Once upon a time there was a girl who was in some serious need of adventure in her life because Sanpete turkeys and youth conference adolescents just weren’t cutting it. So, with her wonderful family (minus Jens), she traveled to the wonderful land of Midway where her condo and exciting enterprises awaited her.
Yes, I got the heck out of Ephraim for six days, and it would have been seven if I didn’t have to go back to work, lame. But no matter; this little vaca hit the spot, now let me tell you why.
Day 1: Immediately upon arrival at our condo, me and the siblings stripped ourselves of our confining, ordinary clothes and put on more appropriate attire…
SWIMMING SUITS, and headed to the nearest body of water. The Howe family practically lives in their swimming suits when they go on vacation. It’s just the way it is.Later that night mommy and daddy took me and only me (because they love me best) to the Zermot Resort where we enjoyed a fabulous Seafood buffet. The sushi, coconut shrimp, crab legs, and truffles were my favorites.
Day 2: Ahhh, day two was a good day. We went boating and Jet skiing with some of the extended family on my mom’s side. Yes I went tubing, yes I did a back flip off the tube when we hit a thousand foot high wave, yes I almost died, and yes I loved every minute of it… thanks Uncle Steve.
My dad thought he was something else riding that skidoo, and me and mom had to persecute him a little.Day 3: Day three was a Sunday so nothing too thrilling happened on the Sabbath, it being holy and all. However, we did go to Cascade Springs with my mom’s sister and her family. I think Cascade Springs is one of the most beautiful places in Utah and I’m sorry that my pictures don’t do it justice.
After our little nature walk we went to a family bbq with my mom’s side of the family which was an adventure in itself. You think my mom’s crazy, try multiplying that by 50 and you’ll get a little taste of a Christensen family get-together. They’re wild, extreme, and maybe even a little mad, but I heart them.
Day 4: Day four was a magical day because we went to Park City and you know what that means, shopping at the outlet malls! Not only did I take advantage of the many great deals that the Tanger malls have to offer, I also discovered two things: one, a J. Crew outlet mall, and two: a new friend made entirely of legos.
I wanted to touch. “I like can I touch?” –ten points to the one who can name that SNL clip.Day 5: At this point I realized that my vacation was coming to an end so I had to act quick and do something extreme before it was too late. Thus, once again we journeyed to Park City and you know what that means, Utah Olympic Park (after a little morning tennis of course)! First we watched some future Olympians skiing off these sweet jumps into a swimming pool. It reminded me of mine and Lauren’s skiing days. Yeah, we were that good *cough. Before the skiers would hit the water, someone would turn on a machine that would pump a lot off air into the pool, creating a lot of bubbles and foam at the surface, making it a softer land for the children. But soon we had enough of watching others having fun and we were ready to have some fun of our own. First we went up the ski lift so we could go down the alpine slide.
I think my car was retarded because I never could get it to go very fast. The slide was amusing but not nearly as exciting as what we were about to do next… Go on the steepest Zip Line in the WORLD! (No joke, it really is). Two words: Pure Ecstasy. As you can see from the picture, I was the winner because Zip Lines are not new to me and I know that to travel the fastest you have to curl in a little ball while going down.
After the first run we knew that we would not be satisfied with just one ride, so we bought more tickets and sailed down the mountain a second time. My fellow riders caught onto my technique, mimicked it, and needless to say I did not win a second time. Usually I would be seriously upset because I hate losing with a passion, especially to my brothers, but it was okay this day. The thrill of the ride fulfilled all my desires. P.S. That tiny box on the very top of the mountain on the horizon is where we started.
Day 6: I ended my vacation with a bang. Mid-afternoon, we strapped on our swimming suits and headed down to Vivian Park, which you and I both know is right on the Provo River. My mom had reserved us tubes to go down the river in. After checking in and grabbing a life jacket, we all boarded a school bus and headed up river to where our ride would begin. One may have thought that it would be a nice, relaxing ride down the river, but no dear reader, it wasn’t. First of all, the water could have housed ice monsters, if they existed, we had to make sure we got out of the water before we went under, in our instructor’s words “the bridge of death,” we had to remember left right right because those are the ways we were to turn when the river forked and if you went the wrong way, you were screwed. Not to mention all the sharp, jagged rocks and pokey trees and bushes on the bank that we had to avoid. Because Leah wasn’t yet thirteen, her tube had to be hooked onto mine which made steering even more difficult. Luckily we made it to the end okay. My mom and brother Jordan weren’t so lucky. They were the last to get in the water and so no one was there to rescue them from the knarly bushes that captured their connected tubes. When they tried to free themselves, Jordan’s tube came out of its casing and my mom’s tube started leaking air. Then Jord’s tube somehow got disconnected from my mom’s and started floating down the river. My mom was able to swim and catch him but she lost some blood doing it. One of her toenails is now in two (I should have got a picture). But there were no fatalities and I had a blast so I’m calling the river run a success.
I love vacations. I love getting away because when I do I am reintroduced to the fun, happy girl that I really am. I find myself again while on vacations like these. I find enough of me to hold me over until my next break from a sometimes mundane life.
