August Adventures

August was a super chill month for me. Honestly, I got too lazy. I kind of fell of the face off the planet in August. Really, I went to Boise for a week and a half, and while I was there I stopped updating this here blog.

It felt like I was gone for most of August. My aunt and I took a road trip from the LA area all the way to Boise, Idaho. We went up the middle of the state (don’t ask me freeway names, I didn’t drive), stopped in Berkeley for two days, headed east and stopped in Reno for about 24 hours, and then made it from there to Boise in a day. That’s a lot of being in the car. Can you tell? We made the most of it though! Road trip snacks and car games are actually a few of my favorite things, so I wasn’t too bad off.

I had been to Boise twice before, but never to Berkeley or Reno or any part of Nevada. It was nice to be able to explore new areas I had never seen before. More than that, it was great to be with family I don’t usually get to see. In Berkeley, my aunt and I stayed with my cousin, his wife and young daughters. I hadn’t seen him or his family in about four years, so I had never met the youngest one. Although they were shy at first, we quickly became acquainted. We played hide-and-go-seek, read books together, had a dance party and I got to go ice skating with the two older girls. My heart was so full!

In Reno, my aunt and I met up with a family friend that she is close to. Upon seeing me, he informed me that he hadn’t seen me since I was 3 years old. He and my dad used to play chess together back when he lived in California. My aunt and this family friend took my on a tour of Reno. I had never been in a casino before. I gambled 50 cents on a weekday afternoon.

We went back on the road in the middle of the day and managed to arrive in Boise just as the sun was setting. It was so nice to arrive at our final destination, my home away from home for the next week. I stayed at my aunt’s house for 8 days, making the trip 12 days total. It didn’t seem like it would be all that long when we arranged the trip, but I was homesick by the end. Still, it was a great trip.

The first time I went to Boise was the summer of 2010, I believe. I was 19 and had just finished my freshman year of college. I liked it so much that I went up with my aunt again the following summer. Both times we took a plane ride up. This summer she offered to take me again as a graduation present and I gladly accepted. If you’re wondering what makes Boise so special, I can tell you in a single word: family. My aunt that I’ve gone on all these trips with just moved there in spring. The two of us had been visiting my other aunt (her sister), my uncle, and four of my cousins. They’re all such funny, goofy people. I love them all. It sucks living so far away. We bonded over TV shows, corny jokes and musicals. I can’t wait until next time.

Photos:
1) Donner Lake in California
2) Wild horses in Reno, Nevada
3) Beautiful downtown Boise
4) Freak Alley in Boise, Idaho
5) My cousin James and I at a parking garage in Downtown Boise
6) Me at Ann Morrison Park in Boise

Even though We’re only a few days into September, it’s feeling like fall in my area of Southern California and I rather like it. To me, fall signals change and I could use some of that, mainly in the way of a job. I’m working hard, so hopefully good things will come my way.