I never thought I'd be able to say I was stranded at sea but that's what I was today. Stranded at sea.
My cousin, Eva, and I have been going out with our fathers every morning to fish. We load up the boat, head to the dock and off we go! Today, we left around 8 and headed out to island hoping to catch the big one. Nope. Nothing. We go to another island and same deal. Another island, same thing. Eva and I decide to quit on the whole fishing thing and just dive into the water.
On the way back home our dads make one more stop at a sandbar to try one last time. Eva and I just lay on the boat hoping to dry off before finishing the ride back. We were talking about how if we had to get wet again we'd be pretty upset.
Well. Our dads return empty handed, get in the boat and attempt to start the motor. That's right. Attempt. It's broken. We have one little paddle that does nothing so we're just kind of bobbing along and going with the waves. Eva asks her dad, "How deep is the water here?" "About 3 feet deep," he says. She jumps in surprising us all. "Didn't see that one coming," her dad says. At first he thought she fell in. I just thought she was crazy. Anyway, she grabs the rope and starts pulling the boat back to shore. She's so brave. I just sat at the very front of the boat watching her. No way was I going in there. Especially after watching 'Soul Surfer' the night before coming down here.
Then my uncle gets out to push. Then my dad gets out. So I'm just sitting in the boat knowing I should help some how but refusing to enter the water. My dad leaves the boat and gets to shore to find his car, meet us at some boat ramp...I don't know. Meanwhile, I'm still bobbing around in the boat, my uncle is pulling it and Eva is sitting at the other end of the boat. We go under a bridge...still walking with the boat. Then my uncle hits mud. He's up to his waist in mud, water on top of that and hanging on to the boat saying he can't hang on any longer. I honestly thought he was going to drown.
I don't know how but we finally get to shore. Eva and I had to stay with the boat while our dads worked some stuff out. My mom calls as we are waiting. "What are you guys up to?" Siiigh.
I was in a mood to download music tonight. Lots of music. But that didn't happen because my mother has made it clear that she is not happy when I do so. "If you download anymore music, Emily, I swear to God!" iTunes is hooked up to her debit card...not mine. So I only downloaded one album tonight. I hope that doesn't get me in too much trouble. We'll find out.
I couldn't resist this purchase! I love He Is We! And there was a song on this album that made me say, "ohman". It's called 'Our July In the Rain'. This song just made it into my favorites. I just wanted to share! : )
In exactly 12 hours I will be heading out the front door and getting in the car to make the trip to the Frankfurt airport. Why? Because I'm going to Flooorida! So long muddy, cold Germanland!
I'm so excited but I must say the packing for this trip was horrible. I never know what to bring anywhere. I wish I could somehow express mail my closet everywhere I go without charge. I would even settle for being able to pack my suitcase full and not have to worry about the weight limit. So much for that.
I was going to name this post, "Florida Round 2!" but after thinking about it, I realized this is more like Florida round 7. See I used to go to Florida with my parents when I was really little every winter. Then I got antsy in the car and they waited until I was 7 years old to start going again. I remember that trip. It was my first time on a plane and I was scared that landing was going to be like a rollercoaster ride...nose dive! For once, I was glad to be proven wrong.
My last trip to Florida as a child occured when I was 8 years old. I remember going to the pool allll day. My mom told me that we had to re-apply my sunscreen every three hours. Turns out we were meant to apply it every 30 minutes. Since then she has gotten glasses. That trip was horrible after that day. Where I didn't have freckles on my face, I had blisters. So painful. I remember telling my grandma, "I never want to come to Florida again...It hurts!"
And I didn't. Until last year. It was a great trip last year! I learned how to fish...that's right. Drivers license? Non-existant. Fishing license? Yeah, I got that. I loved fishing with the dolphins swimming right next to me and seeing the manatees poking their heads up. I liked going out on the boat everyday and going to some random island. Overall, great time.
My Goals for this Trip:
Don't mistake tanning oil for sunscreen
Get color..but not red
See an alligator
Don't fall off the dock
Don't try to walk from an island to the shore
Don't step on a stingray
Don't let my hat fly off while on the boat
See a dolphin
"Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song says the same, just like that moment.”
― Sarah Dessen, Just Listen
I recently read somewhere that everybody has a soundtrack to their life, some just don't care enough to acknowledge it. This got me thinking...what songs would be included on the soundtrack to my life?
I've always loved music. I love how some songs can bring you back to a specific moment in time within the first few seconds of being played. Songs that have this effect on me? See below.
Best Days - Graham Colton
Everybody - Ingrid Michaelson
All About Us - He Is We
Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - Coldplay
Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
Give A Little - Hanson
Here's To The Night - Eve 6
Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf
Last Friday Night - Katy Perry
Under Pressure - Queen
Here In Your Arms - Hellogoodbye
Who Knew - Pink
Christmas Lights - Coldplay
These aren't my favorite songs by any means BUT every time any one of these songs is played, I think of a certain person, time or event. Some I love, some I hate. But there's a connection to each one of them.
I just had the best time in London over this past weekend! My mother and I left early Friday morning and got to London around 8am. I, being the smart one I am, chose to just pull an all-nighter so I didn't have to bother with an alarm clock that morning. That bit me in the butt big time later on that day. Anyway, we checked into the hotel and, right off the bat, the fun began.
Day One:
The Elevator
As my mom and I try to get up to our room on the seventh floor, we encountered some problems. We go into the first "lift" that's available and continuously hit the '7' button. It never lights up. My mom looks at me and says, "Did it work?" It obviously didn't because we shot up to the 22nd floor so a flight attendant could get on and ride back down to the ground floor to check out. Lovely. So then we get into a different "lift" and my mom says to the buttons in a British accent, "Can you take me to the seventh floor?" She hits the button and nothing happens. "Apparently not," she says and we hop into a another "lift". This time more people get on with us and, as my mom is pushing the '7' button, a man says, "No, no, no. You have to put the room card into the slot first." How security-ful of the British. Now the buttons are working. Everyone is saying the floor number they want and my mom is pushing the buttons. A man in the back says, "Just hit all the buttons!" Obviously kidding. My mom says, "Okay!" and makes a whooshing noise pretending to hit the buttons. She then says, "Ooooh, it's like a Christmas tree!" If you don't get that movie reference, you're no longer my friend.
The whole situation reminded me of this youtube video:
Helping the Poor? Not Our Style.
It was freeezing in London! I was taking so many pictures, mainly because I'm in love with my dad's camera, and my hands were practically numb. My mom gave me her mittens to wear for a while. As we are turning a corner, a lady starts to ask me if I can take a picture for her and her friend but sees my mittens and decides it wouldn't be a good idea. Good thinking, stranger! My mom sees this going down and offers to take the picture for them. This leaves me to fend for myself for a minute. Shouldn't be hard, right? Wrong. I get into a lovely conversation with some poor lady who is handing out pink flowers. She puts one on my coat and then asks if I will be willing to donate to the poor. I tell her I have no money but my mother does. My mom comes back, sees what I have done and rolls her eyes. My mother is asked if she is willing to donate to the poor and my mom says, "Uhm. No!" The lady came and took her flower back. How sad.
Big Ben? Who's That?
As we are walking down some random road, a lady approaches us and asks if Big Ben is in the direction we are coming from. My mom says, "I wouldn't know. I never met him." She cracks herself up.
Pictures from Day One:
The London Eye
St. James's Park
Buckingham Palace
Fish & Chips! Yuum.
St. James's Park
Big Ben
My Photogenic Self
Day Two:
Snow!
We woke up to a good 4 inches of snow! I thought it made everything look so pretty. My mother thought it made everything look dreadful. She was not looking forward to walking around in the snow all day. It didn't bother me though. I loved it :)
That's Awkward
On one of the bus tours, a tour guide came up to us and said to me, "I'm going to take your beautiful sister out to dinner tonight. I'll give you my number so you can get ahold of her or myself if you need anything, okay?" Awkwaaaard. He then goes on asking where we are from and so on. I tell him we are from New York and he says, "Oh! You guys have guns!" and walks away.
I Want Hard Rock!
I reallllly wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe while we were in London. We saw it from the bus tour that morning. I looked at a map and thought we could cut through Hyde Park from one of the bus stops and get to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. I tell my mom that I want to get off the bus at the park and we do. As we are cutting through the park, it becomes clear that the walk is pretty much...Hell. It was icy, slushy and puddles were everywhere. My mom wasn't wearing snow shoes so her feet were soaked! She looks at me and says, "WHY did you want to walk in the park?!" I say, "I thought we could walk through it and get to the Hard Rock." At the time I didn't know it was a good half hour walk...in sunshine. She looks at me and says, "You're such an ass!" and turns around and starts walking back to the bus stop. I follow. A minute later she turns around and says, "I'm pissed!" As if I couldn't tell by her previous comment. She starts doing her "I'm mad" walk that so many mothers have perfected. It was making me laugh so I took a picture...
"I'm PISSED!"
The Hard Rock Cafe
We finally got there around 5:30pm. We had to do the whole tour of London over again on the bus in order to get back to the stop for the Cafe. The food was delicious! My hamburger was huge though. The waiter asked if I liked my meal 'cause he didn't think I ate a lot. I was actually proud of how my plate looked when I was done. I thought I put a real dent in the food. I guess not.
