Day 7

Today we decided to have a more relaxed day. It was nice.  We went to breakfast at 9:30, then went on a bus tour. A really bad bus tour. It played music the whole time, and not just music, one song! It was no good especially for two hours. Following that mess we went and got lunch at a cafe. The waiters were fun and it's cool eating on a Paris street. I had a Monte Cristo.

And yes, French fries taste the same in France. No worries. We then got on a boat. We floated up to where Notre Dame. It's a really fantastic church. 

I love Gothic architecture, and it blows my mind that it took 200 years to build and has been around since the 1200's. It's almost the oldest thing I have seen. 

We also got to see this thing I don't know how to spell.  

It dates back to 1200 B.C. So that's cray cray. We took the boat back down the river and went back to the hotel. After chillin' in the hotel, we ate ice cream and it was dang good. Then my mom and I went back out to the Eiffel Tower. We did a bit of shopping. We also found a letter box (remember I've told you about them). The tower is so pretty at night! 

On our way back, I got to grab a crepe. It was so good and you wish you could have one... Look. 

So that was the day. It was a good day. I love Paris! 

Day 6

This post may be shorter, I apologize in advance, but we will see. 

Today we awoke at the time of 5:30. Yup, early enough that I could text my friends that stayed up late enough. We ate then got on the train. The train went under the English Channel, that was neat. When we arrived, we got lost in the subway. It took us a while to get to the hotel, but this hotel is nice. I have the high speed inter-webs so pictures will be easier. I might even try to do a video. After arriving and staying in the Executive Room while our personal rooms were being prepared we went to the Eiffel Tower.  We went to the wrong place when we went to the "skip the line" tour, but quickly figured it out. Our tour guide was phenomenal and entertaining. I learned fun facts about the tower and it was neat looking over Paris. We had the opportunity to go to the very top and I got the vertigo. Experiencing the tower  is something I won't forget. 

This day was mostly travel and I wasted lots of time on the Internet, now that I finally have it! So, it's 11:30 at night and I must sleep. 

Day 5

The following essay was produced by my mother in the period of an hour on ambien. She will finish this story tomorrow on the train.... Enjoy!

This morning started off like every other morning -- early!  We passed the school kids in their uniforms and almost got hit by oncoming traffic, as we do every morning.  Locals like to play Frogger and we do too . . .we just get closer to death.  The subway was so busy with rush hour traffic I got on but no one else could   I found a small opening and jumped on the my fanny pack and push people as I yelled I'm coming on!   Alex and Mike watched me smash up against the window and drive off into the tunnel.

When we got to Buckingham Palace Road I found a letterbox is at the Girl Guild of the UK. A neat stamp hand carved and placed in 2010.  I love letterboxing. 

We we then visited the Queens Gallery, part of Buckingham  palace, with actual items owned by the monarchy. Paintings, books, carvings and other items dating from the 1500s  . . . which again makes it twice as old as America.  We traveled on to the see the Royal Mews.  Servants live above the Mews for free rent.  Families are born and learn the trade and work there.  It is their entire life and very different from ours.  I loved the newest carriage the monarchy owns. It is black and had a bunch of old things on it (ie. Hand made wheels, has 26 coats of paint, but it also had much new. Such as the electronic chassis for a smooth ride.

After we went for lunch at the shop across the street from the mews. We mostly had fish and chips and they were yummy. However the service was do rude and bad and it's the first time in my life I have never left a tip. 

Buckingham palace was large -- very large!  It was beautiful on the inside and Alex couldn't imagine what it would be to live there. There are beautiful staircases, beautiful paintings and beautiful furniture.  The dining room was amazing. As I am trying to teach Alex to set a table, Buckingham palace is a good example.  Every piece of china, silverware and glassware is measured to position correctly. There are six wine glasses.  A  red wine and white wine glass, water glass, champagne glass, dessert glass, and an after dinner glass. Personally I would never get them right and the queen would have to tell me what to do!

Day 4

With an early rise of 7:30 we headed off to the real train station. When we got there we purchased our ticket and continued to grab some breakfast before the train arrived. We all got chocolate muffins. We boarded the train and continued to Windsor castle.

The castle blew me away. The sheer size and architecture was astonishing and beautiful. We went inside St. George's church. I love the Gothic building style and the fact that it is 500 years old (twice as old as the United States) is mind boggling. We then saw the Changing of the Guards, it was interesting. It was not as serious as I would have expected. During the changing of the guard they played the theme to Star Wars which was interesting, and with their crazy hats and big shoes It's pretty funny. Despite the oddness, it was cool to see the Changing of the Guard and the Queens band.

We then continued to explore the castle. After going seeing the weapons, painting and gold plated rooms, we stepped out into an open area of the castle. We saw an angry guard who had to open the gate. After opening the gate and falling back into line, a lady was taking a picture in front of him. He yelled "Make way!!!" and the lady moved. After he passed her and came close to my mom and I he mumbled "or get trampled!!"  Mom and I laughed.

After that portion of the day we moved on to lunch in a beautiful part of town where you could see the castle. I had a really good Caesar salad. I  got a painting of the same street we ate on which was neat.

On the way back there was a candy store, I saw a great candy, it was called Camel Balls. Yup, I got them for my friends and me.

When we finally got on the train my mom had an interesting conversation with a Brit. My mom thought the guy said that he wanted to get out, my mom replied, "Me too, at the next stop."  He said "Oh, do you want to go first?" My mom answered, "Yes. How long until the next stop?" He replied, "Five minutes." My mom was confused while the guy looked antsy. He asked, "Can I go now?"  My completely confused mom said, "Sure." and she stepped out. The man started to the back and left his luggage.  My concerned mom called to him with no response. My dad then called back and told him he had left his bags. He replied with "oh I was just going to the Loo." Everyone on the back half of the train laughed. My mother was embarrassed.  It was pretty humorous.

After another hour of travel we went to Richmond where my mother's family spent three months living. We saw their house and what outer London looked like. I also had the opportunity to have tea. I'm not a massive fan but it was not terrible. I also got to try lamb. I'm now a huge lamb fan. It is now my favorite meat and I'm glad I got to try it. After These adventures we journeyed back to the hotel. It Was a great day. I can't upload any pics tonight but I'll try tomorrow. Good night!

Day 3

Today we woke up and headed to South Kensington for church. We got lost. We spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how not to be lost. When we were not lost we stepped in to the meeting. The meeting was good and I love seeing different perspectives of people. The meeting house that we went to also functions as a  Visitor Center.

We then got on the London Tube and headed toward Hyde Park. Before we got there we went to brunch. I got some very delectable pancakes and toast. At Hyde Park we went to Speaker's Corner and I loved it. I love the way everyone stands on their soap boxes and say what they believe, no matter how unpopular their view is. The debates that ensue are funny as well.

We then continued on to Little Venice. We took a Camdan Locks Boat (aka Willy Wonka's Wonder World.)  We drifted up past some physical embraces and some very old architecture. When we arrived at  Camdan city there were hundreds of thousands of shops (or at least that's what it felt like). Everything in there is so cool and I want to buy it all. I spent 2 hours wandering and looking. I finally got a pocket watch, and then I got the perfect case for my phone. It's wooden and it's a map of the underground. It is great because it will remind me of this trip for a long time. After getting a few gifts for friends and family we went home on the bus, with my dad helping us a little telling us what bus to get on.

When we got back to the hotel we went out for Chinese food. It was some of the best Chinese I had ever had. It was filling. We ate ice cream for dessert and pretty much called it a night. It was a very fun, kind of relaxing, day! 

Day 2

The things I did today were very, very fun. I had the best breakfast I think I ever had. It had beans, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and a fried tomato.

Following the meal, we went to St Paul's Cathedral. It pretty much blew my mind. I have never been blown away by a building but I was. We went to the dome area and looked over London, it was really neat. I love the detail and the sheer size of it.

After, my dad and I went on a rock and roll tour. On the tour we learned Keith Richards girlfriend found Jimmy Hendricks. Our guide gave a graphic description of Hendricks's death and then turned around and said "Oh yeah, Mozart lived there." and walked away. We saw where Paul McCartney's office was. After that, we went shopping at Covent Gardens. The skill and craftsmanship of the items were amazing. I wanted some of it but we did not buy anything. We decided to go on the London Eye, and to get there we we took the tour bus. After waiting fifty minutes for a yellow (talking tour guide) bus and seeing 8 red (recorded tour bus) we decided to just get on a red line. Then we thought we were only going to have to go through three or four stops. That was wrong, we had to go through about 20 stops, so that was fun. When we finally made it to the Eye we went on it and had great views. I got some really good pictures. We then went to a shop and I got some neat postcards and a red and black hat that reads "London". We then went to a pub called Slug and Lettuce which was super good. I finally returned to the hotel, and I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Good night from London.

Day 1 Recap

Today I checked in to my room and took off my backpack with all of my stuff. We went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and I ate 2 wings 2 breasts and 2 tenders and it was delectable. Following that we got on a tour bus. I continually fell asleep then waking myself up, but I got some pictures.

Big Ben

The girl giving the tour was awesome, and I felt bad I couldn't stay awake the whole time. No one in my group could stay awake. After the bus ride I went and did a little shopping but found nothing super exciting except the English version of Uncle Sam.

Uncle SAMs bro. Look close. 

After we went to Trafalga Square which was super rad. I took some pictures with my family.

After that I found this..... 

And after that we are a really good hamburger at the hotel then we went to get some ice cream and now I'm going to bed because I have not slept four 36 hours. See you tomorrow! 

Just Arrived

It's currently 8:30 in the morning And I have discovered a few things: first, flights overseas are awesome because they have outlets and all the movies you could ever want;  second, it is fantastic listening to all the British accents and it's weird that I am truly the one with the accent; third, the bathroom stalls are big and clean and fantastic. Here are some pictures

Clouds look like water, oh wait they are water! 

This is a bathroom stall door, huge am I right!? 

About to leave

So I'm sitting in the airport, and I am super excited about going to London and Paris. The time is now and I am shaking in my seat with much joy. I have my boarding pass, I have my passport and I am about to leave, woooooooooot!!!!!!! 

Free Week

Horse Tail Falls

This Week has been a lot of fun! Monday was a nice relax day where I stayed at home and just played games.

Tuesday, I hiked my favorite hike with some college friends up Horsetail Falls. I like this hike because of how close and how beautiful it is.

Wednesday, I got 4 of my friends together and we went to Seven Peaks in Salt Lake City. It was a little cold but there were no lines! Everyone of us fell out of our tubes on one slide or another, but luckily we were all okay.

Thursday, was my sister's birthday! It was a more relaxed day for me and I just stayed at home and played video games with friends.

Friday, we celebrated my sister's birthday. We went to a inflatable slide / jump house place. I got a burn from going down one of the slides (I had no idea you could do that). We then went to Pizza Pie Cafe. I worked that night.

Saturday, I got a iPhone 6 plus. I got it from a friend on the cheap. I really like playing with it.  I haven't used an iPhone since the 3g so it's a lot different.  I also worked Saturday night and the restaurant flooded. It was pretty crazy.  

Today (Sunday) I am preparing for the Especially For Youth (EFY) up in Logan at Utah State. I am very excited and anxious to see what it is like.

Parade Camp

Jake with his baritone with an ankle weight around the bell

It was parade camp this past week! 7:30 - 2:30 every day, but because of my role in the band I had the opportunity to go from 7:00 - 2:45. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work.  We have a total of 4 vets and 7 rookies making us the largest section in the wind ensemble with 11 people. All, but 3, of us got all of our music memorized and passed off along with learning how to march. We marched and played on our last day for 55 minutes. I have not seen rookies do so well.   I think we are going to be really good this year. We marched a little parade on Saturday to wrap up the week. We start getting into the normal marching schedule in two weeks and I am excited to see how we grow.

Low Brass Fun

Right after finishing the last post our section went to nickle city in Orem. It has been a long time since I have hung out with a large group of people. We had so much fun. We Went laser tagging, and the best part was that I could see the lasers. Following that we played a lot of nickle based games. Milli and I played 2 rounds of 3 of a Japanese Dance Dance Revelation game. We played deal or no deal as a group, and we played a trivia game. (I totally am the best at getting second on trivia games). We collectively as a group pooled are tickets. 2000 of them. We used them to get the section glass chess set. It probably cost 5 dollars for Nickle City to buy and $50 dollars in tickets, but it was defiantly worth it.   I think my section is really, really fun this year.

The last week of school

This week I took the State programming test and passed. It was pretty exciting. I am glad I have coding to keep me busy during the summer.

I also took 5 finals and passed the math SAGE, which is apparently pretty difficult with only 45% of my math class passing.  I am waiting to see how I did on my other finals but I feel good about them. In Chemistry we tie-dyed shirts, and mine is fantastic. It is multiple colors of green. The only issue with it is.... I forgot cotton shrinks.  I am probably going to give the shirt to my 5 year old brother for his birthday in August.

Today, we had are first day of marching band (It was a student run rehearsal). We sounded pretty decent for not knowing the other parts and having new Drum Majors. We have great rookies that I think are going to put in the work.  I think we are going to have a solid sounding band this year.

Pre Marching Band

This year during the off season I have earned the leadership role of Brass Captain. The role of the Brass Captain is to assist the drum majors in any way possible and to make sure the band family functions well. I am excited for my first rehearsal of my fourth, and final season, on May 23rd. I am going to strive to do weekly post's throughout the summer and I will be excited for what is to come.