Trip out East: Day 8...part 2

Like I said Day 8 was not over yet!!! Our little trip to the beach was supposed to be the last thing we did before heading home but...remember how we can't follow directions? That plays into what happened next.

just another picture from the beach! :)

So yeah the last part of the day was somewhat of an accident. The dude that dad and Mrs. Allie talked to in order to get directions to the beach said something about a light house so when we were trying to find the beach we were looking for it, and I guess we don't know what light houses look like? Cause we saw this looming above everything and wondered if it was the lighthouse.

Obviously it's not a lighthouse, and we figured that out pretty fast, cause while trying to get to it we realized it was way up the hill not by water.

So after our nice little tea party by the ocean we deiced to find out what this not lighthouse was. Anyone want to take a guess? ;)

If you guessed a fort, you were right! :) It was Fort Griswold (1775). Well actually it wasn't really the fort...it was a monument dedicated to those who defended the fort during the battle of Groton Hights. Never heard of Fort Griswold? That's okay, neither had I. It was a Revolutionary War fort, it and Fort Trumbull were built on opposite sides of the harbor to protect New London, CT. However the British with the help of traitor Benedict Arnold managed to capture Fort Griswold killing over 80 of the 150 garrison and left New London in flames. Of the Americans left around half were severely wounded. The British themselves suffered heavy looses reporting 51 dead and around 140 wounded. The Fort itself was supposed to be destroyed but a patriot put out the fire and the fort was saved and later used in other wars, although it apparently didn't see much more action and somewhere along the line most of it must have been torn down cause now there are only a couple smaller buildings left (restored earthwork battery, a later period shot furnace and powder magazine).*

So while everyone else went to find the restroom I went exploring the place. And it was AWESOME! No really, I was actually walking around taking pictures thinking to myself how neat this place was!

inside the fort.

At first I thought it was like Fort Davidson (just a earth wall around where the fort used to be) which is really cool on it's own but then I noticed this little tunnel on one side that wasn't blocked off so I figured I wouldn't get into too much trouble for going threw it.

And apparently it was somewhere you were allowed cause it led to were the shot furnace and powder magazine were! It was really neat walking threw it cause I was imagining solders rushing threw it with canons going off in the distance and for a second I could really imagine I had stepped back in time. Yeah okay so I might have a vivid imagination, and I might be a bit crazy but hey! It was still pretty awesome!

the other side of the tunnel, pretty cool view huh?

looking back up at the fort 

I think I had been a solder back then stationed at the fort I would have spend hours just gazing down at harbor. I also think I would love to live in one of the houses right around the park and that if I did I would spend hours at the park, either exploring or just sitting around enjoying the views or reading a book. 

I think those big rocks are ruble from some building that used to be there. With the fort and the monument in the background.

There was also this house that looked to be part of the park, so when Katy joined me we went over to investigate. It turned out to be the Edenezer Avery House, which was used to house wounded and dying solders after the massacre at Fort Griswold.

Unfortunately it was closed so we didn't get to go into it but it was still pretty cool walking around it and they had a nice flower garden out front.

some bushes in the garden.

some flowers in the garden.

Katy and I by the house.

Everyone else was pretty tired and wanted to go home, I however was pumped with excitement and could have stayed for hours exploring every corner of the place and one day I hope to return and do just that, on a day when the Avery House is open for tours. ;)

heading up thew the fort to get to the car

After that we went back to the Allies and just hung out till bed time. Sadly that also ended our time with the Allies. :(

*My information for this came from the signs around the park (and the pictures we took of them), http://www.revwar.com/ftgriswold/ and Wikipedia.

Trip out East: Day 8...part 1

Are you all ready for probably my favorite day of the trip?!?!?!?! :) Cause really we did some amazing stuff on Day 8! Plus by this point I was feeling better and the pink eye and allergies were mostly gone. Of course it was also sad cause it our last day with the Allies. :(

Leading up to Monday we had been planning to go Boston. Well not all of us were completely sure we wanted to go there (kinda long drive and all) and when we got up on Monday it was rainy and icky and there would have been a lot of walking around outside in the cold rain that we didn't really want to do. So Mrs. Allie suggested going to this sea port village kind of like Sturbridge that we went to on Day 4 only it was like a whaler ship. (That's how I understood it at least, ask Katy if you want to know what it really was like) well somewhere in the conversation about this place a submarine was mentioned, one that you could go into. Well being the history loving/Navy girl I am this sparked my interest. Dad thought it sounded pretty cool too, Mom had no objection and Katy and Mrs. Allie said they wanted to do what we wanted to. Soooo we packed a lunch and set off for the Navy bass where the sub was.

spreading my arms out as wide as the ship! ;)

in the museum they had this all set up and so we pretended to be running the ship. ;)

also in the museum they had a couple of those telescope things you could look out.

This is looking out of one of the telescope things

outside ON the sub! ;)

Now I will say that I was slightly disappointed because we did not get to go onto the submarine through the little hatch thing on the top, they had modified it so you now entered going down a stair case. Also we didn't get to see the bridge... Otherwise it was awesome!

I was excited about the short doors! ;) lol I'm weird.

they had these dudes all over the ship doing random stuff, these guys evidently thought there was something bad in the air... :D

Me and Katy with the nice Navy officer that was our tour guide. :)

As awesome and amazing as the sub was you'd think that'd be the day and we'd go home and be done....but nope!

Some of us...me NOT included...wanted to go to a beach while out there and that was our last day to, well it was raining cold and I didn't like the idea cause I (apparently unlike others!) remember last time we went to a beach on a cold rainy day *cough cough* Arizona 2007 *cough cough* and did not like the idea but Dad and Mrs. Allie talked to someone at the sub and found out where a beach was so we hoped into the car and started driving.... and apparently we don't know how to follow directions or something cause we couldn't find what he was talking about. However we did find a nice little beach so we stopped and enjoyed coffee or tea while freezing on a beach. YOLO?

Okay okay so I'm making it sound terrible, but really it was a lot of fun! and it actually wasn't THAT cold, not warm really but not freezing, defiantly not warm enough to go into the water but it was still fun! I wouldn't mind having more tea parties on the beach! And we got a lot of really kool pictures... so I'm having trouble deciding which ones to post!

:)

Katy looking pretty and her mom enjoying some coffee! :) 

looking out over the ocean. it might have been cold and rainy but it was still gorgeous out! I mean look at those clouds! So cool!

my sand angle! :D

we went rock climbing while there! ;)

there were TONS of shells laying around! Mom spent the hole time trying to find cool ones. 

And believe it or not the day was not over......I'd say it was just beginning but it more just ended with bang. So check back in a couple days I should have part 2 up! :) 

2013...the movie addition

So if you read Katy's New Years post over on her blog (las tres amigas) you read about the movies she went to go see in 2013. If you went on to read the comments you saw that I complained about the order she put them, jokingly I might add. but anyway this is sorta another reply to that. And I already know she's gonna say something about what I'm gonna say but anyway I'm not doing just the movies I saw in theater like she did. I'm just gonna do a general movies I liked that I saw in 2013! So enjoy! Also these will mostly be in the order I saw them, but I forget when I saw some of them so they'll just be thrown in randomly.

1. White Christmas-- Obviously this did NOT come out in 2013! But I saw it the first time in January and I really liked it! :) It was a cute classic musical, so catching musical numbers and a cute story helped get it onto the list.

2. Ironman 2-- Also did not come out in 2013 but I had never seen it before either and well it was good! Maybe not top 10 but it was still good! Tony Stark up to his normal antics then beating up the bad guy, yeah it was good!

3. Apollo 18-- *sorta a spoiler* well not really but this is a horror movie! Yeah. Just thought you should know that before you fall victim to it too. I told Dad to pick out the movie that night and this was what he came home with. He thought it was an actual Apollo mission. Well it didn't take tooo long for us to figure out what it really was. And it took 5 screams later and very little sleep for Mom to outlaw horror movies and me to agree! It will also probably take me years to be able to look at the moon and moon rocks the same way, longer before I'll be willing to watch another astronaut movie and and even longer before I'll trust Dad to pick out the movie on his own okay maybe not but let's just say that unless you want to be scared for life or actually like horror movies and can watch them without being totally freaked out then never watch this! I mean it would have been an okay movie if it had just ended better! I might have even liked it and been able to watch astronaut movies if only if only........ p.s. this wins the prize for worst movie of the year! and it didn't come out this year.

4. Ironman 3-- First movie I went to in theaters in 2013. Honestly it probably wouldn't make it very high if I was doing in the order I liked them. Sure it was fun, intense and I did really like it! Probably more the number 2 but it wasn't super memorable. Kinda just blended in with all the other super hero movies that have come out lately and even more with the other two Ironman movies.

5. Despicable Me 2-- I also saw this in theaters and I wanted to go again! I have one word for you...MINIONS! It took me a long time to even want to see the first one, the previews just didn't draw me in, but after hearing more about it I watched it and surprise surprise I liked it! So then when this  number was coming out I got excited and went to see, theses movies are just so funny and great! It's so fun seeing Gru's relationship with the girls grow and the spy aspect keeps them from getting to slow and boring. Plus as I said before...MINIONS!

6. The Host-- I didn't get to see this in theaters as much as i wanted to but I saw it the night it came out on DVD! So if you've heard much about it you've hear the book is by the same the lady that wrote Twilight. But that should not keep you from seeing it! It's completely different! It's also not your typical alien invasion movie. Although there is a little fighting it's a much more peaceful invasion, none of the destroying building after building that most alien movies have. Of course that's partly cause the aliens just take over the human body and mind. If I was doing this by how much I liked the movie this would probably be close to the middle, cause although I liked it, you really think it could compete with the Hobbit?

7. Jack the Giant Sleigher-- So maybe this wouldn't even make top 10, it'd probably be pretty low if it did but I did like it!! Of course it did help that Ewan McGregor was in it! and he says the classic Star Wars "I have a bad feeling about this." But even without him it was an interesting take on the classic tale of Jack and the Bean Stock.

8. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones-- First off you probably just heard bones and freaked out. It's NOT a horror movie or anything like that! Sure it's intense! And some of the creatures are really gross and creepy looking but it's not all gory and what not. Anyway I saw this twice in theaters, not just cause I liked it that much but the first time... well it wasn't the best for watching and understanding the movie. This movie has several unexpected plot turns and I couldn't figure out what was gonna happen in the end. Mix that with Jace and you have a pretty cool movie. If you've read the book however, be warned it doesn't follow the book all that closely, but it made reading the book after seeing the movie still very exciting! And a little confusing since I expected stuff to be like in the movie. If I was doing this in order of how much I liked them this would be pretty close to the top!

9. Hansel and Gretel: Which Hunters-- Now I normally don't watch R Rated movies, actually I don't watch R Rated movies, this was the first R Rated movie I saw! There was once before I was gonna watch one with my sister but we decided against it. I had kinda wanted to see this movie but when I found out it's rating I decided against it, till hanging out with some friends and they wanted to watch so I watched with them. So I wasn't really prepared for just how graphic this movie got! Otherwise it had an interesting story line, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been grossed out every couple minutes. But take away all the blood and gore, it was a pretty good movie. Not top 10, pretty low on top 15 and I probably wouldn't watch it again but it wasn't terrible and I did enjoy it!

10. Olympus Has Falling--...or was it White House Down? This was another R Rated movie that I got talked into watching, only this one was less gory and got it's ratting more for how often they used certain words. Anyway it was one of the people come in and take over the White House and kidnap the president movies of the year. It was pretty good. Not top 10, maybe not even top 15 but still pretty good.

11. Star Trek: Into Darkness-- This is another of those movies I really wanted to see in theaters but didn't get to. Although I wasn't completely sure I did want to see it cause I did not have high hopes for it since I didn't like the first of the new Star Treks. But still the Treky in me was super excited and I wanted to see it! But I was really busy and never got a chance to go see it in theaters so when the DVD came out I was excited to finally see it. I had heard some mixed reviews on it, some people were saying it was horrible some where saying it was really good. And it had Benedict Cumberbatch so I mean at least that much had to be good! So anyhow I was excited but didn't have very high hopes for it. Early on I'd heard rumors that Benedict was going to be playing Khan from the original tv show and movie but when reading descriptions and seeing previews I got the idea that the rumors had been wrong. But BAM! I'm sitting there going "I know this story!" Sure it was very different from the original but it was still the basic story. And wow! Benedict does great playing Khan! There were parts when I even kinda liked him! SCARY! So yes I liked it!
*SPOILER!*
I was sitting there waiting for Spock to die and maybe this time he'd stay dead (not gonna lie I am not a fan of this new Spock!) but then wait Kirk's the one that goes in and dies to save the ship? I was surprised and desperate to find out how they'd bring him back without the Geneses bomb thing. And the Vulcans to help with memory loss. 
*End of spoiler*
So even with a very messed up Spock, different story then the original that I know and love. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this movie! However if doing it in order I liked them this wouldn't make it super high, yes I really liked it BUT not enough to make me stop disliking J.J. Abrams and what he has done to Star Trek. Spock is still not Spock, I'm still not convinced that's Uhura (I mean does she even ever sit on the bridge doing communication officer jobs?) and so that's why this would be doing good to even make higher then number 10! However I would watch it again!

12. Thor: Dark World-- Another of the movies I went to twice in theaters. What can I say, it was that good! First off we have Loki there being his normal self, keeping us guessing what he's gonna do next. Second we have Darcy keeping me at least laughing. Thirdly we have the hole Jane/Thor relationship which gets interesting since he didn't stop by to say hi after New York. Fourthly, we have intense action. Fifthly we have the Loki/Thor relationship, which leads to moment that make me at least want to cry and other moments that make me at least want to laugh! Actually they should probably go higher on the list but oh well. So anyhow, yes I really like this movie! It'd make it pretty high on the list of how much I liked them maybe even number 3?

13. Hunger Games: Catching Fire-- After the first one I didn't have super high hopes for this. I mean don't get me wrong I really like the first movie! But I think I was to stuck on all the little but yet so important things they changed. (The way Crane dies, the order to get training scores, not having the tributes on stage, ext.). Plus the previews didn't make it look much like the book. But I was really impressed! It was a lot closer to the book then I expected and some of the changes I actually liked! Although they left out some of my favorite things from the book, or changed them so much that i didn't realize that's what they were I still really liked the movie. It did my favorite of the Hunger Games books justice and so that earned it probably number 2 on my list of favorite movies this year. Although I just have to say this, sorry but the St. Louis IMAX is lame! And I will not be going to see any more movies there! I was told that other IMAX theaters are better so depending on circumstances I might be convinced to go IMAX again if the theater is better.

14. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug-- First I do not remember much from the book so to all those out there talking about how much different it is I don't care! Second I HATE spiders! Third I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!! Sure the spiders were really creepy and *blush* I did scream during that part, but even that part I liked! I mean Bilbo is pretty awesome killing off those creepy things! Plus the elves come in. And everyone is talking about Tauriel and how much they either liked her or didn't like her. Well I guess I liked her, I wasn't like super impressed but I didn't really dislike her, after all she was protecting Kili, so how could I dislike her? But in this movie the people that stole the show for me where Bilbo and Smaug! They were amazing!! And yes I am a Sherlock fan! But that's not why I thought they were so amazing! Sure as dragons go Smaug might not have been that impressive but Benedict Cumberbatch did a great job as him! Okay and yes I admit part of why the movie was so great might have been cause Gollum was not in it and the closest they got to the worst line in LOTR history was Smaug saying "you have something made out of gold but more precious!" and for some terrible reason they echoed it and dragged out the last word a little to long, but it wasn't enough to make me dislike that voice. Anyhow I will stop fan girling over here and move on. Other then to say Legolas was pretty awesome too! ;) So yes the Hobbit was probably my favorite movie of the year and I am so excited for next year when the next one comes out but also not excited cause of some of the stuff that happens in it. *sniffles* But very excited still (after all Bilbo and Smaug will be in it again!)

15. Monsters University-- This was another movie that surprised me with how good it was! Although it still wasn't amazing and would probably be pretty low on the list of favorites. I was only somewhat excited about it and did not go see it in theaters. But my dad really wanted to see it so we got it from red box one day and it was actually really funny! Not the best Pixar movie, but better then some of the other more resent Pixar movies, and defiantly something I'd watch again.

16. Frozen--Confession, I think I saw this illegally... I really wasn't that interested, just another disney cartoon was what I expected. But I was at my cousins and they found it online and were gonna watch it so I watched with them. And the surprising thing? It was actually pretty good! Princesses, one of them with magical powers that make it snow or ice (Elsa) and the other one that doesn't know about her sisters powers (Anna), until she tells Elsa she's gonna marry this prince she just met that day and Elsa freaks out and looses control of her powers and runs off leaving the country in winter. It's now up to Anna to go find Elsa and get her to un freeze everything, with the help of Kristoff (someone who sells ice by trade) and a...snowman. yeah I would loose myself at snowman too, but really it's actually a good movie! True love, monster snow creatures, evil lords, and catchy musical numbers! Oh yeah btw it's a musical...but the music fits into the story like in Tangled.

17. Man of Steel-- Wait no one was sitting there going "Did she forget a movie?" Well no I did not forget it! But again I didn't get to see it in theaters *sad face* and even when it came out on DVD no one wanted to watch with me till Christmas Eve eve when Rosana and I were talking movies and realized neither of us had seen it but both wanted to and finally got to! I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, but I did like it! And I do want to see it again when I'm not so sick and maybe can enjoy it a bit more. I've always liked Superman but the way it focused so much on his parents at the beginning kinda bored me, and I don't know but in recent years DC just hasn't done super heroes as awesome as Marvel (not that I was that impressed with the new Spiderman...) So yes I like this movie but it's down there by Star Trek and Ironman, in the I liked it but not as much as I liked say the Hobbit!

So that was the 17 most memorable movies I saw in 2013! I hope that list didn't bore you too much! And that I didn't insult anyone's favorite movie!

some movies from 2013 that I didn't get to see yet but want to...
Lone Ranger-- heard mixed reviews but I still want to see it!
Oz: the Great and Powerful-- the previews I saw looked fun! and it has James Franco and Joey King in it.

Movie I'm really excited about in 2014?

Veronica Mars--March 14th
Divergent--March 21st
Captain America: Winter Solder--April 4th
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1-- November 21st
The Hobbit: There and Back Again-- December 17th

2013-2014

Well Merry Christmas! (Cause I forgot to make a post for it...) AAANNNNNDDDDDDD HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!
2013 was really a great year! Although it had it's ups and downs like any year... but here some high lights of my year.

Although the year didn't start out so great with getting snowed in so I couldn't go see my sister for New Years Eve and then being to terrified to drive for about a week (for those of you that don't know I slid into a ditch on New Years Eve 2012 after getting stuck on the side of the road). But I did end up getting to go see my sister later in January and we got to watch White Christmas for the first time like we had planed to do on New Years Eve, so it all worked out.

Rene with the lighthouse behind her

February was pretty uneventful.

March however was filled with fun! Early in March Rene moved up to live Maria so I got to spend time with her, we walked up to the Lighthouse (that's a lot of stairs!)
Also in March my mom, sister and I babysat my niece and nephew for a couple days while their mom, dad and sister went to a doctors appointment in another city.
And we ended March by going down to Texas for a conference where we saw lots of friends and some of my cousins were there too so I got to spend time with them.

Hannah and I with Mr. Lincoln
at the Civil war reenactment

April started out on the road back from Texas, we went to a Civil War battlefield on the way home, and then we also ended April with going to a Civil War reenactment.

May we went to a wedding, spent Memorial Day with cousins and I sorta started training for a 5K. By sorta I mean that I started but then I stopped and so I had to restart later on.

Samuel at his tractor party

June we celebrated my nephews 2nd birthday with a tracker birthday party. Then mom, dad and I went out east which you can read about in the other posts that I have about the trip. After getting back from the trip I slowly got back into running (since after all running when sick is just awful!).

July started out fun cause I actually somehow managed to get the 4th off from work without asking for it off! So, Rene, Maria and I spent the day together. Later in the month dad and I got to be part of an exploration group to map out an adventure tour of Cameron cave, which was insanely fun! :)

at the zoo

August started out with Maria turning 21 and us girls (Maria, Rene, Hannah and I) enjoying a fancy candle light dinner together. The next day was Mom's birthday and Andy, Rosana, their kids and Hannah all came to help celebrate!

running across the bridge

Then for Hannah's birthday later in the month we all went to the St. Louis Zoo!! It was my first time (that I remember) and although Andy and Rosana's kids had been to zoos before they were really excited about going again. It was a very fun day even though we didn't get to see the cheetah. :(
The next weekend I ran my first 5K! My friend Sarah and I ran the 5K in under 40 minutes! Which includes the time we spend taking pictures and watching a train. The race was over the Mississippi river and it was a really amazing experience!

at the circus

September came along and one day while sitting in the car while dad filled it up with gas I noticed a poster for a circus that was gonna be in the area that week. I texted Rene and two days later there we were with mom and dad at our very first circus! It was extremely fun evening and we even got to ride an elephant!
Sadly though I had to miss Bacon Fest at the end of the month cause of work.

Before I knew it it was October!! October was filled with stuff to do. The second weekend in October my friend Jenah was gonna be in a play and I desperately wanted to go! However work wanted me that weekend and up to a week before hand I didn't think I'd be able to go but then I got a message that they decided they didn't need me which left me jumping with excitement and a week later on the road with Maria and Rene down to Ironton to go to the play! We had great time with friends and family and I at least was sad when the weekend was over.
The next weekend was there was all kinds of excitement going on! I had to miss homecoming cause I worked but I got to go to Folk Life for a little. :) And see Maria and Rene.
Surprisingly the next weekend I was off from work and excitedly made plans to go to a corn maze with my friend Sarah and her family. We had fun there and got to take a little hayride too.

Amy's first Black Friday
shopping trip!

And then it was November and we started out the month with going to Iowa for my cousin's wedding! Hannah and I went up the day before to help with setting up the church, and that night we babysat our other cousin's daughter during the rehearsal. The wedding was beautiful! And then Hannah and I had a fun drive home. However it wasn't all fun and games because that week I came down with stomach flu really bad, but even that had it's bonus! I got sent home from work really early! :)
November was packed with all kinds of other fun stuff! Hannah visited, I went to visit Hannah. My youngest niece turned 1! Catching Fire came to theaters! THANKSGIVING!!!! And then Black Friday shopping with Rosana and Amy. 

making the log cabin

December rolled around bringing our first measurable snowfall. I apparently sometime learned how to drive in snow because I haven't ended up in another ditch! Then of course the Hobbit came to theaters!!! That weekend we also got more snow keeping me from being able to go to Kirksvill. However I did get to go the Monday after the Hobbit to help with making Christmas goodies! Rosana, Hannah, Mom, Maria and I (along with a little help from Sarah and Samuel) made fudge, candy cane cookies, cake balls and other yummy treats and the big masterpiece of the day was the pretzel log cabin Hannah, Maria and I made! :)
Then later that week I took a week long trip back to Kirksvill to help Rosana get ready for Sarah's birthday party and Christmas. Although once we had everything cleaned ready for Sarah's birthday party there wasn't much to do to get ready for Christmas so I also got to have fun with people. That week we got more snow! (with ice under it) Sarah's birthday was Monday and I got to watch Frosty the Snowman for first time with Sarah and Samuel along with Frosty Returns. That night since Rosana, Andy and I hadn't seen Man of Steel yet we rented it and almost everyone stayed up late watching it. However it was probably not the greatest idea for me cause I was coming down with a cold and the next day felt awful but that didn't stop me from having fun! 

playing Monopoly Christmas night

We even went to the Hobbit again that afternoon! And it was Christmas Eve! Of course the next morning was Christmas, getting up super early to go to Rosana's for breakfast and to open presents didn't help me feel much better but it was still fun! And then we all headed to Uncle Michael's for Christmas dinner and spent the afternoon/evening with his family. I didn't really have a voice by the end of the day but that didn't stop Mongoo, Tavanaa and I from staying up late playing Star Wars Monopoly! Then the next day I went to Maria and Rene's for the night and came home. And that sums up my year! I hope you enjoyed hearing all about it and I hope you all had a marvelous year too!

Here's to hoping 2014 is as a great a year!!! :)