Thoughts from the Traveler

Printed vs. Mobile
Boarding Passes

1. Mobile Boarding passes
These are WAYYYY cooler than the print out version! I will admit that I was skeptical at first. However the technology won me over when my mobile boarding pass alerted me to a gate change for one of my flights!

Note--Mobile boarding passes can only be used at certain airports. Be sure to check on your airlines website for participating airports.





2. Wait for the signs
Unfortunately my high-tech iPhone let me down in the navigation department. We followed its misdirections to take the Mannheim Rd exit, which sounded very familiar to me. This road was quite deceiving though! We could see O'hare but just couldn't quite reach it. Our navigation began taking us in a distant circle around the airport which ended at Korean Air Cargo. Wrong way? I'd say so.

How could it be this difficult to get to the departure terminals? 
Wasn't this an INTERNATIONAL airport accessed by millions of people? *Sighs*

After passing Korean Air Cargo we made the executive decision to make a u-turn. We were two smart girls with strong directional senses. (Not to mention the desire to see my boyfriend would provide crazy mad woman serious motivation--even if that meant hopping fences at 4am.)

We came back to a fork that forced us to get back on the interstate. While we were still feeling lost we followed three cars going west and crossed our fingers. Sure enough as soon as we got back onto I-90 we saw huge bright blue signs with detailed instructions to get to the terminals!

Wow, so we just took an exit too soon??

3. Security Round Two
In every airport that I've had to make a connection I usually just walk to the next terminal over or hop on a fancy train at the the larger airports. It always seems like a daunting task but ends up being so simple! (Usually that is...)

When I landed in New York, I was dying for some breakfast and a coffee! I almost stopped at Starbucks but then felt the need to navigate my way to my new terminal first. Good thing I did because New York's LaGuardia airport makes you go through security again!! Yikes---can you imagine if my layover had been less than an hour or if I already had my venti coffee in hand?

4. Out of My Control
It is no secret that I like to be in control and struggle with giving that up to others. This does not make for a good scenario then when I see large dark clouds, rain hitting the window, and a shaking plane from turbulence! Well this was my exact situation on the flight to New York. In fact there was a few points where I couldn't see anything out my window--including the wing that was right next to me! However I believe that God used that experience to continue teaching me that He is the one in control and that I need to give everything up to him. 

LET'S RECAP:

1. Do not be afraid of the mobile boarding passes. They are fantastic!

2. If you are going to a popular and highly accessed location, just wait for the signs! They won't let you down like your GPS probably will. 

3. Never dilly-dally or buy drinks until you get to your new terminal gate!

Layover snack!

4. Keep calm and pray on!

XOXO Alexa

CALIFORNIA: Day 8

Our vacation went WAY TOO FAST! Friday morning we had just enough time to eat breakfast and head to the airport. The airport security did not go as smoothly as the first time though. I had to go through the "nakie scan," get patted down, and they even did a drug residue test on my hands! WOWZA, did I look that suspicious?!














Our "Tour of California" was such an incredible experience. I cannot wait to take another trip out there and explore the parks even further!

Plane taking off from O'Hare

XOXO Alexa

CALIFORNIA: Day 7

On our last full day of vacation we decided to spend it seeing more beautiful sights and attempting to avoid the crowds. We had to make our way back down to LA for our flight so we thought--What better way to get there than to take PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (PCH)?!

On our way back to LA, we decided that we NEEDED to put our feet in the ocean! We were so close that it would be outrageous to pass up that opportunity. Soon enough we were in Malibu, which we heard had beautiful beaches! This was the perfect location for Nate to swim in the ocean for the very first time!! We even got to see two dolphins swimming in the ocean. (Which we were nervous were sharks at first, because we had been avidly watching "Shark Week" every night while on vacation.)

 After a successful day at the beach and travel along PCH, we ended our night in Culver City, CA just outside of Los Angeles. While we were relaxing in our hotel we turned on Shark Week. Can you guess what attack was about that night?? MAN DIES IN MALIBU, CA FROM AN ATTACK BY AN 18 FOOT SHARK!!!!!!! Woah, that's just a little scary considering we were swimming in the same exact waters just hours earlier.

 XOXO Alexa

CALIFORNIA: Day 6

The first part of our vacation was beautiful seeing all the God-made creations in the National Parks. However we could not pass up the opportunity to go sight-seeing in SAN FRANCISCO! Our day was filled with many fun adventures:

1. BAY BRIDGE

This is the inital bridge we had to cross to get from Oakland to San Francisco. It is actually pretty cool because it has two levels. The traffic going to San Francisco is on top and the traffic going to Oakland is on the bootom. (WARNING: It costs $6 to cross the bridge each way!! Can you believe people pay $12 in bridge tolls just to get to work? CRAZY!) My dad decided that as we were CROSSING the bridge it would be a great time to tell us about how the top level collapsed onto the bottom level during the Earthquake of 1989!! Needless to say we did not take the Bay Bridge out of the city after that story.

2. ALCATRAZ ISLAND

I guess we still managed to see a National Park in San Francisco because Alcatraz Island home to the famous prison is considered a national park. This was such a cool experience to visit the island. As soon as we got off the ferry boat, the island had an erie feel with hundred of birds making noises at once. (Think Shutter Island in real life! eeek!) The highlight of the island is most definitely the Cellhouse where we received an audio tour. The tour involved wearing a media headset that guides you step-by-step through the cellhouse. The thing that made it even cooler was that real guards and inmates recounted the history, lifestyle, and violent escapes of Alcatraz Prison!

The outdoor recreation area

The prisoners described their stories as torture and explained that the design of Alcatraz was that they would be reminded of a society that they would never be a part of again. They said on holidays like New Years Eve the voices from parties carried accrossed the bay into their windows. Also as you can see below each of the halls and structures were named something famous.

3. CABLE CAR RIDE
This was such a fun way to explore the town of San Francisco. We were able to see all the different neighborhoods, streets, and culture while feeling like we were on a rollercoaster!

4. GILROY, CA

This is the town we stayed the night in after our fun-filled day in San Francisco. As soon as we got off the interstate, all of our eyes started itching and watering. Then as we pulled into the town a distinct and unpleasant aroma seeped into the car. We all looked at each other wondering what was going on!! Dad and I were pretty sure the smell was garlic, but we had no idea where it was coming from. We checked in at the front desk of our hotel expecting the receptionists to mention the smell or apologize for the inconvenience but they did not say anything! Were we going crazy? After we got to our room I had to look up online what was going on---our eyes were still watering!! We then discovered that Gilroy is the "Garlic Capital of the World," known for its garlic crops and annual garlic festival! Their town motto is "a community with a spice for life" and they even have a garlic ice cream shop. HAHAHA! This adventure definitely topped of our day first with burning tears and then tears of uncontrollable laughter!!



Below are more photos from our fantastic day in SAN FRANCISCO:

XOXO Alexa

CALIFORNIA: Day 4 & 5

We set the next two days in our trip aside for adventuring through Yosemite National Park! The first day we attempted to go into the park did not work out so well. Our route was filled with high elevation and sharp winding curves at 40mph! Unfortunately our family was getting car sick during this and we decided it was best to go back to our hotel. After we got back into town we talked with some locals about alternative routes into the park and they suggested one that would bring us straight into the valley, which is the gorgeous part of the park.


Since we missed out on one day in the park we decided to leave extra early the next day to maximize our time there. This meant that we were able to see an incredible sunrise during our drive.

 

 

 

This new route we took was really great because there was not as much winding coming into the park. All of a sudden we are driving through a park that looks like Rock Cut State Park and then 'BAM!' out of nowhere are these massive granite rock mountains. See the video below to understand what I mean.

 



 

There are a few famous granite rock structures that we just had to witness while we were there, which include El Capitan, Half Dome, and Glacier Point. You can see those in the photos below. I am just in awe of the enormity of these strucutres. They truly embrace how mighty God is because things like that do not just appear! Also it was interesting when we went into one of the shops, because they had a detailed history of the first climbs on these rocks. The very first people to climb them took over a year to get to the top--yes, ONE YEAR! They had to sleep in hammacks which they attached to their ropes. That is absolutely terrifying to me! What if you jolted in your sleep and then fell out? Yikes! Then in the 1960s there was a group of about five guys who made it their mission to discover different routes up the rocks and continue improving their times. Rock climbers today can now get to the top of them in a matter of hours!

Half Dome

Glacier Point

 

In addition to the massive granite rocks, Yosemite is also well known for its waterfalls. Unfortunately we didn't know that August is the time of year when the waterfalls start drying up!! Luckily we were still able to hike to one of the waterfalls that was still going though--which involved some scrambing on rocks! 

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Below are some more great pictures from this amazing park! I cannot wait to go back and explore it even more. You could seriously spend weeks in the park and not even see everything there is to see!

 

 

"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." -Psalm 27:13

 

 

XOXO Alexa