light posts on the beach

(if you like to know where this blog started please read the first post(the beginning 8/10/09), thank you and enjoy!)

In the world of Narnia, a light post was the children's guidance to find their way home, and to find their way to a wonderful land where they would learn great lesson. Sometimes though a lesson must be learned before a light post is planted, just read The Magician's Nephew to see how the Lantern Waste Land came to be.

It took my brother, his friend, and a thief for the island of Jamaica to learn it's lesson. When I was little, we went to Jamaica for several years in a row. It is still my very favorite island in the Caribbean. Anyway, one time, when we were there, my brother and I made friends with another brother/ sister combo. Us two girls hung out in the Mongoose Club at the Grand Jamaican Hotel, where we were all staying at, and the two boys would explore the hotel, and beach all day. One night when there was a party at the hotel, my brother and his new friend snuck out and went to the beach. They walked and talked and then they got robbed. This man came out of no where and ripped the little containers that hang around your neck, and holds money and room keys stuff, off and ran. Niether of the boys could give any discription of what the thief looked like because it was pitch black on the beach. Everyone was super great about what happened. Both of our families were invited to the owner of the hotel's birthday party... and my brother got drunk off of the rum cake, lol. That was the first cake my brother actually liked!

We came back for another visit to Jamaica 6 months later and there were light posts on the beach. Do not take this story as a warning to stay away, but rather a reassurance that Jamaica learns from it's mistakes or misplanning and wants to make each of their visitors have a happy, safe, and enjoyable vacation on their wonderful island of paradise. Sites to see is: Dunn's Falls, Negril, and Montego Bay.

what came first? the egg or the chicken...

What came first? The story or the town... The statue or the tale... That is the question, though it is easier to anwser than the title of this particular post.

Washington Irving, a native New Yorker, wrote many pieces. His two most famous short stories were: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a story of a headless horseman in the small town of Sleepy Hollow; and Rip Van Wrinkle, a tale of a man who slept for 20 yrs.

In today's world these stories can be considered truthful or fact. There is a town in New York known as Sleepy Hollow, it takes pride in being the final resting place for W. Irving. In March of 1997 is when the town took the name it holds today and so we know the story came first. As it does with the wonderful statue of a sleeping Rip Van Wrinkle at the top of Hunter Mountain in Hunter, NY.

This statue seems to be a secret only few know about. They don't advertise it at the skiing resort at all. My father show it to me in the summer of 2005, that's the only time you can find it too(summer and early fall). Take the Skyride to the top of the mountain and make a left and keep close to the egde, but please don't fall. You'll soon come to a small wood and a small trail will reveal it's self to you. Take it! Follow it and in a matter of five to ten minutes you'll find a small opening. In front of you is an outlook, a panoramic view of the towns below, and behind you is the life size statue of Rip Van Wrinkle. I truely wish I had a picture of it, but I didn't bring a camera when I visited it and I can't find any mention of this little treasure online. So please, take my word for it! The town it's self is wonderful as well. Hike, mountain bike, camp out, or just go up for the day, have a drink at MacGregor's pub, and dinner at Pancho Villa's Mexican Restaurant. Have fun and enjoy!

Irony of Finger Rock

Please read my first post(the beginning 8/10/09) to see where the inspiration to write about these little treasures come from.




Irony is a funny thing. It comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. It's the master of trickery. It laughs when you fall for it, and bows in honor to you if you don't. It's a double meaning, read between the lines, contradictory kind of thing...



What does a thumbs up mean to you? Is it good job, or good luck? Maybe it was that odd coworker that you never talked to that gave you a thumbs up before you went in to a meeting with your boss... Did that bode well for you, or not? Can you decide?...



How about the middle finger? Most will say the birdy is not your friend, but I've seen friends use it with each other as a way to say, "Shut up! You beat me ok! Don't have to rub it in my face!" But they also use it to say, "SUCKER!!"...



My question to you is: What do these two fingers mean to you? Because you'll have to ask yourself that as you head to the Mini-Strip in Laughlin, NV.



Next time you go to Laughlin take the scenic route. Start in Kingman, AZ and drive to Bullhead City before crossing the bridge into Nevada. US Highway 68 has beautiful desert surroundings and is relatively a short drive. The little treasure on this journey can be easily missed if you don't keep your eyes peeled. It's a funny little rock formation off the side of the road. It gives you a thumbs up as you head toward the miniature gambling paradise. Most people over spend, gamble more than they brought, get dehydrated, and burn to a crisp. So be smart, learn when to stop, always have a drink, and the dry heat sucks so moisturize often. That way, you can laugh when you leave. You can mimic the rock formation as you head out of town, while it says, "Shut up! You beat me ok! You don't have to rub it in my face!" You can say, "SUCKER!!" Just like old friends, and visit again sometime.

the beginning

Every blog has a beginning, whether it started the moment they decided to write a blog or years ago when blogging was an unknown fantasy for future generations. I may only be 23yrs old, but I have a mind of an 80yr old sometimes, lol, and things that should come easy to me takes a while to figure out. So please bare with me.

I have seen many LTTs- Little Traveling Treasures all my life as my mom loves to travel. LTTs aren't the big things that you see, like big cities, landmarks, and amusement parks, but rather the hidden little secrets each town has. The stories behind something as common as store front or light pole.

Sometimes those stories can only be revealed to the world after your own story unfolds and you see the beauty inside it. So here is my story that opened my eyes to the little treasures that surround us everyday, even in the darkest times...

Sept. 24, 2001

I saw history, first handedly, 13 days ago. I had been heading to the Newark, NJ airport, rushing to catch a plane back to my mom in AZ. We were driving along the Hudson River, listening to Oldies CDs, and clueless as to why the bright blue sky was becoming filled with dust and dark billowing clouds. Clueless as to why these idiots were parking on the side of a major freeway, causing horrible traffic jams. I couldn't understand it! It was just a power plant right? Or at least that was what my dad told me at first. A few moments later when my father's girlfriend turned the radio on we found out what was really going on. A Terrorist Attack on American Soil. My dad was happy to say that I saw history with him that day, but he also wished it had been something good rather than the day we all know as 911.

Now, 13 days later, my brother and I were leaving my father in NJ and making our way on a Greyhound bus to AZ. It took us three whole days to travel cross country. As a young teenager, I thought of this as an adventure. In the middle of the first night crossing through Ohio or Indiana, I saw fireworks erupting from a small town near by, celebrating something only they knew about, and it was wonderful to watch.

Our second bus driver was one of the coolest ladies I've ever heard and watch the back of her head. As she took charge of the bus and headed out she had some rules on board, one of those rules were, "If you got stank feet, and you know you got stank feet! We don't wanna know that! Keep your shoes on!" That made me smile all day :) Her husband was just as cool, and was our third driver. He checked in at the place he had to check in at and then took the bus to a decent shopping center to get something to eat.

The second day we spent 2 hours at the Largest Truck Stop in the World! The Iowa 80 truck stop was awesome! I'd actually loved to go back 'cause I never saw the whole thing. There were two arcades, three fast food places, a museum, two stores, a barber shop, dentist, and etc. If you need it, you can get it there!

The second night was a little crazy, as was the bus driver. He nearly left someone behind, drove 20 miles over the speed limit through the Rockie Mountains on a stormy/ hailing night, pulled over in the middle of nowhere and took a major dump in the bathroom. I felt bad for the poor souls sitting right next to the bathroom in the back, they couldn't breathe for an hour or so. The next day this driver stopped in good old Beaver, UT, I think, and told us to eat at the diner he parked at... This diner seemed like it was out of the movies, you know, like The Roadkill Cafe. I still remember the menu saying "Roadrunner Stew" and "The Coyote Burger." That kind of grossed me out, and then I saw a lady bring food out for a trucker at a table nearby and it was so greasy I nearly puked right there. My brother and I ran out side, only to see someone picking up a dead animal across the street. We ran three blocks to a gas station and bought ourselves some hot pockets to fill us for the last leg of the drive home.

It was a long journey home that week. Some of it was sad, funny, cool, amazing, and a little bit disgusting, but I saw America in a new light during that time. My eyes used to only see the big picture, but now and then I find fun little details I think everyone would be interested to know. so stay tuned for future posting of My Little Traveling Treasures...