ADVENTURE GOING ON HERE!!!!! Long time no blogga b-c of the travel excitement of this month.

Repetitive SD report: I headed out to San Diego on a late Wednesday night in Anchorage. It was surreal and hard saying farewell to Casey and Bo and Storm.

The trip to LA was only 5 and 10, but the train sitch to SD was bumbly and somehow quick. Bumbly b-c of hot sticky, gross LA.

Arrival time at Old Town and Tracey picked me up in between IEP meetings. NICE! SO GOOD TO BE back in San Diego. We had a good reunion with each other, the Edwards sibs. Great! Hodad's exceeded any and all expectations of deliciousness with a great chocolate milkshake and stealing matt's fries and grilled cheese. Mmmm....

Italy short report:
Italy was hot and humid, wish I brought more shorts (more than my one mesh pair, ha)
Very neat city, very busy, very full of tourists
NUTELLA GELATO (fudge swirl ice cream): our best friend in dessertville
We loved Rome for its ruins, we stayed by the Vatican (like 2 blocks from it)
The collesium was both impressive and disturbing - the joy of killing humans?
We loved Pompeii for its history and tour, but not for its commute through the disgusting Naples.
Many confusions, patience builders, and intensities took place in Naples and in travel transitions in general.
The language barrier is not a factor, but is a factor in Italy.
We picked up more than we thought, for instance 'Ugo' is the term given to a man who rents you a pensione (an apartment, hotel, etc)
Cinque Terre will be revisited by us both! A great collection of five town on the eastern coast of Italy.
Great hiking, beaches, quaintness, and Italian culture and families!
Getting to Switzerland from Cinque Terre was about 6 hours and two different trains.
Nice and smooth and one of the best travel days yet.

Switzerland short report:
Only been here two days
Absolutely stellar views and altitude
Hiking and relaxing, sunny and fun
A puny country
We're in the center of Switzerland and yet there is a heavy French influence
They usually speak Swiss German
EXPENSIVE
Many people are hang gliding, plane jumping, or river rafting. neat, but not our cup of tea this trip
Tomorrow we head to Interlaken, 2 hours south by gondola and then train
YES we are way up here!!
5,000 feet up in the alps, AMAZING BEAUTY!

Side comments:
Italian, Swiss, and American keyboards are all different
No electrical outlet converter works with Switzerland
Switzerland is expensive, very
Many, many coins used over here...2 dollar ones
We got used to Euros but our American dollar is stronger than the Swiss Franc
Swiss Franc equal overpriced, bar of Tolberone chocolate is 1.60 Swiss Franc
Good times all around as Tracey and I enjoy every second of it

Way too much to report, and it shall be enjoyable to do so if we get another chance somewhere. Here in the Alps of Switzerland it is free internet! NICE! Until next chance.....

Smooth, but kind of long after the fact, transition from the Alaska world to San Diego. The ocean and the air and the sunshine were and are SO refreshing. I miss California! I have missed Matt and Tracey and Mike!

I had a foreign friend today given to me by the bus driver. His name was Alice......yeah....some Russian kid (young 18 like) who had no clue and looked so scared with little English. He is doing a work/school exchange program and needed to get to San Diego by the same transport as me. LAX bus to metrolink train to Oceanside and then S.D.

"Oh....you have saved my life...." he said as we purchased metrolink tickets from a vending robot of buttons galore.

Later in our trip, the trains were full of Dodgers and Padres fans headed to the afternoon game with Defiance's own Billingsly making his big league debut for the Dodgers. He started as pitcher, did well (presumably?), looked chunky fat, got a hit, and got beamed. All of that brought to you via Matt's relay of info! HA! Hope Case enjoyed watching it online and knowing he's capable of more than Billingsly......

Oh the point of the train and Russian kid! We almost went back to LA b/c I ditched him for an hour and sat on the beautiful beach. When I came back to the station he was sitting on the wrong side with no other passengers. He swore that's where we needed to be, YET I SAW ALL THE DODGERS AND PADRES FANATICS on the opposite track.

One to four flights of stairs and/or undertrack ramps later we rushed over to make the train as it approaced immediately. HA! I enjoyed my slow, but decisive instinct on the Padres game intuition of fan following!

Whatta fun day! It's good to be in California if only for a once brief bit of hours! And today was enjoyable. We (Tracey, Mike, and I) went to the beach around 2 p.m. and we gabbed about life amongst the worldly discussing people around. Matt joined us around 4:30 to our surprise after work and dentist excitement! So good to be with kin!

Then we were off to some amazing HODAD'S and back to hang out a bit and rest. We are all exhaustedly in great spirits.

Tracey and I packed (me into a great new pack on loan from Matt and Tracey) and then we all went to Target for little things. I MISS TARGET!!!!!!

Tonight Mike and I stayed up late, as Matt and Tracey have to work tomorrow. TOMORROW, our departure date! WOO! Side bar: I'm all electronically and musically loaded up!

Dad I like your pic on blog! Wish the rest of you all were with us :( :)

It will be an interesting month! Stayed tuned!

'Twas the night before the trip!

Today was a pointless day of school in which I didn't even need to come in! Most teachers checked out Monday even and did not even show up today! AHhhhh! Casey and I however nerdily got to school at 7 with nothing to do. Either of us! And while Casey waited around for a little teacher bbq I went to get a haircut and send some mail!

So, I'm just doing my final packing here at midnight! Too little of a backpack, and must eliminate more. I'm thinking less short sleeve and no shorts. It will probably be cool here and there and capris can be made out of any pant. Layers, you know. Alas, I shall def bring a mesh pair of shorts for hiking and biking! YES!

Well, it is an exciting week for us Edwards and all! Mike starting us all off with Portland then S.D. And Justin busting a great move to Colorado! NICE! So fun! And really cool pic of you and Kelly :) Mom and Dad holding the fort down and ordering house excitements, etc.

Tomorrow Casey and I run some errands around the valley here before heading to Anchorage. I will extremely refrain myself from boring you with the to do list. I fear it shall turn into my one hundredth list! Ahhhh! :) Jk, by now the lists are compiled and checked off.

It's go time!

One fun thing to mention is that we'll probably hit some movies tomorrow afternoon considering I don't leave till 12:40 A.M. My flight was changed from 11 p.m. to that late nightness. It's all the same arrival and actually a quicker flight. NICE!

Prayers from all would be appreciated! WOOO! Off I go and sign off until next entry from.....>>? foreign worlds?.....

:)

It was 6:47 A.M. with Born to Be Wild blaring on the oldies station and with me singing as I teared across the 2 parking lots to my school. I dropped Casey off today as not usual, visa versa, for I shall have a small 2.5 hour shopping toned down extravaganza today right after school!

2:00 P.M. out the door before the buses slug over to the middle school and get on the road inevitably slowly and in my way. I shall be picking up a couple last minute trip items, other special things, as well as sending some postal service around the country. Well around Ohio at least.

Here's some super fun advice for a hilarious experience: Park at least 20-30 sprinting steps away from your car tonight and as you bumble out the door in the morning sprint as fast as you can to your car (must be immediately after waking). Whoa, euphoric, whoa weird heh, heh, hee, where am I?

I did that today b/c it was a little chilly this morning. It felt like a triathlon. A transition station. A hilarious explosion of totally out of it in la cabasa. La, la, land. Everyone should try a triathlon. Or a small sprint to their car at 5 in the morning.

So, last night Casey and I stacked some firewood and then proceeded into our Subway dinner (was it in that the order?) to flip between American History X and Last Comic Standing.

Don't do that combo. Viewing order, that is.

Total intense, deeply moving and disturbing coupled with light, funny fun pointlessness. Emotional rollercoaster anyone? I'm a mess. jk,ha,ha,ha, peace

The trip is looming! Looming in a great way, looming in a "to-do" way. It's not too bad though list-wise. I just want to make sure the house is all nice and easy for Casey to get ready for his parents! They will be there the day before I get back! JULY 18!

I'm back in Alaska, JULY 19! Wowee! It has been so, so, so nice here and so many people are gearing up and anticipating this and that here in Alaska. Teachers - so free in summers!

Gearing up for fishing, hunting, camping, canoeing, hiking, exploring, relaxing, enjoying. And I shall do all that abroad. Then do all that when I return. Then do all that in the fall. Thus, there is time. We live here!

That's a good justification of enjoyment don't you think. I truly think.

Welp, it's the final paper push through of exam review going here today! They work, I sit! WOO!

Currently downloading "The Jake Effect" and an awesome brother podcast.

I started listening to it, and then realized duh I need to get it onto the comp, so I shall listen to it in full at home!

A good weekend was had. We worked on the 50 logs that lay at the front of our property by cutting, splitting, and piling them beautifully for accomplishment. Will try to get a pic up for that cheesy enjoyment.

So here we are: THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL. My mind is starting to race. A good race though, and a settled race of ready for the summer's adventure. I have my backpack ready. And I'm kicking myself for wearing some clothes I want to stay packed. HAHahhahaha! Obviously I'm going to take my fav, best, and most comf clothes as I shan't be bringing very many in general.

Last Wednesday, and every Wednesday through August we are on a coed "E" league softball team. "E" league is for the "not so serious" teams. It was fun last week, but we only had 4 players, had to forfeit, and had to borrow the other teams' players to just scrimmage.

Casey had a bazooka arm from left field. I graciously bowed to a slop arm guy at short as I played second. ;) It only took a few at bats to get back into the swing of it! HA! THE SWING OF IT!!!!! YES!

Well, all is good in Alaska! House and green land is beautiful! Grass is planted, dogs are cute, Storm is...okay...it's only been a week...stitches out this week.

AND SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Okay, one last old thought to Mike, I'm interested in hearing some David Crowder maneuvering from you! Nice!