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

Breaking Bad

My adventure in Albuquerque was supposed to start out just like every other city: I would step off the train and walk or take public transit to my hostel, where I would then check-in, shower, and scout out a place to eat dinner. Well, that didn't happen in Albuquerque.
The moment I entered the train station, I realized I had lost my little note card that had the directions to my hostel. Oops. But I knew Google Maps had said it was 0.7 miles, and it involved a right turn and then a left turn. So, I figured, Hey, I'm not stupid. Albuquerque can't be that big of a city. I'll find it.
Well, it turns out Albuquerque is a big city. Not really people-wise (it has a population of about 850,000) but everything is very spread out. So when I started wandering, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. It turns out I took a wrong turn and wandered into the "homeless and dangerous" part of the town. When I got to a deserted street corner, the man smoking on the little tree stump said to me "Girl, you're lost. Turn around, because when you cross this street, ain't no one going to protect you."
Great, I thought. Not even 15 minutes into Albuquerque and I'm going to mugged, shot, or raped. Fabulous. So I did what I never, ever allow myself to do: turn around and go back the direction I came from. 
By this time I had another solution: I would go find a Starbucks and buy a cup of coffee, then use their Wi-Fi to Google Map my hostel again. So I wandered toward the big tall buildings which normally represent the business part of the city. And businessmen need coffee from Starbucks. When I got to another street corner about 10 minutes later, a crazy guy started telling me about his "work" on the other corner everyday, and that I should come by and support "local business." I wasn't worried about him, though, because there were other people on the street corner who were giving him the oddball look. One of those people was a woman who was about four and a half feet tall, juggling a cigarette, a diet Coke, and a Blackberry. She sarcastically said, "Oh yeah, and we're also shooting Breaking Bad in that building across the street if you want to come support us."
Now, I've seen the previews for Breaking Bad, and it doesn't look too bad. I've just never watched it, and I had no idea that it was filmed in Albuquerque. "Really?" I replied. Then the light bulb in my head went on. She looked safe. I asked her if she was from there, and if she was, Did she know where the hostel was?
She didn't, but she did pull out her Blackberry and Google it. Score!
But then one of her coworkers started coming down the street. "Oh," she said, "this is one of our producers. He knows this place like the back of his hand." So she called him over and asked him if he knew. He did, and started giving me directions. (Keep in mind that he was quite large and nonathletic looking.) He suddenly gave me a crazy look, and asked "Are you going to walk there?" 
"Well, yeah, I was going to." I mean, I hadn't wandered that far from my 0.7 path to the hostel. I wasn't crippled.
But he said "No, no, no. It's way to far to walk. I was just headed over to that neighborhood anyway. Let me drive you." So he pulled up his Jaguar, loaded my suitcase into the trunk, and drove me the half mile to my hostel, all the while talking about the upcoming season of Breaking Bad and the stresses of shooting it. Now all I have to do is start watching Breaking Bad.


So yeah, that was kind of a cool thing. I'm sure you didn't need to know that, but I just felt like telling you. The rest of Albuquerque was cool, too. I wandered around, went to the Petroglyphs, went to the Museum of Nuclear Science and History, and went to the 305th birthday of the city of Albuquerque. 
The Petroglyphs were cool. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera, so there's not much to show or tell you except that they're pretty cool old rocks painted by the ancient Indians. Google them.
The Museum of Nuclear Science and History was not as interesting as I thought it would be. I'm not too sure why I thought I would get to watch them split atoms and make atomic and hydrogen bombs, but I did. And guess what? They didn't do that at the museum. It was just a bunch of information about nuclear science and radiation. So I suppose it was cool if you like to read about splitting atoms instead of actually splitting atoms.
And this brings us to the birthday party. The main tourist trap of Albuquerque is called Old Town, located surprisingly close to my hostel (like, a mile walk). And it has tons of shops and cute eateries and an old church. But Saturday was a bit different because it was the fiesta for the 305th anniversary of Albuquerque. The place was packed and there was music everywhere. I watched some Indian dances. That was pretty cool. Then I watched a Flamenco Company dance. Did you know that Albuquerque is the Flamenco Central of the world? Yeah. Everywhere else in the US, parents take their kids to ballet and soccer. In Albuquerque, they take them to Flamenco lessons. 

I have to say that Albuquerque was nice, mostly because it was my first time since Costa Rica when I didn't have to where a coat. But there's one problem: Nobody walks anywhere in Albuquerque. So walking down the street in a totally nice part of town feels a little wrong, because even though it's a Saturday afternoon, no one is outside. It's a little gloomy. But I do love the stucco style of all the buildings. I could get used to that.
Okay. So I'm on the train now to Los Angeles, where I have a 6 hour layover between trains. My plan is to book it over to the Walk of Fame and hopefully run into Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift or Katie and Suri Cruise. Or maybe all of them. That would make me super happy :)
Until next time,
Gabbie

A Slight Catastrophe

When I planned my Amtrak adventure, I was fully aware that plans could change as a result of natural catastrophes, failed alarm clocks, train wrecks, or Charlie Sheen. I just didn't think they would have a domino effect. Of course, I should have known that any minor glitch would cause multiple delays (which would require lots of repair) in my back to back travels. And I think I did know that, I just chose not to think about it.
The original plan in Gabbie's Big Train Ride said I would get on the train on March 24th in Sacramento around 11:00 am (leaving me plenty of time for beauty rest after a few busy days visiting my Aunt Cat and Uncle Rudy) and arrive in Salt Lake City around 3:30 am on the 25th, where I would retreat to my youth hostel and crash until sunrise, when I would wake up and do whatever you're supposed to do when you visit Salt Lake City. 
 Except someone messed up. I won't way who, mostly because I don't know who. But they messed up big time. Because whoever was supposed to put the Flanders (snow equipment) on the train and inspect them didn't do their job, because when we got to Colfax (a town about 2 hours east of Sacramento), they discovered that the snow equipment did not work. So the workers had to call a crew up from Sacramento to fix them, which takes a few hours. 
This would have been great, had Mother Nature not decided to take advantage of the situation. Because as we pulled into Colfax, the steady rain that had soaked Northern California since sunrise turned into snow and ice. Well guess what happened then? They had to shut down the freeways for "safety issues." So the maintenance crew couldn't fix our giant snow plow.
So the conductor had another brilliant idea. We were going to wait for the Number 5 train (which was coming from Chicago to California) to come over the mountain pass. Then they would just give us their working snow equipment. This meant waiting a few more hours in COLFAX: Population 1750 (according to the sign outside the lounge car window). I was cool with that because Colfax feels the need to provide its residents with public Wi-Fi everywhere. I could not complain. 
Unfortunately, plan #2 didn't work. Because after train Number 5 passed through the mountains there was a slight avalanche. Scratch that. There was a massive avalanche. One so bad that they wouldn't be able to send trains over the pass for at least a week. Since the beginning of my travels, I've totally been cheering on the trains when we cross the mountains, you know, the whole "I think I can" deal. But this darn train just couldn't. So when train Number 5 finally arrived in Colfax, we hooked up to them and rode back to Sacramento, arriving around 11 pm. I spent 12 hours on a train watching the rain, and I now consider Colfax one of the cities on my "Been To" list. 
The next morning I spent hours on the phone with lovely Amtrak customer service representatives. They are wonderful, let me tell you.  They booked me on (what they thought) was the next train out, to leave on Tuesday. With this new arrangement, I would skip my Salt Lake and Denver stops and go straight to Omaha. Then I would cancel my stops in Los Angeles and Tuscon, only stopping in Iowa, Albuquerque, Houston, and New Orleans. 
So with the entire weekend to spare, I went back to San Fransisco to do what I do best: wander around eating local junk food and imagine myself living there. (I really do this fabulously, by the way.) I also had dinner with the marvelous Chandra Lowe, one of my friends from Portland who was in SanFran on business. As I returned on Sunday night to Sacramento, my father informed me of the call from Amtrak. My train was cancelled for Tuesday! I wanted to jump off my train in frustration, but I did what I do second-best, which was smile really big at the lounge car attendant who sold me my Snickers bar, told him to have a good day, and put my change in his tip jar.
Further delaying my trip to the mid-west would mean I would have to cancel one of my family/friend visits in either Omaha, Iowa, or Houston. Not wanting to do this, I booked a flight to Omaha since all rail and road traffic through the pass was terminated. Now I'm going to rant. I'm not one to complain about the airlines' bogus security procedures and the days I've wasted waiting either in line for security or for planes to take off or taxi to the gate. But after taking trains for a few weeks straight, hopping on a plane was quite maddening. First of all, I had to check a bag, which I never, ever do. And I had to pay for it, a service which is normally free on Continental Airlines. This meant I had to wait in line for my boarding pass and for my bag to be checked. Then I had to wait in the security line for a good 20 minutes, where they found the snow globes I had bought for my friend, Erin, to be a threat to national security. Deep down I knew that snow globes couldn't be carried on. I just forgot when I was packing my bags. So after convincing them that the glitter was actually glitter and not some explosive metal that would kill everyone on board, they allowed me to walk back down to the check-in desk, beg for my checked bag to be pulled, repack all my underwear in front of the staff, and put the snow globes in my suitcase. 

I'm done venting now. Because once in Omaha I had a marvelous visit with some old friends. For those of you who don't know, I was born in Omaha because my parents lived there while my mom was in residency. So with mom and dad working 23.5 hours a day, they dropped me with the day care miracle from heaven: Sally. 
Sally was (and still is) one of the coolest old ladies around. She is the one responsible for my health and safety for the first 4.5 years of my life. She's basically like my fifth grandmother (I have a lot of grandmothers). So I went back to visit her. We did all sorts of stuff, but the first thing she made sure to do was show me my old house. It's green now. I don't seem to remember it being green before. We also went to the Air and Space Museum, the DeSoto Wildlife Reserve, the Capitol Building in Lincoln, and the Jocelyn Art Museum. We also watched half a dozen chick flicks that were made in the 90's. 
Air and Space Museum: Just a bunch of big, retired military planes. (But still neat.)
DeSoto Wildlife Reserve: Only if you like looking at tons of bare trees searching for a few wild animals. But they did have a really cool exhibit about a sunken ship from Civil War times that lost all the artifacts in the mud. Then, when they finally dug them out a century later, the lost cargo was perfectly in tact. Of course, the oxygen actually corrodes the artifacts, so they have to preserve them now that they discovered them. But seeing 500 pencils that were supposed to go to a schoolhouse in California perfectly in tact after a century in the mud? Well, now I can say I've seen it. 
Capitol Building in Lincoln: Oh, this was good. Somehow we managed to visit on the day that 80 fourth graders were visiting, and we were part of their tour. Whoopee! Actually, what was more entertaining was seeing the tour guide ask a bunch of questions, and then see Sally try to beat them all out for the correct answer. That woman could write a history book on Nebraska. 
Jocelyn Art Museum: This was great, too. There was an exhibit at the Jocelyn about the art from Ukraine, stuff that dates back to 5th century BC. I would tell everyone to go see it, but the exhibit isn't going to be there much longer. Basically, if someone wanted to impress me, they could steal one of those million dollar pieces of jewelry from 2000 years ago and give it to me for Valentine's Day. But just a warning: I'm sure if you were caught, you'd be punished by the US and by Ukraine. But you'd still impress me :)
Eye-Oh-Uh!
I never thought anyone lived in Iowa except my awesomest, bestest friend, Erin Geist. But guess what? More people live there. Shocking, I know. But it's true. I went there. They have real civilization, like McDonalds, Targets, and Starbucks. Although Erin informed me that if a town really wants to become a "town," it needs a Casey's Convenient Store. If it has two Casey's it's a big town. And three or more? Well, we're talking about New York City. 
During my visit we went to Ames (she goes to church there), Marshalltown (that place has a cute coffee shop with good cheesecake), and Des Moines (which has a shopping mall). We also went to State Center, which is where she resides. Let's talk about State Center. You know those movies where the entire town consists of three blocks on one street with a restaurant, a store, a lawyer's office, an accountant, and a library? Well, those exist. At least, one does in State Center. I was amazed. We toured the town in about 27.38 seconds. And that's not the record. 
Anyway, I had a fabulous few days to visit with Erin and her family and see a little bit of Iowa before hopping back on the train. They're a pretty awesome family, I'm not going to lie. We watched Tangled (which is adorable!) and shopped a lot. They totally got me addicted to the Food Network. Did you know that cake makers can screw up a cake's color palette? Yeah, me neither. Oh, and we watched the NCAA Championship game! I'll just throw this out there, I was all for UConn after Carolina dropped. Too bad I didn't bet on them...
I got on the train Wednesday morning and went to Galesburg, Illinios, where I would spend about 5 hours and take another west-bound train to Albuquerque. This part of the trip went smoothly. I walked around Galesburg for about 20 minutes with my cup of coffee, then sat down in the park and read my book for the next 4 hours. I only did this because spring has already arrived in Galesburg and is there to stay. It keeps teasing Omaha and Iowa with the whole, 80 one day, 50 the next game, making it very hard to go to a park and read a book all afternoon. 
Speaking of books, they're expensive! Now that I can't just pick up a book from the library, I actually have to buy them. I'm pretty sure I've spent more on books this trip than I have on food. Okay, that's a lie. But I've spent a lot on books. Maybe it's time for me to get an e-reader.


And next time I'll blog from Albuquerque! That is, if no corn avalanches decide to cover the tracks in Kansas....




Note: Every stop in this blog had wonderful friends and family who took me in, fed me, and let me have a hot shower or two. So a huge shout out to my Aunt Cat and Uncle Rudy, the Geist Family, and Sally and Jerry Linquist. 
Note #2: I totally forgot to take pictures of the mid-west. Forgive me. Erin and I were going to take Senior Pictures on Monday, but Mother Nature decided to drop the temperature and add wind, so we decided against it. 

One Week, Four Cities, and a Dozen Donuts

Portland vs. Portland


This week I visited Portland. Not Portland, Maine (which, for those of you who don't know, is where I live now), but Portland, Oregon. You see, when I moved to Portland, Maine I got a job at a touristy shop. And whenever the tourists from Portland, Oregon came in they had this obnoxious laugh that caused my brain to deteriorate a little more each time I heard it.
Me: So where are you from?
Customer: Portland..... (awkward pause)....... OREGON! *Giggle giggle*
Yeah, it was okay the first two times, but after a while I wondered if the mayor had challenged every citizen of Portland, Oregon to visit Portland, Maine. Seriously, there is an overabundance of tourists from Portland, Oregon on the east coast. It's unnatural. But traveling by Amtrak through Oregon presented me with an opportunity to get revenge. There's just one problem: obviously, not many people from Portland, Maine go to Portland, Oregon because the people who asked about my homeland were very surprised whenever I told them. Not a fake surprise like mine had always been, but a genuine surprise. (Unless, of course they're all very good at acting. This is very possible.) Like the woman at the Oregon Historical Society. She said there was no visitor on the record books from Portland, Maine. So either people from Maine forget to sign the record book or no one goes to Oregon. I'm not too sure which one it is. 

Portland!

  Portland, Oregon

• One Voodoo Donut Shop 
•  Located on a very, very muddy river 
•  NBA team- The Trailblazers 
•  Lots of movie theaters that play Indie movies 
•  Free streetcar in town 
•  Powell's City of Books 
•  Nice Library 
•  Rains ALL the time. Don't  straighten your hair. Ever. 
•  Bigger than Portland, Maine. 

Quick note: While traveling, I've seen plenty of bronze heads that are placed in parks in honor of important people. I'm pretty sure if I was important enough to have a bronze statue of myself, I'd want one like this!

  Portland, Maine 

•  Dozens of Dunkin Donuts Shops
• Located on the Atlantic Ocean 
•  Minor League hockey, basketball, and baseball. 
•  Just a few very expensive Regal Cinemas Fairly 
• Decent bus system, but not free 
•  Longfellow Bookstore 
•  Nice Library 
•  Snow in winter, sun in summer. LL Bean  is a must. 
•  Smaller than Portland, Oregon.  

So, there's the basics. We'll start with Voodoo Donuts because that place is like heaven in a little rundown shop. Voodoo has pretty amazing donuts. We're talking iced with M&M's, Maple Bacon Bars (maple filled donuts with bacon on top), and tons of other pretty, incredibly tasty donuts. One Voodoo made up for the 13 Dunkin Donuts located within a five mile radius of my house in Maine. Because of this, my diet in Portland consisted of Voodoo Donuts three meals a day. I think the woman working there thought I was on break from Fat Camp, but I didn't care. You have to get Voodoo when you can, you know? Don't waste a good thing when you see it.
Portland, Oregon is located on a river instead of the ocean. I actually didn't know this until I got there. Oops. But the river is so muddy and polluted that a water quality report about 75 years ago stated "A fish would last longer in a frying pan." I suppose that made the city look into the muddy water of their souls and turn in their ways, because that place is crazy about recycling and other green things now. For example, they have a streetcar that you can ride for free in certain areas. I'm sure this doesn't actually keep people from driving cars in the other non-free areas, but it sure helped me :)
I also went to my first NBA game in Portland. I've never been into basketball, so I decided to go while I had the chance. I also went because I couldn't go to the Irish Festival due to my age. It was quite an adventure, actually. The Trailblazers played the Cleveland Cavaliers. I quickly learned that Cleveland had traded LeBron. This was not to their advantage during this game (or any game). Even I could tell they were hurting. We won 111-70. Which was great, because when the team wins coupons come flying at you. Seriously. I got a coupon for a free stack of pancakes at IHOP, a free Egg McMuffin at McDonalds, and a free Chalupa at Taco Bell (that one was because they scored 100 points. The crowd started chanting Chalupa! before half-time, hoping that we could secure a free meal before we died of boredom). So besides my $1.25 donut at Voodoo the next day, all my meals were free. I've never cared before, but  I was suddenly glad LeBron wasn't there.
The previous night had also benefited because of my underage status in the alcohol world. The hostel I stayed at planned a pub crawl for that night. Well guess what? I can crawl, but I can't really go into pubs. So I wondered around in the rain looking for something to do until I came across a movie theater that played indie films and documentaries. I walked up to the ticket counter and asked the lady what was playing next. The documentary called Hood to Coast was playing next. 
Note: Hood to Coast is a very intense relay race in Oregon that goes 197 miles from Mt. Hood to the coast. Relay teams are comprised of 12 runners who run 3 legs each. It's a pretty big accomplishment to finish it even once. But I didn't know this before I walked into the documentary. I'd never even heard of the race before!
So I went into the theater and saw a row of ladies in red jackets. It was them and me the entire movie. I suppose I can't blame the rest of Portland for not wanting to watch a documentary of running, but I thought there might be some more people present. The film featured four teams, following them through training and race day. And it's a pretty good documentary. It's really informative, interesting, and funny. But when it was over, I stood up and noticed that the row of ladies in red jackets behind me was actually one of the teams featured in the film from the Portland area. 
They're called Heart-n-Soul, and the average age of the 12 women is 63. They've run HTC 21 times as a team, and they all still run marathons, HTC, Ironmans, and other hard core races. They have all run Boston recently and plan to run until the day they die. Basically, they're running goddesses. And guess what? I got to talk to them after the race for a while! I was in absolute heaven. I mean, these women are inspiring. Running has been their lifestyle for so long that they can't remember a time when they weren't training for something big. And they're not even famous! They just do it because they love it. 
Basically, this was a hint from God to me to get my butt back outside and pound the pavement. It worked. Oh, and if you want to see the movie I know it's on Netflix. 
One more thing about Portland, Oregon- it has the largest independent book store in the country, called Powell's City of Books. I have found that that place and the library are both wonderful places to escape to when you've had enough of the rain.


TrackTown, USA

Eugene, Oregon has been dubbed TrackTown, USA by runners all over the country. I suppose it's correct. I mean, it was where Steve Prefontaine went to school and where the University of Oregon is located. I was a little worried going to Eugene because I wanted to do two things there: run on the Pre Trail and see Hayward Field at University of Oregon, and I was going to be there for three days. But I had nothing to worry about! Because when I got to Eugene, which is a super cute little college town that goes comatose over spring break (which it was last week), I found out I have cousins in Eugene! And what's greater? They live only three-ish blocks from my hostel! I know, how ironic is that? Boredom: busted. 
My cousins Mike and AJ live there, along with Mike's girlfriend Katy and their adorable daughter Lexi. Anyway, one of the coolest things is that they have a cat named Curtis. He's deaf! So you can insult him and not feel bad. So basically I visited the spots on my checklist and visited with my family. I have to say, Eugene was a pretty cool place :)

Left to Right: Katy and Lexi, AJ, me, and Mike!

Sacramento


Sacramento was another family affair, but this one was planned. My Aunt Cat and Uncle Rudy live in Rio Linda, which is basically the same thing as Sacramento, according to my aunt. They're pretty cool people with a super simple lifestyle, which is what I hope my life is like when I'm that age. They're both in the military and they don't really cook and they like to watch TMZ and Two and a Half Men. Totally my kind of lifestyle. 
Speaking of Two and a Half Men, I got a Charlie Sheen shirt in Sacramento because I love Charlie Sheen. I mean, I've been waiting for a celebrity to go out of control like he has and not try to hide it. I would love to meet him one day.
Tuesday was a bit of a girl day, since my Aunt Cat and I got pedicures and manicures. I'm sure Rudy didn't mind being left out of that one. That evening we went Old Sacramento, which is the historical part of Sacramento. It has a lot of cool shops that sell cool things (like Charlie Sheen shirts) and they have a Joe's Crab Shack. It's been absolutely forever since I've eaten there, so it ended up being a fabulous evening :)
And so, this brings us to.....


San Fransisco!


Sacramento is pretty close to San Fransisco, so my Aunt Cat and Uncle Rudy took me there on Wednesday. And even though there wasn't much time to see every square inch of the city, we did go to Pier 39 and see the seals, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz (all from Pier 39, which has a great view of the three). 
Anyway it's been a long time since I've seen seals and I couldn't help but think that they look like barking pigs with fins on the docks. I mean, they certainly aren't pretty, nor do they smell pleasant. And yes, I totally know that the wild seals in San Fransisco are cool. But I also couldn't help but wonder what the other seals think of them. You know how Americans generally rule people from New York City out of the normal American description? It's like, there's Americans and then there's New Yorkers. I wonder if the "real" wild seals do that with the "San Fransiscan" seals. Some seal in Oregon is probably like, "Oh, you saw a seal in San Fransisco?  Well, we don't claim them. They just bark on the docks all day." Just a thought.

 We also rode the streetcar in San Fransisco. That was fun, but we determined that the only reason those things exist is to please the tourists. They are neither punctual nor comfortable, and if I lived in San Fransisco I'd just walk to work. 
Guess what else I did in California? I had a Krispy Kreme donut! I know, I know, there is a Krispy Kreme in every state. But not in Maine. Because Dunkin is all over the place! And I love Dunkin, I do. But since I've been living off of donuts and cupcakes for the past month, I appreciated a little taste from the past. When I was little there was nothing better than Krispy Kreme...... (this is the part where I'm supposed to break out into some sob story about how I miss Krispy Kreme. But I won't. That is the story.)


And so now you're probably thinking to yourself "Gee, Gabbie's getting fat eating donuts and cupcakes all the time." Yeah, keep thinking that. I'm actually quite surprised I'm not morbidly obese right now. One day I'm going to write a memoir called "My Fat Year," and list all the donut and cupcake shops that made me fat and tell of my heartwarming journey back to health. Then it will turn into a movie and I'll make tons of money and go to book signings and appear on The View. 




Yeah, right.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Alright. I'm busting with random facts and you're just going to have to deal with it. It might even make my adventures sound more interesting than they actually are.
Guess what happens when a train hits a car? It's totaled. I told you that in  my previous blog, but now that I have seen it first hand, I repeat: Don't park on the train tracks. Especially in North Dakota. In three feet of snow. 
Lightning bugs light up because of the two chemicals in their stomachs called luciferin and luciferase. They react and make energy, which expels itself as light. The energy in lightning bugs is released as almost 100% light, and only .000somethingsomethingsomething percent heat, whereas lightbulbs energy is released only as 10% light and 90% heat, making lightning bugs more energy efficient than lightbulbs.
If you're a professional surfer, you need to go to Tahiti to surf because they have these special waves that are formed by the water hitting up against the reef and causing the majority of the energy in the water to hit against the reef and bounce back, creating a dangerous undertow. But the small amount of energy in the top of the wave that makes it pass the reef causes the water to fold over itself, making a wave like this: 

I know this because I watched a documentary about it in 3D.
The Space Needle in Seattle was made to attract people to the 1962 World's Fair, just like the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris to promote the 1889 World's Fair.

The city from the Space Needle

Speaking of 1889, that was an important year for Seattle. Well, actually it was the beginning of an age that brought Seattle out of small town nothingness and turned it into a real location that America can be proud of. You see, Seattle was settled only for lumber. But the part where Seattle was today was actually a muddy sinkhole because the tide in the Puget Sound fluctuates approximately 20 feet every year (I don't know all those specifics, that's just what the tour guide said). But basically all the buildings in "old" Seattle are a story above what they used to be because it wasn't sanitary or safe to live in a muddy sinkhole. Here's why:
The wonderful invention of the toilet revolutionized Seattle's way of thinking. Actually, the man in charge of the main sawmill first said that no one on the west coast would buy a toilet because no one wants an outhouse inside their homes. I'm so glad he was wrong. 
But when people started to buy toilets they realized that they need a sewage system. So Seattle built a sewage system. Of course, when the tide came in once a year, it blocked up the sewage system and caused it to go in reverse, obviously causing major problems. The smart Seattleites came up with this: 

Toilets elevated off the ground. They were so brilliant. 
Anyway, after a few years of randomly being blown off the pot when the system decides to go into reverse, they decided to build the city a story higher than it was. So they started with the streets, raising them and leaving the sidewalks on ground level with ladders on the corners for crossing. This proved a problem with drunkards at night crossing the street. Hundreds of lumberjacks lost their lives to "involuntary suicide" because they couldn't cross the raised streets. This was around 1895.
So when they finally got the whole city on the same level to keep from sinking into the mud, they began using the old ground level buildings (now the basements) to keep food supplies. Here's the equation: rats+backed up sewage+the city's food stock+10 years= the bubonic plague occurring in the Western Hemisphere almost 500 years after the Black Plague in Europe, from 1905-1907. 
Obviously that wasn't good.

Okay. Here's some more fast facts:
Almost everything in the Northwest and British Columbia was named by the discoverer Vancouver. Seattle was named after an Indian Chief who didn't want his name to be used (it was against his culture) until they offered him tons of money. Then it became okay. The Puget Sound was named after one of Vancouver's Lieutenants, Mr. Puget (I've found there's really no need to memorize first names). Victoria was named after Queen Victoria, which I'm going to talk about now.


So Tuesday I went to Victoria, BC on the ferry. It was quite fun, even though I wasn't there for very long. I couldn't do everything, so I decided to go to the Butchart Gardens, a massive garden complex that is highly touristy and absolutely beautiful. 
Once upon a time Mr. Butchart was a cement guy. He made his living off of making cement. When he heard that there was a large limestone deposit on Vancouver Island in Canada, he packed up his family and bought the quarry. After 18-ish years of excavating limestone it ran out, so he moved to another place (I don't know the name of it) and left his wife and family at the house on Vancouver Island. One day his wife, Mrs. Jennie Butchart, looked out on her back porch and was disgraced by the limestone ruins. So she made gardens. 55 acres of them. Here was the first one:

And here are some shots of when she wanted to continue gardening:

Sunken Gardens

The Sunken gardens are where the original limestone was dug. In the middle you can see here a large cone-thing sticking out of the bottom. That was the "bad limestone" that Mr. Butchart dug around. Now people just go up to the top to do cutesy romantic things like kiss and propose. 

More Sunken Gardens

Lake in the Sunken Gardens...

Cutesy romantic spot.

Deer!

Even the trash cans are pretty.

And the Rose Gardens. Unfortunately, I went during the dead season so there were no roses, only thorns. So it was more of a Thorn Garden, which didn't bother me. But I must say that even in the dead season the place is spectacular. On a normal summer day they easily top 1,000 guests. But today there were only 3 cars in the parking lot besides our tour bus, and our bus only had 10 people on it. Needless to say, we had the place to ourselves. 

Thorn Gardens

Entrance to the Japanese Garden

The Italian Garden

The drooling pig. 

The Indoor Garden

Lunch.

Now I don't really know (or care) much about plants, but I do know that this place was spectacular. And Mrs. Butchart called herself a novice. Whatever. The gardens are open year round and they have 14 permanent gardeners (in the summer they triple that number). 


Oh yeah, and I went to Afternoon Tea at the Butchart Gardens. I would fit in so well in England if only it didn't rain so much...


I also had a tour of the town on the way to the Butchart Gardens. That was fun and I learned a lot of other useless (or useful) information. See this building here?

Victoria Parliament Buildings

Well this nineteen-year-old (we'll call him Mr. Smith because I can't remember his name) was commissioned to design the above buildings, the Victoria Parliament Buildings. All was well until he went to make the statue that went on top of the building (the one that is of a very important person in history whose name I also can't remember). When the molding time came for the bronze statues, Mr. Smith lost the mold to the right foot, so the statue of Mr. Important Name has two left feet. This made Mr. Important Name very angry and cancelled the rest of Mr. Smith's projects. 
Naturally this upset Mr. Smith, who decided to get revenge by building something spectacular right across the road. He ended up designing the Empress Hotel, a very historical inn that was built on a swamp right across the harbor from the Victoria Buildings. Of course, building a building on a swamp is pretty dangerous when you think about the sinkage they had in Seattle. But Mr. Smith was pretty smart and in the past 100 years the Empress has only sunk 3 inches. 
Mr. Smith-1, Mr. Important Name-0.

The Empress Hotel

Okay, I'm running out of facts and stories.But basically that's what I learned here in Seattle and Victoria. Sorry if it all sounds a little confusing- that's why I'm not a history teacher. 
But I absolutely love Seattle and could probably live there if I could find the control button for the rain. Oh, and guess what? I ran every day in Seattle :) Yay! 
Today I head out to Portland, OR. I absolutely can't wait to go into a tourist shop and tell them I'm from Portland, ME. When I worked in a touristy shop in Maine I absolutely wanted to murder every person who came in the store and told me they were from Portland, OR because they all did this obnoxious giggle-giggle thing. Here's my revenge...

Nougatocity

Nougatocity \nu-gat-a-si-tE\ (noun). A heightened yet fleeting state of accomplishment that makes you realize how unbelievably unmotivated you normally are. 


This is the definition that appeared on the inside of my Snickers bar Friday afternoon, and I realized I get this feeling very rarely because frankly, I don't do anything. For example, I will replay the conversation that went on in my head Thursday morning when I woke up:


7:00 am- Alarm rings
Good Gabbie: Okay, Gabbie. Let's get up and go running. There's a fitness center in this hotel. We should take advantage of that considering we're in Minneapolis and there are meters of snow piled up on the sidewalks.
(Note: I had to stay at a cheap hotel on Wednesday night because my train got in too late for me to check into a hostel. It might as well have been a hostel because a) the walls were so thin I could hear everything my neighbors did, b) the continental breakfast sucked, and c) well, I just wished they had let me check into the hostel late, that's all.)
Bad Gabbie: I'm not sure why you're suggesting this. It's so early!
GG: Well, considering you set your alarm for 7 last night, we could say it was your idea.
BG: I was under the influence of motivation. Please disregard any decisions made last night.
GG: Oh my gosh. Just get your lazy butt out of bed. 
BG: No way. I don't get up in the morning to run while I'm on vacation.
GG: This isn't exactly vacation, considering you've been traveling since December. Let's go.
BG: No thanks, I'll just lay in this bed. Besides, the Mall of America doesn't open until 10. And I don't want to get there until later because they have a lockdown drill this morning.
GG: Okay, fine. We can workout at 8.
Gabbie's body- sets the alarm for 8.
8:00 am- alarm rings.
Repeat the above conversation.
9:00 am- alarm rings.
BG: See, Gabbie? You're awfully tired. You needed the rest. There was no need to get up that early to go workout. Let's go eat breakfast.
After breakfast-
BG: Okay. You're too full to go run and workout. That's not good for your stomach. That bowl of crappy corn flakes and that bagel could really mess with you.
GG: *Sigh* I suppose. Let's get ready and go to the mall.


Now you see, Friday's conversation was a bit different. I was in a youth hostel in downtown Minneapolis (and it didn't have a fitness center).
GG: Let's go run, Gabbie!
BG: ARE YOU INSANE? Look at the temperature. It's way too cold to go run outside.
GG: Oh yeah, you're right. Go back to bed. 


So yeah. Not much nougatocity there because Good Gabbie doesn't even have a chance. It's just pure unmotivaton. But on Thursday afternoon I saw a sign at the Mall of America that read: Fat people are harder to kidnap. See? Safety should be my main concern. Bad Gabbie has won over. Don't worry, I'll totally start running and working out... in Seattle. Or Portland. Or Eugene. We will have to see about that...


Oh yeah, I almost forgot that I was  supposed to write about Minneapolis. 
Minneapolis is a pretty cool place because they have the Mall of America. If you love malls, you need to visit before you die. If you hate malls, then just don't go. That would be a bad idea.  You see, I have a love/hate relationship with malls. I love the convenience factor. Everything is so close; stores, restaurants, movie theaters, spas. It's like a little patch of heaven on earth. And this one had a theme park and an aquarium, so it was, in my opinion, sitting on the right hand of God in heaven. But of course, I also hate them because it's absolutely impossible to not spend a lot of money. I'm not sure why I thought I could walk into the MALL OF AMERICA of all places and have a small budget. Actually, I didn't put any room in my budget for this visit because I forgot I was going to a mall. Oops.
But truth is, I'm not a big spender because I have a pretty strict clearance/sales rack-only rule. But still, ten $5 items later and you start to wonder why they built malls in the first place. They must have come from the devil. 
But I say this to all the girls who I've ever shopped with (mostly Katy Pagano and Lacee McCall): Thank you so much for always being there to convince me to buy things. Because of you, I still have my sanity. 
I have a bit of a willpower problem. When it comes to running in the cold in the morning, I can't get out of bed. But when I'm in  store fitting room, I can't seem to buy anything. I probably walked around Marshall's for an hour holding an item I picked up in the first 30 seconds I was in the store. But I wasn't too sure if I wanted to buy it. So I tried it on about five times and then set it down and walked out of the store because I was convinced it would be a waste. But then I felt bad about wasting an hour in the store for a shirt that looked pretty good when I could have been riding the awesome roller coaster in the middle of the mall. So I went back and bought it. But then I felt bad about buying it. If someone had just been there to tell me it was good, I probably wouldn't have lost my sanity in Marshall's, or in any other store I went to (and I went to a lot). 
Around 5 I decided that my brain and soul were going to explode if I walked into another store and attempted to buy something. So I watched a movie. I saw Just Go With It, with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. It was such a cute movie. Go see it. 
But after the movie I went to retrieve my luggage from the lockers and got directions to the train from the wonderful woman at the information desk. Go into Sears, take a right, walk to the parking garage, go through the glass doors and down the stairs. Got it. 
I repeated these directions in my head so I wouldn't forget them. Go into Sears, take a right, parking garage...
What does that sign say? $5 shoes? 
And my concentration was lost as I wandered into the colorful store that I had missed during my previous shopping hours. And naturally, the process started over again, except this time I had dropped my luggage in the middle of the store and was trying on every shoe they offered in a size 8.5. I am sad to say that the Mall of America owns part of my sanity. RIP.


Well, you know what went down Friday morning, and after that little episode I decided to make my way over to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, aka, the best thing about Minneapolis besides Brett Favre. My original plan was to go the the art museum in the morning and the Swedish Institute in the afternoon, but I got a little sidetracked at the museum and never quite made it over to learn about the Swedes. Oh well, I guess that's what Google is for.




Well, that was supposed to be the end of my blog until I got to Seattle. But the adventure to Seattle was quite entertaining, so I'll write about it :)


I was supposed to board my train at 11:15 on Friday night. The train was late, so we boarded at 12:15 on Saturday morning. Minor setback.
I woke up Sunday morning to multiple announcements concerning multiple delays because of snow. Our route went through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington State, and as you can imagine there's lots and lots of snow around this time of year. So it's apparently not a big deal to be delayed a little on this route because of snow. The announcement that really woke me up was the one that said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, you may have noticed that we stopped again. We hit a car."


I shot out of my seat. At lunch I asked the waiter how many times this happened. He proceeded to tell me that they hit cars only about twice a year, which is pretty good considering how many cars cross train tracks every year.
But the best part of this incident was the conductor's speech after this:
"Ladies and gentlemen. This should be a warning to all of you to not risk jumping the tracks when a train is coming and you're driving through snow. If you are in a car, and we are in a train, we will always win."
Best. Conductor. Ever. 
Kalia, the girl sitting across the aisle from me, and I looked at each other and started laughing. Basically, we kept each other entertained for the next 24 hours. 
So basically, one delay after another put us about 9 hours behind schedule (the freight trains kept getting in our way). But here's the funny part: I didn't mind. You see, trains are way better than planes or buses. People are friendlier. You have a lot more room. The view is much more scenic. There's more food. You can actually get up and move around when you're bored. The bathrooms are bigger. There are no luggage restrictions. There is no security. You just show up at the train station with your stuff, hop on the train, and go. Then, you get off the train when you get to your destination. Sure, the ride may be a little slower, but people who are taking trains aren't exactly looking to get places fast, they're just looking to enjoy the ride. So remember: if you want relaxation, take the train. If you want pissed off people looking to get to their destinations and yell at crew members, take a plane. I absolutely can't wait to see what will happen on my next train ride :)

Oh, Chicago.

Yeah, it was a bit different from Costa Rica.

Chicago was awesome. Chicago was incredible. Chicago was beautiful. Chicago was full of fun experiences. I loved Chicago.
There. That's my description of Chicago because I'm too lazy right now to come up with a more creative intro. Truth be told, I could live there. Actually, I desperately want to live there one day, which works out perfectly considering I never want to own a car or a house. I'm pretty sure the average Chicagoan does not own either. 
My flight arrived in O'Hare around 4:00 pm on Friday, and just as in any other major city, the traffic was horrible (on trains and on the interstate). I took the Blue Line from the airport to the Loop, and then transfered to the Brown Line, which I was supposed to take to Fullerton, get off, and walk a short distance to my hostel. This was great, except by the time I got off the Brown Line it was pouring down rain and dark and freezing cold and, of course, windy. On my walk to the hostel I took a few wrong turns, which wouldn't have felt life-threatening if it weren't for the rain and all the angry people sprinting by and my suitcase getting more soaked with water every second. But finally I made it to the hostel, checked in, and took a nice, warm, long, hot shower. 
I stayed at the Chicago Getaway Hostel and it was pretty impressive. The staff is super nice and friendly, the rates are reasonable, the location is great, and everything is kept immaculately clean. So if you're ever in Chicago and need a cheap place to stay, look them up. 
Saturday was a blast. I woke up, took a run around Lincoln Park, and went to the museum of Science and Industry. (Just a note: I love museums, and I have recently developed the obsession to read every poster in every exhibit. Lucky for you, I'm too lazy to document all my findings. This should keep my blog posts at a reasonable length.) I learned lots at that place. Did you know that happiness is 40-50% genetic? Or that everything in and on our planet either begins or ends in granular form? This is why the study of avalanches is so important. The MSI also has a baby chick hatchery where you can watch chicks hatch. And you can look at cloned mice. I also put my hand under this magnetic machine and saw the blood moving through the veins. Yeah, that was pretty cool. And I saw how robots make toys (I already knew how the robots worked, so the museum worker was a little embarassed when I informed him of their operations. He obviously did not learn the X, Y, Z coordinate planes in geometry.) I also watched a few silent films and watched an IMAX movie on the Hubble Spacecraft. I stood in the wind tunnels in the Space Storms exhibit. They weren't very interesting, considering they just messed up my hair. 
But the best part of the Museum of Science and Industry? The gift shop. Normally I hate gift shops, but this one had a special on very cool T-shirts. I got one that says PLUTO (and then it has a picture of Pluto), and has the years 1930-2006 listed. Below that it says, REVOLVE IN PEACE. Best shirt ever. And now I own one :)
Saturday evening was also quite marvelous. You see, I'm traveling on a budget, so I have to eat cheap. I set out in search of a cheap eatery on Clark St. after my museum adventures. I saw this enormous sign for OODLES OF NOODLES flashing around rapidly in many different colors. To me, that screams WE HAVE CHEAP FOOD! COME EAT NOW!, because nice restaurants don't have those signs. So I go to open the door. Except that there were two identical, unmarked doors beside each other. I tried the one on the left and opened it, assuming it was Oodles of Noodles. The place was packed, and as I made my way up to the counter to order I realized it was not at all a noodle shop, but rather a gourmet cupcake shop. 
I'm not talking about just pretty cupcakes (they had those, too), but I'm talking cupcakes filled with cheesecake and topped with blueberries. And peanut butter filled with Nutella. And chocolate filled with raspberries. And butterscotch filled with caramel. And they had one called Cookie Monster. And they had one called Tiramasu (but it was a cupcake). And many, many more. I felt like such a fat kid. But at $4 a cupcake I had to limit myself. I chose the peanut butter Nutella one, and it was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. After I devoured the beautiful cake, I realized that I only had $6 left to spend on dinner. So, being the super smart person I am, I went across the street to the Supermarket and bought a pack of Ramen Noodles and a bag of pretzels. I got my cheap noodles after all! And my dinner only added up to $6, which goes to show that junk food is much, much cheaper. 
Sunday morning I took the train out to St. Charles, a suburb west of Chicago. The Awana Summit Convention (which I've attended for the past three years) was being held at a resort out there. This was my "senior year" (if you want to call it that), so I recieved my citation (like a diploma from Awana) at the big ceremony with two of my greatest friends, Toni Groff and Erin Giest. We were all in the same Awana program at Crab Creek Baptist Church when we lived in North Carolina, but over the years we have all moved up north; Toni to Minnesota, Erin to Iowa, and me to Maine. So needless to say, it was a lovely reunion.

Toni, Erin and I with our Citations!

Monday was pretty cool. I went to Millenium Park in the morning and the Field Museum in the afternoon. I was quite impressed with the Field Museum. They have a bunch of cool exhibits, like the one with hundreds of pairs of shoes from all over the world. And they have the largest, most complete skeleton of a T-rex named Sue. I watched a 3D movie about Sue, which was pretty cool. I'm not a huge fan of 3D movies (I think the last one I saw was SpyKids 3D), but this was neat, especially with the loud dinosaur roars. Sue was found in the Black Hills in South Dakota, and is named after her discoverer, Susan something-or-other. She suffered from diseases and from arthritis, but otherwise lived a good life. She was only found in 1990, so she hasn't been on display for very long. Sue also helped scientists discover that T-rexes had a wonderful sense of smell (so don't believe that scene in Jurassic Park where the T-rex is super close to the humans). 
They also have this special exhibit called The Horse. At first this didn't appeal to me since I hate horses. But the exhibit emphasized on horses' impact on civilization and animal domestication. Horses actually used to be smaller than dogs, with multiple toes instead of hooves. And horses originated in North America but migrated to Europe and finally died out in the Americas. That's why for centuries the only horses could be found in Europe. And wild Mustangs are actually escaped horses from settlers from way-back-when, just in case you were wondering. 

Sue's head.

After the Field Museum I took the Metra back out to St. Charles for the night. You see, the Summit Convention has many events: Citation ceremony, Bible Quiz, Fine Arts, Volleyball, and Awana Games. Normally I'm a participant in Fine Arts and Quizzing and Games, but this year I just tagged along for the Games with Flemings Chapel Baptist Church. I've played with them since my sophomore year (I'm surprised they always want me back) and it's always a blast. Last year we were 4th out of 30+ teams, and this year we were 6th out of 26 teams. But this year was better, because for the first time we beat our biggest rivals: Community Heights. Nothing else mattered when we beat them in the semi-finals. I'm pretty sure every one of us didn't care what happened next because, for the first time in what seems like a century, we beat Community Heights. Whoo hooo! (I completely understand that if you don't know what Summit is, you're probably very confused. That's okay, just play along.)
So Tuesday night I took the Metro back to the hostel in the city and made another journey to Molly's Cupcake shop. It was a wonderful night of relaxing and talking with other travelers at the hostel. Oh yeah, and packing. 
That brings us to Wednesday, my final day in Chicago. I was torn between two museums, the Museum of Surgical Science and the Adler Planetarium. I didn't have enough time to do both because they opened at 10 and my train left at 2 pm. So I did Eenie Meenie Miney Mo. And I chose the Museum of Surgical Science. It actually turned out to be awesome, especially if you like anatomy. They have lots of cool displays of all that anatomical stuff. It was bascially a refresher of everything I learned from my Anatomy class last summer, but since my class was online it was nice to see things in real life. And the museum was smaller, so there wasn't lots of pressure to whiz through and cover every topic. 
So basically, Chicago was incredible. The only things I didn't do were go to the Planetarium, the Navy Pier, or the Willis Tower, which is fine because now I have an excuse to go back. And maybe next time I'll go when it's a little warmer, like during baseball season so I can see my Cubbies torture their opponents for 9 innings :)