Road Trip: California - Everything Else

This summer has been incredibly busy this year. I'm just going to mush everything into one blog. I know, I know, you're clearly disappointed since you care so much about the trip I've taken. The following isn't in order because I've lost track on what stuff I saw on the drive down and drive back. And some days we didn't do any sightseeing, which no one wants to read about.

This is a Sea Lion

The ocean was breathtaking, as always. It's my new desktop background. I saw elk for the first time, and let me tell you, they're huge! I mean, I wasn't even that close to them, but they were huge! They were just standing around while people took pictures of them. Not only were the animals fascinating, but the people were as well. The "clicks" are cameras, just in case you didn't know.

"Honey, look! The elk just moved his left hoof!" *click* *click* 
"Oh, that one's walking!!" *click* *click* *click* 
"Dear God! The two elk are WALKING TOWARD EACH OTHER!" *clickclick* *clickclickclick* *click*

Just think, those reactions are when the elk don't have babies.

Anyway, the elk were nice. We also went to the Trees of Mystery. It's rather hard to explain without sounding boring. It's big trees on this long trail. Talking about it to others, they just look at you like "That's it? No explosions or hot chicks? Count me out!" But trees have never been more extraordinary. Let me tell you, if you ever want to feel insignificant, walk around some redwoods. That should do it for you. 

Ocean World was fun as always. They have this little show with a seal. This time is was their newest seal, Cora. Cora is also the name of a baby I know of. Interesting. Now every time I see Baby Cora, I wonder why she doesn't have a ball on her nose.

I recorded a video of the whole thing, but I realized that day that my phone's video recorder has terrible sound quality. So, you won't see it. After seeing the show, however, I started to question whether Charlie was actually a sea lion. He looks more like Cora. Not Baby Cora, because that'd just be silly. 

The last place we stopped at before reaching the convention was the Mystery Spot. Basically, it's one big optical illusion. Complete with a tilted house. It was interesting to say the least. It would have been cooler if everyone hadn't been really out of it. Or at least I was. I was still recovering from watching two elk walk toward each other.

Finally, we reached the convention. We mostly go there for the association, because we can't understand hardly anything. It was reassuring to know that most people were in the same boat as you. If someone said a joke during one of the talks, I heard about ten people laugh. And I think half of them were faking.

Arabic drama

But we did break an attendance record for Friday!
 It's nice to see Arabic groups forming so quickly and growing so rapidly. Want to hear some Arabic? This is during the "half and half" talk. A member of the Governing Body came to give the last talk of every day. What you hear first is English, and then the translator says it in Arabic. Don't ask me what they're talking about, I don't know the context at all.

I recorded some of the baptism too. But it didn't turn out very well, so I'll leave it out. One of the people getting baptized was a converted Muslim, and they didn't want any pictures or videos taken of him because he could be seriously hurt or killed if Muslims from his country found out. I thought it was cool that they took that into consideration.

On they way home we went to Universal Studios. I won't explain what's there if you've never been, but I will write about the Stalker Frankenstein's Monster.

So, no one in a costume that walks around is allowed to touch you. But Frankenstein's Monster would walk around like a zombie and act like he would grab you, but then "miss." He would walk up behind group of people, and then when someone would say "Turn around!" he would walk the other direction like nothing happened. It was so funny.

Mystery Spot tilting house

One day while we were eating lunch, we were near the room where the people would change costumes. It was really a room, more like a wooden fence around a small space. Someone tall enough could just peak his eyes over and see all the tables. Frakenstein's Monster took advantage of that. We were eating when I look up and see him staring at me. Well, not at me, really, but at us. I started laughing because it was so funny to look up and see this black pair of fake eyes staring at you. I look down to get my camera(phone) and when I look up, he's gone. In that room, all you have to do is step to the side and you're out of sight. Eventually, my whole family had seen him, because after a couple minutes he would come back and stare. We tried multiple times to get a picture, but he'd always disappear as soon as we get the camera out. It was the funniest thing!

Oh, I also got a caricature of me done. It's a little odd looking. But I guess that's the point.

On the way home, we saw a gorgeous mountain whose name I forget, and get the car washed. Yay for road trips!

And to think, I saw two elk walk toward each other.