Catalina Trip

A couple of weeks ago my class and I went on a trip to Catalina. None of us were sure how the trip would be since the class above us didn’t have good things to say from their trip last year. We arrived at school at 6:45 in the morning and piled into the bus. Off we went. My and I chattered in the back of the bus, until and argument between Claudia and Armand grew so loud that we were forced to move.

Upon arriving in Long Beach at the port where the Queen Mary is docked, we all got out and waited for the boat to arrive. I was very excited since I haven’t really been on a boat before. At first the ride was really fun. The ocean had some huge swells so we rocked around and it felt rather like an adventure at sea. But after some time, my stomach got the better of me and I had to stay at the back of the boat, looking out over the sea. It felt so nice to have the ocean air on my face. In two hours we arrived at Two Harbors in Catalina where we met our “guides” Laura and Shannon. We ate a quick lunch then hiked to Cherry Cove where we were going to stay.

The beach at Cherry Cove was very nice, with little or no waves and sea shell speckled sand.
Everything seemed wonderful until we heard about the many restrictions we had on our stay there. No walking anywhere without a chaperon (yes, that includes the restroom), no sitting on the beach, four minute showers, no tea in the mornings, etc. We walked to where our “tents” where located. I shared a tent with My. It felt rather like an army or prison camp. With the army green tents and showers that needed a button to be pushed at all times for the water to flow. But we made the best of what we had.

We had a small snorkel which was really neat. Although it wasn’t as colorful as the oceans of Hawaii you still saw some neat creatures like swell sharks and garibaldi fish (which happens to be our state marine fish).
The worst thing about the trip would be the food, no doubt about it. Everything seemed pre-made and microwavable, the only vegetable being iceberg lettuce in salad. Ventana and I both had major problems with the food, and in the end the chief didn’t seem to happy with us.

On the second day we had an algae and sea animals workshop. I loved learning about the types of algae and some of the fish were really neat, especially the octopus. We saw some really cool things and learned a lot. We then played “Cherry Cove Jeopardy” which my team won! In the afternoon we went on a kayak which I enjoyed tremendously. It took me a while to get the paddling right, but by the end, I was pretty good. We played a fun game that was rather like ocean soccer. I had a blast.

The third day was our day trip. This meant we woke up slightly earlier and packed lunches and towels and sunglasses into our kayaks. We kayaked around the coast till we got to this lovely little beach covered in sea shells. We ate lunch there and then went snorkeling out by the large rock. It was an amazing snorkel because of all the kelp growing underwater. It was like a different world. The plants would sway and move in their own wind. There were many little fish and pelicans on the rock above. I had an amazing time. It might just be my favorite part of the entire trip. I didn’t want to get out of the water!
Once we got back to camp we were exhausted but found out we had a night snorkel to do that night. So once it got dark (and cold) we headed back to the beach and got backing into our wet (and cold) wet suits. It was pretty miserable, I must say. The snorkel was neat, but it wasn’t amazing. We saw most of the same things as in the day. The best part was probably the bioluminescence that glowed in the water when you turned the lights out. I was absolutely freezing once we got out. I thought I shower would warm me up, but all it did was make my hair extra wet. It was a long cold wet night and I woke up feeling not great.

I decided not to go on the last snorkel because I was already feeling weird and I knew if I put that wet wet suit on again that would be the end of me. So My, who was also sick, and I relaxed on the beach while most of the class went snorkeling. (underwater pictures from that snorkel are thanks to Elizabeth)
That afternoon we went looking in tide pools which was really fun. Joey Gilmore and I went on a search for crabs to catch for the octopus, but we weren’t in luck. Shannon (our guide) found a shed skin from a lobster which we put in Philip's shoe as a surprise for later.

That night was “dress up night” but since we didn’t have many clothes we made do with odd bits here and there. I was a candy sixties girl, while ventana was a lion and My a eighties fitness instructor. It was really fun seeing what everyone did with their normal clothes. And to make it all even better dinner that night was actually good.

On the morning of the last day, we packed up all our stuff and set out on a ridge hike. The hike had an amazing view, but was super hard. I found myself in the back almost the whole time, talking with Hannah about lemonade and soup, two things we were craving. We were all happy once we saw the boat pull into the harbor.
In all it was a good trip, but not an amazing one. It had it's bad points, but then again, isn't that true with every trip?

Amelie

Tonight mom, Greg and I decided to watch the film Amelie. Mom and I have been making endless trips to the library in attempts to rent this lovely film, but alas they were to no avail. So we got it off Netflix. I simply adored the film. I loved the use of color, red and green, the vibrancy, the light and images. It was so pretty to look at! It made me wish I lived in France. Amelie tells the story of Amelie Poutin, a girl who is not quite as normal as everyone else.

I thought Audrey Tautou so cute and wide-eyed. I loved her character! She's so quirky and odd with her strategies and endless planning and yet she's also very relatable. I think the director really has a gift for films that are unique but in a very good way. I loved City of Lost Children, and this movie was no different. I feel I must see all of his films someday.

I also loved the other characters in the film. The man in the bar, the father, the sad fish, the man with the chicken and of course the garden gnome. It was such a splendid film that told a story in a way we don't often see. Almost like an odd little fairy tale. It may even be one of my favorites films, that is how much I enjoyed it! Even though it was in French, I didn't seem to mind, in fact I sometimes forgot I was reading subtitles.

In the end, I highly recommend this film. It is worth seeing. A treat for the eyes, the ears and the heart.

Welcome Back to Reality

It is here.

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of the television show Fringe. After a long summer wait it is finally back! All I can say is, YES!!

School Time

School has started once again. Homework, classes, calculators and of course friends. I must say this year has been excellent so far! Being in 11th grade has been so much fun! I haven't been stressedby homework, or the annoying people, on the other hand I've had such a great time.

And it's so good to see all my friends again, I forgot how much fun they are to be around. I'm also enjoying the new schedule as well as most of the new classes.Even beach day, which is one of the worst days of the year, was a bit

better than last year! Which is saying a lot!

Here's to a great new school year!

Two Gentlemen of Verona

This year we hadThis summer I was part of the teen repertory production of Two Gentlemen of Verona at Theatricum Botanicum. In fact, I actually got one of the lead female roles and Ventana got the other. It was a really good experience even though there were some things I wasn't happy about at all (my love interest for example). The group had a bunch of people from other years as well as new people. two directors, Aaron (who we had last year) and Willow who I've also had before. It was interesting because they never directed on the same days which was rather confusing since they might give us two different notes. Two Gentlemen of Verona was Shakespeare's first play and thus has some story issues as well as themes that you see throughout the rest of his plays. It tells of the story of two best friends; Proteus and Valentine. Valentine go off to Millan to serve the Duke, while Proteus stays behind with his love, Julia. When Proteus goes to visit Valentine he finds himself under the spell of the beautiful Silvia who Valentine is engaged to. Trickery ensuing, Valentines is banished, Julia disguises herself as a boy serving Proteus as a sevant, and everything ends in the forest. I played Julia. I had a really amazing time doing the beginning scenes of the play with Rachel, who played my sevant. We got along well and it was very much fun to do. I feel like this part was very good for me to play because it was challenging and diverse and different from the parts I normally play. I learned a lot did new things. It was fun to see everyone else who had more comedic parts. For example, my friend Mallin played Sir Eglamour, a flamboiant suiter of Julia and friend to Silvia. She seemed to be having lots of fun and was really quite funny to watch on stage. We also had an amazing dog who was part of the play. She was so cute and all of us were always petting her. She was super sweet and would always do things on stage that were perfect and hysterical. I had some really good friends in this group. Mallin, Katie and Lily were both in it last year and it was so nice to be with them again. I'm really sad that Mallin is to old for the camp now. Thankfully we'll still have a year with Lily, she has really nice energy and is great to talk to. I also loved being with Danny again. He was in two of our plays several years ago and it was great to have him back. In all it was very different from years before, and challenging, but still quite fun.







(last picture is Miranda, me, Ventana, Mary and Danny. Mary and Miranda were not i the play)

Pictures thank to Scott Garen and Ben Neuhart.

Julie and Julia

You know it's going to be amazing as soon as you hear Meryl Streep is playing Julia Childs. I mean, let's face it, she's brilliant. Dad and I went to see Julie and Julia the other day. I expected a lot from the film, and I wasn't disappointed. The film tells two true stories; the story of Julia Childs and her journey to publishing her cookbook, and the story of Julie Powell, a government worker who challenges herself to cook through the Julia Childs cookbook within the course of a year. The stories are similar and relate to each other in many ways, even though they are about people in two different times. Meryl Streep is wonderful as the colorful, sweet and tall Julia Childs. She is so perfect for the part, that I can't imagine anyone else playing her. The part of the film that take place in Paris are so beautiful. Julia's house is so amazing! I wish I lived there! Stanley Tucci was great as always, he has such a nice film presence! Amy Adams was great as Julie Powell. She's sweet in the normal Amy Adams way, but she brings something new to the table as well. Not only does the film look amazing, but the script is also great! It is funny and yet full of truth. In all it was just a very good film. I will say this, it left me very, very hungry. After the film all I wanted to do was saute mushrooms and bake with tons and tons of butter. Yummmmm.

I would highly recommend seeing this film, it's lighthearted, real and full of amazing food, what could be better?