Vacation 2008
Grandma’s house
Day 1: July 24th 2008
This morning started out a little rougher for myself than I’d planned. I was planning on waking up around 7 or so to get in the shower and get ready to go. In order to be completely ready, I needed to get to get showered & dressed and get everything downstairs that was coming with me, go to Fred Meyer to get an inverter for my laptop so I could watch DVDs on the way to Richland (I can’t read in the car, because I get carsick), get some coffee, and get my Japanese book.
I ended up waking up around 7:30, so not a huge setback, but I was still disappointed in myself.
à I need to interject something here: I JUST realized that I’d COMPLETELY forgotten about my Nano Kitty ALL DAY. I was thinking about waking up this morning, and the kitty usually wakes up around 7:30 or so, and I woke up, fed it, played with it….and that was it. Until NOW. I can’t believe it’s not DEAD. It’s 21 years old now, and weighs 13 lbs. Anyway, I just took care of it, it’ll be good until morning. ß
So. Back to this morning. I was up a little late, got in the shower, and got myself ready by about 8:45. (That included getting everything ready to go, checking e-mail, making sure school stuff was all in order, etc.) I left the house, got all my errands done, and was back in time to eat some cereal and meet Dad, totally packed & ready to go. (If you know my family, you know that’s a rarity. If you don’t, please take my word for it – this was a momentous occasion!)
We hit the road and were on the freeway by 11am, just like Dad had planned. The ride over in Dad’s new car was pretty neat. It’s a 2009 Hyundai Sonota, and it has all the options possible. Including a navigational system. (Yes, I tinkered around with it.)
Around 1:00, we were in Ellensburg. Pretty decent time. We decided to eat something quick, since sitting down to eat was going to be a long wait. It turned out to be an awful decision that had a silver lining. We all decided on good ol’ Mickey D’s, but there were two busses (literally) that had dropped off about 100 Japanese exchange students in McDonalds. I couldn’t believe it! This is going to sound racist, but I’m Japanese myself, and I’m not racist, so here it is: IT WAS AN ASIAN INVASION, I TELL YOU! LOL!
Anyway, so Dad suggested we try Burger King. There we went. (All 500 yards). We walked inside – same scene. It was like Groundhog’s Day. So, as a last resort, I said we should just go through the drive-through. That worked – until we had to wait an extra 5 minutes for my brother’s burger. Yikes. We wasted about 30 minutes getting “fast food.”
Now the silver lining: My stomach was not overturned by that food. I was amazed. I usually can’t eat it without being violently ill, but I’ve been fine.
We arrived here in
It’s similar to Jamba Juice’s selection, but much more variety. Plus they have some food items and such that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. The whole operation is in what was originally intended to be a home, (about 1800 sq. feet), but it’s brand-new construction, and the house is actually just a big hang-out place. There’s free wi-fi (yay!), Rock Band, Guitar Hero 2 & 3, DDR, a ton of board games, a movie room (big screen, of course), and a HUGE table for me to spread out all my school stuff and git-r-done.
I was there for about 45 minutes before the nice girl behind the counter had a few guy friends come in. They introduced themselves to me (I thought it was a bit weird, but it was really nice of them), as Tony, the girls’ boyfriend, and Keith, Tony’s roommate. They asked what I was doing calculus for on such a beautiful day on this side of the state, so I briefly explained about the online class, and my going to UW. They mentioned they go to Western, and then they retired to the room behind where I was seated to play some Rock Band.
About 15 minutes later, they invited me to sing. It was really fun! We did a song by Bon Jovi, and I attempted a RadioHead song, and then the girl (I still don’t know her name!) had to go back to the counter. But I had to get back to work. So, I forfeited the guitar I was playing to Tony, hopped back up to the table, and finished up everything I could before my dad came.
We got back up to Grandma’s around 6:45, ate some dinner, and then Dad & I played cards for about 45 minutes or so. I actually beat him at Rummy! We were all going to play Hearts, but Grandma was tired, and Dad & Tristan washed her car instead. I just sat inside and watched TV.
So, here I am. Watching Deadliest Catch. As if the 48-hour marathon last week wasn’t enough! J I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode from whatever season is on currently.
Well, I’d better sign off for now. This won’t be posted for about another 11 hours or so, but it’s 11:00pm, which is my typical “night-night” time. I get the spare room, so I’m going to go get ready for bed, set up Gilmore Girls on the laptop, and wait for Robert to call to say good night.
I’ll write more tomorrow. Good night!
