KP to the DC

I have safely arrived in Washington, D.C.! I'm here to be Obama's personal trainer by day and fight crime by night! ha ha (not really)

A little bit about my trip:

Whenever I leave Rexburg, I am always amazed by how many people are in this world; and the variety! There are billions of people on the earth and billions who have lived on the earth, and the fact that each and every one is different is just astounding. Not one person is exactly like the other. The airport is the perfect place to people-watch and I love doing it. This kept me preoccupied while I waited for my plane out of Salt Lake.

A little bit about flying:

My favorite thing about flying is being able to look out the window and see that you're actually above the clouds. As I neared the Denver area, there were perfect clouds in my view. (Unfortunately I didn't have a window seat or my view would have been even better.) They were the big white fluffy kind. I just wanted to reach out and touch them, or jump onto them and wrap myself in them like a giant bed made of cotton balls. They looked so thick it was almost convincing that if I were to do so, I would not fall through.

Now my least favorite thing about flying - the turbulence. I wouldn't say that I am a nervous flier; I don't mind it. I'll admit I tense up a little bit as the plane takes off and touches down, but I don't hyperventilate. I doubt my heart rate rises significantly either. But I can't help the fact that the turbulence gets me every time. Shortly after gazing at the beautiful clouds outside it began, probably the worst I have ever experienced. I could hear small children laughing in the back of the plane as they were lightly bounced around in their seats. They thought it was fun, like a ride at Disneyland. I gripped the armrests a little tighter. Obviously they didn't realize the gravity of the situation. (No pun intended.) What causes turbulence anyways? Is it dangerous? I don't know. Maybe there really was nothing to worry about. But I tend to let my imagination run wild. I picture the plane suddenly plummeting towards the ground or perhaps watching out the window as one of the wings breaks off. Maybe I have been watching too many movies. Something about being thousands of feet above the ground, moving at high speeds, and surrounded by nothing but air makes you think about those things though.

One last thing about flying: Why is Ginger Ale such a novelty on airplanes? Is it because the only time we ever drink it is when flying? I would say about half the people around me requested it. I decided to give it a try during my second flight. It's pretty good, but not that good.

A little bit about today:

Today, after unpacking, I decided to do a little exploring. I went for a walk and found a nice park close by my home. I also decided to find the local library so that I could invest in a library card and find good books to occupy some of my spare time. It was about two miles to the library, but I couldn't find the right road. Why is it that the road name is different on one side of the intersection from the other side? I ended up going to the mall and walking around for awhile, mostly to escape the heat and humidity. Once I turned back for home, I found the right road and also the library. I was slightly disappointed though. I couldn't get a library card without a document with my current address on it (like a piece of mail) and pretty much all the books I wanted were checked out anyway. I will have to make a second attempt another time. While I was in the library it started to rain. People told me that it rained a lot here but I didn't take them seriously. Luckily I did have my umbrella with me. This proved to keep my head dry, but I cannot say the same for the waist down. Within minutes my legs were completely soaked down the front. The good thing is that all the water proved to be a lubricant in my shoes and made it so they didn't rub quite so hard on my already-raw feet. Note to self: wear better shoes when you're going for an extended walk through unknown territory. All in all I made it back home safely and half dry. Although this may sound miserable, I tried to look on the bright side. The rain does make it smell good outside, and it turns everything green. It's also days like this one that make you appreciate those that are even better. I found myself whistling hymns as I walked and smiling occasionally at pleasant thoughts that would cross my mind.

Here is my cute little room.