Kara and Julie Adventure to CANADA!!

Here are the pictures from Canada that I promised you a while ago. Better late than never? Yes.

So! Now it's time to adventure back to Canada with me and Kara! Here's what we did:


We left Berwick very early on 31 January. Like, really early. Stopped a few times for bathrooms, food, unsuccessful trips to the bank aanndddd.... NIAGARA FALLS!!!










A "Defunct for the Winter' Amusement Park!!! Martin's Fantasy Island, to be exact. Western New York's favorite and most affordable family theme park! Who knew?!





We had no idea where we were going, we just followed signs for The Falls until we hit this parking lot:




We ended up not parking there, because it was like, $10. But, we parked right across the street for $5. Of course, it was like the coldest day ever in the history of upstate New York, so that extra few feet across the street was painful. But, worth the $5 savings.


But then BAM -





Snowy Niagara Falls!




Picture where Kara fell asleep real quick. Too much excitement!

We looked at the picture and I was laughing so hard, and we took another photo:





We finally got it together. This is a nice one, actually.








I like that last one too. 'Oh, sister my sister.' 'Sing to me of the man, Sister...' 'It was the best of sister, it was the worst of sister.' 'Thank God Sister got that job at the bank!'

And that was the segment of the entry where I take well-known first lines of books (and a poem) and replace them with the word 'sister.' (that last one was for Maria. i hope she's reading.) Blog points if you can name the books/poem the lines come from!


And then the next day, we woke up early and took the airport shuttle to the Toronto Pearson International Airport for our flight across the country! We ended up in Vancouver, where we found the "super small plane" gate, and took a super small plane over to Vancouver Island!






Plane shots! To quote the lady sitting behind me on the plane, "This is no better than flying in a tin can!" True that. The scariest part was actually just sitting in the plane. Once we got in the air, it wasn't so bad. There were like, maybe 25 seats total. It was crazy.

So then we landed and saw MY DAD!!!!! Who we hadn't seen in over 5 months!!! That was the longest I had ever gone without seeing him. It was a very fun reunion which immediately included a trip to the nearest Tim Hortons. The reunion with my Canadian Gram and Aunt and Uncle was also awesome and SUPER FUN. We hadn't seen them in like.... 5 years? Or some outrageous amount of time that should never happen again.

Kara and I slept good that night. We were tired. And we had the most comfy bed ever to sleep in.

The next day, Kara and I decided we were going to TAKE ON THE DAY and adventure out on an enjoyable walk. There is something called the 'Courtenay Riverwalk' that is about 5 minutes from my dad's house and it's a nice path along the river that stretches for a number of kilometers. It is described on the website for British Columbia as, "a lively promenade for walkers, joggers and people-watchers."

These next photos showcase the glory and wonderment that is the Courtenay Riverwalk.





This is the Courtenay Airpark, which is where tiny planes fly in and out of. It's very fun to sit on a bench along the riverwalk and have a tiny plane land like, 50 feet from you. Trust me.





Ya know, snow-capped mountains. Like, right in your town.





American HOTTIES on the Riverwalk!










Yep, we're adorable.





Canadian pride on the Riverwalk!!! Who wouldn't be proud to be a Canadian?!?!





Dad's Cookies in the grocery store! This has a story:

So, when my American family was up in December celebrating my Grammy's 98th birthday she kept mentioning this company, Dad's Cookies, that used to be at the end of Princeton Street in Somerville,MA, where my mom grew up. And nobody had ever heard of Dad's Cookies before, and for some reason she kept bringing it up. This location of Dad's Cookies was confirmed by some of my aunts. So imagine mine and Kara's amazement when we found Dad's Cookies in a Canadian grocery. AMAZEMENT.


That Saturday, our Aunt Liza took Kara and I to Hornby Island, which you have to get to by ferry, by way of Denman Island. We drove the car onto the ferry, then drove off onto Denman Island, then had to drive across that island to the next ferry point, and then drove onto the final ferry over to Hornby.

While on the Denman Island ferry we encountered a hitchhiker hippie. Ya know, like you sometimes do. Her name was Raje... or something like that. She said her real name was something like, Susan or Nancy, but the name 'Raje' was given to her while she was in India at age 21. Yep. She was basically a Hampshire College student. And she had lived on Hornby Island for like, 25 years or something. Crazy island folk. Anyways, she hitched a ride with us while we drove across Denman Island to the other ferry point. And then we dropped her off at her house once we got onto Hornby. Nice lady. And the first time I had experienced picking up a hitchhiker. Canadians are so freaking nice.


Then! We went to a beach!!








There was lots of driftwood.






And cool rocks!






We walked up a secret path we found leading away from the beach and ended up at this Isla Taco place!!! Who knew?! It was closed for the season, which was a bummer.





And right next to it was this creepy little graffiti hut! An island bathroom, perhaps?


While on the island, we were on a fossil mission. We wanted to find some hardcore, awesome fossils and pretend like we were fossil hunters. So, with information given to us from Raje the hitchhiker, we found the best place on the island to fossil hunt. (Hornby Island is kinda famous for its neat fossils.)

Lucky for us, it was this other gorgeous beach with beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background.








We found some maybe-fossils that day. We had this great rock smasher tool that we used. You may not know this, but it feels great to smash a rock into tiny pieces.


After our rock-smashing adventure, we headed back to the ferry dock to catch the boat back.









What a great day we had!! It was super fun having a girls day with Liza, who is totally awesome.


We arrived back at my dad's house to the horrible news that our grandmother had passed away. So, we unexpectedly had to take a flight out the next morning.




TINY PLANE to get off of Vancouver Island!!! Not much bigger than a person, as you can see here.






But - how awesome - we could see right into the cockpit!!! It RULED. I want to be a pilot. It was super foggy the whole way to Vancouver. Kinda scary, especially knowing you're around all these giant mountains. But, we made it!!!

We had like, maybe a 2 hour wait in Vancouver before we flew back east to Toronto. From Toronto, we called the hotel shuttle and this darling man came to pick us up. He was the best. I might have already mentioned how awesome he was. But, he was seriously the best.

It was like, 11pm by the time we got back to the hotel, but we knew the Denny's is open 24-hours, so we drove over. The waitress remembered us from when we were there the week before :) It was nice. Like, coming home! We had delicious Denny's food! Yumm.

Then we headed back to the hotel, slept like princesses, and woke up semi-early the next morning to take on the long drive back to Maine. It was a looonnngggg drive back. Or, at least it seemed that way. But, we didn't hit any rush hour traffic through Albany, which we were semi-worried about. Smooth sailing all the way home!

So, that was our beautiful, awesome trip to Canada! Everyone should be Canadian, because it rules.

Hope you enjoyed taking a mini-blog-vacay with me! Let's do it again soon!!

I will be blogging again soon with MORE PICTURES, STORIES, AND EXCITING TIMES. As always, duh!

Have a great Friday!!! What's with this nice weather?! Enjoy!!!!

like fuel on a fire

1. My birthday was Friday. 25 on the 25.
+
2. River City Extension was yesterday.
+
3. Academy Awards are tonight.
=
Julie's Ultimate Birthday Weekend


Last night was so fun. The band was playing at The Space, down in good ol' Hamden, CT. This was the third time I had been to this venue. It's so great. If I lived closer, I would definitely hang out. Although, I would spend way too much money on trinkets found in the vintage store.

It was great seeing everyone! Wonderful people like Holden and Ben Silver and Jo! And all the fabulous people that make up River City Extension. It had been way too long since seeing them. Like, unacceptably long.

And MAN they killed it. It was a crazy good show. I have pictures and videos that I'll post soon. Like maybe tomorrow. They played a great set. Like, A GREAT SET.

And then - we all went to a diner. "We all" meaning, us and the band. Um, yeah. Ya know. Cause sometimes you go to diners with awesome bands. Yeah, that happened in real life. IRL.

It was a classic night that was made of awesome. Followed by a terrible, horrible, awful, did i mention terrible, drive home in a snow storm. I thought I was going to die. But, more on that later.

Oscars tonight!! I'm rooting for Michelle Williams and Jesse Eisenberg!! Neither of whom will probably win. Also - CHRISTIAN BALE. If he doesn't win - I'm going to be angry. That should be one of the very first awards of the night.

Ok! Have fun at your Oscar parties! I won't be dressing up this year. Definitely going to pajama it up for the event. I'm exhausted today.

Have a great end to your weekend! I'll be in touch soon. With PICTURES. :)!


∞

'keep the love and burn the rest'

Oh, friends. It's been way too long. A lot has happened since we last talked. I have some pictures from our trip to Canada that I want to post, but I'll do that at a later time. I'm tired now, but I've got a few free minutes to blog. And, I've been thinking about this blog entry for a while, so I want to get something out there. Also, I miss you!!

So, Kara and I went to Canada! I last updated from the airport in Vancouver. That seems like yesterday, but it also seems like a thousand years ago. It's one of those weird feelings about time.

But! Did I mention that we went to Niagara Falls?? If not - WE DID. And we were the only people there! It was crazy. We only had to pay $5 to park in the lot that was like, across the street. It was like this weird ghost town. Kinda seedy looking in the winter, actually. But, we had a lot of photo shoots. Got some good shots!




Like this one!! This is my FAVORITE photo from the whole trip. Kara was just so excited that she fell asleep for a minute! Aww. What a great sister pic! Also - Niagara Falls in wintertime is really beautiful. REALLY cold, but I highly recommend it. It's like, this ice world. That's what it is. This picture was taken on the American side.


After the exciting post from the Vancouver airport, we took this super tiny plane over to Vancouver Island. SUPER TINY. Like, this plane wasn't even six feet across. It was one of those where you walk up to it outside. And the stairs fold up into the plane. There was a lady sitting behind us and just before the plane took off, she said, "oh my god this thing is a tin can!" It was a tiny plane.

But, flying in it wasn't actually as scary as I expected. I picked out some good plane music for flying over beautiful scenery...



'More' - Usher (seriously though, I'm obsessed with this song.)
'I and Love and You' - The Avett Brothers

But seriously guys - LISTEN to that Usher song. It's maybe the best dance song ever. Kara and I heard it on the radio station in Toronto and I said,

JULIE: OMG I just LOVE this Canadian hip hop!!
KARA: Umm...this is Usher...

I had no idea. All I know is that I LOVE that song and I LOVE dancing to it. And I'm also currently loving that song by The Avett Brothers. Check it.

Anyways.

I'll post more pictures from the trip soon. That's a promise. Oh wait! I have one more that I love.

This is me and Kara on the Courtenay Riverwalk, which is a walk along the river that runs near my dad's house. Like, a five minute walk away. There are always tons of people on this walk. We met some pretty awesome kids, actually. They were like, maybe 3 or 4 years old and they came over on tiny bikes and asked,

LITTLE BOY: Have you seen Owen?
JULIE AND KARA: Umm...no I don't think so.
LITTLE BOY: Have you seen Owen? He was riding his bike fast.
JULIE AND KARA: Hmmm....
LITTLE BOY: He was a pirate for Halloween.
JULIE AND KARA: Wow!
LITTLE GIRL: I was a princess!
JULIE AND KARA: You were?!
LITTLE GIRL: Yep!

This conversation actually lasted quite a while. This Owen kid sounds like kind of a big shot in the toddler community. But, they were totally adorable. Then their moms started yelling for them to catch up, so they rode off. It was a lovely encounter.

Anyways, this is a picture from the riverwalk...




American hotties!! We owned that riverwalk for like, three days. It was great.

So, we were supposed to be in Canada for a total of 17 days. However, after five days, we got a call from my mom saying that our grandmother had passed away. She had been sick at the beginning of January, and was kind of up and down ever since. It was like a take it one day at a time, thing. So, it was sad. And we had to come home. We were able to get a flight out the next morning. We flew into Toronto the next night, stayed the night at the hotel we stayed at before, and then drove home the next day.

* May I just say that the hotel shuttle driver from the airport to the hotel was the nicest guy in the whole world. Such a great soul. We loved him. *

So, we arrived home. And then the next week was really hard, really sad. Amazing to see all our family who came up. Some people who I had never met, or hadn't seen in a million years. My cousins Mark and Evan came up, which was fun. We hadn't all been together in... 10 years? (that's a joke.) (not funny unless you're in my family, i guess.) Actually, I don't know how long it had been.

It was really great seeing everyone.

So, that's what happened. I've been home for a while now. It's okay. We're okay.


OTHER THINGS IN MY LIFE:

1. I start a new job tomorrow! Like, TOMORROW!!! Actually, today. I'm excited about it and will post more info as it becomes more in the present and less in the future.

2. Kara and I have become obsessed with the TV show Ghost Adventures. It's on the Travel channel. I HIGHLY recommend this show. We caught it one night and at first thought it would be too scary to watch. Some of them are pretty scary. But, these guys, these ghost hunter guys, are the most awesome people ever.

It's Zak, Nick and Aaron - three dude-bros who live in Las Vegas. Yes, they actually live there. (Nick is actually from New Hampshire!) They're super funny together and take the ghost-hunting very seriously. Zak wears super tight black t-shirts that look like they're about to burst over his muscles. He's kind of built like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Except way more cool and accepting of people. It's a pretty great show. We've watched like, 3.5 seasons on Netflix along with watching most of the new episodes on TV every Friday. And, the stuff they find is pretty cool. Like, spirit voices and sometimes a full-body apparition. Crazy stuff.

3. I am OFFICIALLY a Maine resident once again! I re-registered my car and switched over my license!! And I have the super pretty, 'support local agriculture' license plates!! I was very excited about this. They look great on Morgan. I feel good moving back to Maine. It's a great place. Like, the other night, Kara and I just drove to the beach! Of course, we couldn't get out of the car because it was freezing... but, we were there! And it was beautiful!


So, I think that's all for now. Oh, wait,


4. I'm feeling pretty good about everything in my life right now. Like, pretty good. And, I guess I just wanted to tell you that. Because, it's a good, happy thing.


OK!!! Take care! We'll talk soon - promise!



✭!

YVR

hey you guys!

i'm at the airport in vancouver right now. no, like right now. free wi-fi! it rocks. kara and i are waiting for our tiny plane to bring us over to the island.

flight this morning out of toronto was good. snowy, but good. the flight was very bumpy, but that was okay.

i drank some apple juice. delish.

so now we're just waiting in the airport.

OMG. there's a song called 'Waiting in the Airport' by River City Extension. and now i'm listening to it.

it's PRETTY COOL.

okkk.... that's about it.

i'll talk more later!!!! hope everyone survives the giant snow storm headed for the east. we just missed it!

take care, all!! i will do the same.


✈ ✈ ✈

Updating from a service plaza in upstate new york!!. Exciting, right?.

kara and i left this morning at 6am - trip has officially started!!. I wayyy wayyy WAYYY overpacked, as is the usual.

we rolled into albany just after 10am. We thought we could change american dollars into canadian dollars at the bank on western ave. That's what the lady told me when i called the bank on pearl street to ask if they could change over the money. Nope. But definitely the one on western.

so, we drove there. Nope - they ran out of canadian money last week.

this was like, our third failed attempt to change money over at a bank, so after that we decided to just wait until canada.

anyways, we're back on the road now. Making good time. Deciding whether or not to stop at niagara falls for a minute or two.

i'll send another update along later...maybe from the hotel. Hope everyone is having a great monday!.

Beginning of the week is a great time for an adventure...

'now my furr has turned to skin and i've been quickly ushered in to a world that i confess, i do not know.'

Lately, I've been changing the background to my laptop so it says motivational things. Like, positive things, so I'll be inspired and in a good mood.

I found this website last night and was on it for like, an hour reading all the cutesy images. It's like, delightful little sayings and whatnots set against darling little images. I like the one that says, "when I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. TRUE STORY." I can mostly relate to that one.

So, I spent a lot of time on that website. Sometimes it made me sad. Sometimes it made me nervous. Sometimes it made me happy. I don't know. I think yesterday was just a melancholy day, or something.

I ended up changing my background image to a saying that says, "when life seems overwhelming, keep calm and carry on." I liked this one, because it pretty much relates to my overwhelming feeling that I've had for a while. Also, it says, "carry on," which is the title of my fave Crash Kings song. Is it my fave? I don't know. I go back and forth. '14 Arms' might be my fave. Or, 'Nonbeliever.' Ok now we're talking about Crash Kings. That happened pretty quickly.

ANYWAYS. I would say, go check out that site. It might make you sad, but it also might make you feel better about yourself, and that's always a good thing.

I talked about that for a long time. I don't know... I guess I feel like I need positive reinforcement in my life right now. I mean, I know that I'm a super awesome total hottie and everything. But, sometimes I just need to remind myself. And it's two different things when someone tells you you are a super awesome total hottie, and when you actually believe it. So, I'm trying to remind myself as much as possible. That way I'll never forget.

And, there have been some crap things that have happened in the past few months. But, there have also been some awesome things. And sometimes, the crap thing and the awesome thing are the same. TRUE STORY.

One thing is for sure: there has been a SEVERE LACK of rockstars in my life recently. It's been almost THREE MONTHS since I've seen Crash Kings. And even longer since I've seen River City Extension, which makes me even more sad.

BUT, River City is playing a show at The Space the day after my birthday!! 26 February! And I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope that I can go. It's my ONE birthday wish.

Anyways. Let's get to the awesome.

On MONDAY, as in, the day after tomorrow, Kara and I are driving to TORONTO. That's right - CANADA!!! And then we're flying out to Vancouver Island for two weeks to visit our wonderful father and the rest of our awesome Canadian family. It's been WAY TOO LONG since we've seen everyone out there. Like, I think it was between my 2nd and 3rd year in college the last time I saw them. Not my dad, he was here over the summer. But, it's still a long time. The longest I've ever gone without seeing my dad. So, that makes me sad.

But - EXCITED!!!!! Canadian Adventures are the best kind. I'm very excited. Also excited about driving to Toronto with Kara. Driving across New York state = AWESOME! Actually, no. Driving across New York state is kind of lame. But, I'm excited for the car trip.

So, that's the big news, I guess. Vacation.

(My birthday is in less than a month, fyi.)

Oscars are coming up. I'm pretty excited. I'm rooting for Christian Bale. ALL THE FREAKING WAY. I saw 'The Fighter' last weekend and loved it. Loved it way more than I expected to. It was one of the few movies that I was sad when it ended, because I just wanted to keep watching. But, Christian Bale was like, unbelievable. So, so freaking good. Right from the very first second he was on screen, and right up until the very last second of the movie - he was unstoppable.

And I mean, Christian Bale was in Little Women. PLUS, one of my all-time favorite movies, Velvet Goldmine. Lots of sexy hottness in that one. I read once that Christian Bale tries to do a different accent for each movie he's in. So, that's cool, also.

Oscars are 27 February this year. Set your calendars.

Actually, that doesn't make sense. Set your.... alarms? I don't know. MARK your calendars. That's what I was trying to get to.

Alright. Also saw The Social Network finally. Loved it. Facebook, man. Taking over the world.

I remember when I FIRST joined Facebook. Back in the Fall of 2004. Only for colleges. Not every college was registered with it yet. And then it was such a big deal when one of your friend's colleges joined Facebook, because then you could finally be their friend.

And I remember that me and David were trying to see which one of us could go the longest without joining. He won. He's on Facebook now too. Along with the rest of the world.

So, I loved the movie because it was a good movie. But, also because I remember when it was becoming popular and people started going crazy over it. So, that's cool.

Also - Jesse Eisenberg. Is he one of the people that I mentioned in my 'I would marry them in two seconds' series? Because, I would marry Jesse Eisenberg in two seconds.

1. Jason Schwartzman
2. Leo DiCaprio
3. Jesse Eisenberg

I feel like number 3 changes the most frequent. 1 and 2 have stayed the same for many, many years now. But, number 3 is currently Jesse's space. Even though he's technically Kara's boyfriend.

Watched Zombieland the other night. Missed the part with the Crash Kings song. Still a great movie.

Ok. I have to go take on the day right now. Shower and clean the bathroom. I'll talk to you later!! Have a great weekend!





I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT

i am in a super great mood right now. like RIGHT NOW. and i wanted to share it with you.

after a brief LAME period in my life, things are slowly (quickly?) becoming pretty awesome once again.

i would just like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my girl Taylor Swift, for having a song for whatever mood i am in, and for making me feel not so lame.

i'll write more later. maybe even later today. but in the past week we've gotten like, 30 inches of snow, and i have some shoveling to do.

take care! be well! we'll talk soon :)


it happens every now and then
i hear the words i need to hear
coming from the tiny speakers
that i shove into my ears

Sweet Schwartzman!

Oh, Jason Schwartzman, you continually break my heart.

From all of us here at the blog, a BIG congratulations to Jason and his wife Brady on the arrival of their daughter, Marlowe Rivers Schwartzman on 4 December!!

(When I say, 'from all of us here at the blog,' I really just mean myself. I have this idea that I'm a much bigger personality than I actually am.)

So, yes, it's finally happened. The beautiful baby has been born. I'm very excited about this, actually. I'm excited that Jason had a daughter. My friend Robert Schwartzman now has a lovely niece. This is a happy day.

I like the name Marlowe. I approve of that. Aw, I can imagine there is nothing more cute on this earth than a Schwartzman baby.

Congratulations and love to their family ♡

Actually, the best part about 2010:

I can't believe I forgot to add this to my list.


★ I MADE SO MANY NEW FRIENDS!!!! So many great, awesome, amazing friends. All through listening to incredible music. I am so thankful for these new people in my life. All of them have been around on my favorite days of this past year. It's a great thing, making new friends.

And also, making old friends. As in, friends I never knew I had. Or, more clearly, becoming friends with people I've known most of my life, but never really talked to. It's happened three times quite recently, and I'm happy about all of it.

New friends, old friends, great friends ★

'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end'

I'm a little late on my end of the year posting. You know, the one where I recap major events that have happened in my year, and then post some resolutions for my next year. So, I'm going to do that now. Right here. Get ready. Ready? Ok, let's go.


THIS PAST YEAR I HAVE:
- Been to 15 states! Including 4 new ones (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)!!!
- Saw Crash Kings 17 times (one time in 2009 makes 18 total)
- Been to a total of 23 concerts: Crash Kings: 17, River City Extension: 4, Hanson + Rooney: 1, Weird bands in Portland, ME: 1
- Leased a new car. 2010 Toyota Prius affectionately named Morgan.
- Battled a bat in my apartment which led to the 'rabies scare of 2010.'
- Quit my job and moved back home
- Streaked my hair teal
- Had to say goodbye to my one and only ear piercing due to massive infection
- Discovered River City Extension. So freaking awesome.

- Had some really, really bad days.


Now, I'm not one for bad days. I can usually find something that will always make me happy, always bring my mood up. But this year was tough. There were so many days that I hated. I cried a lot this year, especially at the beginning. I can think of two days right off the bat that I cried for hours and hours straight. About two totally different issues. My job was rough. I had a lot of people scream at me.

I had a great October. Really awesome November. I don't forget about those months. Those months were really great. Kind of amazing, actually. And I had one moment that could totally make up for all the bad things in the year. I don't forget that moment. I loved that moment.

But, all in all, I would say it was a not-so-great year. I am happy it's over. I am excited for things to happen in 2011 that will be great.

Already in 2011 I have:

- Got my first traffic ticket. For not having my car registered. $103. Bummer, right? Ah well. I was driving around with an unregistered car for two months, it was bound to happen. However, I can't afford to register my car, and now I also can't afford to pay the ticket. So, we'll see.

- Second day into the new year and I wake up with a horrible headache that I have had for like, 5 hours now.


It's gonna be a good year.


RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011:

- wear more purple
- be better about talking on the phone
- be better about expressing my feelings
- write more

I think those are pretty good. Remember how my resolution for 2010 was to wear more red plaid?? Well, you will be happy to know that I ended the year with THREE red plaid shirts. I think that's a WIN.


Anyways. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and an exciting New Years. I've been feeling weirdly out-of-place pretty much everywhere I go, and I can't seem to shake that. It's kind of been bringing me down a little.

But! I'm doing okay. Excited about this year, I guess. I just started watching the entire series of Entourage over for the 4th time! My mom and Kara are watching it too.

Ok! I'll talk to you all later. Hope your new year is off to a great start. What are your resolutions?? What were the best parts of your 2010??




And so I dim the lights, and I crack a beer
and I think to myself about things
I'd said I'd do this year
Growing old never takes it's toll until you're losing
Track of all the things you won't have back again
And there's so many of them

freaking Garden State, man

FREAKING GARDEN STATE.

I felt like I needed to watch this movie tonight. Actually, I felt it last night, but didn't get around to it. So, I rainchecked for tonight. Yeah, I rainchecked with myself. Cause I'm cool like that.

Why do I always watch this movie with the thought that I will feel better about my life afterward?!?!! It NEVER happens.

FIRST OF ALL:

The movie ends and I think, "GOD DAMN WHY ISN'T MY LIFE SET TO MUSIC???" Yes, I think that. In real life. I expect awesome indie songs to play wherever I go.

SECOND OF ALL:

Why is everyone so awesome and beautiful in that movie?!?! Why does Natalie Portman talk in such a high pitched voice?!?

THIRD OF ALL:

So, he goes back to New Jersey and everyone still lives at home. This is so true in real life, except WAY LAMER. Like, Nat Port has this crazy family, Peter Sarsgaard has this weird mom. Everyone is like, working crap jobs and going to lame parties. WHY DOES IT SEEM SO COOL??? Am I the only one who's watching this movie thinking, "I want to go to a lame party!"

FOURTH OF ALL:

Running into people from high school. It's been happening a lot since I've moved back home. I kind of appreciate how awkward it is every time you see it happen, both in real life and in Garden State.

FIFTH OF ALL:

Actually I think this was the first time that I watched the movie and felt like I could relate a lot of my life to it. And that's making me sad. It's almost like a feeling of nostalgia for these things, some haven't even happened yet.

I guess I understood the movie in a new way.

I want a lot of things to happen right now. And I want them to happen during a rainstorm, at the bottom of a quarry, while Simon and Garfunkel play in the background.


And that was my Garden State rant.

oh wait,


SIXTH OF ALL:

The tap dance scene in front of the huge fireplace?? COME ON. #vom



freaking Garden State.

Murdock Lake, Berwick, ME (SAD Day)

I think I meant to tell you this earlier, and maybe I did, but Kara and I have these things called, 'SAD Day,' which stands for Sister Adventure Day. Yes, I realize that we're technically using the word 'day' twice in a row (SAD Day), but, we don't mind :)

Anyways, SAD Days are when Kara and I take off for the day, usually with a map, and pick a place to discover. We've had SAD Days to:

1. Northeast Kingdom - creepy northern Vermont area where we accidentally trespassed into someone's house.
2. Lake George, NY
3. Lake Morey and Lake Fairlee, VT
4. Rutland, VT
5. North Conway-ish area, NH
6. Bath, ME
7. Ridlon Road, Berwick, ME

SO. The most recent discovery in my town, which I talked about in the previous entry, was the discovery of a GIANT LAKE in my hometown. Now, the locals call this lake, Hatfield Pond, which I had definitely heard of before. I never realized it was IN my town, though. Kara and I both agreed we thought it was in Lebanon. And, it's on the way to Lebanon, so, it makes sense.

(Lebanon, ME, mind you, not Lebanon, NH, where I used to live up until recently..)

This past Monday, Kara and I ventured out into the town to try and find the lake.

First, we took Long Swamp Road, because we saw a connecting road that went around the lake. We got to the road, and it was closed. Like, there was a gate in front of it. So, this route was a no-go.

Then, we decided we'd take this road called, Lower Guinea Road. Now, we were in Lebanon, ME. I had driven past this road a billion times and never been down it. Turns out, it's kind of the creepiest road in history. Then we took this scary road with run-down houses with lots of junk in the yard and lots of 'No Trespassing' signs. We figured everyone in this area has lots of guns, so we got out of there pretty quickly.

We needed to try the other road to get to the lake. So, we headed to Rt. 202 and turned onto Hubbard Road. I feel like I've been on this road a lot recently, which is funny, because I NEVER used to come out to this part of town.

From Hubbard Road, we took Ridlon Road, which is my new fave road ever. Seriously, I'm obsessed with it. Like, in a weird way. Who is obsessed with a road, anyways? Why am I obsessed with this road? Because it leads to THE LAKE.

Seeing this road in the daytime was pretty awesome. We saw this giant sandpit which is apparently home to a lot of illegal ATVing as well as parties. Sandpit parties? Yep. Vacationland!

We headed down the first path that leads to the lake. Then, we saw that someone had a truck parked down there, and we got scared, so we turned around.

We took the second path, a little ways down the road. It's all dirt, everywhere.

This is where we parked the car:






That's Kara's car, Maci. Morgan's little sister :)


AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU....


MURDOCK LAKE, BERWICK, ME 12/20/2010







That's an island in the middle of the lake. Because it's a huge lake. I love it.





GIANT FROZEN LAKE!!!!!





Kara by the lake.

GREAT, RIGHT???!! Um, yep. I can't believe that I've lived in this town for like, 24 years and have never been to this lake. It makes me sad almost, because like, what else am I missing???

That night when my mom came home from work she said,

MOM: So, what'd you girls do today?
JULIE AND KARA: Ohhh you know... went to the lake...

"The lake" that's what I've been calling it. Like, we have a house on it or something. Yeah, just going down to the lake. It's my new fave place.

Also, note this beautiful Maine winter day! Haha, it was like the most gray day ever. But, I like how you can see the reflection of the trees on the ice.

These next pictures are leaving the lake and driving down Ridlon Road.





Mini-bridge!! Cutest bridge ever!





I really like this last picture. The road looks so whimsical at the end.

GREAT DAY, right?!!? I seriously could not believe how excited I was this day. Like, this was such a great Sister Adventure.

I actually way more appreciate my town more after discovering this gem. I want to go here all the time. If you ever come to Berwick, ME, I will take you to this place. Murdock Lake or Hatfield Pond, however you prefer. Beautiful place.


ANYWAYS...

Today was a good day. I saw ANDREW! I went over to his house and he made me pancakes and tea and we talked for a long time. It was great. I hadn't really hung out with Andrew since New Year's Eve last year, so a hangout sesh was wayyyy overdue. Lots of life updates. Great.

Then, I needed to get gas for my car. I was on my last bar! I got $15 worth and it brought it up to over half a tank! I was shocked at this. Small tank + great gas mileage = happy Julie.

Then I went to Target because I needed more shampoo and conditioner. I ended up with two extra bottles of hair product. I love buying hair products and then never using them. However, I always convince myself that I will use them when I'm in the store, and that's what happened today.

I got some kind of volume boosting stuff. Extreme level. I also got some kind of super moisture 3 minute hair treatment for really damaged hair stuff. Lovely, right? Hey, the teal hair may be pretty awesome, but it's also pretty hard on your hair. I don't know how Ramona Flowers does it.

ALRIGHT!!! I think I'm done for tonight. Pretty good entry, eh? Yeah, I thought so too.

Hope you enjoyed your trip to Murdock Lake! Have a great rest-of-the-week!!

Talk to you soon :) Take care, friends!


♡

Episode 531: I haven't updated in a long time.

i realized i haven't updated in a long time. i am sorry for this. i got a text message from Kerianne the other day, saying that she needed a blog entry.

it has been a long time.

i don't know. i've been in this kinda weird mood this past week. i would say overall i've been kind of melancholy. i guess it's the holiday season and everything is colorful and cheery, and i've just been feeling kind of weird about something, which i think is emphasized even more this time of year.

anyways. let me tell you about my town.

Berwick, Maine. generally a low-key, nothing is happening town. but recently, i've discovered there is a giant lake kind of near my house, and i plan on discovering it. on Google maps, it's called Murdock Lake, but apparently the locals call it 'Hatfield Pond.' two completely different names. i prefer Murdock Lake, because of the similarity to the character in Titanic, Mr. Murdoch. he's the handsome one who shoots himself near the end.

anyways, Murdock Lake. it's apparently 165 acres wide and 6 feet deep. there's a boat launch too. and, i plan on visiting this lake. like, everyday from now on. i still have yet to see it, but i have a feeling it's going to be awesome. i mean, a LAKE. or, POND. that has been in your town for probably longer than you have, and you never knew it existed UNTIL NOW. this is really exciting to me.

also really exciting to me: i recently discovered that there is 1.5 square miles of my town that is known as a CDP (census designated place) and, if wikipedia is correct, APPARENTLY, the laws of the state do not apply in CDP areas. i could be reading that totally wrong, and interpreting it only as i want to - BUT - if that's true, then my plan is to mark off that area with some kind of tape, and then go inside that area and start a revolution. of some kind.

maybe if we can get the entire town to stand within this 1.5 square mile area, then first we'll take over the whole town, and eventually the entire state of Maine. there's not many people in maine anyways.

anyways - mainly i'm obsessed with this "no-laws apply area." do other people know this? is this even true? probably not.

also, Murdock Lake. i can't wait to go there. i think i'm going there tomorrow. from the satellite google map, it looks like there's a beach or something. i'm super excited. like, super excited.

last weekend, we had a huge hurricane-like rain storm here and kara and i went to the beach at like, midnight and it was AWESOME. it was freezing cold and like, downpouring and SO SUPER WINDY. but, we got out of the car and i walked down to the beach. it was awesome.

i went to the beach again today and just sat for a while by myself until my eyes started watering because it was so cold. i don't think i had ever sat at the beach by myself before. i liked it a lot. it was kind of powerful, in a way.

like, being in the Airport Lounge all by yourself in the middle of the night. THAT kind of power.

let me get back to talking about my town.

so, it's a pretty small town. but, there are some areas that take like, half an hour to get to. like, basically from housing development to housing development. and, some of kara's friends live in this other development that's like, half an hour away, but in the same town. and i always hate going there because it takes so long.

BUT. there is this one secret road that connect the two "sides" of town. it's called Ridlon Road. and TONIGHT was the first time i had EVER been down it. and now - i'm obsessed with it. it's the most awesome creepy road ever. and it runs right next to Murdock Lake, although the lake is partially hidden by trees.

i had never been down this road because it's not paved all the way. like, there's this giant section of road in between the two paved sections that is dirt, and so that's why i've never been down it. but tonight kara and i wanted to go on a mini-sister adventure, and she was like,

KARA: Wanna go down Ridlon Road?
JULIE: UM YES.

there was this awesome tiny bridge that i loved. it was super cute. but, some of the houses down that road are NICE. like, three story nice. and there are a million other tiny housing developments going in down there. it's crazyness. who is buying these giant three-story houses??

i feel like i'm discovering my town in a whole new way. now that i'm living here again, and i'm older. i don't know. it's this new weird sense of appreciation.

maybe i'll write and direct a movie about my town called, 'The Town.' about bank robbers or something..

so, besides the melancholy mood, i'm generally doing okay. been catching up with some old friends this week, which has been cool. today i hung around a lighthouse, which was awesome.

which leads me to be sad that i am not a lighthouse keeper. i was reading through my journal that i kept while i was in Ireland and for some reason i wrote, "when i leave Hannah House, i will become a lighthouse keeper." and that was like, one and a half years ago.

i also really want to go to a River City Extension concert. because there, it is nothing but happy and wonderful. and also rocking.

which leads me to further plug RCE, by telling you to go get a FREE DOWNLOAD of their new Christmas song.

FREE CHRISTMAS SONG DOWNLOAD HERE!!!!!!!

it's awesome and sad. last night, i actually almost cried listening to it for like, the one millionth time. not only is it a Christmas song, but it's also kind of a reflection on death. so, bonus.

also, have i told you about my recent hip hop obsession? i don't think so. Diddy Dirty Money. these guys are performing on every late night show. i've seen it like, 4 times, i think. but, that song, 'I'm Coming Home,' i SWEAR P. Diddy wrote for me. except for all the parts that are clearly about him. MAN i love this song. i blast it like, everywhere.

so, i downloaded the Diddy Dirty Money whole new album, but i haven't listened to it yet.


ummmm. ok. i think that's all for tonight.

the football game is on tonight, so i'm up in my bedroom with Ruby Tuesday.

ok. i'm going to brave the living room. maybe the game is almost over.....?

take care, friends. i'll update more this week after i've gone to Murdock Lake. i'll take pictures for you! that sounds great, actually.

OH! and LUNAR ECLIPSE TOMORROW NIGHT! i'll be there. maybe watching it at Murdock Lake, which will become my new stomping grounds, i'm assuming.

ok! take care! be well!