Lady Liberty+The Phantom=a really good day.

Day 2 is in order. Moe told me not make her wait too long, so here ya go Moe. Yes, you run my life. :)

The first order of business of the day was the Statue of Liberty. We rode the nasty subway to the water then took the ferry out to Liberty Island. It was GORGEOUS. The weather was perfect- it was still fairly early in the morning, and the city was still quiet. Plus, the water was calm and beautiful and peaceful. I loved the ride. When we got to the island, we had to go through security literally two times before they let us in to the base of the statue. They had a museum in there telling about how and when the statue was made and delivered to the United States. It was built in France and then disassembled and shipped to the U.S., only to be built again. We weren't allowed to go up to the crown of the statue- that part of the tour has been closed since September 11th, 2001. But, they are reopening it on the 4th of July this year, so that's exciting. Anyway, We came out on the balcony at the base of the statue, but at the top of the podium that she's standing on, and looked out. It was very nice. My hair blew perfectly in the wind, and it felt amazing. I got some pretty snaggly hair, though. We walked around the whole base, then caught the ferry again and went to Ellis Island.

I need to stop and explain that Ellis Island was (besides Tiffany's) the place that I was most excited to see. It really was my one requirement for the trip. So, I was kind of freaking out. We landed and went inside, but unfortunately, because we had purchased tickets for a matinee showing of Phantom of the Opera that afternoon, I only had a half an hour to see the whole of Ellis Island. It was a serious injustice, and I was grumpy about it, but I understood. The last thing I wanted was to be late for our show and not be able to get in.

And I have to pause again, because I LOVED ELLIS ISLAND. The main builidng (the only one we had time for), was so stinking old, but so amazing. The main hall where the immigrants had to sit and wait in was slightly eerie, but more so just beautiful. It looked like the kind of place where you could have a fancy, but sort of oldish looking wedding. I want one. If I was a New Yorker, I would TOTALLY have my wedding reception on Ellis Island. I don't even know if people are allowed to do that, but I would make it happen. :) In the upstairs there was a room set up with bunk beds that the immigrants had to use when they stayed on the Island over night. They were seriously stacked 3 high, and they didn't have mattresses, only canvas stretched across bars like on a cot. There were chains and metal poles, and they looked horrible! I can't imagine sleeping on such a thing. But is was just so fascinating to see! Behind the building there was a lot of pretty grass and a monument for all the people who passed through the Island to be admitted into the United States. I just think the whole idea behind Ellis Island is remarkable. Who knew that immigration could ever possibly so controlled?? A person from our day could never imagine such organization or submission to law and regulations!

This is the main hall that would be gorgeous for a wedding reception :)

So, then, after we left my beloved Ellis Island, we had to rush speedy quick back to Times Square for Phantom. It was at a theater called the Majestic. And it was really really pretty. It wasn't as super fancy as I had imagined, though. It was kind of small, and there weren't like crazy bright lights and flashy things. It just looked kind of old and creepily fancy. But I liked it. The show was really good. I could have sang/said every word in it, so when they changed lines slightly, I was very aware, and it actually kind of annoyed me. They threw off the rhythm a bit, you know? And I was not a huge fan of Christine. But I LOVED the Phantom. He was fantastic. He just got better and better and I loved it. By the end of the show I was pretty much his biggest fan, which is exactly how I like it. The Phantom is a great character.
A third pause. I have failed to mention who I was with through all of this joyful adventure. The main group was: Me, Ashley, Tanier, Tyson, Cameron, and Adam. But, for the show, several other boys and girls met up with us. There was a group of maybe 15 of us there for the show, which was great. It's really funny when we group up that big because we are very happy people, and we are very loud. Everybody watches us. :)

Moving on. We decided that we wanted to have dinner at this famous pizza place in Brooklyn. So, we made our way back to the hotels to check in to the new hotel for the night: The W. Somehow how the reservation for 2 nights at Park Central didn't go through, and then they were all filled up, so we had to find another hotel. This all worked our fantastically, though, because The W was the most awesomest hotel I have ever stayed in HANDS DOWN. Everything in the hotel was very modern and artsy and purple and gold. It was beautiful. They had really squooshy couches in the front lobby and free green apples in a pretty bowl on the counter. The apples had a little sticker on them that said, "An apple a day for your W stay." I ate those apples every day. And our room had amazing comforters and pillows and a giant TV. It was very nice. :)

You can push play again. So while we were walking back through Times Square to the hotel after the show, we passed a demonstration that some Marines were doing for Memorial Day weekend. They were doing pull-ups and fake fighting each other and stuff. And there was this SUPER HOT Marine. Ashley took a picture of him very creepily. I don't want to post it on here, because that seems too crazy, but if you want to see this ridiculously good-looking young man you can check out Ashley Anderson's album of NYC on Facebook. And THEN, soon after falling in love with this perfect stranger, we were all walking along and then SPLAT. A bird POOPED ON MY ARM!! Super super super GROSS!!! I whelped and Tanier and Cameron just started peeing their pants laughing at me. I was laughing too, of course, but it was all slimy and nasty. After laughing for like 5 minutes, Cameron was like, "We have to keep going. We'll clean it off when we get back to the hotel." At which I proclaimed (which, interpreted, means "yelled very loudly"), "I am not moving from this spot until this crap is wiped of my arm!!!" And I meant it. A nice man from a hot dog vendor stepped forward with a napkin and wiped it off for me, while, another man who was standing on the corner trying to sell his latest rap CD yelled, "OHH! You got S***ed on!!" He said it like 15 times, and we were all laughing so hard that I am actually surprised that I didn't pee my pants or faint from laughing right there. It was an amazing ab workout. By the way, people stand around and sell random things all over the place. It is SO WEIRD! Men will carry big sheets around and randomly drop them on the sidewalk, spread them out, and sell the purses that the sheet was holding inside. And then, when they see policemen coming, or have simply been in one spot too long, they pick up the sheet and move to another sidewalk. It was a very odd thing.So then, after checking in to our new hotel, we rode the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge, and walked across! This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I loved walking across the bridge. And I totally did cartwheels in the middle. I couldn't help myself. For some odd reason, I felt strong urges to do cartwheels for a large part of the time we were there. I did cartwheels everywhere. When we were in the middle of the bridge, I leaned over the edge and yelled like they do on Newsies. And when someone said that they had never been to Brooklyn, I said, "I spent a month there one night." And also, I said, "Brooklyn is Spot Collins territory. Spot Collins makes me nervous." And then I would shiver. I was totally a Newsie when we were in Brooklyn. And I loved it.On the Brooklyn side, we found the pizza place, but the line was seriously like half a block long. Some of our friends had already been waiting for an hour and a half, they were just barely at the front of the line. So, while Adam, Tyson, and Tanier decided to wait for this pizza place, Cameron and I decided to ditch out and go somewhere else. We walked down to the pier and found an alternate pizza place that was actually really good. Cameron ordered for us like we were hicks from Louisville, Kentucky. I just laughed. I'm pretty sure our waitress wanted to kill us, but we thought we were funny.

After dinner we met one of Cameron's friends from home who recently graduated from NYU. He walked back over the bridge with us and showed us around NYU's campus and Greenwich Village is was really cool to see some local flavor. You know, where the kids our age hang out and what they do. Pretty much they just drink. We went to a really good gelato place, though. :) While in Greenwich, Erik, Ryan, Jeff, Jon, and Matt met up with us. So pretty much, it was me and Tanier (Ashley stayed back at The W to take advantage of the hotel that her father was financing for us) with 9 boys. Those are pretty good odds. And you know what? I loved it. :)

When we got back to midtown it was about midnight, but we took a detour through the Waldorf Astoria hotel (which was right across the street from The W). It was gorgeous. So fancy.

And then, we went to sleep, and that is the end of Day 2. It was a very long day. But is was very, very fun.

P.S. I learned something very important from this Day 2 in New York City: I like Navy and Marine people.

3 Bucks! 2 Bags! 1 Me!

What is it about you
You're big
You're loud
You're tough
NYC

Too busy
Too crazy
Too hot
Too cold
Too late
I'm sold
Again
On NYC

The rich and the rundown
The parade
Goes by

You crowd
You cramp
You're still
The champ
Amen For NYC
The shimmer of Times Square

The pulse
The beat
The drive!
The city's bright
As a penny arcade
It blinks, it tilts, it rings

Oh, NYC
The whole world keeps coming
By bus
By train

Just got here this morning
Three bucks
Two bags
One me
NYC

That's way up high
Tonight
The "Y"
Why not
It's NYC

That is pretty much exactly how I felt about New York City, but maybe not quite so enthusiastic. (It's from Annie by the way). The city was very dirty and gross, and the subway was DISGUSTING, but it was all very charming nonetheless. There were just SO many exciting things to see and do. I really did love it.

If I wanted to, I could make this post exceptionally long. Instead, I'm going to start with Day 1 and be quick about it, and then publish the other days in installments. I don't want to overwhelm my readers.

DAY ONE:

We caught the bus at Dupont Circle at 3:00pm on Friday. It took us pickin' 5 hours to get there. It was a very long ride, and I hate trying to fall asleep sitting up. But, we did get there eventually. The first memory I have of New York City is the subway. And it was gross. It smelled like pee, there were no security guards, the walls were grimy and peeling off, the train itself was really dirty and full of stinky people, etc. I was suddenly VERY grateful for the lovely metro in Washington, D.C.

We checked into our hotels first- the boys at the Hilton, and the girls at Park Central. They were about a block apart, both very close to Times Square. By the time we met up again it was after eleven, and not one of us had eaten any dinner. I WAS STARVING. While walking along, searching for a good, cheap place to eat (we found that those places are very hard to come by), we came upon, well, a movie set!! I think they were filming a chase seen. There were cars in trailers with cameras moving down the road and people with lights and everything. While we were standing there watching, another car came, and guess who was in it???!! Nicholas Cage!!! Famous person alert!! Movie being filmed alert!! So, we followed the car up the street a little big trying to take pictures. Yes, we were classic, very annoying tourists. BUT, Tyson got a great picture:
Click on it so you can see Mr. Cage up close. It was cool to see such a well-known star, but just think about how much cooler it would have been to see a good-looking well-known star!

We found dinner at a little Halal stand. It tasted great, but it was very HOT. Like miserable, spicy, we were all crying hot. The nearby sights of the night included the Today Show, Radio City Music Hall, St. Paul's Cathedral, fancy stores on 5th Avenue, and Times Square/Broadway. And let me tell you, Times Square is a happenin' place. When you hear people say that New York City is the city that never sleeps, they are telling the truth. It was one in the morning when we went back to our hotel, and there were still literally THOUSANDS of people walking around. It was ridiculous! Pictures from the evening:

The Gang :)I had to include this one just to show how many people there were. It was very crowded. And, look at the crazy neon signs. It was very bright. I kind of wished I had sunglasses. :)

Stay tuned for day 2!

Adventures at the Base.

Jefferson Memorial. My all-time fave.

I am way behind. This blog post in informally titled "Catch-Up Post." I have LOADS to talk about, namely, NYC!!! But I have to talk about this first, so we'll get to that later. :( I might have to write about it in installments.

So, I'm going to start with last weekend. This was actually before the "Going Private Fiasco" involving The Museum that Must Not Be Named. So, May 17-19. And here ya go:

On Friday, after class, we went to Johnny Rockets (a really cute 50's diner with a juke box and a checkerboard floor and everything) for lunch, and then to some museums. "We" means me, Genevieve, Cameron, Adam, and Tyson. The Air and Space Museum is AWESOME. I love it. I secretly want to be an astronaut.This is me and Tyson and a statue sculpted by a guy from St. George. So me and my St. George buddy took a picture with it.

That night, we went to the Pentagon. I had never been there before, so I was excited. We walked over to the September 11th Memorial. It was really, really cool, and I would recommend it to anyone. By this time Genevieve had ditched us, so it was just me, Tyson, Cameron, and Adam. All of the benched represent a person who was killed in the attack at the Pentagon, and the direction that each bench is facing tells whether the person was in the plane or in the building. There was water running under and in between all the benches, so they were all connected and it was all very symbolic. I love symbolic things.

On Saturday we went to the Eastern Market for breakfast again (my favorite thing ever), and then to the air show at Andrew's Air Force Base. It was a REALLY bright day, and I forgot my sunglasses, so I was kind of grumpy. But it was really cool to go in all the old planes and walk around in the giant hangars and hold ginormous guns. And then, the air show was really awesome. The jets did all sorts of cool tricks. We sat on the grass and watched. There were probably about nine of us, and we each had our own umbrella (we had thought that it would rain. It didn't). So, because it was so bright, we set up our umbrellas and lay under them. It was beautiful. The sky was blue, and the clouds were fluffy!This is Cameron's giant umbrella. When you hold it up, you can fit like five people under it. And when it's closed, it's like 3 feet tall. Hilar.

And now for some other orders of business:
1) American Idol is over. I don't know what I will do with my life. And, my finale celebration party was ruined. This is what happened: I had a briefing for my Seminar class on Wednesday night, and my Professor PROMISED me that it would be over in time for the show. I was very concerned. I COULD NOT miss the finale, of all episodes. So, when the briefing ended a little before 9, I ran and changed from my business clothes, then down to the TV in the game room. And GUESS WHAT?? All those stupid people who like to watch playoff basketball games were already hogging the TV. And so I said, "Um, huloo!!!! I am supposed to be watching the American Idol FINALE right now!!" They didn't care. So, I went to the other known TV in the building. It is in one of the institute classrooms. On the TV cabinet I found a sign that said, "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH. Love, Elder Blanchard" (He is the elderly missionary that runs the place with his wife.) I set out to find Elder Blanchard to get special permission to use the TV, but he was down in the lobby with everyone else still, and I would have just gone down there in my pajamas, but my professor was still there, along with the United States Representative who had just given our briefing. It would have been muy embarrassing to walk in and not be appropriately dressed. :( And to add to all that, I forgot my room key, so I couldn't even go back up and change. By the time I got Genevieve's attention from the hall way, got her key, got into my room, changed back in to business clothes, found Elder Blanchard, asked permission to use the TV, and got the TV to the right channel, there was a half an hour left in the show. You can imagine that I was just a little bit T.O.ed. Grrrr. I was mad at the basketball boys more than anything. It was that one stupid married guy. Anyway, I watched the last half-hour by myself, sat in shock by myself when Adam lost, and then went in to mourning by myself. The season was over, Kris won, I missed the first hour and a half of the episode, and I didn't get to have a finale party like usual. Sad day. But I got over it.
2) One of my favorite things about life is eating lunch on the National Mall and calling friends and family while I do it. When the weather is nice, there is hardly anything greater in the world. I love it.
3) I love my job. My supervisor made me project manager of the Scurlock collection, which is a really big deal. When the other interns come, I will be in charge of them and what they do everyday. That is super cool. I said in the other post that I was kind of the unoffical head intern, well, spoken from my supervisors mouth, I AM the head intern!!! YAY! AND, I am supposed to take pictures and make a scrapbook of the processing. And we all know that I love to scrapbook.
4) A downside. I have to write a MASSIVE research paper by the end of the summer. Sometimes I feel like crying when I think about it.
5) I love summer and warm weather and wearing shorts. It rained today. No me gusta.

The End. Stay tuned for New York, and make sure you check out the post below this one. It is Muy Importante.

Welcome to Audrey's Life as a Private Person.

So... I went private. Why, you ask??? Because the Museum That Must Not Be Named is spying on me.

This is what happened. On Monday, May 18, 2009, I got an email from one Suzanne McLaughlin, Internship Coordinator for You-Know-What-Museum. She wanted to see me in her office before I went home for the day. So, I packed up my stuff a little bit early to drop in and talk to her. I figured that she just wanted to discuss my first week of work, you know, see how I was doing.

I went up the elevator, said hi to Eddy the Elevator Man, then proceeded to her office.

This is how it went:
"Hi, Suzanne! How are you?" I sat down.
"I'm fine. Audrey, I have something that needs to be brought to your attention."
"Okay..." I was very hesitant in my okay. I sat down.
"Here at the [Museum that Must Not Be Named], we like to see what people are saying about us. We have advanced searching technology to find every time the [Museum that Must Not Be Named] is mentioned online. This morning I was notified that your blog was found."
"Oh."
"Now, there was nothing super inappropriate on there, but you probably should not have pictures of your ID badge online, or your email address." Super inappropriate?? That actually is a direct quote, and translated it means, you are in trouble. You have inappropriate things on your blog. Take them off within the next two minutes."
And then my line, "Oh my gosh, I had no idea. Wow, that does seem like a dumb idea to put my ID badge on there. I didn't even think about security. I'm so sorry. I understand completely. I'll take it down right away. Thanks for letting me know. I really appreciate it." Blah Blah Blah.

I walked out of that office feeling many things:
1) Very much in trouble. She did not get mad at me, she was just concerned and needed to let me know. BUT, I don't get even slightly in trouble, EVER, for ANYTHING. I remember the 3 specific times in Elementary School when I got in trouble. It just has not ever happen besides those three random incidences (that were extraordinarily unjust by the way. I still say that I did nothing wrong). People don't get mad at Audrey Sweetheart, because I never do anything wrong. The end.
2) Watched. Monitored. Censored. Spied On. Violated. Seen. Attacked. My first amendment rights had been infringed upon. What the dementor happened to freedom of Speech?
3) Very nervous and worried. I had mentioned some co-workers in that first, unedited post. I didn't say mean things, but they were things that could have been taken as offensive. I was mortified by the fact that someone from the Archives Center may or may have already seen my blog. I was SCARED TO DEATH that my internship would be ruined over a stupid blog issue.

I marched right home, and my blog was edited within a half an hour of talking to Suzanne McLaughlin, Internship Coordinator. And then, before I went to bed that night, I made the difficult decision to go private. I did not want to be censored, and I did not want to deal with this issue in the future. I figured that this was better, anyway, because it creeps me out when random people from China read my blog and leave comments. I want none of that. So, I am private and secure, and You-Know-What-Museum is now relateable to You-Know-Who, Voldemort. Let me explain why:

1) I am scared to use the name on my blog because I don't want to be found again.
2) The Museum That Must Not Be Named is very powerful.
3) The Taboo. With a single mention, You-Know-What-Museum finds the source, just like old Voldy traces those who use his name. (Exhibit A: HP 7 when Fenrir Greyback finds Harry, Ron, and Hermione and takes them to Malfoy Manor. Tragic Consequences.)
4) Voldemort causes fright and pain.

And so, my friends. I have a private blog, and I am very unhappy about it. But I feel secure, and that's worth something.

I work at the Smithsonian.

It sounds super glamorous, and well, it is. The Smithsonian is very cool, and my museum, is the coolest one. I work on the first floor in the Archives Center, and I really only step on to the museum floor when I go on my lunch break. I kind of wish that I was able to work with the visitors more, because tourists are really hilarious, but I really love the people that I work with.

On my first day I had orientation and was sent over to the security offices a couple of blocks away to get my ID badge. I was SO excited to get my badge. Do you realize what this badge means?? It means that I don't have to wait in security lines in any of the museums!!! I am already SECURE!!! Also, it gives me access to the staff elevator. I made friends with the elevator man. His name is Eddy. It also gives me one free ticket at the IMAX theater in the Air and Space Museum every week. SO, we are going to Night and the Museum (the new one) in that theater when it comes out. Who ever gets to see a movie in the exact place where it was filmed?? No one but me!!! We were going to go to the premiere and see Ben Stiller, but I got the dates confused. I was very mad about that for a whole 2 days. Also, I have a work email address... but I'm not allowed to publicly post that. :)

So anyway, my work is in the Archives of the museum and is concerned with a particular collection of photographs, negatives, and studio records. It's called the Scurlock Collection, and it's very cool. So pretty much, I look at all the negatives all day. I can only touch them with gloves, I have to clean them, label them, and wrap them up in special paper. I am going to be working on this project ALL SUMMER. It takes a very long time. And there is a lot to do. It's quite a daunting task, really. But I like it. I am very good at keeping myself entertained, even while performing the most tedious tasks for hours at a time. I either think funny thoughts, watch movies in my head, have pretend conversations with funny people, sings songs in my head, write letters or essays in my head, or, my favorite, compete with myself for how many negatives I can finish processing in an hour. It's great fun. My processing-speed record is only like 42 per hour, though. IT TAKES FOREVER! I'll get faster, and I'll keep you updated.

The thing that I am excited about, though, is that I am the first summer intern in the office. The other interns are coming in June, so I already know the ropes and everything, and my supervisor has already told me that I am expected to teach and help the other interns. That means that I am kind of the head intern. Isn't that great? I am so in charge!!! Also, she asked me to be the staff photographer. I have to take pictures every week to document the preservation of the Scurlock Collection. That's how big of a deal this thing is. There is even an exhibit on the main floor of the museum about Scurlock and his work. Isn't that cool?!?!!

In summary, my first days were good, but very long. I am very glad that I only have to work 4 days a week. Thank goodness for BYU and classes on Fridays. :)

Things that I am loving about Washington
1) When people think that I am local and they ask me for directions. But the coolest part is that I know where to tell them to go. I was asked directions to the White House the other day (which I only live about 5 blocks from), and I was able to give precise directions. I love being informed!!
2) Realizing that it really is okay to get around a city without a car. I'm still a little freaked out by the idea, but I'm really starting to enjoy walking. I no longer depend on a car, and everything that I need is very close.
3) Living in the Barlow Center. Really, it just feels like I have 40 new best friends and siblings. I love it. I mean, there are some weirdos, but they are fun too.

Gosh, I made my job sound really exciting and awesome, but really, it's Sunday night, and I DON'T want to go to work tomorrow. Work means getting up early and sitting in a chair all day. The best part is my lunch break. I sit out on a bench on the Mall and look at tourists. They are funny with their shorts, tennis shoes, and fanny packs. Also, massive groups of 8th graders are funny.

Philly and the Forge

On the bus when we first left- Adam, Cameron, Me, Genevieve

My darling Moe accused me of neglecting my blog, and I will have none of that. I do not neglect my blog! I simply had to wait for someone to comment on my last post before writing a new one! I know that hasn't been my policy in the past, but I decided that it would be best to let everyone enjoy my blog, one post at a time. Here is a small list of things to look forward to: reports on Valley Forge and Philadelphia, orientation at the Smithsonian, my first days of work, and the Air Show. I have a lot to say, so get buckled in and ready for the next couple days of amazing posts.

First order of business: BEST WEEKEND EVER.

On Friday morning, I had to get up SUPER early and be ready by 7:30 to get on the bus with everyone and drive 3.5 hours to Valley Forge! (For all of you who don't know, Valley Forge is the place where George Washington stationed and trained his troops during the winter of 1777. It was a very cold, terrible winter, and the men were very miserable. There was a lot of disease, and many men died. The remarkable thing about the whole affair is that despite the horrors of serving in the continental army, George Washington, with his powerful leadership skills, was able to keep morale up, and even when many of the soldiers' enlistment time ended, they stayed and re-enlisted. Cool, right? Okay, I'm done being a history teacher for the moment). So, anyway, it was a long drive, but we watched a movie about the Constitution.

THEN, we got to Valley Forge!!!! We drove up to this place called the Freedom Foundation. They had three dormitory buildings and then like a center hall complete with classrooms, rec room, and banquet hall. I felt like we were a youth conference or some sort of jazzed up summer camp. Apparently the Freedom Foundation usually runs their program for middle schoolers, so it was kind of odd that we were all in college. We had a guided tour of the park and a Thomas Jefferson impersonator and everything. It was hilarious. And the cook made smiley face cupcakes. :)Part of the gang. This is a bridge in Valley Forge
Our dormitory. It was SO PRETTY there. So green. And lots of trees. Valley Forge was like the epitome of a peaceful place. I wanted to camp-out there for several days.

So, we toured that afternoon, and it was great. So cool to be there. The little history person in me jumped out. That night, after ice cream, we PLAYED NIGHT GAMES. This is one of my favorite pastimes. I love night games. I convinced everyone to play ghost in the graveyard-- the GREATEST night game ever. It was especially perfect to play because we were in Valley Forge, and a lot people actually died there. There were memorials and craps all over the place, so it actually was kind of like a graveyard, and kind of spooky. SO MUCH FUN. We played that, and sardines for several hours, then told ghost stories. Even though we are all over 20, and should act like adults, we figured that since we were at a camp for middle schoolers and were being treated as such, we may as well act the part! I loved being a kid again. :)

The next morning, we drove to Philadelphia. As we rode into the city, I played the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song on my iPod and we all sang along. I'm pretty sure I sang that song 12 times throughout the day. It was quite often that we came upon a ghetto, run-down basketball court that could very well have been the one where Will was beat up and swung around on that one guy's head. We looked for the Fresh Prince and all the people from Boy Meets World all day. It was great. I might have seen Cory once, but I didn't get a picture.

Anyway, we went to the Liberty Bell first, and don't worry, I spackled that baby right up. No more crack (That's what Eric does on BMW). I loved seeing the Bell. I LOVE HISTORY! Next was the Consitution Center. We watched a movie about the Consitution, but I fell asleep. I have the habit of falling asleep EVERYWHERE now. I lead a difficult life. The Constitution Center was really cool. There was a place where you could pretend to be on the Supreme Court, and another room that had a statue for all the signers of the Constitution. I love statues. They are probably one of my favorite things to see. So powerful. I have lots of favorites. I'll post about that some time.

The Liberty Bell!!!

Napoleon?

Me and Sam Adams. I always wanted to meet that guy. He's my all-time fave.

Alexander Hamilton. My other favorite guy.

I don't even know who this is. We'll pretend that it's James Madison, because I love him too.
Me signing the Constitution.

Did you know I'm on the Supreme Court with Genevieve and Tyson?

And THEN, we went to INDEPENDENCE HALL. My favorite place of all. I was super excited about this. My history lover self was GOING CRAZY at this point. I was freaking out. Let me explain. Independence Hall is the place where everything happened. Among others, the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution were signed there, the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress, Consitutional Convention, and George Washington's inauguration ALL happened there. Coolest place ever. I stood in the actual room, and the only thing I could think about was that fact that all of the people who I idolize stood at the very same place that I was standing at some time or another. In Washington, DC, it's different. It's not as old as Philly, and the current buildings didn't house the early American government. I mean, DC was sacked in the War of 1812 and everything had to be rebuilt. But anyway, I loved it.

Independence Hall

The Room where it all took place... In case you didn't notice, this is my "really, really excited about life" face.

A summary of the other sites we saw in Philly: B. Franklin's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War 1, the First U.S. Bank (Yeah, it's the one that Alexander Hamilton was in charge of and Andrew Jackson crushed!), Reading Railroad, Christ Church, Elfreth Alley (the oldest continual residential street in the country. It was adorable), the first Philly Cheese Steak drive-up restaurant (It was muy delisioso), City Hall, the Masonic Temple, and I'm sure there were other places that I can't remember.Elfreth Alley. It was ADORABLE!

Ashley, Kate, Me. Yes, Ashley and I are wearing practically the same outfit. That was an accident.

Items of Note:
1) I rode in a taxi for the first time ever!!! I was excited about the first-time ever thing, but it really wasn't that cool or fun.
2) There were some creepers. See the picture below. The guy sitting on the bench followed and circled around us for like 3 blocks. It was kind of scary but mostly hilarious. He had headphones on and was singing, "bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you..." And at one point he pushed up his sleeves. I think it was so he could show us his tattoo. It was really weird, and quite disturbing when he just kept popping up places.3)Philadelphia (at least where we were) is a very dirty city. Like literally, very dirty. Dirty people, streets, everything. The historical sites were picked up and clean, but for the most part, it was just gross, which is really a shame. The founding fathers would not be happy about that. :)
4) The Philly Cheese Steaks were very, very yummy. They made me very happy. But, they were also very greasy. I mean, very, very, very greasy. Yes, that was a triple "very" on purpose. The moment the guy handed me my sandwich, I tilted the paper down, and grease poured onto my pants and shoes. So gross. But no worries. I didn't get any more grease on my clothes. It just went in my body.
5) We are very excited to see, "Up." We talk about it all the time.
6) Kate braided my hair and tied it around the seat on the bus. It was very comical.
I had an amazing weekend, and I have been SO busy doing fun stuff and working that I haven't had time to post, and I am now a week behind. ACK!!! I just want to remember everything because I love it so much, but it's SO HARD!!!!

But I love you all, and I hope you liked the pictures. I thought they were funny.

My consolation Paper Store.

It doesn't really have scrapbook supplies, but it's really close to my apartment, and it has paper and lots of envelopes. It'll have to do.

Also, I am no longer down in the dumps about anything. It is sunny, my cold is going away, and I just spent the weekend in PHILADELPHIA!!!

Down in the Dumps.

So, I've been slightly down in the dumps. I have a cold, the weather is horribly cold and rainy outside (not at all what I was expecting in D.C.- well, not the cold part, anyway), everyone is gone all day at internships except for me (I start next Tuesday), AND I just realized, I am suffering from severe scrapbooking withdrawl. I need to get SCRAPPY! Me and Audrey P. used to say that we just needed to "get our scrap on," and boy, am I feeling it now. And the sad part is that I have only been gone from Pebbles for like 2.5 weeks, and I still have ALL SUMMER ahead of me. It's such a shame. My one regret about this whole D.C. experience is that I didn't bring any scrapbook stuff with me, and I thought that I would be okay without all of it. I'm just SO DUMB sometimes!

So, today, my goal is to find a scrapbook store that I can reach by one of my two sources of transportation- my feet, and the metro. I searched online, and low and behold, I found a craft store called Ipso Crafto in the Southeast quadrant of the city that I could easily reach by metro via the Eastern Market stop (one of my fave stops). The craft store even has fabric, and I have been dying to make myself a new blanket. by hand. You see, I CANNOT stand having only one blanket on my bed. I desperately need a blanket to cuddle with.

For a few brief minutes, I was very, very excited about the idea of going to a craft store, buying scrapbook stuff, and finding fabric to hand-sew a quilt out of. AND THEN, I saw a notice that said, and I quote, "Remember, DECEMBER 14, 2008, THIS SUNDAY, is our last day ever! We’re not moving, not closing for renovation, not taking a holiday. We’re shutting our doors for good." Now, I don't have a picture of my sad face, but imagine one, and insert it right here.......

Now what am I going to do?? Pebbles friends, I hope you understand this problem. All you other friends out there, just try to sympathize, becuase this is a BIG problem.

And don't worry guys. I will keep searching. And also, I miss you, Pebbles in my Pocket.

Love, Audrey

The Ring

I'm posting this now, just so you all know. This is my dream engagement ring. The band will be thinner, though.
Just to avoid confusion in the comments: this is for when I get married, very, very, very far in the future.