Journey Through Photos

There are a lot of things I've done living here in the Fremont Area besides just work at camp. I took an EMT class. I got involved with church's Awana. I'm speaking my way to a CC in Toastmasters. I volunteer at the Jefferson House. (Last week, I was even able to bring the J-House kids to camp for an afternoon of climbing the wall, seeing the river from the observation tower, swinging on the giant swing, and cooking dinner over a fire. That was definitely the work highlight of the month!) But the highlight of living in this area is that I can GET AWAY! (I'm not being snarky; it's actually a nice centralized location to use as a "launch point" to see America.)

Sometimes I'm disappointed that I haven't afforded more travel, especially after I got my own car. But looking back, I actually have traveled quite a bit. I guess I'm just one of those people who could travel full-time! (I decided the other day that my dream job would be a traveling nonprofit ambassador.) Even before my "big trip" of moving from Oregon to Nebraska in August 2011, I spent that summer visiting places like the Rogue River via Rafting, Newport Beach, Monterrey, Camp Tadmor, and Crater Lake (all pictured above). Since that time, here is a little photo journey through my real journeys!

Black Hills, South Dakota- August 2011

Lifelight Christian Festival, South Dakota- September 2011

Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado- October 2011

Kansas City, Missouri- December 2011

Amtrak Ride from Omaha to Klamath Falls, Oregon- December 2011

Covenant Harbor and Geneva Lake, Wisconsin- March 2012

Adventureland Amusement Park, Iowa- July 2012

Nashville and Martin, Tennessee- September/October 2012 

Southern Oregon- December/January 2012/13

Crown College, Minnesota- February 2013 (I went in 2012 as well, but didn't bring a camera that time!)

Silver Birch Ranch, Wisconsin- March 2013

Central Nebraska- March 2013

It was fun to take a walk down memory lane and relive these memories. Not to mention there were so many local "trips". Some pictures I haven't seen in a long time, and I know that several of these trips were never really blogged about. I especially wanted to relive the moments spent in Tennessee. The dream for that trip began years ago, and it was amazing to turn that dream into one of my most adventurous trips! I actually wrote this blog post because I thought I might need to look back at the trips in the past, because, lately, I've been looking to the future.

In two weeks I'll be catching up with the rest of my family in Walt Disney World, Florida. People who haven't been there wonder why a family with adult children would want to go. While I admit that some of the attractions are cheesy and created just for kids, there's actually plenty to do as an adult. (But knowing my family, we'll be doing some of the "kid stuff" like character meet-and-greets, but we usually only do that when there's no line and we have the chance to interact with the characters- I once got several smooches from Eeyore! Oh, and we'll be doing absolutely everything that's related to Phineas and Ferb because we love that show and those things have only been added in the past couple of years.) The last time I went to Disney World was when I was turning 18, and I actually found more thrills than when I was a kid. I would actually consider taking a solo trip to Disney World myself, but there's so much more of the world that I have yet to explore.

My first, and so far only hostel experience was in Nashville a few months ago. And after getting my feet wet last year with a three-day Amtrak ride, I realized that there is more than just car and air travel. I found out recently that Greyhound is the actually safest form of transportation- who knew? Well, at least the prices are worth trying out- a round-trip bus ticket generally costs less than a one-way train or plane ticket! Between Disney World and prepping for family camp and summer camp, May is pretty much booked, along with the months of June and July. And while I don't know where I'll find myself in early August, I think that might be a good time to break up the transition between summer camp and whatever comes next. This weekend I've been looking up Niagara Falls. By taking the Greyhound and staying in a hostel, I could take a week-long vacation for around $300. That doesn't include food (most of which I'd bring) or attractions, but admission fees didn't seem too pricey, and I can take advantage of AAA discounts. It would also allow me to finally get to Canada. I made a "New Year's Goal" to get out of the country, but costs have been holding me back. Crossing a few feet over the border into Canada counts, right?

At this point, I know I'll go to Niagara Falls, but I don't know if it'll actually happen in August or if it will end up like my Tennessee trip and not happen until a few years later in a way I never would have guessed. Now that I think about it, my original Tennessee plans were put on hold because I had a rarer- and much cheaper- opportunity to serve in Mexico that summer. But no matter what happens, I have faith that something better will come this summer.