Girl Meets Traveling

Our final day in The Foggy City. It was one of the less fun days. Madison and I woke up pretty late so we missed breakfast. That is a key part of today’s story. So we got up and got dressed for our last day. By then I was so excited to wear my new Steve Madden shoes so I wore those for the day. Bad choice on my part. After five minutes of walking my feet had already blistered. Also, before we left my mom told us it was only one mile to walk to Fisherman’s Wharf, but she lied so we would walk instead of drive. It was really 1.7 miles or something close to that. The pain was so bad because of all the hills we had to walk up. We were also very hungry because we hadn’t eaten. My mom wanted to stop everywhere along the way to eat for lunch so that wasn’t playing in my favor. But finally, my mom asked if I wanted to get some socks to wear and my sister gave me band aids so that made my walking experience a little better that day. We finally got to Boudin’s Bakery to eat their delicious tomato soup in a bowl and it tasted so good. We all felt rejuvenated so we kept walking. We stopped and got some more gifts for our friends and then got an Uber to take us to this tower in SF. I was very thankful I didn’t have to walk there. But, we had to walk to a map shop which was pretty cool and relaxing. It was relaxing because they had a couch. After that we went back to our hotel and chilled out. We watched How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days which was soooo good. We I then put some birkenstocks on and we went to dinner. We went really fast because we wanted to watch the second half of the Bachelorette. So we got to the restaurant and ate super quickly and basically ran to our hotel so we wouldn’t miss it. Then we got ready for bed after we watched it and eventually went to bed.

If you are going anywhere and need some packing tips this is definitely beneficial towards your packing experience. I am a very organized and very trustworthy person so you can count on me, Claire Calloway (my sister said the “Claire Calloway” part, she said that sounded like a speech). Anyways, the first thing you need to do is make a packing list. Try to map out what kind of clothes you need to where for the weather. Then get out all of your clothes and decide on what you want to where on your trip. If you are a picture-taking person then pack a bunch of hipster-cute looking clothes. Also a month ahead of the trip find out what you need to buy. Then when the time finally comes to pack up all your clothes, roll them up. Rolling them gives you a lot of room. While you pack your items check them off your list. That is pretty much all I did, but it is easier said then done.

Day Three: Today we woke up around 9:00 and started folding laundry (because we washed it at 11:00 last night). We started getting packed because we were moving from our Air B&B to a hotel. We didn’t go straight to our hotel because we needed to kill time and needed breakfast. So, we went to the mall, where everyone goes to kill time. We were looking for a chick-fil-a but went to the Apple Store instead, to see if they could fix my back camera. & it’s funny because last night I had a dream that I had it fixed. After we made an appointment for them to see my phone we found a Starbucks to go to. Then we went on a bike ride that wasn’t that amazing. The seats were really uncomfortable compared to the Yosemite bikes we rented, but the gears were nice. Then we completely skipped lunch, which was unfortunate for me, if you know me at all you know I am always hungry. We then went to the hotel and sat there for a while because they had to fix our room up. My Mom found a restaurant that I could get fries at so that was good. We got up to our room and we layed there for a while. That lasted 10 minutes and we walked to another mall to find Madison some shoes. Which ended up being good for me because it was buy one get one half off. So I got some really cute Steve Madden shoes. We then walked to a Vietnamese Restaurant which was very good but weird because they were playing Tarzan the show. We walked back to our hotel then, which was a sad walk because there were so many homeless people that had dogs. Then we came back and now were watching Wheel Of Fortune waiting for the Bachelorette to come on!!!! Alright see ya tomorrow!

Day One: 

I was so excited to get to San Francisco. This place has been on my bucket list of places to go for a very long time. The first thing we did was go to Alcatraz, the infamous prison. But, it wasn’t easy to get there on time. We thought it would be fastest if we went by train. So we walked to the train station, which took five to ten minutes. Then we decided it would be easiest to drive. We were already late to our 9:30 ferry. We got in the car by 9:08 and it took thirty minutes to get there, so I thought we wouldn’t be able to see the one thing I really wanted to see. We got there late and the ferry had already left. But, we got to get on the 10:00 ferry anyways!! I was so happy that I did a little twirl. The prison itself was so different than what I expected. I liked it a lot there though. Have you read Al Capone does my Shirts? If not, I highly recommend it, Anyways, seeing the island and reading that book really made me want to live there as a gaurd’s child. After we toured the island we ate at Boudin Bistro. It was so good, I got a grilled cheese and tried my mom’s tomato soup that was in the sourdough bread. It was so delicious I think we are eating there again. Then we walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and I got souvenirs for my friends, I still have to get Neely and Addie some good ones though. Then I spun a wheel at a massage place and got a free water massage. It was so relaxing, but ticklish. After this we went around to look at tee shirts. Then we walked to The Italian Homemade Company, I got Fettuccine Alfredo, it was really good. Then we went to Lombard Street to drive down the zig-zag road. After that we went to the Painted Ladies, which was really cool because we got to see lots of doggos and we made a video reenacting the Full House theme song. Then we went home and called it a day. I think all these things were very touristy and fun.

Day Two: 

Our fifth national park. I am getting dizzy. Today we went to the Muir Woods. Before we went to the Muir Woods we had our third sausage biscuit from Carl’s Junior. & I say I was dizzy because every National Park we go to we have to take a very curvy road to get up and down mountains. The Muir Woods were very peaceful and beautiful, but I still liked Yosemite better. Madison says I say “I could sit here for hours!” every time we go to any National Park. I say that because we don’t have any National Parks in Alabama. We then we went to Sausilito which is the cutest town by the bay in California. We walked to Le Garage, a good french place by the bay. We walked around after we ate and we bought some taffy. I think I want to live in Sausilito when I grow up. Then we stopped at a really good place to take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge (which is amazing). We then visited Stanford to look around. We sat down and ate dinner at The Crepevine, I got pancakes. We then dropped Julia off at her house and went back to our Air B&B to take showers and go to bed.

Vegas was filled with smokers. Besides that it was very hot outside. The highest temperature was 114 degrees. I think that was the record for them. The first night we got there it was very hot and late. It was 12:00 midnight. We got checked in at the Paris hotel. We pretty much just went straight to bed because we were all very tired from our day at the Grand Canyon. The next day our mom went exploring while Madison and I were still sleeping. We woke up and I debated whether I wanted to relax or walk around Las Vegas. In the end my debating wouldn’t have mattered because no matter what I chose I would’ve gone exploring. We started out at Gordon Ramsay’s Fish n’ Chips. I had the Shrimp n’ Chips. London, you got it good because that was a very good meal on the Linq. Then we went to Caesar’s Palace. It was so gigantic, it was so long it was so long it helped us hit 20,000 steps, says Madison’s fitbit. There was a H&M there and it was three big stories tall. We then had dinner after a while at Hash. It had really good and refreshing salad. & the water is free because “it’s just water”, our waitress said that. Then we went to The Venetian to see if we could get some tiramisu, they didn’t have any, darn. So we went to Bellagio to look at the cool fountains my dad was raving about. They were pretty cool, but the water didn’t go with the beat of the music so that part wasn’t as cool. Then we went back to the Paris hotel and we found tiramisu!! Then we went upstairs and watched Gordon Ramsay’s show The F Word. Other than this stuff Vegas is for 21 year old drunk people and smokers. Never going there again.

On Sunday, June 18 we drove from my Mimi’s house to Amarillo, Texas. It took about 8 house to get there. When I was seven years old I drove through Texas like I did Sunday. But, when I was that age I thought Texas was the worst thing ever. I never wanted to drive through it again. I feel like I was that way because of my sister, Madison, did. As we drove through Texas on Sunday it was really beautiful. Beautiful landscapes, and skies.  Early before our drive really began we went to Cadillac Ranch. We spray-painted our names on some cars. I wrote my name on one car, and my initials on another. We get to our Air B&B in Amarillo, it was really nice. Madison and I got a nice loft bed upstairs. The stairs were twisty stairs. Then that night I uploaded my first vlog.

Yesterday, Monday, June 19, we drove through New Mexico. Personally, my favorite state to drive through so far. There are many mountains and mesas. We stopped at Santa Rosa to jump in the 61 degrees Blue Hole. The first time you jump in you get a shock of freezing coldness. The second & third time aren’t that bad. Then I drove on the interstate for two hours. That is pretty extreme for me. Tip: driving with cruise control makes it so much easier to drive because all you have to pay attention to is the traffic. Then we stopped for gas, Hershey bars, and cokes. The temperature was the highest at 98 degrees. Then we got to Arizona which was kind of like Arizona. We visited the  Petrified Forest which was hot but beautiful. I would recommend it for a winter day more than a summer day. Then we were very hungry so we stopped at Dairy Queen because that was the only thing in the small town. After that, we drove for an hour and forty-five minutes to reach our hotel.

Today, Tuesday, June 20, we got up and sat in bed for a while. Then we decided we should probably get dressed and get breakfast at McDonald’s because it was the only thing we could get. Their pancakes are pretty good, which was hard to believe. Then we went back to the hotel to pack, then we packed up the car and that’s where we leave off. We are in the car getting gas… or waiting to get gas. It is a hot day and we are going to the Grand Canyon! I will come back later and fill you in on the rest of our hot adventurous day.

So we just saw the Grand Canyon! We got in Teyucum and we went to the Gift Shop to check in. Then we went and ate our sandwiches. Then we went and saw an IMAX movie which was more of a comedy than an informational movie. The voiceovers were really bad. A man would say “come on” and then a second later the man’s mouth would move up and down. After that, we went on a Pink Jeep Tour.  Our tour guide Fred was amazing. He told us a lot of historical facts about the Grand Canyon which was very food. We learned very many things that most people wouldn’t know. Like there is a high school in the Grand Canyon National Park. I enjoyed that very much and if you are ever at the Grand Canyon I would do the Pink Jeep Tour. After that, we went to the gift shop and I got a really cute and comfy jacket. I also got a sticker to put on this laptop that I am typing on right now. Then we got dinner at a place that was a lot like a college cafeteria. I got the American classic, chicken fingers. Then we drove to the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. I kept freaking out that everyone was going to fall off the side of the cliff. But, it was a beautiful sunset. IF you ever go to the Grand Canyon sunset, please leave your camera or phone in the car. Enjoy life through your eyes, not your camera lense. All the people there were holding a phone and looking at that instead of the actual sunset before their eyes. The whole time I was thinking “This is Life in Color”. Hope you enjoyed reading.

Our trip has begun! We made a pit-stop in Bossier City, Louisiana. We started out our trip with sly comments from my sister, and good food from my Mimi. She is the best cook I know. I love staying here and visiting my grandparents but I just want to get on to traveling to Amarillo, Texas. But until Sunday morning we are here feeling the great love from our Mimi and Papa and tasting the goodness of their cookies. Tomorrow we will be going to a Sunflower Festival, in which I will be filming some great shots of my favorite flower. Tonight we will be watching Jeopardy and Wheel of  Fortune. I will most likely be reading Perks of Being a Wallflower. I don’t really read a lot of books. I just don’t like to sit still that long reading, but I can watching T.V. or a movie. Funny how that works, isn’t it. I also found out that I am going to LA and Hollywood. I really hope I will find a youtuber or celebrity to take a picture with, that would be pretty cool! 

My Mimi just showed me a very good movie. I think I would say my new favorite. I can’t describe how good it is, you’ll just have to watch it. It is called Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. It is about a boy who lived in a train station. It showed me so many beautiful things. It made me happily cry, that’s a first for a movie. I think you should watch this very much. I am one to watch a movie over and over and over. This one is indescribably one of my favorite movies. I thank my grandmother for showing me such a great movie. I thank myself for not giving in to watching a movie I had already seen. I really do need to watch new movies. Instead of dwelling on the ones I have already seen. Although, those movies that I’ve already seen are good, it’s time I find some new ones to cherish.

Sunflower Trail/ Festival

Today 6/17/2017, I had a very good day. Madison, my Mom, Paula, and I went to a sunflower festival. Not a lot of people know that a sunflower is my favorite type of flower. They’re always facing the sun and standing tall. I think that is just how every human being should be. Always facing the optimistic way of life, and standing tall. Anyways, we had to drive down a narrow road that had many sunflower… patches?…  fields?… they had many sunflowers along the road. We finally got to a little town, kind of like Stars Hollow, a town from one of my favorite shows, Gilmore Girls. I find myself relating a lot of things to that show. But, there were many booths filled with art and sunflowers. Everywhere you looked you could see someone wearing a sunflower in their hair and hold a couple of flowers in their hands. Then when we got to hot and left, we drove down a long road filled with sunflowers. We took lots and lots of pictures! I made a vlog, I uploaded it to Youtube, here is the link: Youtube Channel.

Movies to watch: Hairspray, 10 things I hate about you, La La Land, Nancy Drew, The Blind Side, 13 going on 30, Easy A (if you like 13 reasons why it is kind of like that), The Outsiders, The Parent Trap, Lilo & Stitch, Emperor’s New Groove, Tangled, Moana, or any Disney movie for that matter.

Songs to listen to: Anything by the Lumineers, All We Ever Knew, New Soul, Leaving it up to you, anything by NEEDTOBREATHE, Electric Love, anything by Twenty Øne Pilots, Drawing Board, LA Devotee, anything by Ingrid Michaelson, When Did Your Heart Go Missing, American Money, anything by Ed Sheeran, Empty Heart, Heartbreak Dreamer, Atlantis, Do you Miss Me At All, Strange or Be Forgotten, Certainty, My Song 5, Here Comes the Sun, There She Goes, Little Bitty Pretty One, Semi-Charmed Life, Alpha, We’re Going To Be Friends, Hey Ya, Banana Pancakes, Send Me On My Way, Pumpin Blood, Dancing Queen, Asleep, You Can Call Me Al, The Way I Am, & finally Be OK.

TV shows to watch: Gilmore Girls, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Girl Meets World, Seinfield, The Goldbergs, The Middle, Survivor, The Amazing Race & The Bachelor/ Bachelorette

Throughout this trip, I will be taking many many pictures, vlogging, & blogging. I love to take pictures of anything that looks cool or pretty. I’d say the most pictures I take are sunsets. I will be taking many pictures of sunsets, cool signs, random things, and me, my sister and mom. I love watching Youtube as I mentioned, so of course, I watch vlogs. My sister and I figured we would vlog as we go to all the cool places we do go to. With cool transitions and time lapses, it will be excellent. They will be on my Youtube Channel called clairethemusicfanatic. I will absolutely be blogging on here obviously since I created this blogging site.

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You may be wondering why I am blogging. This is because I am going to California! I am going on a very long road trip with my sister Madison & my Mom. They both made blogs too. We are driving 74 hours to get to San Francisco, California. We are stopping at some big & small places (I mean big & small popularity wise). We are going to Bossier City, Louisana first to see my grandparents. Well known for their loving, caring, faith, and fried chicken. Then were going to so many other places I can’t remember but will make blogs about every place we go so stay tuned. But were going to The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park (big trees, yes!), and San Francisco. It is going to take a lot of driving and a lot of fast food to get us there, but will definitely be worth it. We are going to be meeting our friend who feels like a sister to me, Julia Zimmerman. She is our German friend who is an au pair, or a nanny, in San Fran. I am so excited to see her and adventure around San Fran with her and my mom and sister.

Hope you enjoyed, Claire.