Backpacking in the French Alps

Yes, that is snow.... In July.... and I'm wearing shorts and Chacos...

Refuge at the top of the mountain.

Our little break about two hours in. I'm eating peanut butter and an apple. I found out that pb is a precious commodity in the Alps.

My best friend and me right before we pitched our tent.

an uninhabited island, an episode with a raccoon, and sand fleas

What better way to pass your summer vacation than by spending a night on a beachfront campsite on an uninhabited island? Right? Well, yeah, that's what I thought as I boarded the small passenger-only ferry that transports people from the mainland across the sound to Bare Island, NC.
The island is part of a state park called Hammocks Beach State Park. While no one lives on the island, anyone can pay $5, and ride the 15 minute ferry to this beautiful piece of land located south of Emerald Isle. For a few extra bucks, you can camp at one of the 12 campsites on the island, and that's exactly what my family decided to do.
As I disembarked the ferry, I looked at the sand tail in front of us that wound through a maritime forest for a mile. The searing summer sun beat down on me and made my 20 pound backpack feel much heavier than it actually was.




The trek across the island (from the sound side to the ocean side) wasn't too hard- it was just flat and sandy. As I crested the last dune, I was in awe of the natural unspoiled beach the stretched for miles! I squinted in the sunlight that reflected off the water and watched the waves lick the shoreline.
Our campsite was another half mile hike down the beach. Between my parents and me, we had all our camping gear on our backs: our tent, all the drinking water and food we would need, clothes, sunscreen, and towels.
We pitched our tent as fast as we possibly could in the scorching heat, threw on our swimsuits and ran down to cool off in the ocean. Boy, did the water feel refreshing!
The waves were amazing! A die-hard surfer who had carried his surfboard across the island was out shredding the gnarly waves. I was jealous that I hadn't brought a board with me. But oh well, I had had enough stuff to carry across the island.
For dinner that night we just ate meal replacement bars and drank our warmed-by-the-Carolina-sun water.
We took a stroll down the beach as the sun set and did some shelling. The sea shells were some of the biggest I’d even seen!
When night came, I was astonished by the amount of starts that were visible. We made our way back to our campsite by the moonlight that illuminated the beach.
There was a nice breeze that was blowing off the ocean that made the air cool down some. We climbed into our tent, thinking what a good night sleep we would get.
Never- I repeat- NEVER underestimate a raccoon’s sense of smell! And- Never store your food in your tent (which was exactly what we did).
In the middle of the night we heard a small scratching noise our side our tent. This strange sound kept persisting. Then my mom, who was sleeping near the side of the tent, felt something outside the tent brush up against her back. She hit the side of the tent, and whatever it was scampered away only to return a few minutes later. We dealt with the scratching and sniffing outside our tent all night long.
When we awoke the next morning to a quarter sized hole chewed into the bottom of our tent by very hungry raccoon.
Because of the problems with the raccoon and the other problem with I had with being eaten alive with sand fleas, or no-see-ems,(I’m not sure which one) we decided not to spend another night there!
It was a fun experience, but next time we won’t store our food inside our tent!

the magic of summer

There is a magical sensation about the season of summer. Fireflies glittering in the night sky, baseball games and hot dogs, grilled corn on the cob, Independence Day fireworks and cookouts, sleepover pool parties where you swim into the night. Those are just a few things I love.


One of my favorite books Summer: a User's Guide (by Suzanne Brown) has this to say about summer:
"I'm madly in love with summer and the feelings it evokes- the carefree spirit of freedom and adventure that fall, winter, and spring simply don't provide. Summer entices us to lose our inhibitions, to have fun, to be curious, and to seek adventure."


Every summer there is always an unforgettable adventure that happens. Last summer it was our sailing adventure that my Uncle Jeff took us on to an uninhabited island
where we got lost during a thunderstorm. Summer before that it was a side trip to the coast of Italy that included sleeping on the floor of a train station to get there.


Whatever you do in these next two months, try to make this summer one big unforgettable adventure!

Horrible Headaches

Well, I'm pretty much over my minor concussion. I'm still not up to going for 3 mile runs, but I hope to be able to do that by the end of this week.

Unfortunately, I don't have an awesome story to go with the concussion. It's not like my sister's story of her rock climbing accident that ended in the emergency room and two staples in her head holding it together. I had just finished mowing half of my backyard and was pulling the lawn mower up hill. I was walking up hill facing forward with both hand behind me pulling the lawn mower. I slipped, and since my hands were behind me on the mower, I had nothing to brace myself with. I smacked my head on the ground really really hard. I didn't pass out, but it was so painful, and my head immediately started aching with a horrible headache. I had an instant knot on the top left side of my forehead along with a scrape, a bloody cut under my eye, and a swollen jaw. I felt unusually tired, so I just went back inside and worked on homework. A few hours after the headache subsided, a horrible throbbing set in. I went to sleep, thinking I would feel better in the morning. The next day I was still extremely tired (which for anyone who knows me well knows I am rarely, if ever, out of energy). I was also extremely emotional, bursting into tears for no reason and crying for half an hour or so at a time. At school, I felt very disoriented, and it was hard for me to have a normal conversation because I felt like I was in a fog. When I got home, I went to bed to sleep since I was to tired to do anything else. My mom, noticing how I was acting different, called a friend of our who is a doctor and explained everything that had happened and how I was acting weird. He said I definitely had a concussion, and I should go to the ER. I hate emergency rooms, so I waited another day and just went to my regular doctor. It ended up that I did have a minor concussion. I had to have a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding on my brain. Thank God everything came back ok. I was told to get lots of rest, which I did! I would take a 2 hour nap during the day and then sleep for over 9 hours at night. That is totally abnormal for me since I'm normally a bundle of energy with just 6 to 7 hours of sleep.

A few days after the accident, my dad informed me that he bought accident insurance for me since I'm so accident-pron... This wasn't the first time I've racked up thousands as dollars worth of medical bills. Maybe I should just live in a bubble, but even then I'm sure I would find someway to hurt myself.

The Exploration

Sometimes it's nice to explore things that you probably shouldn't, like the abandoned house, the cave in the rocks, or even the bend around the corner. Never forfeit the chance to see something new.

Lead Me

I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and have loved it ever since. It was written to challege men to be the spiritual leader of their home. Mark Hamitt, who wrote "Lead Me", said this about the song, "This song is the cry of a wife to be led by her husband, the cry of children to be led by their Father, and ends with the prayer of a husband and father to be led by God in the great responsibility of building a home on the solid foundation of Christ."

Favorite Coffee Cafes

Growing up, neither of my parents drank coffee. (When I was about 9, we got a coffee maker, but one day my mom left the coffee grounds in the pot for a few weeks. Sadly, it got all moldy and nasty so she threw it in the rubbish.) However, my granny would drink about eight cups of coffee a day. When we'd go to Granny's house, she would make us kids little cups of coffee that consisted mostly of cream with about a tablespoon of coffee. I was never crazy about that stuff until the summer I went to camp when I was 17. Over that summer, I got addicted to coffee! Now I have an amazing coffee maker (thanks to my neighbor) and bags of freshly ground coffee (compliments of my sister and brother-in-law's roasting company.) Unlike most people, I drink my coffee black- no cream, no sugar. Cream and sugar just ruin the real flavor of the coffee.
Here is a list of some great places where I've gotten coffee, mochas, & cappuccino:

Harmony House (Dayton, TN) Small town coffee house with a comfy atmosphere. Has amazing iced coffees and chocolate covered coffee beans. The owner is really friendly. Every time I've been in there, he's always working. He seems to know everyone in town.
http://www.harmonyhousecoffee.com/

Croissants de France (Key West, FL)This small cafe is located on Duval Street in Key West and has reasonably priced coffee and mouth watering pastries. I got a cup of coffee and a raspberry pastry. Absolutely delicious! The pastry chef is French and one of the workers was Mexican, so we enjoyed speaking French and Spanish with them!
http://www.croissantsdefrance.com/

Ocracoke Coffee Co. (Ocracoke Island, NC) The coffee is strong and is some of the best I've ever had! They also sell healthy smoothies, teas, espresso and pastries here. This is a great place to meet the locals.
http://www.ocracokeisland.com/ocracoke_coffee.htm



The Bar (Riomaggiore, Italy) Little cafe in Italy with outside setting. Best cappuccino in the world - they're very bitter! They also sell fresh pastries which are great for breakfast or a snack. In the evenings when football (soccer) games where on, a tv was set up where the outdoor seating was. The locals and tourists alike would gather around, blocking the street, intently watching the games.

Oh, the Artsy People

My older sister has an amazing artistic ability. She's into photography, painting, and making collages. I love the collages she makes- they are beautiful! Her big collage (which is the main piece of art in her living room) is my favorite. It consists of a black and white picture she took while in Paris. Around the picture is an array of colorful pictures she cut out of magazines. Framing that is a thin black poster fame. Here is a picture of it:

Nature's Symphony

Recently, my family took a camping trip to the Appalachian Mountains. Our first evening, we took a hike to watch the sun slip behind the mountains. There was a symphony composed of nature's sounds- the chorus of the trees rustling in the wind, the occasional hum of a cricket, and the music of the wind in your ears.

It's evenings like that that make me wish summer would never give in to fall.

Salad Anyone?

My family is all into gourmet salads. We experiment by adding everything from blueberries, apples, and grapes, to feta cheese, olive oil and sunflower seeds.

For some odd reason, I've never been a fan of salad dressing. One reason is because it adds calories to your salad, has MSG and/or partially hydrogenated oils. But another reason it it totally takes away the fresh taste of the lettuce. Instead of salad dressing like Ranch, I use olive oil. Olive oil helps bring out the fresh flavor of the lettuce and is totally natural. You should try it some time! When you shop for olive oil, get the darkest kind you can find. The kind we currently have was given to us by our Greek friend. He buys it from the island of Crete where he's from. He claims it is the best olive oil in the world- and I agree!

Island Life

I'm in love with island life. Waking up at sunrise to a hot cup of coffee. Grabbing my surfboard, strapping it to the roof of the van and driving to the beach with the windows rolled down, Jack Johnson blaring out of the speakers, the wind blowing my hair.

Carrying the board over the dunes and up the beach. Waxing the surfboard, then heading out to the sandbar to catch some waves.

Sunrise on the East Coast

Hot and Humid

Hot, humid, and sunny- that sums up the south in the summer . The past two days I noticed this film in the air that made everything look hazy. It turned out to be the humidity. The humidity is so dense that you can see it in the air. To top that off, it's been around 98 degrees and sunny. Not good weather when you have to sit outside in a lifeguard stand for hours at a time.

A Typical Day

I thought my life would slow down as summer aproched, but I was wrong. I'm a part time student, lifeguard, babysitter, and petsitter.

This is how a typical day goes:

Get up and go for a half hour run

Eat breakfast

Walk one set of dogs

Walk another dog

Grab lunch

Head to the pool to lifeguard for 4 to 6 hours

Go from work to friends house to babysit two kids for an hour

Get home after dark to eat dinner with the family

Go to bed to get 6-8 hours of sleep and do that all over again

another storm on the coast

As my sister and I spent an evening at the beach, this storm rolled in.

I Hate Big Government

A government big enough to supply everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.
-Thomas Jefferson

The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.
-Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

Now I'm off to a TEA party at the capitol! Happy Tax Day.

Thai Peanut Stir-Fry

Since my brother-in-law is part Thai, my sister makes an abundance of Asian food. When I visited them last, she made this mouth-watering dish- Thai peanut stir-fry. All it requires is stir-fry with peanut butter mixed in. Put the stir-fry on top of a bowl of rice and add chopped peanuts to garnish it off. We put them in white, square bowls and ate it with chopsticks!
Delicious!

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
-Abraham Lincoln

A Campaign Begins Today

by Mitt Romney

America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation-- rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he had succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better.

He calls his accomplishment "historic"-- in this he is correct, although not for the reason he intends. Rather, it is an historic usurpation of the legislative process-- he unleashed the nuclear option, enlisted not a single Republican vote in either chamber, bribed reluctant members of his own party, paid-off his union backers, scapegoated insurers, and justified his act with political landscape is not good for our country; in the words of an ancient maxim, "what starts twisted, ends twisted."

His health-care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today.

America Under Snow

See the snow covered river with the ice floating on it? I had never seen anything like that before!

Much the Same as It Was

This is my comparison-and-contrast essay I turned in for English class.

Although Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama's presidencies are separated by almost three decades and their childhoods couldn't have been more different, both of their administrations have suffered from similar dilemmas.

Jimmy Carter was born in Georgia and grew up in a traditional family on a farm. From the time he was a young man, Carter wanted to attend naval academy. In 1946, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy, serving in the Navy until his resignation in '53. That same year he moved his family back to Georgia, heading up his family's peanut farm. Taking interest in politics, Carter became a state senator, and, in '70, was elected governor of GA for one term. During his governorship, he had a dream to run for president. In '76 he was nominated for president on the democrat ticket, winning the election.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to a white American mother and a black father from Kenya. When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His mother remarried and Obama moved with his mom and step dad to Indonesia. By the time he was in 5th grade, Obama moved back to Honolulu to live with his mother's parents. Attending college he majored in political science and went on to Harvard Law School, becoming a civil rights lawyer. He later became a community organizer, a state senator in Illinois, and then a U.S. senator. In 2008 he was nominated for president on the democrat ticket. On November 4th 2008, Obama was elected as the first black president of the United States.

Carter's presidency was marred by stagflation which is high inflation coupled with high unemployment. During his presidency, unemployment was at 7.5 percent and inflation was at a whapping 12-13 percent! Like Carter, Obama has been dealing with major unemployment. Obama promised that unemployment would not exceed 10 percent if his stimulus package passed, which it did. Now, unemployment is well over 10 percent. Obama does contrast Carter in that, at the moment, inflation is relatively low.

Carter was a colorless and humorless speaker. Obama on the other hand is a motivational speaker. He learned the method of agitation- making people angry enough to do something about a certain situation. Fortunately, he lacks real humor and tends to elaborate on one subject too long.

Carter claimed to be a born-again Christian whereas nobody is quite sure what faith Obama truly follows. Obama's father was Muslim and while on an ABC interview, Obama said "my Muslim faith". While speaking in Cairo, he also referred to the Koran 4 times as the "Holy Koran". Normally, only Muslims refer to the Koran as "holy". He contradicted himself during an interview on Larry King Live saying he was not Muslim but Christian.

While Obama and Carter's presidencies have great differences but suffer some of the same flaws, we can hope that Obama will follow Carter's precedence in being a one term president.