Party In The USA (July)

Dear Grandma Self,

I’m leaving for Turkey tomorrow so I gotta get this post out of the way. Can’t have it overlapping with my trip to Turkey now, can we?

I extended my stay in the U.S. for another month so I was scheduled to leave on July 31st which means I was able to go on that 4th-of-July-weekend trip to San Francisco! YEAH, BABY! July in the U.S. had to be the most eventful month of my trip! Let’s begin.

JULY 1, 2012

Our second day in San Francisco officially. I mean we spent the whole of June 30th in San Jose. When we got to our motel in San Francisco, it was around ten in the evening. We were exhausted.

On the 1st, we went to the Golden Gate Bridge with my aunt’s friends. It was really foggy. When we got there, the first thing we all said was, “Where’s the bridge?” The only time we saw the bridge was when we rode through it. So, yeah, it was kind of a fail.

After that, we decided to go on a “rollercoaster ride” up and down the hills of the city. We went through the Crookedest Road (I’m not sure if that’s its real name but it was such a cute name, it stuck) and then had lunch at this restaurant called Cioppino’s. Do you know what Cioppino is? It’s fish stew. I wish I knew that before I ordered anything. I would’ve tried “Cioppino”. But the pasta I ordered was really good too so no regrets!

After lunch, we went to Ghirardelli for some dessert! My cousin and I cut through the park because I wanted a photo on the grass. I’m weird like that. And then, we joined the rest of the group for some of the best chocolates, ice cream, and sundaes I have ever tasted. And a street musician thought I was pretty. I was flattered until I realized I probably wasn’t the only girl he said that to.

Then, we headed to the Palace of Fine Art and I climbed up one of the pillars because I felt compelled to despite a bunch of kids yelling, “Hey, you can do that! You can’t do that!” Guess what, kids, I just did *winks* Who knows when I’ll be back in San Francisco? I had to live “dangerously”.

After a photo session with a bunch of really grumpy swans, we headed to J-Town (Japantown or Little Tokyo) to shop at a dollar store. We resisted the urge to stuff ourselves we Mochi before having dinner at one of the restaurants. I had the Unagi Tofu Don. I love unagi.

JULY 2, 2012

We had breakfast at this place called Home Plate. There was a small line outside but it was worth the wait! They had the best scones ever! …Well, those were the only scones I’ve ever tried in my life but they made me want to keep eating scones. You have them with two kinds of jam and butter. I have yet to see scones where I live. It’s quite depressing.

We got to the California Academy of Sciences at around nine or ten in the morning if I remember right. We tried to visit every exhibit from Philippine Coral Reefs to Earthquake Simulations. That was my favorite – going inside this “set” which replicates two huge earthquakes that hit San Francisco many, many years ago. We even recorded the experience on video but it was mostly just my cousin and I giggling throughout the whole thing.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant near our hotel and then, we went back to J-Town where we had the cutest crepes ever! No, seriously, look!

And then, we went back to Ghirardelli’s again because, you know, we had to. My cousin does not look so happy in that photo but she definitely enjoyed herself (you know, despite that scowl). What kid does not enjoy ice cream?

And then, as if we haven’t eaten enough (oh, no, we haven’t though it would seem so), we went to Fisherman’s Wharf to “hunt” for dinner. We bought crabs and lobster bisque (I think) but when we got back to our motel, we ended up ordering pizza. It’s nice – having dinner together in one motel room while watching TV.

JULY 3, 2012

It was time to say bye-bye to San Francisco, but instead of heading home like we planned, my uncle and my aunt decided to extend the trip. We made our way to San Luis Obispo. But first, we had to stuff our faces at Koi Palace.

Then, it’s a long drive to “the beach”. We passed cities and strawberry plantations. My cousins basically drove each other crazy for hours to pass time. It was very entertaining. Our van was packed with stuffed animals, sleeping bags, and pillows. We had to entertain ourselves with those. I do miss the craziness.

We made small talk with a family in a rest stop because people here are all about small talk. It was nice. Where I’m from, people just ignore each other. When we got to our motel in San Luis Obispo, we watched TV for a bit before calling it a night.

JULY 4, 2012

4th of July! Woohooo! It was muuuch to early for fireworks when we got to Pismo Beach after some shopping at a factory outlet somewhere, where I bought…well, nothing. But my aunt did buy a candied apple for me to try. It was split in parts so we all could sample a piece but I got to finish a quarter (or so) of it because no one wanted it anymore. My first candied apple. It was delicious!

I was glad to be on a beach somewhere! My cousin and I raced each other to the water. It was freezing cold (for me, at least) and my feet were numb but I didn’t care. I waded like I would never be able to wade again.

We had lunch at this place called Huckleberry’s. Tom Sawyer’s best friend? I asked but no one gave me a straight answer so… I love their Swamp Tea which, for me, is just basically iced tea with blueberries. So, what’s so special about it then? Besides tasting really good, it comes in this jar. Like, WHOA. I thought it was cool. And we ordered a bazillion stuff for lunch to make sure we could barely stand up after we’re done.

After lunch, we headed home. All us kids (and grand-mère) fell asleep. When I woke up, we were at a McDonalds somewhere. We indulged in McFlurries and varying flavors and calories. Then came the most epic part of the trip. See, I saw so many places, had many new experiences, and met new friends in San Francisco. And with all the eating, the trip really was already epic. But the most incredible part was yet to come. The one experience I did not expect and one I will never forget – that drive along scenic Route 101!

Windows open, wind blowing through our hair as we passed by the sparkling sea singing Wilson Phillip’s ‘Hold On’ at the top of our lungs – THIS is an American road trip! All those Hollywood movies I watched. I finally lived it! I can’t describe why or how incredible I felt. Singing the last chorus of the song with eyes closed and fists raised up high, I felt invincible! 

We arrived in Los Angeles and had “snack” (because the McFlurry wasn’t “snack”) at this place called Milk.

JULY 5, 2012

Unfortunately, I have no photos for July 5th.

JULY 6, 2012

July 6th is a very special day. I met up with four friends from high school. I have not seen them since we graduated. My friends picked me up in Anaheim then we headed to Los Angeles for lunch at this Korean BBQ place called “Road To Seoul”. Then, we went to The Grove.

Then, we went to Santa Monica beach, where we had keychains with our names done and played on the swings. Had I know we’d be going to the beach, I would’ve worn shorts and slippers instead of jeans and sneakers but I still had fun anyway.

After that, we went to Americana to shop. Or at least, I shopped. Then, we had dinner at this Filipino restaurant in L.A. called Isla Cocina Pilipina where I went to the restroom and two of my friends decided to hide right outside to give me the fright of my life as soon as I step out just like the good ol’ days in high school. I swore so loud the whole restaurant went quiet. I still smile whenever I think about it.

When I got home, these were waiting for me.

JULY 7, 2012

Wow, I have no photos for July 7th. Must’ve bummed all day at home.

JULY 8, 2012

We had dinner at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. Their pots are pretty cool. One pot is divided into two – Yin Yang style. One division for a spicy broth and the other for a non-spicy one. Pretty clever! After dinner, we went to Tastea for “dessert”. Boba for dessert! It’s tradition now.

JULY 9, 2012

We went to Cold Stone. It was my first time. I ordered the Apple Pie A La Cold Stone®, and I watched them “make” it. It was very interesting! I wish we had Cold Stone over here. I miss that “Apple pie ice cream”!

JULY 10-12, 2012

Once again, I probably bummed at home all day hence the lack of photos. Sorry, folks.

JULY 13, 2012

My aunt brought me, my cousin, and her two friends to Sprinkles Cupcakes. She told us celebrities like Paris Hilton would get their cupcakes there so it must be good. There was a crazy-long line outside the store so we decided to play with my iTouch’s camera a bit. My cousin’s friends have become my friends too because we often hung out together. Anyways, we took a bunch of photos of ourselves. We did not photograph the cupcakes. They weren’t very good.

JULY 14, 2012

When my younger cousin, Kaylen, wanted to go see the penguins with her friends, my aunt was ill and couldn’t take care. So, I was babysitter for the day. I, two moms, two teens, and three eight-year-olds road-tripped to the Aquarium Of The Pacific. We had so much fun feeding birds, touching sting rays, watching a seal show, viewing different sorts of marine life, sea otters (adorable!) and of course, the penguins (which was a bit anti-climactic because they just swam around).

Aren’t they cute? Anyways, after the trip, we headed to my cousin’s friend’s home. Her mom talked to me while the three little girls played. My aunt picked me up in a couple of minutes and we had dinner at this Vegan place. Dinner was going well until dessert came. We all took a bite of this powdery ball with green filling and we were all just too embarrassed to spit the stuff out. Horrible! No vegan food for me for awhile. To wash off the TERRIBLE taste (whatever that was – it was the worst way to end a meal), we went to Half & Half for some “Boba”! Their “regular size” is our “jumbo size”. which is great because their milk tea is so good! And we got this French Toast thing from another place. So, the night ended pretty well!

JULY 15, 2012

The main reason why I wanted to extend my trip was because I wanted to go to the OC Fair. We spent an entire afternoon at there eating turkey legs, potato chips, nachos, visiting pigs and horses, exhibits and whatnot. Turkey legs are massive! I have no photos of the food because we used our hands and I didn’t want to get oil on my iTouch.

JULY 16, 2012

We went shopping. I forgot where. Anyways, I bought an iTunes gift card and my cousin bought Apples To Apples. We played that when we got home. If you aren’t familiar with the game, here’s out it works.

Each player is dealt seven “red apple” cards; on each card is printed a word – like “Speedos” or “Edward Cullen”. 

The judge (a chosen player) draws a “green apple” card on which is printed an adjective like “scary”, “wet” or something, and places it face-up on the table for everybody to see. Then each player (except the judge) chooses a card that they think is the best match for the green apple card, and places it face-down in front of the judge whose eyes are closed. We shuffled the cards and “the judge” turns them over, reads them (often aloud), and decides which noun is the best match for the adjective.

The player who submitted the chosen red apple card wins the round, and takes the green apple card to signify the win. All players then draw red cards until they have seven again, and someone else gets to be “the judge”. The winner is the first player to accumulate a pre-designated number of green apple cards. That would be me. Or at least, during the first game.

JULY 17, 2012

My aunt and uncle sent me to church camp with my cousin. I wasn’t so thrilled about that at first. The drive up Big Bear was dizzying. I was very nauseous. Hello, Camp Engedi! First thing that popped into my head was, “Crap, this is going to be one looooong week!”

JULY 18, 2012

I was feeling a bit out-of-place. Everyone knew everybody. I knew nobody. I felt like I didn’t fit in. Learning about church doctrines wasn’t how I wanted to spend my second-to-the-last week in the U.S. but later during the day, I started making new friends.

During the afternoon, we were placed in teams. Luckily for me, my cousin and I were teamed up. One familiar face, yay! We were the Gold Team. We played a game where we had to “protect” an egg and keep it from breaking when we dropped it from a ladder. We could only use the materials we’re given. Here’s the “contraption” we built. The egg was safe!

After dinner, one of the cowboys asked for volunteers. My cousin, her best friend, two other friends and I got on the back of his truck. We thought we were going to the city to get some groceries or something. We pretended we were on a Disney parade float, waving at campers as we passed them by. Turns out, we got ourselves n garbage duty and we had to haul large smelly bags brimming with trash, food, and slime off the truck and into garbage bins near the camp entrance. It was gross.

JULY 19, 2012

I drank plenty of water. I slept early. But the altitude still had me feeling under the weather. My aunt could tell I was miserable so she gave me the option – stay or go home earlier. I picked the latter. That afternoon, Shahd’s mom brought me to the city center. We had some Starbucks and we talked all afternoon. Campers arean’t allowed to leave the campgrounds so I felt kinda special. We passed by the lake on the way to the shops. It’s beautiful although I was told it was man-made.

JULY 20, 2012

My last day in camp (and I was getting sicker) – colds, cough, headache. I felt bad about leaving my new friends so I decided to take as many photos with them as I could.

JULY 21, 2012

I was exhausted. Slept all day today.

JULY 22, 2012

Lunch at Soup Plantation again! Woohooo!

JULY 23, 2012

Reunion with some of my campmates! We visited some friends at their place. Among all the photos we took was this:

Then, we went to Irvine and at at Class 302. The place is supposed to look like a classroom. I love it! We had chicken popcorn, oyster cakes, boba and shaved ice.

When we got back to Anaheim, we took even more photos! I didn’t want any of them to leave!

After Elaine went home, Selina, Shahd and I went to Cold Stone for ice cream. Shahd was returning to Isreal. I could understand how my cousin felt. When my best friend moved to Canada, I know I tried my very best not to cry in school when she called me before she boarded her plane.

JULY 24, 2012

I was leaving soon and time came for me to blow my money at the Disney store and at Roxy. After shopping with my cousin, we got ourselves some Half & Half. Our goofing around never stops!

JULY 25, 2012

After a loooong day of shopping, we had dinner at Olive Garden. That was the BEST salad I’ve ever tried, hands down. I loved it so much that when the waitress took the salad bowl, thinking we were done, I (unintentionally and unknowingly) gave her the look of death when I took the bowl back from her. The waitress was really kind and we laughed about that. She offered to refill the bowl and I wish I could eat their salad forever. Their meals were good but the salad – oh man!

When we got home, I made my cousin and I some Milo Dinosaurs. A Milo Dinosaur is a cup of ice-cold Milo with a huge mound of powdered undissolved Milo on top. You drink it with a straw and lick powder of it when you feel like it. Best way to enjoy Milo, in my opinion.

JULY 26, 2012

One of the girls I became good friends with in church camp, Kristina, and I went to see The Amazing Spiderman. We both had a huge crush on Andrew Garfield. We had pizza for dinner at Pat&Oscar’s. It was so much fun! Kristina and I still keep in touch!

JULY 27, 2012

We had dinner at a Chinese place near Half & Half and I had a lot of little kids waving and smile at me thinking I was Perry the Platypus. We got ourselves some Half & Half too of course! My last cup of Wintermelon Milk Tea. I miss Half & Half!

JULY 28, 2012

I woke up late in the morning to find out I was home alone. But there was this cute note pinned to the fridge. Back here, all we have pinned on our fridges are two to three magnets.

So, I decided to help myself to whatever was in the fridge, for lunch. I found some leftover pesto salad that I love. I ate til I couldn’t wat anymore. That’s when the rest of the fam returned home with the mammoth leg of a roasted pig. Suddenly, I still had room in my tummy for more food. (Do you see the container filled with the salad beside it? I left the U.S. before finishing the damn thing! It was huge!)

For dinner, we went to a Korean restaurant near Knotts. I had a bibimbop. I always order a bibimbop whenever we go to Korean restaurants. When we got home, we made another batch of Milo Dinosaurs and sipped/licked our way to the bottom of the glass while watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

JULY 29, 2012

My last day in the U.S. We had lunch at Claim Jumper. After lunch, we ordered chocolate cake. That was the biggest slice I’ve ever seen!

The entire fam brought me to the airport where I found out my flight had been delayed because of a storm back home. So, we went out for dinner. Then, back to the airport. My cousin wanted to wait with me at the airport til midnight when I board my plane but she had school the next day and everyone had work and no one wanted to do that long drive to Anaheim early in the morning. So, after a billion hugs, kisses and photos, we parted ways. Shopped around for souveniers til it was time to leave.

JULY 30, 2012

I was fast asleep in the plane.

JULY 31, 2012

Home Sweet Home