This summer, I got to go to many amazing places and do many amazing things, so here are some of the best things I did.
Cross Country in the RV –
We drove from Raleigh, NC to Cannon Beach, Oregon, in our 44-foot Class A RV. We went with two of our very good family friends and my best friend. We stopped at many cool places and KOAs, and the trip took about three weeks, arriving at our destination of Cannon Beach.
Our friends left, but we had more family friends who were coming. Two families came and stayed with us. We stayed in Cannon Beach for about 2 1/2 weeks, then we went to the next fun thing.
The Odesza Concert
The concert was a three-day event, so we went in our RV and camped outside. The concert was crazy, and we loved it. On the last day, though… In each song, there were lasers, lights, and even fireworks. The concert was in a place called the Gorge, which was exactly what it sounded like—a dry gorge. So on the last day, during the second-to-last song, there were fireworks that shot up. There were still burning pieces that came down, and one landed in some dry grass on the side of the seating area. No one noticed it for a while, but then there was a very obvious fire raging next to all the people. The place was evacuated, and it was really sad because they didn’t get to do their last song. 🙁
So that was pretty eventful. Other than that, the concert was awesome.
IFAM (International Folk Art Market)
After that, we drove down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for IFAM (The International Folk Art Market). IFAM is an organization that gathers artists from all around the world to come and sell their traditional work at a market. It lasts about four days, and my two siblings and I (because Emmy was at Berkeley for a summer program) all volunteered and helped out at the market. I mainly did cashiering, checking out all the things people were buying. I got a Ukrainian Vyshyvanka, an embroidered shirt.
After that, we took the 24-hour drive back to Cannon Beach.
Back in Cannon Beach
We stayed in Cannon Beach for about three more weeks, with three more families visiting us. We did many walks to Haystack Rock and MANY visits to Bruce’s Candy Kitchen. After that, we took the 13-hour drive to Snowbird, Utah.
Snowbird, Utah (In the Summertime)
Snowbird in the summertime is a very different experience than in the winter. There is no snow, but there are some better things. There are two tracks that go down the mountainside, with carts you ride on the way down. There were also those things with bungee cables above a trampoline that make you jump really high. I thought Snowbird was amazing in the summer, but I don’t know if it’s better than the winter.
We stayed for only two days, then we took the 30-hour drive back home to Raleigh.
We stayed for about 1 1/2 weeks in Raleigh, and then we were off on our next trip.
London
From RDU to JFK, we took a 7-hour flight to London.
Traveling Around London –
We stayed in London for a little more than a week, seeing many cool places and amazing plays at Shakespeare’s Globe. We are gluten-free, but in Europe, that is not really a problem. There were many amazing gluten-free restaurants around, and we enjoyed them all. We went to a lot of museums, too, and even had lunch at the top of the OXO Tower. I was interested in going to college in London at UCL (University College London), and I got to take a tour of the campus. It was amazing and made me want to go there even more. We went to London with two good friends’ families. In all, we had seven kids on the trip. It was an amazing place to visit, and I hope I can go again.
So there’s the recap of my summer travels!
Let me know if you need any more adjustments!