's Official!

I'm terrible at this whole blogging thing. Once every few months I start to write something and it never seems to get finished. I'm going to try to do better in the future. I just get so caught up in doing stuff that I forget to write about it. It's kind of like how I journal. I'll do really well for about a month and I'll write constantly, and then I just kind of stop. The funny thing is that I love to write. I love writing in my journal and I love writing letters and I love writing on my blog. I just don't ever do it. Especially when big things are happening to me, which is when I need to write the most. I'm so weird! I'm going to do better, no promises on how much better though..