virginia

my sister-in-law, Brittany, holding down the fort at Jamestown.












my brother, drew and i on the ships in Jamestown.
they were surprisingly small, so glad i don't have to travel that way!













do you feel like you've stepped back in time?
Colonial Willaimsburg.







they have pancake house everywhere out there. this was one of my favorites! we did actually eat there.

America!!

I just returned from Williamsburg (Virginia). I can't believe how much history there is back there. we spent time wandering around "Colonial Williamsburg" where they had a town set up like it would have been back before the United States was a nation. We walked around the Jamestown settlement, one of the first British settlements in the New World. and through Yorktown, an army post where we won the battle and pushed out the British during the war, with the help of the French.

As I was listening to the stories and relearning the history that I had forgotten, I started thinking about the people who created this nation. They had a desire to be free and established a nation under the hand of God. With all that is going on in the world today I get a little discouraged sometimes, remembering our forefathers and what they did for me, and the opportunities that we have because of them.

I echo the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley: "I love America!! I love America for it's great and brawny strength, the products of its vital factories, and the science of it's laboratories. I love it for the great intellectual capacity of it's people, for their generous hearts and their helping hands. I love America's tremendous Spiritual heritage and strengths. It is unique among the nations of earth- in it's discovery, in its birth as a nation, in the amalgamation of the races and cultures that have come to its shores, in the consistency and strength of it's government."

my latest trip

a month ago i went on a trip. i started in spain and morrocco with my friends and great travel buddies, miriam and heather. we had a great time running around trying to see everything. after 10 days with them, i went to paris and brugges, belgium, by my self. this was a first for me, i have never traveled all by myself. overall it was a great experience (although i had a few days i was really wanting to talk to someone, in english). here are a few of the highlights.

madrid- our first stop. miriam and heather in Place de Mayor.

in madrid- it was a great city to walk around.

ham- the spaniards love ham! we had our
fill before the trip was over

and nasty sandwiches- what do they eat over there?
these were wonder bread with "cheese-like" spread in the middle
gagging at the thought of it.

but we loved the chocolate, pastries, and gelato.
we found a favorite shop in every city we went to.

FAT TIRE BIKE TOURS: we toured Barcelona, it was a great
way to see the city

and Gaudi- he's an architect. he likes wavy lines and
gingerbread-like houses.

and then Morrocco- it was an exciting place filled with
exotic sounds and smells.

this is the riad we stayed in. it was quiet and peaceful,
a nice break from the craziness of the city and shops.

a woman who did not want me to take her picture, but i couldn't resist.
i loved her face, the doorway, and the bike.
i just really like this guy- he sold us yummy sesame treats.

we took a cooking class. it was one of the best meals
we had on the trip. and i learned what a tajine was.

back to Spain. we rented a car and drove from Madrid to Adulucia.
it was beautiful, although some of the roads were horrendously windy.
we only got lost "a little" when we got back to madrid, looking for a McDonald's.
This picture is in Seville- the city was one of my favorites. it smelled like oranges.
and we saw a flamenco show (it was ok- some of the dancers were lazy)

at the castle in zahara. it's one of the white hill towns in andalucia.

our last small hill town- arcos. this is the "new bridge"
you can see our hotel in the top right corner
and finally gibralter. we could see spain and africa from the rock.
did you know that it is a British colony?

goodbye friends. from here on out i am all by myself.
at the Louvre. it was great, but still super crowded, in march!

and the Eiffel tower, i loved looking at it. i have more pictures
if you want to see. it rained a lot while i was there, it got a little
annoying, but didn't stop me. this day there was even a rainbow!

loved looking at the Eiffel Tower. i know, so cliche.

notre dame

the arc de triomphe and champs elysee

i took a side trip to Brugges, Belgium. it was a quaint town.
there were a lot of water ways, like venice. and lots of chocolate,
so much that i just not decide what to get. and it was really
cold, i'm sure it would be even better in the summer.

back to paris- the eiffel at night. it was a beautiful
night when i went up, clear and warm.

Versaille- it's huge and amazing. i decided to walk around
the canal. it's really big.

and one last self- photo. i used the timer and my really long
arms to take a lot of pictures.

onto the next great adventure...

national grilled cheese month

it's my favorite month: National Grilled Cheese Month. yummy, melty cheese!
http://www.meltthevote.blogspot.com/

i've had my first of the month, a basic cheddar on french bread. it was delicious! please enjoy your grilled cheese this month.