Hollywood was fun, but it is definitely one of those "been there, done that" type places. Go there once and check it off your list! There are a ton of stars on the walk of fame, some of which were well deserved, some dedicated to people I had never even heard of, and some who I am still trying to figure out how they managed to even get a star in the first place...I mean, the RUGRATS have their own star! Seriously? Anyways, here are some pics from my visit:
So after I dropped my parents off at the airport, I hoped on the highway and drove to the beach! So I'm alone in California for the first time, I turn the radio on, and the first song I hear is this:
Too funny! It was a sign. I was just meant to be here for a little while :)
So this is Santa Monica:
The waves here are huge. Here is a video of them. The video is a little blurry due to sunscreen on the lens!
So that is the beach/boardwalk at Santa Monica. Huge waves, freezing cold water, lots of sand, 68 degrees, tourists, volleyball courts, workout stations along the beach, street performers on the boardwalk, yellow life guard trucks patrolling the beach, helicopters everywhere....pretty much explains it all!
5 things @ the Santa Monica Board Walk:
-One guy trying to surf with over 1000 people watching him...Bet he was feeling the pressure!
-There was this guy on the boardwalk charging people to pose for pictures with his snakes..One of which was the yellow and white kind that are stinking huge. WHY would you touch one of those things?!
-Tons of future hopefuls set up on the boardwalk playing their pianos, singing their songs, and selling their CDs.
-There are TRAPEZE lessons on the boardwalk. You can pay for a private one-hour lesson to learn a main trapeze trick. I watched a guy do it and he wasn't bad at all! I may have to try flying through the air on a tiny bar before I leave!
-They have a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and other rides and games at the boardwalk and to my surprise they were reasonably priced! The ferris wheel was only $3! :)
Previously, on The Adventures of Christi Zwicke: "So I graduated from Texas State in August! I got my degree in Therapeutic Recreation-and I will define it one more time since no one seems to know what it is!
THERAPEUTIC RECREATION/RECREATIONAL THERAPY: is a treatment service that provides treatments and recreation activities to individuals with illnesses or disabling conditions to improve or maintain physical, mental and emotional well-being and help reduce depression, stress and anxiety. Recreational therapies help patients recover basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities, build confidence and socialize more effectively. Treatments may incorporate arts and crafts, animals, sports, games, dance and movement, drama, music and community outings.
----SO...with that said, I am now in California doing my internship! I plan on coming back to Texas afterwards and working in the clinical setting. However, a lot can change in 4 months so we'll see what awesome adventures are in store for me!"
Here are some pics from my last dinner in San Marcos:
Noelani & Ellen: Two of the coolest people you will ever meet!
Kassie & Chad: The sweetest couple!
Everyone at Grins!
Okay, good! :) I am glad you are caught up now! Here's some details on the trip up here!
August 27th: The day I packed up my car and headed west! My parents and I left for the LONGEST road trip ever! Not going to lie, when I saw the first west Texas mountain I was kind of excited...However, after seeing miles upon miles of the SAME view of a road and desert, it got old pretty quickly! We finally made it out of Texas and into New Mexico to be greeted by...more mountains, sand, and cactus!
August 28th: Woke up early, got some McDonald's breakfast (never fails!) and started driving once again! I made my parents stop at the first In-and-Out Burger we saw in Phoenix for lunch. I had always heard of this place and needed to experience it for myself! It wasn't bad-it's greatness was just built up way to much in my head! We ate some cows and proceeded on with this lovely trip! After a long drive through the desert we arrived to California! It was about another 2 hours until we made it to Duarte. It's this cute little town located in the foothills of Angeles National Forest. It's also the town I'll be living in until Christmas comes around! Then it's back to Texas for me!
So apartment hunting could have it's own blog entry, but to sum in up in one sentence I would have to go with: There are more people than apartments available in this place and after many a disappointments I finally lucked out!
My parents stayed with me a couple of days and helped get me settled in. Mom made spaghetti the first night :) She ate at the cardboard table with the computer chair in the kitchen, I sat on the floor up against the wall with plate in hand and drink on floor, and Dad ate standing up. To answer any previous questions you may have had-the apartment was definitely unfurnished! After a few days, it was time to take them to the airport. I dropped them off and gave them quick hugs so I wouldn't get yelled at by the crazy airport people telling me I couldn't park. I then hopped on the highway and found my way to Santa Monica!
I'm changing up my top 5 feat just for this blog :) Today it is a top 12!
12 pics from the trip:
MY FAVE PIC: DAD'S AWESOME BREAKFAST
OH, WEST TEXAS...
NO RADIO STATIONS!
I BELIEVE THIS WAS NEW MEXICO...MAYBE ARIZONA?
CACTUS EVERYWHERE
THE LOVELY LITTLE RESTAURANT-THE ONLY LITTLE RESTAURANT-IN DEMING, NEW MEXICO.
CHECK OUT THIS CUTE MENU!
I WAS SO EXCITED TO DRIVE THROUGH A TUNNEL!
GETTING CLOSER... (YET WE WERE STILL 5 HOURS AWAY!)
COLORADO RIVER RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET TO CALIFORNIA BORDER. WISH I COULD HAVE GOTTEN A BETTER PICTURE OF THIS BECAUSE IT WAS GORGEOUS.
WE FINALLY MADE IT!!!!
FINALLY ARRIVING IN DUARTE!
DRIVING IN MY NEW TOWN. I DRIVE LIKE I BELONG HERE NOW-BUT WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE I WAS SUPER TENSE AND NERVOUS...ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THOSE CARS ON THE ROAD ;)
“Our egos tells us we're the only ones that have any kind of feelings. We're the only ones with a relationship. We're the only ones with family. You know, I think that if you kill a spider, there is a relationship that you're ruining. There's a conversation going on outside with the other spiders. 'Did you hear about Chris?....Killed yeah....Sneaker. And now Stephanie has nine hundred babies to raise all alone. Well, she's got her legs full I'll tell you that right now. Chris was so kind, wouldn't hurt a fly. It's just been tough for them lately. They just lost their web last week. Those humans think they're so smart. Let them try shooting silk out of their butt and see what they can make.'”
Haven't written since September! Let's catch you up!
Most awesome thing that happened in October:
-I got to go to Game 4 of the World Series! Here are a few pictures:
Walking with all the fans :)
MLB announcers
Game 4! Can't believe I got to go!
Going up the escalator with my daddy!
Goodness!
Awesome memories! :)
Most awesome thing that happened in November:
-I don't remember! I would say Thanksgiving, but I was sick for most of it & had to work Black Friday...so let's skip ahead to December, shall we?
Most awesome thing that happened in December:
-December is the best month ever. I absolutely love the beginning of wintertime and the holidays! I cannot pick out one thing in particular because I'm sure I was high off the holidays every day! Something about the season just makes me happy. Oh, & I got to see Phil Wickham, The Reliques, Dave Barnes, & Drew/Ellie Holcomb!
So that was how my 2010 ended!
I brought in 2011 with about 1000 other college students in Dallas. We were all up there for SALT which is a conference hosted by Chi Alpha. Here's a short video clip to show how the weekend went. Basically it was a whole bunch of Jesus time, awesome worship, amazing speakers, tons of fun meeting new people, spending time with friends, and an pretty awesome New Years party! Here ya go:
Things are definitely changing right now. For instance:
My best friend moved to Oregon with her husband. They are stationed there for 4 years. Guess I'll have to invest in some plane tickets!
My sister moves to NYC in 2 days. More plane tickets!
I've started my last semester of classes. It is nice only having to go to school twice a week!
When my sister moves out on Monday, I will be living alone for the first time. Bummed she is leaving, but kind of excited to have a whole apartment to myself!
Photography has definitely slowed down. I went from having hundreds of pictures to edit each week, to having none at all!
I quit working at adidas. It's been nice not having a job for almost 2 months now! However, I need to hop back onto the work-train and get myself some paychecks!
That's about all for now! I'll leave you with the usual top 5 ;)
5 great things I've discovered recently:
-Music wise: The Temper Trap is an awesome band-check them out!
-Food wise: Eggo just came out with these fruit breakfast pizzas that are delicious!
-Friend wise: My friend Jane is really good at getting me up and out of bed on Sunday mornings! She's also an amazing cook!
-Book wise: It doesn't matter how good the book is, I will still fall asleep reading it!
-Community wise: My downstairs neighbors are awesome.
