There, and back again

This week's post has a guest author. Niece #1 is visiting us for a little bit and I thought it would be a good experience for her to try writing a blog. As always, please be compassionate when commenting.

The past few days with PartnerPenguin and SaraBe have been ones I won’t forget for a long time. I’m from Bore City, USA, and life can be a little dull there. I was absolutely excited when I found out I’d be spending some time with them. I reached some other destinations before finally settling with them, but these days have definitely been different. I was staying with my relatives nearby before this leg of my trip. Their house/farm was unlike any other place I’d been. Ducklings, chicks, rabbits, roosters, turkeys, fish, chickens, and a friendly doggie all became acquainted with me on that stay. I didn’t stay there long, however, because Sara and PartnerPenguin arrived shortly after I arrived. Everyone joined together that evening over some scrumptious local dinner food. I won’t forget the happy feeling of watching so many cool friends of mine finally get to meet. A little unluckily, we didn’t leave until sunset for our trip to Phoenix. It wasn’t that much of a problem; we were just all a little tired by the time we got there. Although the trip was almost entirely in the dark, it was a road trip I’ll never forget. I’ve got to say, “Comfortably Numb” sounds better going down the freeway at 90 MPH. The best aspect of the trip was getting to see the meteor shower. This wasn’t your typical shower of fire in the night sky; it was a new moon that night, in the middle of nowhere. We got to see everything. I saw at least six meteors in the brief time we spent gazing. Around 3 o’clock in the morning did we finally find ourselves in Phoenix. The AirB&B we stayed at was the coolest! There was all sorts of fascinating things: spiritual quotes on the walls, Celtic designs, Native American artwork, some pretty sweet lizards, and a very generous woman named Diane. A lot of cool experiences came out of our short stay. We got to spend a lot of time with PartnerPenguin’s family, which was the reason of our visit in the first place. His Aunti Kutzi arrived from Europe around the same time I got to my relatives’. The people in the Paprikás krumpli Family were very diverse in personality. I won’t go into specifics, but the people I met were very fun to be around and it was nice to temporarily be a part of the Paprikás krumplis. I’ll never forget playing the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Trivia Game with SaraBe and PartnerPenguin “What is the name of the spell that paralyzes the opponent?” We said: “Habeas Corpus!” Our voting rights have been revoked. Outside of the family, Sara and I got to do a lot of exciting activities in the city. We looked around the Wells Fargo Museum, which is actually a lot cooler than it sounds. There was a lot of historical information on how important the bank was during the Gold Rush. Lots of interactive aspects were added to the museum.  We then proceeded to the Arizona Science Center. We got to learn a lot of cool facts about the human body (the brain especially), homebuilding, geology, electricity, physics, and more. For at least twenty minutes or more, SaraBe and I got to watch a Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis consume ten or so flightless fruit flies. It was really intense. We attended a yoga class the next day, which helped clear out a few mental mothballs. It was a little hard, not being flexible and all, but we can both say that we enjoyed it. Before the three of us realized, it was time to head home. We spent the entire next day on the road trip back. We took the “scenic route”, which was absolutely gorgeous. I’d never been surrounded by such beautiful mountains while having such an intense discussion about Harry Potter. When lunchtime came around, we stopped at a cute little café, which had rather delicious burgers. Our next eating experience wouldn’t be as enjoyable. So we took off from the café, and we got to see all sorts of cool geography. The three of us got to drive through tall, forested mountains and glide along grassy plateaus. Around sunset we visited Petrified National Forest and Painted Desert. What I saw was unlike anything before.  The blotches of color spread across vast canyons and mountains were simply amazing. The Petrified Wood had such a unique texture, almost like plastic! The array of colors in the wood was so cool. We saw the most beautiful sunset on our way out of the park, as well. The sunset is one beautiful thing that I never get tired of. The rest of the trip was spent in the dark, and SaraBe and I watched Gravity Falls and snuggled. It was very fun. You were probably wondering what food we ate that was just so, so bad. We had six tacos amongst the three of us: two chicken, two beef, and two pork. Let me put this lightly… the chicken tasted although it came from a packet that was seasoned with (insert sad word), the ground beef was definitely not an Earth creature, and the pork softly wept with every bite I took.  The sadpapilla (a tortilla with kraft honey packet) brought tears to my eyes. It was a hilarious meal and I would never, ever eat there again. After a few more hours driving, we finally found ourselves back home. Those few days were some of the most unique in my life, and I would do it all again if I could. 

Here is a song we liked from the many we listened to along the road: