http://www3.caringbridge.org/oh/lola/index.htm Rest in Peace Mama Salud. I love you and I miss you... if you get bored up there try to teach God how to cook filipino.
My heart is with Uncle Sid & his family.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
California Roadtrip Day 5.1 : Saturday Morning
Awesome!!! I wake up refreshed after my first time EVER camping. Camping is pretty cool... it's nice getting in touch with nature even if it is 5 feet away from a main highway.
So we decided today was going to be our tourist day. 1st stop- a small detour to Carlsbad Caverns (the home of Caverns spanning OVER 50 football fields and more than 1 million bats who migrate twice a year and leave the caves in whirlwind formation at night). We make our way though red dusty mountains full of cacti and tumbleweed, up semi-steep slopes and blasting cold air, and find ourselves at the top of a mountain in a little nest full of adobe lodgings and native-american tee pees.
Under all of this is where the caverns lie.
We buy the tickets (pretty cheap if you ask me at $15 a pop), and make our through a small lane to the entrance of the MAIN CAVE. Awesome. If you've never been to a cavern than I completely suggest that you get yourself a present and go, because what I am about to describe is not nearly CLOSE to what it was really like.
The completely-independent tour lasts 2 hours. (Independent as in no tour guide). We went almost 200 miles below ground in 30 minutes, winding our way through castles of dew and fairy homes and bottomless pits. For the next hour and a half we walked (legs ACHING) around in the middle of the earth, trying to take pictures but failing miserably, amazed at the fact that the air was COOL and not hot. Reds, blues, whites, blacks. Rocks that looked like cloth, rocks that looked like water, rocks that looked like Ronald Reagan and skeletons and ice cream.
An interesting happened at the end of the tour though. We walk through a little tunnel towards a sign that says "Rest Area" and somehow find ourselves in a Mos Eisley bar. The last room in the tour was nothing but a huge underground market place, great circles of light gathered together for the sole purpose of making a buck. It was really weird.
At the end the only way up was through a glass elevator (if you can name both movies than kudos for you!), where you can see yourself moving past thousands of feet at break-neck speed. The elevator- run by a rickety old man who looked to be about a hundred- brings you back to the ticket booth/museum. There you can see people from 50 years ago making the journey that you just did without the fun of elevators or pathways.
We still had a long way to go. It was noon when we were left Carlsbad. In front of us lay our next stop: Roswell, New Mexico.
(To be continued to Day 5.2. Find out tomorrow what we did with the rest of our day.)
Awesome!!! I wake up refreshed after my first time EVER camping. Camping is pretty cool... it's nice getting in touch with nature even if it is 5 feet away from a main highway.
So we decided today was going to be our tourist day. 1st stop- a small detour to Carlsbad Caverns (the home of Caverns spanning OVER 50 football fields and more than 1 million bats who migrate twice a year and leave the caves in whirlwind formation at night). We make our way though red dusty mountains full of cacti and tumbleweed, up semi-steep slopes and blasting cold air, and find ourselves at the top of a mountain in a little nest full of adobe lodgings and native-american tee pees.
Under all of this is where the caverns lie.
We buy the tickets (pretty cheap if you ask me at $15 a pop), and make our through a small lane to the entrance of the MAIN CAVE. Awesome. If you've never been to a cavern than I completely suggest that you get yourself a present and go, because what I am about to describe is not nearly CLOSE to what it was really like.
The completely-independent tour lasts 2 hours. (Independent as in no tour guide). We went almost 200 miles below ground in 30 minutes, winding our way through castles of dew and fairy homes and bottomless pits. For the next hour and a half we walked (legs ACHING) around in the middle of the earth, trying to take pictures but failing miserably, amazed at the fact that the air was COOL and not hot. Reds, blues, whites, blacks. Rocks that looked like cloth, rocks that looked like water, rocks that looked like Ronald Reagan and skeletons and ice cream.
An interesting happened at the end of the tour though. We walk through a little tunnel towards a sign that says "Rest Area" and somehow find ourselves in a Mos Eisley bar. The last room in the tour was nothing but a huge underground market place, great circles of light gathered together for the sole purpose of making a buck. It was really weird.
At the end the only way up was through a glass elevator (if you can name both movies than kudos for you!), where you can see yourself moving past thousands of feet at break-neck speed. The elevator- run by a rickety old man who looked to be about a hundred- brings you back to the ticket booth/museum. There you can see people from 50 years ago making the journey that you just did without the fun of elevators or pathways.
We still had a long way to go. It was noon when we were left Carlsbad. In front of us lay our next stop: Roswell, New Mexico.
(To be continued to Day 5.2. Find out tomorrow what we did with the rest of our day.)
Friday, April 22, 2005
California Roadtrip Day 3 & 4: Thursday & Friday
I'm combining these two days because even though they were full and happy days for myself for a reader they do not seem too interesting on the page. These days are basically the base of the mountain... after them there is nothing but new adventures for me.
I guess you can say these two days were the point of the trip where if we wanted to turn back it would be the last chance to do so.
We drove to Arlington to see my beautiful family on day 3... spending the night and having great filipino food in our tummies (thanx Mommy). Note: A funny little thing that happened there was the next morning we had to unpack half of the U-haul because I accidentally packed ALL of Darryl's clothing in the middle and he had nothing for the road trip. Sorry Darryl :p (He had been using a lucky pair of drawers that had been mistakenly packed in my luggage and a couple of Pete & Andy's shirts.)
On day 4 we set out to the west. As a great friend in a little movie once said, "If I take one more step, it will be the farthest away from home I've ever been." Yeah... that was my situation. Darryl and I had been almost bored for the trip so far and now that we were heading west we started to perk up a little.
A week before the roadtrip started the four of us sat down and mapped out where we wanted to go. We finally decided that after Texas we would head up to New Mexico, through Carlsbad Caverns & Roswell, then to Colorado, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Damn (is that spelled right?), Las Vegas, and finally LA. Day 4 was through New Mexico to Carlsbad Caverns, where we would camp for the night and explore the next day.
Misc sights seen on the way to Carlsbad:
-Lots of pouring rain
-A chorus of silver energy-saving windmills waving from the top of a mountain range like angels in heaven. (sorry... cheesey :)
-LOTS of small poe-dunk towns.
-LOTS of Dairy Queens in the small poe-dunk towns.
Carlsbad was cold. It was smack dab in the middle of nothingness... we had to drive through far-reaching horizons and black night skies to get there. We pitched tent at a campground about a foot away from the main road. Peter showed me how to make a tent (my first time!!) while Andy started a fire. We stayed up to cook some bar-b-que my mother had prepared for the trip and- at around 1am- went to bed nice and full.
(To be continued... On to the Caverns and a town full of Aliens!!!)
I'm combining these two days because even though they were full and happy days for myself for a reader they do not seem too interesting on the page. These days are basically the base of the mountain... after them there is nothing but new adventures for me.
I guess you can say these two days were the point of the trip where if we wanted to turn back it would be the last chance to do so.
We drove to Arlington to see my beautiful family on day 3... spending the night and having great filipino food in our tummies (thanx Mommy). Note: A funny little thing that happened there was the next morning we had to unpack half of the U-haul because I accidentally packed ALL of Darryl's clothing in the middle and he had nothing for the road trip. Sorry Darryl :p (He had been using a lucky pair of drawers that had been mistakenly packed in my luggage and a couple of Pete & Andy's shirts.)
On day 4 we set out to the west. As a great friend in a little movie once said, "If I take one more step, it will be the farthest away from home I've ever been." Yeah... that was my situation. Darryl and I had been almost bored for the trip so far and now that we were heading west we started to perk up a little.
A week before the roadtrip started the four of us sat down and mapped out where we wanted to go. We finally decided that after Texas we would head up to New Mexico, through Carlsbad Caverns & Roswell, then to Colorado, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Damn (is that spelled right?), Las Vegas, and finally LA. Day 4 was through New Mexico to Carlsbad Caverns, where we would camp for the night and explore the next day.
Misc sights seen on the way to Carlsbad:
-Lots of pouring rain
-A chorus of silver energy-saving windmills waving from the top of a mountain range like angels in heaven. (sorry... cheesey :)
-LOTS of small poe-dunk towns.
-LOTS of Dairy Queens in the small poe-dunk towns.
Carlsbad was cold. It was smack dab in the middle of nothingness... we had to drive through far-reaching horizons and black night skies to get there. We pitched tent at a campground about a foot away from the main road. Peter showed me how to make a tent (my first time!!) while Andy started a fire. We stayed up to cook some bar-b-que my mother had prepared for the trip and- at around 1am- went to bed nice and full.
(To be continued... On to the Caverns and a town full of Aliens!!!)
Thursday, April 21, 2005
California Roadtrip Day: 2 Wednesday
Everyone gets up pretty early and refreshed, so without any problems we eat breakfast and make our way to New Orleans. We leave Jacksonville, pass Tallahassee, then drive through the next 2 states in a jiffy. For me it was nothing too astonishing... I've done the drive from Miami to Dallas with Darryl billions of times during the last 3 years so this was all old history. Pete and Andy enjoyed the view though. Andy was really amazed that the rest of south-east America wasn't like greater Miami or 95 North.
Finally, just as the sun was going to sleep, we come upon the little town called Slidell, Louisiana. Diane had suggested we stay there during a small talk on my last week of work... she did her own trip to California when she was my age and she remembered that it was a nice little stop just a few minutes from the party-side of New Orleans.
She was right. It was really refreshing dropping the U-haul off at the hotel for a change. ( It was good on our gas bill, as well. ) When we got to Bourbon Street we found a lucky parking spot a block away from all the action... and the rest, as we say, is history.
Music, booze, & nudity galore!
Seriously- it's a charming town. Darryl and I had gone there with Lacy and Michelle last September on a crusade to run away from the 4 hurricanes rummaging through Miami. The buildings and streets are like something out of a movie. Cobblestone and iron combined with old french buildings and street lamps... if you can only imagine. Then down Bourbon Street there's nothing but balconies full of happy crowds, jazz music blazing out from every door, bars taking over the streets, and happy costumed locals and visitors alike. Peter was blushing from the perverse pictures lining the various windows of sleaze clubs and gentlemen hang-outs. Andy was laughing at the many girls mooning us post-Mardi Gras from the balconies.
After walking up the street and seeing the sights we found a nice restaurant right on the walk and had some jumbo, shrimp creole, and other types of hot New Orleans plates. And, let me tell you, it was damn good. The more money you spend on the food the more it is worth it. We digested our meals at a gritty jazz bar next door, dark and filled with cinnamony smoke from the patrons inside, lively and cool to match the all-black, all-soul band on stage. The men (a pianist, drummer, sax player, and guitarist) were in bow ties and slacks, while the big, valumptous black bertha on the mic shimmered in her red dress and matching red boa.
Awesome. If you ever have any extra time, I suggest you spend it there.
The rest of the night was spent bar-hopping and gift-shopping. We topped the experience with an eerie drive through the above-ground cemeteries in the French Quarter, enjoyed a little taste of the local scum after literally driving through a drug bust, then went back to Slidell and called it a (fat & satisfied) night.
(On to Day 3!... Tomorrow)
Everyone gets up pretty early and refreshed, so without any problems we eat breakfast and make our way to New Orleans. We leave Jacksonville, pass Tallahassee, then drive through the next 2 states in a jiffy. For me it was nothing too astonishing... I've done the drive from Miami to Dallas with Darryl billions of times during the last 3 years so this was all old history. Pete and Andy enjoyed the view though. Andy was really amazed that the rest of south-east America wasn't like greater Miami or 95 North.
Finally, just as the sun was going to sleep, we come upon the little town called Slidell, Louisiana. Diane had suggested we stay there during a small talk on my last week of work... she did her own trip to California when she was my age and she remembered that it was a nice little stop just a few minutes from the party-side of New Orleans.
She was right. It was really refreshing dropping the U-haul off at the hotel for a change. ( It was good on our gas bill, as well. ) When we got to Bourbon Street we found a lucky parking spot a block away from all the action... and the rest, as we say, is history.
Music, booze, & nudity galore!
Seriously- it's a charming town. Darryl and I had gone there with Lacy and Michelle last September on a crusade to run away from the 4 hurricanes rummaging through Miami. The buildings and streets are like something out of a movie. Cobblestone and iron combined with old french buildings and street lamps... if you can only imagine. Then down Bourbon Street there's nothing but balconies full of happy crowds, jazz music blazing out from every door, bars taking over the streets, and happy costumed locals and visitors alike. Peter was blushing from the perverse pictures lining the various windows of sleaze clubs and gentlemen hang-outs. Andy was laughing at the many girls mooning us post-Mardi Gras from the balconies.
After walking up the street and seeing the sights we found a nice restaurant right on the walk and had some jumbo, shrimp creole, and other types of hot New Orleans plates. And, let me tell you, it was damn good. The more money you spend on the food the more it is worth it. We digested our meals at a gritty jazz bar next door, dark and filled with cinnamony smoke from the patrons inside, lively and cool to match the all-black, all-soul band on stage. The men (a pianist, drummer, sax player, and guitarist) were in bow ties and slacks, while the big, valumptous black bertha on the mic shimmered in her red dress and matching red boa.
Awesome. If you ever have any extra time, I suggest you spend it there.
The rest of the night was spent bar-hopping and gift-shopping. We topped the experience with an eerie drive through the above-ground cemeteries in the French Quarter, enjoyed a little taste of the local scum after literally driving through a drug bust, then went back to Slidell and called it a (fat & satisfied) night.
(On to Day 3!... Tomorrow)
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Alrighty. The Big One. If you wanna know how my roadtrip went read this entry. And pray for me, because this b*$&% is gonna take me the whole night to type out.
CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME
Road Trip Day 1 (Tuesday)
Geez Louise! The journey can't start until we leave and if there was one thing we couldn't seem to do, it was leave. Our original plan of being done with all of the packing by Monday night screamed failure as the sun came up Tuesday on a half empty Uhaul. Noon rolls around... still not done. 4pm rolls around... still not done.
Finally, as the sun was starting to set and the dreaded South Miami traffic started NOT moving, we finished putting the last of the stuff in the Uhaul (Made possible by the many hours of Tetris training... Thanks Nintendo!), said goodbye to the last 3 years of slavery & strife ( thanks Art Institute...) and said hello to the road.
Fortunately we had enough breathing space for the 4 of us. Darryl and I drove in my car while Andy and Pete drove the Uhaul in the back. Each car had it's own walkie talkie (so we could make fun of each other without the danger of getting any physical comebacks) and Andy had found this nifty device that would transmit the music he was playing from his mp3 player to the few lucky folks who drove close enough to receive the signal.
Needless to say we had a lot of games like "Guess the singer" and "Guess what movie."
We originally were supposed to camp out in Tallahassee the first night, but because of our late start we ended up finding a cheap hotel in Jacksonville (the home town of Urban the Great). Cheap meant one bed... Andy and Pete were gracious enough to take the floor.
All plans were set for the next morning, when we would get up early and find our way to that great city of Jazz... New Orleans.
(to be continued... tomorrow. I wussed out. This story will be better told in installments anyway. )
CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME
Road Trip Day 1 (Tuesday)
Geez Louise! The journey can't start until we leave and if there was one thing we couldn't seem to do, it was leave. Our original plan of being done with all of the packing by Monday night screamed failure as the sun came up Tuesday on a half empty Uhaul. Noon rolls around... still not done. 4pm rolls around... still not done.
Finally, as the sun was starting to set and the dreaded South Miami traffic started NOT moving, we finished putting the last of the stuff in the Uhaul (Made possible by the many hours of Tetris training... Thanks Nintendo!), said goodbye to the last 3 years of slavery & strife ( thanks Art Institute...) and said hello to the road.
Fortunately we had enough breathing space for the 4 of us. Darryl and I drove in my car while Andy and Pete drove the Uhaul in the back. Each car had it's own walkie talkie (so we could make fun of each other without the danger of getting any physical comebacks) and Andy had found this nifty device that would transmit the music he was playing from his mp3 player to the few lucky folks who drove close enough to receive the signal.
Needless to say we had a lot of games like "Guess the singer" and "Guess what movie."
We originally were supposed to camp out in Tallahassee the first night, but because of our late start we ended up finding a cheap hotel in Jacksonville (the home town of Urban the Great). Cheap meant one bed... Andy and Pete were gracious enough to take the floor.
All plans were set for the next morning, when we would get up early and find our way to that great city of Jazz... New Orleans.
(to be continued... tomorrow. I wussed out. This story will be better told in installments anyway. )
Monday, April 18, 2005
California here i am!
Hey everyone (or no one.... I don't know if anyone reads this anymore). I'm in California! Geezus... so much has happened. Let me give you a quick rundown:
1. Left Miami for good (or at least until I get enough money to go back and ENJOY it).
2. Went on 10 DAY ROAD TRIP. Hopefully my next blog will detail everything that happened during it. It was a LOT of fun... I've always wanted to have a cross-country road trip and it was everything I wanted it to be.
3. Got to California and FOUND A HOUSE on MY FIRST DAY!!!!! (or, let's say PETER found the house. Thanx Pete :)
4. Am COMPLETELY BROKE for the first time in my LIFE, have no job, no money, and a new cat (her named is Madonna but we're going to change it. This is not to say that Eclipse is not my number one gal. I love Eclipse... no cat can ever beat Eclipse... but a girl can only go so long without a feline companion and I caved this Saturday.)
And you know what? Even though I don't have any money, any jobs, or any hope of paying off the many people who love and support me (including the people who rent the house to me and the electric/water/internet companies) I am happy.
I love California and I think this move was a good idea.
Hey everyone (or no one.... I don't know if anyone reads this anymore). I'm in California! Geezus... so much has happened. Let me give you a quick rundown:
1. Left Miami for good (or at least until I get enough money to go back and ENJOY it).
2. Went on 10 DAY ROAD TRIP. Hopefully my next blog will detail everything that happened during it. It was a LOT of fun... I've always wanted to have a cross-country road trip and it was everything I wanted it to be.
3. Got to California and FOUND A HOUSE on MY FIRST DAY!!!!! (or, let's say PETER found the house. Thanx Pete :)
4. Am COMPLETELY BROKE for the first time in my LIFE, have no job, no money, and a new cat (her named is Madonna but we're going to change it. This is not to say that Eclipse is not my number one gal. I love Eclipse... no cat can ever beat Eclipse... but a girl can only go so long without a feline companion and I caved this Saturday.)
And you know what? Even though I don't have any money, any jobs, or any hope of paying off the many people who love and support me (including the people who rent the house to me and the electric/water/internet companies) I am happy.
I love California and I think this move was a good idea.
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