Funnest Week EVER

Well I am happy to report that I just experienced one of the most fun weeks EVER! The even better news is that this summer I will get to beat that! I had so much fun touring the east coast with my family and friends that I am going back this summer. This next time I will be bringing my two favorite people, Saydee and Richard!

On Sunday the 20th, I packed up my little suitcase and hopped on the Salt Lake bound shuttle. I packed my backpack chuck full with granola bars and bagels =). I successfully made it to the Salt Lake City Airport and boarded my flight to Washington DC. It was a long day but well worth the travel! I met up with a dear friend that I had never met in person. I kinda felt like I was meeting up with a boy off the internet. Fear not, my friend was NOT a bald 60 year old man, but a fun girl that is my age. I felt we made a very quick connection and I felt like we had been friends for ever.

Monday we headed to the Baltimore Aquarium! It was so fun and while I really enjoyed it, I kept thinking about how much Saydee would have enjoyed the aquarium. My sister came with us and it was fun because she is miss-biology-know-everything and was able to explain lots!

That night we went out for crabs. I am such a wimp when it comes to venturing out and trying new foods. Not sure what on earth my problem is but I did it, I ate 2.5 crabs thanks to Dan who started decrabbing my crab =). It wasn't too bad! I can now say that I have eaten Maryland crabs, which to some is a right of passage.

Tuesday we got up and got ready and headed to Ellicott City, which is a bunch of old homes that have since been turned into shops and restaurants. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and when I go back this summer, I want to finish going through the rest of the shops! That afternoon I had to work, dang me, I need to learn to take a real vacation and not work while at play. I stayed up late late late that night talking with my friend and was so sad that it was going to be my last night there :(

Wednesday I met up with the lady who owns the company that I do most of my work for. We went to a fun little Jewish Delli and I had a Schwarma (sp?). Again, I was quite proud of my adventuring taste buds because typically I would stick with something boring like a hamburger or even worse a slice of pizza. The schwarma was a pita type thing filled with stuff I didn't really recognize, apparently I live under a rock :-) It was very tasty and I would be all for going to get another one next time I visit a Jewish Delli.

Shortly after lunch I boarded the DC Metro and headed to Washington DC to see my sister and meet up with my parents. My sister is doing her student teaching at an "urban" high school. She is conquering the classroom and is a great teacher! She is not student teaching, she is actually the teacher because the teacher has been out with health problems since the Fall. That night we went to the Washington and Lincoln Monuments, it was so neat to see those!

Thursday my parents and I put on our walking shoes and toured the Holocaust Museum and a couple of the Smithsonians. BIG MISTAKE! I should have not put on my walking shoes, but my regular old brown shoes! Seriously I got the WORST blisters ever from wearing "walking shoes." My blisters were growing blisters. By the end of the day I was hobbling around and some lady asked me if I "sprained my toe." I still laugh at that because honestly........have you ever seen somebody limping and thought...."hmmmm, wonder if they sprained their toe?" It was kind of her to ask and I don't mean to talk trash about the nice lady!

Thursday evening we took an elevator to the top of the Washington Monument which was cool. Friday we went to the Air and Space Museum and my mom and I got stuck in the WORST RAIN STORM EVER! I was tempted to strip and walk around in my nothings because I was FREEZING cold. My pants were so wet that I could have taken them off and wrung them out! They were SO wet! The rain was coming down horizontally. Seriously straight at me! It was crazy but it made the day a true adventure.

That afternoon we hopped on the Metro and headed for the bus! We took a bus to New York City where we met up with my other sister. Not gonna lie, I have the maturity of an 8-year old boy, but it makes life fun. The bus ride was really bumpy. There was one of those fancy bathrooms in the back of the bus. A man walked in to use the facilities and all of a sudden the bus driver slammed on the breaks. We hear and thud and a groan coming from the bathroom!!!! It was so funny. The man emerged from the bathroom and appeared unharmed. Seriously hilarous!

It was a great weekend in New York! That was my first experience with the city and honestly it was OVERWHELMING! I am definitely a city girl and love big crowds, shopping and walking around. I think what was so overwhelming to me was the fact that I only had 24 hours to take it all in and that is not NEARLY enough! I would LOVE to go back! In New York we went to Ground Zero, Battery Park, Central Park, Stage Delli, Stardust (DEFINITELY going there again), Times Square, the M&M factory (which is MUCH cooler than the Hershey's factory) and last but NOT least.....WICKED! Wicked was amazing!

My favorite scene in Wicked hands down was when Elpheba sang, "No Good Dead." She was amazing! She was a "new" Elpheba and I can't imagine that anybody could be better than her! It was a great night! We even had AMAZING seats! We were really close to the stage (thanks Dad).

Sunday morning I hopped back on the plane and headed home. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO ready to see Saydee and Richard! Poor Saydee probably thought that I up and left her. Thank goodness for my nightly and morningly (yup it is a word) Skype calls. I don't think I will leave a child that young again for that long. She didn't understand what was going on and has been super clingy this week. I feel bad I traumatized the poor girl.

Alll in all it was a GREAT trip and I am excited to go back this summer! It will be fun and I can't wait to expose Richard to the East Coast and hopefully convince him to move there =).