Adventure Awaits
What’s up, guys?! I know I’ve been
MIA for a while, but wow, summer has been flying by! A huge crowd of girls has
come to Arizona from Finland and Sweden, and since all of them go to the same
church as me, we were lucky enough to meet each other. In effect, we’ve been
hanging out a ton. It helps that I managed to explore a bit of both countries
last summer, giving me some good background on their culture. One of the
Swedish girls has been staying at my house and will be here until early August.
It’s been an incredible amount of fun showing the girls around my own state
(and sometimes other ones). This way, everyone gets to see more of Arizona’s
gorgeous landscape with a fresh outlook, and I have the incentive to get up and
just GO somewhere. Since some of my foreign friends are here on different
schedules, I’ve had to say goodbye to quite a few of them already. It’s been
one heck of an exciting whirlwind, and it’s so sad when they have to leave! On
the bright side, I now have someone to visit when I go back to Europe. Also, saying goodbye to those who
have left only makes me appreciate my time more with those who are still here.
All right, on to the best part. Welcome to my adventures from the past month! I
hope you become inspired to go do something a little different and out of your
comfort zone.
1. Downtown
Phoenix
Upon mulling over where to go on the Swedish girls’ first
day, Julia, Cicci, and I decided to check out downtown Phoenix. We drove down
with two of my Finnish friends, Elli and Enni, to what is arguably the home of
Phoenix’s best street art. After parking on some random street, we headed to
the Monorchid for a look around. Once hitting up Google for any places to check
out, we decided to just walk, explore, and take photos of anything that piqued
our curiosity. Personally, I could spend all day inspecting the very walls of
Downtown Phoenix just to gather information on what kind of brushstroke and
pace was used in painting an entire mural, but hey, I’m an art addict. After
meandering around for a bit, we headed into a coffee shop to wait for two more
girls to arrive. This is when I met Anna and Nora, two Finnish girls who are
now what I think of when I hear the word “adorable”. Crazily enough, I had met
Nora very briefly last year in Finland at suviseurat, which is a HUGE gathering
of people for church services that go on for several days. Although I couldn’t
quite remember where I had met her because of the overload of people I had met
that summer, Nora jogged my memory, and soon I was recalling our meeting and
apologizing profusely for my appalling memory. We bonded over lunch at a
not-so-great Mexican restaurant (Why did we spend money on this?? Oh, you’re so
right, this was not worth it.) and then drove over to my house for swimming
and, of course, more food. Welcome to America, girls!
2. Bartlett Lake
Following a
rather drawn out morning of church, a herd of teenagers raced over to Barro’s
for lunch to make plans for the day, myself included. Now, Barro’s is not by
any means our favorite food, but hey, it’s cheap, and we’re teenagers with
expensive futures! Over a few tables covered in pizza slices and tiny bowls of
$2.50 salads, a plan was formed to head out to Lake Bartlett to make the best
of the sweltering weather. A bunch of us piled into our friend Jed’s truck, and
we set off, several of us sitting in the truck bed with the wind whipping our
hair into inseparable knots. Once at the lake, we spent the afternoon tanning,
swimming, and doing flips. All in all, it was the perfect way to spend a
Sunday.
3. Grand Canyon
One night
while hanging out with the whole crowd of foreigners in Arizona and with some
of my AZ friends, my good friend Sonja and I began talking about a trip to the
Grand Canyon. It went something like this.
Sonja: Hey, so I don’t think the Finns have gone to the Grand
Canyon yet!
Me: I know… I think some of them leave really soon. Hey, we
should go!
Sonja: Shoot, I think they leave in a couple days, and I work
then.
Me: Well, when are you free?
Sonja: Tomorrow is the only time it would work. Omigosh,
should we just all go tomorrow??
Me: Dude that would be sick if it can work out!
And scene. Mind you, this conversation took place at about
ten pm. After an endless amount of pleading and coaxing, by some miracle we
managed to convince our parents to let us drive everyone to the Grand Canyon
the following morning. In the morning, everyone met up with droopy eyelids
propped open by caffeine running through our blood accompanied by handfuls of multiple water bottles
to prevent dehydration for the day ahead. The ride was complete with bumping
music and good company, and the canyon was well-enjoyed by everyone. We rode
the buses around to different spots for pictures and hiking, and something
about that beautiful gaping pit in the earth filled my soul with wonder and
gave me that glowing feeling that every adventure worth having leaves me with.
The one thing I wish I would have done was brought more food, seeing as the
only thing to eat after was either overpriced fast food at the canyon or Pizza
Hut on the road home. (We chose the latter). I definitely enjoyed bringing all
of my foreign friends to one of the world’s natural wonders, because it was totally worth
it watching the amazement spread across their faces.
4. California!! (San Diego)
The eldest
sibling in my family, Peter, has been studying to become an NMD for several
years, and, in June, he finally graduated with a PHD! My family and I, who are
all immensely proud of him, decided to drive to San Diego in order to attend
his graduation. My Swedish friend/housemate Cicci got to come along and get a
taste of my favorite place. Although our trip was mainly for my incredibly
hardworking brother, everyone got to enjoy a beach day before the graduation,
which was on the following day. And my,
the ocean is enough to keep me happy for eternity. Okay, maybe that’s a little
dramatic, but there’s something about the endless horizon, the rolling waves,
and the power of the ocean that intrigues me like no other. The waves on
Moonlight Beach were a bit too strong and large for surfing that day, so we
swam, boogie boarded, tanned, walked the shoreline, did some flips (okay, that
one was just me), and took some photos. Cicci is amazing with a camera, unlike
me, and also is pro at posing, unlike me. Hence, most of the photos of C are
okay-ish quality with a stunning model, and most of the photos of me are of
stunning quality with a laughing model. Every time I try to pose in a
non-gymnastics photo, I end up feeling stupid, resulting in me bursting into
laughter. Ah well, I tried! The family ate at a delicious fish taco place near
the beach, and while most headed to Peter and Katherine’s (his lovely wife)
apartment, Cicci, Emmalee (my sister), and I hightailed it back to the beach to
catch the most breath-taking sunset I have seen in years. Each passing minute,
the sky’s colors intensified until that glowing feeling spread throughout my
entire body. I could never get tired of feeding my soul with the innate beauty
of California. Soon after darkness spread across the sky, we joined the others
at the apartment for a little congratulations party for Peter. It was fun
hanging with the family and just enjoying each others' company. After the
evening soiree, everyone went to their hotels to get some rest before the big graduation
day.
The next morning, Cicci and I got dressed and headed to breakfast with some of my
siblings. Seeing as it was father’s day, the only place we could find enough
space to eat at was a Mexican restaurant. Surprisingly, the food was better
than I expected, and we were all pleasantly full after. Note: Always split your
dish with someone at Mexican restaurants unless you’re incredibly hungry. The
portions are always more than enough! We headed off to the graduation site,
and, upon being early, enjoyed a good cup of coffee from a nearby café before
getting our seats for the graduation ceremony. Wow, what a ceremony it was! The
speeches were cleverly written, spiked with hilarity, relatability, and
heartfelt feeling. Also, once my brother was announced a doctor of naturopathic
medicine, I think my throat got a little raw from cheering. Our trip ended
after spending a good couple hours taking photos with and congratulating my big
brother. Everyone parted their separate ways, and I was left with a couple
days’ worth of beautiful memories to look back on.
5. Salt Water River Tubing
My Finnish,
Swedish, and American friends all planned on going Salt Water River tubing to
beat the heat on a free day. Although the road trip there wasn’t very long, the
amount of time we spent waiting in line to buy tubes and get onto a bus that
brings people to the river felt like 20 years in hell. (Hellooo, Arizona sun!
Yeah, I guess we’re getting close and personal today!) Anyhow, once we boarded
the bus, the heat wasn’t so bad due to the pretty awesome bus driver who had
cracked the windows to allow a breeze to circulate through the bus. Once at the
river, the wait was worth it. The Salt Water River is one of those gems in the
desert where cacti surround you next to bright green trees and wonderfully cold
water. We all laid sheets out on our tubes to protect us from the sun (once the
rubber tubes heat up, good luck staying cool without a sheet) and put our
things on top of the sheet. Somehow, I ended up with the bag full of everyone’s
things. Note to self: DO NOT bring a bag with you unless you want to end up
playing the “mom” role of guarding the belongings! I did ditch the tube once in
a while, but it was a bit annoying having to worry about everything in the bag,
especially my car keys. Like hey, man, I hope my car keys don’t go floating to
the bottom of the river, because that would be too fantastic! :’) Oh, remember
to put your car key in a Ziploc baggie if it has automatic lock/unlock buttons,
because the bag WILL be getting wet. Thankfully, I remembered to do so, and had
no problems with ruining my keys. All in all, the river was incredibly fun. We
spent about four hours relaxing, swimming, tanning, and getting some good
laughs in while floating along it. However, we did have a little scare when the
smallest of our group got caught in the rapids without a tube. A dramatic and
heroic rescue scene by four friends, two strangers, and I quickly ensued until
my friend was safely floating along on her tube once more. Take heed: the rapids
are strong and will pull you to the bottom of the river if you are without a
tube, so please be careful if you visit this place! As long as everyone has a
tube, a sheet, and water, you are bound to all leave with a smile and a tan to
match it.
Besides for all of what I hope I have described as
interesting adventures, summer has basically consisted of hanging out, having a
couple low-key parties, and just having a good time. What a time to be
seventeen! I’ll be updating you all on the next road trip, which is coming up
soon (cue my shriek of excitement)…hint: it has lots of saltwater involved! Until
next time!
