Traveling, traveling

Okay, I suppose that today I will blog about funny travel stories, since Abby, Lindsay, and I are trying to find a way to get to England in June. =] I have many funny travel stories, since my family LOVES to travel, so prepare yourself!

First one. When I was about 8 years old, we went to Spain over Spring Break. (Wow, am I bad at starting stories). Anyway, we didn’t know anyone in Spain (unlike in the rest of Europe ), so we were kind of just traveling around in a rental car. And no one really spoke Spanish very well; my mom only had high school and college, definitely not anywhere near fluent. So, we got the rental car, they said something to us in Spanish which we didn’t understand, and…we left. Sometime soon after that, probably, my dad filled up the gas tank with REGULAR standard gas. (Keep in mind this is a normal small family car…like a Honda Accord or something) We were driving, driving (really fast on the Spanish highways with no speed limits…) and then, as we were at a toll booth, the car just STOPPED. It wouldn’t go anywhere. All of us, including the toll booth attendant, were incredibly confused. I guess we got towed somewhere, and it turns out the car took diesel fuel. What?! A car using diesel?! I think the guy at the mechanics place went and drove to get some diesel fuel from a gas station, drove back, and put it in our car. I don’t exactly have a strong memory for this experience as far as details go, but I do remember sitting on the side of the road, riding in the tow truck, and then sitting at a mechanics place….But, really, how were we supposed to know that a small car took diesel fuel?!

In 2003, my dad, sister, and I decided to go on a three week trip in Europe , since we could get cheap/free military flights and stay with all his friends. Several funny stories come from this (awesome) trip. Well, first of all, our plane left Washington DC at about 8:00 pm on the 4th of July, so we watched fireworks from the windows of an airplane. Anyway, we flew to England and stayed at the Air Force Base there (with a really ugly green bathroom). We stupidly went to London on a Sunday, so just about everything was closed. We ended up spending a week in England , because we couldn’t find any flights to mainland Europe.* Uh…but we did find a cheap flight, and went around Germany and Belgium and Luxembourg and The Netherlands. (My dad got lost in Luxembourg , and also got lost in The Netherlands and ended up back in Belgium for a while) Then, there came a point when we wanted to try to find some flights back to the US . So…we basically lived in the airport near the Air Force Base in Germany . We ate WAY too much Subway, and I couldn’t eat it again for about a year….One day when we couldn’t find a flight, we decided to drive into the Alsace area of France . But….what we did not realize was that it was Bastille Day.** So everything in Strasbourg was pretty much closed…although we DID see a church filled with bikes. Finally, we did find a flight back to the US ,*** although it was a flight that was transporting soldiers back from Afghanistan , had engines in the middle of the plane,**** and REALLY uncomfortable seats. It was an epically amazing vacation….but several amusing travel stories come out of it. =]

Also, this one is sort of short. In 2006, I was helping my stepmom move from Berkeley to Chicago, and we were driving through Nevada and Utah and Wyoming, etc. Anyway, her newish car wasn't used to driving up big hills. So we were just outside Salt Lake City when her car just started making really strange (the BAD kind of strange) noises and having problems going up the hill. So we managed to get the car to a gas station/garage, where they told us to let it cool down for a while. We needed something to do, so we walked her dog, and also ordered pizza and a salad to the gas station for lunch....I'm sure the pizza place thought we were crazy when we asked them to deliver to gas station! =D

Last one, I guess, since I don’t have too much time (writing in study hall before my dad picks me up for appointments)! In 2007, we went on a trip around New England , which also brings out several funny stories. The itinerary was planned around the fact that my dad had gotten a ticket to a Barack Obama event in New York City on that Friday. In the morning, we had visited around Woods Hole, MA,***** and then flew through Rhode Island and Connecticut . Except…….we ran into awful, awful traffic around New Haven , and it continued all the way into the city (typical). But, you see, we could not waste time!!!! What ended up happening was that we arrived at my stepmom’s friends’ apartment (and they weren’t home yet), my dad changed and took the subway to the place. He was late, but it didn’t really matter in the end. Anyway, I also remember that we didn’t get to bed until about 2 in the morning that day, so we were up for about 17 hours straight. The other funny story that comes from this trip occurred when we were flying back to Denver out of Manchester , NH . There were big storms in Chicago , apparently, so the flight there was delayed. So we had to RUN across the Midway airport to catch the flight back to Denver …and it turned out they were waiting for another family anyway. *rolls eyes* I was up for over 18 hours straight that day….

Okay….so…in case anyone is wondering where I was today, I had appointments up in Denver right after school, and then we went to dinner, and then we had to drive back. So I wasn’t on the internet until about…oh, 7:30. Sorry!

Do you realize we're halfway into BEDA? *gasps* AMAZING!

Well…until tomorrow, then! Cheers! DFTBA!

*But we did find a bunch to Iceland!
**We did figure this out really quickly since my sister and I both took French
***A FREE FLIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
****So we had to wear earplugs the whole long plane ride....
*****A very, very awesome place =]