So last week I had a few mornings to myself because my parents would go to work and my siblings would go to school. I could wake up late and sleep in, my favorite pastime of summer, although I would be expected to do chores that my Mom left for me. Laundry was the worst. For some reason, the dryer never decides to work when I am the one doing the laundry because after the designated time for drying the clothes never are dry! I think it is because a towel is in there and sucks up all the heat but never gets dry anyway. It was annoying but then after I could finish the hellacious laundry I could go to the gym or on a lunch date. I went to Eegee’s with a bunch of my friends to relish in the delicious food that I am already missing. I would meet up with Brian and hit the gym before I left and had to suspend my LA Fitness membership. Actually I just froze it and I am already missing that too. We had a last Wing Wednesday with my friend Brandon, Chris, Colin and Kevin and I know that I am really going to miss those because Wing Wednesday became a summer phenomenon. Garlic Parmesan and either Mild or Honey BBQ were the best flavors. I picked up my siblings everyday and although I absolutely hate Tucson drivers and driving in general, it was great to spend some quality time with them. On that note, I am very proud of my younger brother Michael for making Varsity Cross Country after only being at his high school for a week as a freshman! He is almost as tall as me and has to constantly ward off the tantalizing effects of the rather pungent freshman ladies at his school.

On last Thursday, my friends Bri and Natalia ‘planned’ a last minute swim party at my house and a bunch of my friends showed up to hang out for a last time before we all left. Many of them are going to NAU and some are going to the U of A so it was good to see them all again before I left. We swam in my pool, which my Dad said was lacking pH and alkalinity but it seemed alright to us. The rest of the week was devoted to planning my Dad’s 50th Birthday Party which was on Saturday, my last day in Tucson. My mom has been planning this for a while and we were all excited to celebrate his 50th. We had our cousins and relatives come over and my brothers and I picked up the mouth watering pizzas from Costco and brought them home to find the house swarming with out family. My best friend Bobby was also there and it was really glad to see him one last time before I went back. He only stayed for a bit and then left as James’ friend Raisin came over too.

Adam, Cynthia, Nati, Elisa, brandon, Christian, Calob, me and Bri !

After exploring the vast corridors of the Hotel Del Coronado, we went to this Mexican restaurant that Brian suggested and he said that it was really tasty and delicious. I forget what it was called, hold on . . . . nope I did forget. Anyway we went there and immediately got severed by some guy who we thought was the manager because he was so skilled as his job. I ordered  Fish  And Chips and I have never had it before except in London. It turned out being utterly delicious and I cannot wait to have it again! It was amazing and along with the chips and salsa, it was the perfect meal. We headed back to the hotel and were stuffed from all the fudge, fish and other unhealthy food that I made an effort to eat. That night at the hotel, I went for a walk and saw that some sort of luau was going on downstairs at the resort. I was given a lei and hung around for a while to watch some fire dancers and other Samoan people do some cool tricks. I fled the party before the mass of retired folks and foreigners staying at the hotel could leave at the same time. When I got back to the room the others were doing some sort of exercise using our large watermelon as an exercise ball.

The next day we went to the beach again and I was really excited to surf for the first time because Allison and Brian rented a surfboard. We swam out pretty far and just as I had stood up on the board and rode a wave, I got off the board and jumped in the water. My left foot landed on something slick and living and it darted out from under me and I felt something bite down on my foot. Scared if it was a small shark or something, I got back on the board and swam back to the shore as fast as I could and when I got on the beach, I saw that my foot had been covered in blood and I had been bitten or stung by something on my foot. Filled with adrenaline, I sprinted back to our little encampment on the beach and showed the girls that my foot was covered with blood. Lots of other people started looking at me as I showed the girls and hopped over to the lifeguard station. He told me to put my bloody foot in the hot sand and I was confused but did it anyway. A minute later the lifeguards came over and took me to the main lifeguard tower. I was forced to leave my sandals behind and in the station the lifeguard gave me a bucket of scalding hot water. Apparently it is supposed to help or something, I wasn’t paying attention to them because I have reason to believe that it actually doesn’t do anything. I sat there for 45 minutes or so and kept having to refill my bucket while I watched other stingray victims come into the station. The first was a young boy who was somehow stung on his arm and he was crying because of the pain. He sat across from my and had to put his whole arm in the bucket. Right after him came a young woman who was stung in the middle of her stomach. She was joking around trying to remain positive but we could all tell that she was in a lot of pain. She was holding her flat stomach but the sting had swollen her flesh and she joked that she looked pregnant. Not really, but I was lucky not to have it as bad as she did. Two others came in, both with stings on their legs but I feel lucky that my sting wasn’t nearly as bad as the others. After the lifeguards released me I had to walk all the way back to the Catamaran and got to relax in the hot tub at the resort to heal my foot, or whatever that lifeguard said it would do. We walked along the beach later and I saw an enormous jellyfish washed up on the beach. It was gross and we poked at it with a large stick.

Later we walked all the way to Belmont Amusement Park and because I have already been there, I knew what was the good things to see there and what was a waste of time. The others bought an all day pass and I only rode the Roller Coaster once and that was it for me. The others got dizzy from all the rides and we walked back after I was sorely tempted to buy a Funnel Cake. Instead we went to this really good Pizza Place that I have been to before and the slices were big and delicious. We went back to the Hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the night.

The next day, we rented a sailboat and took it out in the bay behind the hotel. None of us knew how to sail but Allison somehow was an expert and took the rein of the boat and was a professional sailor. It was really cool and we sailed around the whole bay for an hour or so we went back and went back to the beach but this time I didnt get in the water. Later that night we were all exhausted and Allison surprised us with another skill of hers, hypnosis. She hypnotized Brian and me and I wont reveal much but it was utterly hilarious and now I know how to hypnotize! Overall, the California trip was one of the best parts of the summer and I cant wait to see my friends again! I hope to go back and get a get rate on the hotel like we got last time and I will always remember that during my first attempt at swimming, I was stung by a stingray. I was hypnotized and almost froze in the Pacific and got to get an even tan line while waiting on the beach for the others. Oh I forgot, one of the best parts was eating guacamole on the beach with Alycia while watching Brian and Allison surf. I love California!

Right after I was stung

Alycia and me on the beach with guacamole!

The Fire dancers, hard to see sorry!

Also, Four Years ago today I left the States to live in Germany for my Rotary Youth Exchange!  Still Fluent!

My Sting

Awhile ago, some friends and I had the common and hilarious idea of heading up to California for a week or so just for kicks. California seems to be the place to be for summer, in fact, I have always pictured California as the embodiment of summertime. Of course, I live in Arizona and not California, so I am only picturing the beaches and hot babes that walk the beaches and not the everyday life of paying so much for gas and boycotting my state for some reason. Anyway, I was really looking forward to it and for a while, I thought that it wouldn’t happen because you know when there is a great idea and you get really excited about it but it never happens? Yeah, I thought that was going to happen. Well it did happen thanks to my friend Alycia and her family, who got great rates at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego. It came down to four of us going, me, my friends Brian, Alycia and Allison. I think that we organized and planned the trip very well and it couldnt have been more fun. We drove up there for some six hours and I am used to the long rides up there but we kept ourselves busy with snacks, chatting and of course, listening to www.thebadradio.com . CHECK IT OUT please if you want to.

It took awhile to get there and we almost got stopped at the border patrol checkpoint by the guards but passed on and continued driving by the Sand Dunes that George Lucas filmed Star Wars at and we saw the border fence. Ah the fence, how it serves its purpose. We got to California and I could already feel the difference of the temperature. 110 degrees in Tucson and it turned to like 80 while driving. When we pulled into California it wasn’t overcast and beautifully dark but was actually really nice and although the wretched sun out, it was the perfect weather for California and as Alycia played “California Gurls” by Katy Perry as we passed Seaworld, I was extremely happy that I came on the trip. I am a miser and the stingiest person ever so I was planning on keeping my money and not going but that was stupid and I am so glad I went. We drove on to our hotel and checked out our room. It seemed like a really good room for the time being but we had some problems that I’ll mention later. We immediately changed and went to the beach which was a five minute walk down the street. Immediately,  my eyes and Brian’s eyes lit up because there were gorgeous women everywhere. We aren’t chauvinists, but after watching the California Gurls music video by Katy Perry (my second mention of this results in my losing a mancard or two but it’s worth it) we wanted to see and meet some California girls while we were there. This was the whole reason I had gotten the LA Fitness membership for the summer, not to stay in shape for the Army. Really, which is more important, getting girls on the beach or not being run over in PT when I return to ERAU? Ok the Army but I took advantage of this opportunity to hit up the beach with Brian, my lifting buddy, and it was a joyous adventure. Anyway, we walked the beach and went really far out into the water. It was really cold for California but the water seemed alright, at first. I’ll get to that in a minute too. After an hour or so of that, I took a break and just relaxed at the beach. This was the most relaxing thing ever and it was great just to lie next to Alycia and take in the sun while a girl several feet away kept glancing at me. I hope she was, but I cant really tell because she was wearing those ridiculous sunglasses that hide your whole face. Whatever, I’ll assume she was looking at me.

That night we went to Ralph’s and got a score of junkfood which would serve as our breakfasts and source of snacks for the next few days. Oreos, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fudge Sticks and Capt’n Crunch cereal was the best meal I could wake up to and it made the trip even better. We returned to the beach again and just laid on the sand as we watched Brian skimboard and saw people catching some big waves. We decided that our next location would be to head to Coronado Island to see the Hotel Del Coronado there which is famous and haunted. We drove to Coronado Island and after getting separated from the girls, Brian and I explored the hotel and first went through all the shops underground. We couldn’t buy anything because it is so expensive there so we instead started to wander around the halls of the hotel. Because I have heard stories that it is haunted it made the adventure even more exhilarating. We found the room where someone was killed and eventually found the girls but not after I had taken some cool shots of the haunting hallways.

Fish and Chips!