Personal Narrative: My Ocean Expedition

I`ve been on planes, cars, and many things in my life but I have never been on a cruise, and on this Alaskan Cruise I was able to try new things. In our ship they had swimming pools, ping pong tables, casinos, and a extraordinary ice cream bar. One of my favorite parts of this trip was holding two baby sled dogs that were two weeks old. I also liked kayaking, plus I shared a kayak with my sister, Mia, and I controlled the kayak from the back. After that my family and I went on a bus ride to see caribou, bears, and glaciers. I also went on a hike and float with the Kendal`s (who are my cousins), because there daughter Annie was sleepy. I saw cool trees and fascinating wildlife. I even was allowed to eat berries that tasted like watermelon, but

Meriwether Lewis asked William Clark and I to join him on an expedition into the unknown. We had to go west and explore the Louisiana territory that Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president, had bought to expand the United States. This expedition will be the greatest change in history and I got to experience it. Traveling for 8,000 miles in two-in a half years only having one job; explore the new area and come back alive.

I thought I would touch bases, before Russ and I leave for 3 weeks. We should be returning just about the time you go on your Channel Island trip. We are headed to Branson, Missouri, for a week, a time-share condo. Then we will start back via, Witchita, Kansas, to visit with one of Russ' sisters and assorted family, then on to Dallas to stay with his other sister and attend the MacPherson clan annual general meeting. After that we will head home.

I'm back! This past summer was a whirlwind of working all the time. Raft guiding is a 24/7 job, even when you're only doing three trips a day. The internet at the boathouse was not the best and I was always getting off work after the library closed. I know, what a rough life, spending all my time on Clear Creek...it did make doing chores a bit of a challenge though. To summarize my summer in one post would take too much time and I wouldn't be able to find the words to describe all the wonderful people I met and the amazing experiences I had. I will say that living out of the back of my little green Subaru Outback was an experience in itself and has made me appreciate beds all the more. I can't wait to go back next summer though. The Creek has truly captured my heart for the time being.

Every year, the 7th graders at Wayland Middle School embark on a journey to Cape Cod. Since this was a school trip, I thought we would have to do a lot of school work such as writing and science with the animals. But, we only had to do ten minutes of work every day and the rest of the day was hanging out and playing with your friends, and opportunities to get closer with people who you didn’t know that well.

“I wish I had some adventure”, Makayla said as she rubbed the sea shell. She heard her mother call her for dinner. She went down the hall, and into the kitchen. Her father was at the table reading a newspaper, and her mother was retrieving a casserole from the oven.

I am beginning to wonder if my entire treacherous expedition into the heart of America has been in vain. I came in search of cities more mighty and impressive than Tenochtitlán, but all I have found are some simple farming villages.

At the finding Nemo ride nothing was out of the ordinary, except Nemo was missing! There was a clown fish that Disney put in a fish tank, they called it Nemo for the kids, and now it’s gone. We need to dO better at “finding Nemo”!

If I had a ticket to go anywhere, I would probably try to take my family to SeaWorld. For as long as I can remember, SeaWorld always represented a place where we were free from all of our troubles at home. My parents always wanted the best for my brother and I, and to get us the things they would have wanted, they had to sacrifice time with us. SeaWorld brought out the best in us. When we get there I imagine my parents would talk about how my cousins are gonna come the next day. They would probably take us to a famous orca whale show just like when we were younger. We would then buy food because to this day my father never forgot about his favorite turkey leg from seven years ago. When we were at SeaWorld nothing else mattered except us being

Throughout my vacation last summer, I was trying not to think about school. Yet, I found that even when I flew to another state, one class subject followed. When I went to Hawaii last summer I thought it was going to be a pleasurable vacation. I didn’t expect to find an eco-friendly city; I merely assumed that it was going to be like California: heavy smog and a dirty environment.

Upon on arriving to Queensland, Australia it was fine except our luggage, went to Brisbane Airport instead of the airport we were flying in at, Whitsunday Airport. After that, we got into a taxi to a rental car service. Then, we went out to eat at good old Mcdonalds for lunch. My sister was not that annoying today. Property because they all had headphones in listening to music for the trip so far. And, I am not talking about low volume either; I am talking about full blast. It is like they’re having a competition to see whose music can be louder. I forgotten my phone and headphones in my suitcase so, I had to play I spy with myself. Let me tell it is the most boring thing you can ever do. So after about two or

My life flashed before my eyes right before I was about to get crushed by a rock 10 feet taller than I was. This story will tell the time I went white river rafting and almost died. Being on vacation doesn’t always mean everything is perfect. While I was rafting, the whole experience took a turn for the worst. I was suddenly gasping for air as the malicious currents dragged me down wanting to trap me in their home forever. My body weak and exhausted from being toyed around with by the water, I fell into an unconscious state. I started to remember the car ride to my rafting destination. Upon arriving, I was given my equipment and a set of instruction to follow. My sister, her friend and I were paired up with our tour guide and headed on with our three hour journey across the Pacuare River. Little did I know that my life was close to being put to an end. The rest is history, I was just happy to make it out alive.

Like it was yesterday I remember my first vacation on a cruise. My Dad and I went on a three- day long cruise to The Bahamas. I had never been on a cruise, so it was a new experience for me. We needed to be in Tampa for our departure, so we drove the two hours from Orlando, Florida to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My Dad and I used this time to talk, make plans for the trip and think about our upcoming adventures on the cruise.

I remember a time in my life not too long ago when my family and I went white water rafting for the first time. We had been spending some of our summer vacation at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains, close to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The next day we would experience feelings of exhilarating excitement, with a sense of suspense and anticipation as we rafted down the Nantahala River.

When I was eight years old my family and I went on our annual cruise to the Bahamas. Eight year old me loved cruises. Not necessarily the drinking and partying, but the part where I met some of the coolest people, at the kids club. Yes, the kids club. This is where we would make slime and where some kids would cry, but for me it was heaven. This particular year I didn't really like the kids, they weren't that fun. I did meet one girl there, her name was Alex. She seemed to be pretty normal and extremely unimpressed by the group of kids. So I went up to her and introduced myself, told her my name and where I was from, “I am from the United States, Syria, and Paraguay”. She was puzzled so I explained, “I bet you think I just said cereal, but I said Syria it’s a country in the middle east, that is where my dad is from. My mom is from Paraguay, a country in South America and I was born and raised in Miami, Florida.” Bewildered she told me that she was from Dallas, Texas and so were her parents. I couldn't blame her for still being confused, most people I met usually were. We spent the first three days together hanging out at the kids club, playing video games. We became close friends.