The End of This Chapter

Okay. It's been over two weeks since I've blogged, so I'm going to have to catch everyone up on my happenings. First thing's first: my Amtrak adventures have ended. My train tour was definitely the most exciting, independent part of my travels thus far. After my trip to Albuquerque, NM, I stopped in Los Angeles for a few hours for a layover. I only had about 5 hours, so I did what every tourist does: I marched myself straight to Hollywood Boulevard, saw the Walk of Fame, looked at the Grauman's Chinese Theater, and took a tour to the Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive. Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned in Hollywood was that stars get their name on the Walk of Fame when elected by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Then they must pay $30,000 plus the installation of the star. I learned that Julia Roberts does not have a star because of this. I can't really blame her. But guess what? Charlie Sheen does :)
Then I hopped on a train headed to Houston, Texas to spend some time with my Aunt Andrea and Uncle Arthur. First of all, I have to say that my Aunt Andrea is the strongest person I know. Last September her daughter, my cousin Katie, died unexpectedly, and instead of completely losing it like most mothers do, she worked hard to accept the things she could not change. So Aunt Andrea, I say this: You are incredible. 
Houston is a pretty sweet place. Here are the Top 10 reasons:
#10: It is a commuter city. EVERYONE has to own a car. I never want to own a car, so theoretically I could never live there. Fortunately, that does make it a favorite vacation spot.
#9: There is this one week in the middle of April where the weather is mighty pleasant. Not hot, not cloudy, not windy, not rainy. Just... pleasant. I was there that week.
#8: It's on the water. I like being by the water. I just don't like being in it.
#7: Houston is one of the two "Space Towns" in the US, along with Cape Canaveral, Florida. This makes it very exciting to go to the space center and learn about rockets and planets. The day I went to the Johnson Space Center was the day the Center was snubbed for not receiving a retired shuttle for display from NASA. This led to a press conference, where I was asked for a quote by a reporter in a lime green polo shirt. I simply told him I didn't know enough about the situation to comment. Too bad, though. I could have had my fifteen seconds of fame. 
#6: The Houston Zoo is pretty cool. They have plenty of giraffes and sea lions (the ones at the zoo are less smelly than the ones on the piers in San Fransisco) and other animals. You see, I like to watch animals from a distance. I think they're cool to look at....sometimes. But don't expect me to gush about cuteness, or desire to pet, feed, or ride them or interact with them in any other way. Unlike most people, I will be perfectly content in life never owning a pet. Maybe a rock, but that's it.
#5: The WorldFest International Film Festival is a huge Indie film festival held in Houston for 10 days every April. Guess what? I was there for 5 of those 10 days. We ended up watching 4 movies, the best being a movie called Finding Hope Now. It's a movie about a pastor who lives in Fresno, CA and works to keep kids off the streets. The movie is beautifully directed and edited. I highly encourage everyone to go to findinghopenow.com and look for it when it comes out. It will be released in the same way as Facing the Giants and Fireproof. 
#4: The Menil Collection. Once upon a time there was a filthy rich family called the Menils. They liked art and decided to buy a bunch and put it on display so commoners like me could see it for free. Now, I've seen a lot of art while traveling, so not many paintings, sculptures, or photographs grab my attention like they used to. But the Menil had a fabulous African Art display with fabulous wooden sculptures and masks from centuries ago. I found those to be absolutely fascinating.
#3: Sue and Max came to visit. Sue is my Uncle Arthur's aunt, and she is the coolest 70 year old woman I have ever met. After growing up in a town with a bunch of grouchy, conservative retirees, it was refreshing to know that not everyone with white hair has left their mind in the 1920's.
#2: This one little bakery sells the most amazing Toll House cake. I ate a piece. I was happy :) Unfortunately, eating more than one piece would have meant buying a bigger pair of jeans. Mine have grown tight enough as it is.....
#1: My Aunt Andrea and Uncle Arthur live there!


It turns out that I liked Houston so much that I decided to skip New Orleans and extend my stay there. I figure New Orleans is probably more fun when you're 21 anyway.
So after a fabulous visit with my aunt and uncle, I flew to Miami for a cruise, where my family, along with my mom's brother and his family and my grandparents were celebrating my Grandma Elaine's 70th birthday. It was quite marvelous, I'm not going to lie. You see, I hadn't seen my super-cute brothers, Andrew and Aaron, in 4 months, and I only had 10 days to spend with them. This meant lots of the following: loud squealing upon sighting them, cheek pinching, kissing, waving with a flirty look on my face, and lots of bear hugs. Aaron secretly loves this, I know it, but Andrew doesn't. You see, Andrew is 14 and in 8th grade. He's so cool he could melt ice (or so he thinks). So he didn't exactly appreciate it when I ran up to him squealing and kissing him while he's trying to make new friends aboard the ship. Oops. I know he still loves me.
For those of you who haven't been on cruises, let me tell you a bit about them. This was my second one, and I must say that there's no better way to vacation than to take a cruise. You do three things when you cruse: Eat, drink, and dance. The drinking and dancing goes hand in hand, though, because often times I would make my way to the Lido deck around midnight and observe 200+ white, middle class Americans following the dancing instructions of staff on a balcony. Most of these dance moves resembled those of the Wiggles. Apparently, dancing like the Wiggles is suddenly appropriate when you're under the influence, aboard a cruise full of people whom you will never see again. 
Our cruise made two stops, one in the Cayman Islands and one in Jamaica. Jamaica was cool. I got a dress that resembles the Jamaican flag and ate authentic Jamaican fast food, which is meat patties. In the Caymans, we snorkeled. Remember how I said I didn't like to interact with animals? Yeah, well those fish got insanely close to my face. Basically, I just spent my whole time swimming away from flocks of Dory-like fish. I suppose it was good exercise, though. In the Caymans I also ate a turtle burger, which is totally illegal in the US. 
The other cool thing I did on the cruise was a Chef's dinner with my mother. We got to tour the kitchen and eat a dinner specifically prepared by the Head Chef himself. For a cruise like ours, the ship normally holds about 3,500 people and houses about 1,100 staff. There are 117 cooks that work to feed all the hungry starving tourists aboard the ship. The kitchen process is a remarkable thing to watch, as little raspberry halves are perfectly placed on fruit cocktail plates and every plate comes out looking like a work of art, not just food. 
So after the cruise I flew back to Portland, where I slept in my bed for three whole nights. Barrett Davis, whom I visited in Amsterdam, came to see me while I was there and we had a blast walking around Portland, watching movies, and packing for Thailand! He was also there to witness my major freak out over colleges. That will all be explained in my next blog, I promise.
So that brings us to.... Thailand! As I type this I am on a flight to DC, where I will spend 5 days waltzing around the Smithonians while my mother attends a conference. Then I fly to Thailand! Yesterday I looked at the forecast for Nan, Thailand, which is where I will be near. Every day showed 100% lightning and thunderstorms. I suppose it's the rainy season, which is precisely why I brought a raincoat and my leopard umbrella! Perhaps on my next blog I will greet you in Thai.
Until next time,
Gabbie