Im Back! Vacation (part 2)

Wow that was fun. I first want to say that I love Oregon and I dont want to go back to California for a VERY VERY VERY long time (unless its for Disneyland). Alcatraz was really fascinating. Seeing how the prisoners lived and what conditions the faced everyday was...interesting and sad. The cells were 3 feet wide by 4 or 5 feet deep and the ceilings were probably less than 6 feet tall. Solitary was just scary. Its this completely barren and dark room with 2 foot thick doors. The ones in solitary stayed there except for once a week the got to come out to exercise and bath. One of the things that made the tours so much more interesting was the audio tour portion. It had interviews with some of the former inmates and officers recounted stories as you go past the spot where it happened and such things like that. It really added to the experience. At one point an attempted escape gone horribly wrong was being retold as you stood by the 2 cells where 8 officers where killed in cold blood by the inmates. It has an eerie feel knowing that you are standing where people have died. Alcatraz was also something you would never guess it too be...a town. It had a school and bowling alley. The families of the corrections officers lived there and formed a town type thing. I couldn't even begin to imagine growing up on the rock. The boat ride to and from Alcatraz was fun too. I got lots of pictures. And if any of you are interested I have lots of cool pictures I could email you guys. The fish and chips I had at San Francisco were super duper good. 

The trip back up was scary because of the fires. You could barely breathe outside and at about 7:30 it started to get really hard to see the sun which you could look at without seeing stars. It was a cool looking dark red. The only real entertainment I had (besides talking to my mom) was seeing the exit signs and their funny street names. My favorite was Road 12a. =D

Then we got to the real fun part. OREGON!! I love Oregon I cant say it enough. We got up to florence and found our campground. It was super special awesome (wow im running out of those kinds of phrases). Definitely would be a fun place to go with friends. Its called the...I cant remember...I know that the last word is Honeyman but i cant remember the rest. Anyway its right by the dunes and a lake. We didnt go swimming in it but there were lots of other people that did. Sandboarding seemed to be very popular there. It looks fun but it also looks painful. There were some sled type things that looked more fun and less painful that I think would be fun to try. This may seem random but I urge you not to try rolling down large dunes. You end up rolling for 5 minutes and then you have to get the sand out of your ears nose eyes etc. This was my first time really camping. Our neighboring campers were very helpful. To speak in runescape terms my moms and my firemaking levels were both 1 with 0 xp and they came to assist us. They let us borrow chairs and firestarting logs. It really helps start fires when you have a 1 and a half foot long duraflame log. >=) I never knew fat and corn syrup could taste so good... Needless to say i had way to many marshmallows on the trip. They should introduce marshmallow toasting into the cooking skill in rs. Its hard getting it perfectly toasted. 

The next day we went horseback riding. It was my first time riding a horse. I absolutely loved it. My horses name was Styles. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride. We got to ride through forest trails and the dunes...and then we got to the beach. The beach was fun but the winds were (as Terry would say) intense. That made the beach rather cold but it was still enjoyable. It was kinda funny how this one lady kept letting her horse just walk her into the bushes so it could eat stuff. She wouldnt listen to the guides when they were telling her what to do. So again it was super de duper fun and I would totally do it again. 

The next after that was the Sea Lion caves. Rather smelly but cool. On the way down to it we saw a deer and her baby (i forgot what a baby deer is called) on the side of a cliff. It was weird, someone thought they were mountain goats because of where they were standing. The caves themselves were sort of had a feeling of unrealness to them. The sounds sounded like something coming out of speakers. There sheer amount of sea lions there were amazing. We saw several funny fights and there was one sea lion that was intent on coming up to "greet" us. 

The oregon coast aquarium was nice. Its overhyped for what it was but it was fun otherwise. The otters were out doing stuff when we went by there pool. Otters are awesome. One of my favorite water animals. The underwater tunnel thingy was cool. One guy was made a joke about how he was really craving fish and chips when he saw the halibut swim by. The underwater world is like something completely different from what we know as our planet. They say Space is the final frontier but there is so much more to explore and find right here on earth. Jellyfish are fascinating to me. The way they move is so elegant and mesmerizing. So many of the creatures there looked like they should be in a sci fi movie or something.

Then to the Tillamook cheese factory. It was completely lame and I dont get how people could like going there or say it was fun and recommend it to friends. The only good part was the ice cream. it was sorta interesting seeing the people working and seeing what they do, but to drive there JUST to see that wouldn't be worth it at all. So there was my trip. If you have any questions or want me to expand upon things or want to see some pics then let me know.