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ejunkiet · 2 years

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voicemails: david shaw edition

i’m soft and I also love writing in this format. this is set halloween 2020.

redacted asmr: davey/angel. rated G for Goodness.

[CALLER: DAVEY. MESSAGE LEFT ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 29TH AT 10:50AM]

Angel. It's David.

READ ON AO3

[CALLER: DAVEY. MESSAGE LEFT ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 29TH AT 10:50AM]

Angel. It’s David. The website said your flight is still scheduled to arrive on time, so you should be in the airport around now. I didn’t expect you to pick up.

Call me when you land.

[BEEP]

[CALLER: DAVEY. MESSAGE LEFT ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 29TH AT 10:30PM]

Angel. It’s David. You’re still at the company dinner. Call me when you’re on your way back to the hotel. Chicago is a big city, and you shouldn’t walk, no matter how close the place is. Hire an Uber. You should be able to claim the expenses back at the end of your trip.

To answer your text from earlier… you don’t even need to ask, idiot. Of course I miss you.

Call me before you leave for the hotel.

[BEEP]

[CALLER: DAVEY. MESSAGE LEFT ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH AT 08:10AM]

Angel. It’s David. I’m assuming the fact that you’ve not picked up is because you’re at breakfast, not because you’ve slept through your alarm. We were up late last night, a lot later than I realised... and I’m feeling it this morning. You will be too.

Be extra careful today. Don’t overdose on caffeine. No matter what the scientists in that study said, drinking that much coffee will give you an aneurysm. Don’t be an idiot.

I’ll talk to you later.

[BEEP]

–

[CALLER: DAVEY. MESSAGE LEFT ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH AT 6:10PM]

Angel. It’s David. The pack meeting just finished. Ash and his mate asked me to send along their regards… whatever that means. You better not be planning something. Insubordination is not viewed lightly within my pack. Whatever you have planned…. Don’t.

I’m sure you will text me professing your innocence, but I know you. You’re a menace.

Call me when you’re heading back to the hotel.

[BEEP]

–

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH AT 11:51PM]

YOU LITTLE SHIT

[THREE MISSED CALLS FROM: DAVEY (BIG MAD)]

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH AT 11:55PM]

PICK UP.

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH AT 11:56PM]

ANGEL.

–

[CALLER: DAVEY (BIG MAD). MESSAGE LEFT ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 00:01AM]

Stop avoiding my calls. I know it was you, you little shit.

I don’t know how you managed it, or exactly how many other members of my pack you roped into this little plan of yours - but it’s not going to work.

There will be no trick or treaters visiting the house this year. I will figure out how to uninstall those lights you put up, and take down all the halloween decorations that miraculously appeared on our lawn in the middle of the night.

[low muttering] Did you get Milo’s mate involved in this? I couldn’t sense any auras-

It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen. Turn off those lights right now before you disturb the neighbours.

You don’t have to call me back. Just turn those lights off.

And go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.

[BEEP]

–

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 00:10AM]

THANK YOU.

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 00:11AM]

GET SOME SLEEP.

–

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 9:05AM]

GOOD LUCK TODAY ANGEL. I LOVE YOU. EVEN WHEN YOU’RE ACTING LIKE A LITTLE SHIT. CALL ME WHEN YOU’RE FREE.

–

[NEW MESSAGE, RECEIVED FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 4:30PM]

IMAGE ATTACHMENT FROM ASHER (BIG GOOF)

GOT A SNAP OF THE BIG GUY HANDING OUT CANDY. TOLD YOU HE’D HAVE FUN.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PRESENTATION. YOU’RE GONNA KILL IT, ROCKSTAR.

–

[CALLER: DAVEY (BIG SOFTIE). MESSAGE LEFT ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 31ST AT 9:30PM]

Angel. It’s David. The expo should be finishing right about now, time zones and all. I’m sure it went well. The practice presentations you gave me were excellent. You’re good at articulating yourself and your ideas. Never doubt your abilities.

Asher and his mate just left. You’re still a menace, and we will be talking about this when you get back… But despite my reservations about tonight, it went well.

It was good to see them both. It’s been too long since we’ve hung out like this.

That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. But it was a good idea.

Now that you’ve finished your big presentation, I expect you to come home to me. Stay safe, Don’t let your relief make you careless. It’s still a big city, bigger than Dahlia. Stick with the group, and call me when you’re on your way back to the hotel.

I’m proud of you, Angel. I’m looking forward to welcoming you home.

[BEEP]

#redacted asmr #ej writes redacted #look this is entirely self indulgent #i've dabbled in script writing before #ngl it's very fun #i have a pseud dedicated to it: coffee and labcoats #look in my defense I did start my cross stitch project #it's very fun #writing #redacted davey #redacted david #davey/angel

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siyeonjisoo · 5 years

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Oookay. Long post in-coming. TL:DR is I saw the GazettE yesterday and while it was a really fucking long day, IT WAS AMAZING AND ALL WORTH IT AND I LOVE THEM AND MY FRIENDS <3 <3 <3

SO my day started at 3:50am when I woke up. got on a train at 5:17 in the morning to get to NYC by 7. I ended up being the 34th person in line. The folks at the front of the line had come straight from Dallas and started lining up at 4am which is both insane but awesome. I was waiting for the discord friends to show up and was the second one to show up. the line was originally along the front entrance of the building and all mixed. The business on the corner, however, really hates the lines being in front of their entrance so we actually got split from VIP and GA really early. I think it was like 9am when that happened and all of us who are familiar with how shit Playstation staff’s organization usually is were shook.

My friends and I had a great time hanging out all day long so I got no complaints, even though I sat my ass on a sidewalk in Times Square for 10 hours yesterday. We had ourselves organized and knew we were gonna be fine but Playstation staff showed their true identities by trying to fuck with it all day long. We all got in several shouting matches of them just going on power trips and us trying to explain that they don’t have to worry about us.

I also painted my nails at some point in line haha

Because we were so damn close to the doors, we could hear soundcheck from outside. They played Zetsu, Shadow VI II I, Sumire, and Bathroom and I was fucking crying so much then. Those were the first tears of the day, I think, but nowhere near the last. We were all freaking out over it.

A little bit after that, I went on a trip to use the bathroom (which was the last time I think I went before I got home at 2am lol. Held anything from like 3pm till then). We were going to the Hardrock Cafe for that so we had to walk from the alley tunnel where the VIP lines were around the block past the main entrance of Playstation. A staff member came walking out just as a car was pulling up with 3 men in the backseat. They all had light blonde hair and masks on. Staff hurriedly ushered them inside. I saw the eyes of one of the guys and I swear to god that it may have been Kai. It was after the soundcheck so unless staff did the soundcheck for them, they went out for lunch after and I saw them when they came back. Which is possible. So yeah, that may have happened.

We were allowed to go inside starting around 6:30 so we started organizing ourselves into the number order we had around 5 just so we could be ready when staff started letting us in. I was standing from 5pm then until like 9:45, after the concert ended. At 6:10, they started organizing us by letting us snake through to get our VIP bands and (if you were Heresy) other bracelets. We got like 25 people through that way and it was taking REALLY long so they gave up on that and sent the first bunch through. Because a lot of people weren’t there (either were GA given a # by accident or just not there) I ended up being within the first 20 to get inside.

I hit up the merch table to get a Reita bear and because of that, lost the chance to get the barricade but I still was in the 3rd row on the side that I wanted to be on. It was around 7 by then and we were all just waiting for everyone to get in. I talked with all the people around me and we all had a great time. At 8:02, the concert started.

Here is the setlist:

99.999

Falling

NINTH ODD SMELL

GUSH

Vortex

Venomous Spider's Web

THE MORTAL

SONO KOE WA MOROKU

DOGMA

The Suicide Circus

INCUBUS

UGLY

ABHOR GOD

Filth in the Beauty

encore

INSIDE BEAST

Cockroach

Tomorrow Never Dies

I managed to keep my spot in front of Reita in the 3rd row for the entire show, only moving like an inch or two away from center, toward Aoi. By the time Vortex happened, I definitely was not standing on my own feet but was being held up by the crowd and swaying all around with them. I had one foot on the ground to keep me, well, grounded, and was just being pushed back and forth with the crowd from then on. I don’t think I have been that covered in sweat in my entire life. My shirt was fucking drenched, thank goodness it was a thick material so the white didn’t become transparent at least haha.

The folks directly behind me were holding onto my shoulders and back to balance while headbanging and that pushed me forward and backward so I was headbanging better so thanks fam!

I also got a punch in the eye at one point and this was the thought process of my reaction (over the span of like 2 seconds): "oh no, i'm a daycare teacher! I can't have a black eye!" then "fuck it, I'm at a concert I don't care" then "wait it didn't even hurt that much why was I so dramatic". There was no damage and I was just being dramatic so enjoy laughing at me.

I was right in front of Reita so I got lots of him. He stuck his tongue out while making eye contact with me at one point. I saw heaven in that moment. He also kept doing this weird little waving thing with his hand throughout and it was really fucking cute and made me laugh while doing it back at him.

Ruki would also hop up in the area right in front of us, right on the edge of the stage, and after the first time he came there, I was on that one foot until the main set ended. Seeing Ruki’s dorky dancing in person, that close, is so funny. I laughed so hard every single time he did his little chicken neck dance thing. Can’t take him seriously when he does that.

Aoi was teasing all of us and being a handsome man. He also attempted to turn Sono Koe wo Moroku into a sexy song with how he was dancing there.

Kai and Uruha were on their side of the stage the entire time and I couldn’t see either of them very well but every time I did, they were breathtakingly beautiful and seemed to be having so much fun.

Main set ended around 9:08. We chanted back and forth between encore and gazetto for like 11 or 12 minutes before they came back on.

Aoi and Reita stayed in their costumes while Kai and Uruha had changed into tour shirts. URUHA LOOKED SO FUCKING SEXY IN HIS BECAUSE he had cut the sleeves off and the collar so it was a low v-neck style. Made his choker necklace stand out even more and HOLY FUCK IS THAT MAN SEXY. Kai took his microphone and yelled at us in English about how fucking awesome we were and it was so nice hearing him curse for some reason. I can’t explain why it was so nice to hear but it was. After that, they started a slightly elongated instrumental intro to Inside Beast before Ruki came out on stage and he also had not changed out of his costume.

The only time that Uruha came past the center onto my side was during Inside Beast I think. The only words I could think at that moment were “oh my god, that man is so beautiful”.

I knew that Tomorrow Never Dies was going to be the last song they played so as soon as Ruki started saying “last”, I started feeling like I was going to cry. But the problem with that was the fact that I had sweated out so much liquid that I had no tears. So I sobbed but without tears throughout that entire song. After that song, Aoi, Uruha, and Reita threw their pics into the crowd. One of Aoi’s landed like a foot or two to my left but either someone caught it and didn’t tell anyone or it got lost cause no one claimed to have caught it after.

Kai had his phone and took a picture from behind his drumset. I think it was a selfie with us in the background. Then he came down to the front, smiley as ever, and took some more pics of just us. I found myself. I’m in the purple circle here

We then all went up to the chairs in the back to wait for it to be M&G time. I would have been fine if my day had ended there, honestly, because it had already been amazing. But no, there was still more. It was like 9:30/9:40 when they started clearing the rows to go through. I was surprisingly calm about it because I was concentrating on my promise to a friend. She was behind me in line and I had promised to get Aoi to wish her a happy birthday since it is today, the day after the concert. So I focused on that and making sure I could say that to him instead of freaking out over anything else.

so the order was Aoi, Reita, Ruki, Kai, Uruha. one by one, here is what happened.

Aoi: he takes my hands and thanks me in English. I thank him in Japanese while marveling in how SOFT his hands are. Then I tell him, again in Japanese, about it being my friends bday tomorrow and asking him to say something. He looks at her and grins and nods to me. Reita is staring at me now and I almost froze having both of them looking straight at me at the same time.

Reita: I hand to him the card I wrote for all of them and he takes it while saying, in English, “For me?” and he sounded so cute. I corrected him and said it was for all of them and he nodded and thanked me, in Japanese, and I thanked him too. I kinda didn’t even notice that he wasn’t looking at me with two eyes because I was in so much shock.

Ruki: He gave me the softest smile as he took my hand in both of his. I thanked him and almost couldn’t let go of his hands. Not because of me, but because of him not wanting to let go. I think he saw my tattoo when we shook hands which makes me happy.

Kai: THIS MAN IS SO SWEET. I thanked him while we shook hands and this is kinda when I started losing my mind. I let go of his hands kinda fast but I told him, in Japanese, that he has an amazing smile and he tilted his head and smiled at me. Like just at me and my legs almost gave out under me.

Uruha: His hands. They are so big. And so soft. AND HE IS SO FUCKING HOT. I had completely lost my mind by then so he said thank you in English and I just couldn’t say anything else but thank you in English. My brain was goop.

I walked away from Uruha on shaky legs, got my VIP little towel, and then collapsed against a wall and started sobbing. 11 and a half years waiting for an opportunity to thank them, face-to-face, finally brought to an end last night and it all just crashed down on me in that moment.

My friend who was behind me came out crying and came straight to give me a hug and we just hugged and cried for almost a minute, just standing there. Aoi had wished her a happy birthday, as expected, but Reita did too. That’s why he had been staring at me while I spoke to Aoi lol.

I just wandered around with my friends inside the venue, trying to keep from sobbing completely because ain’t nobody need that kind of attention from a venue’s staff.

My friends all parted ways to go back to their respective Airbnbs or hotels while I started my lonely walk back to Penn station. But I was still kinda crying so I scanned the crowd of people also walking in that direction until I found people I recognized to be from this concert. Caught up with them and asked if I could walk with them for a little bit so I wouldn’t be a girl walking through the city, alone, crying, at night. We ended up stopping to get food together and chatting for like an hour before I had to head off to catch my train.

I cried literally off and on the entire way home. On the train, walking from train to car, driving home, every step of the way. I ended up being awake for a solid 22, almost 23, hours yesterday. My throat is still sore today. My neck hurts so much. My heart is so full of emotions that I am still so close to crying at any moment. All of the stress about the semester up until now? Worth it. All of my worries about finals? Gone. I met and spoke with (in Japanese) the human beings who inspired me to start learning Japanese in the first place. I will be graduating from college in 13 days as both a member of Sigma Tau Delta and cum laude. Not to be overdramatic or cringey or anything but I know for a fact that I would not be at this point in my life if I hadn’t found this band when I was 11.5 years old. 11.5 years later, this is what my life is like. I have the money to afford to MEET them. And the opportunity for it. Life can change so much. Like, if anyone ever needs a reminder that “it get’s better” this is it!

The first goal was just to see them in concert. That was ticked off the list in 2016 at their first world tour. The second was to meet them and be able to say “thank you” to them in person. That was ticked off the list last night. The new goal? get them all to autograph my arm, under where I have their logo, so I can get that tattooed as well. My entire left arm is going to be dedicated to bands that have shaped who I am so there will also be Miyavi tattoos and maybe even some Berryz Koubou tattoos there one day but for now, the goal is their autographs. So look out for that.

Also, check out all of my beautiful and lovely friends. I love them all so much and miss you all already!! (I’m the blondie grinning like a dork because I was so happy!)

#the gazette #ruki #reita #aoi #uruha #kai #nyc #phase 04 #world tour #playstation theater #my face #friends #memories #sixth guns #heresy #live report #reaction #goals

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awildeel · 4 years

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A day in the life of a GVI Volunteer

Back in the early noughties the BBC aired a documentary series called The Big Cat Diaries, and it changed my life forever.

Whilst following the story of cheetah Kike and her nine month old cubs, I fell in love with the species and had been dreaming to see them in the wild since. So, after a year of working and saving I booked on to GVI.

Why GVI? They had a specific Cheetah programme with the opportunity to walk with these beautiful cats. So on the 29th of June 2019, I boarded a plane and was just an 11 hour flight away from my childhood dream.

After around 20 hours of travel I landed in Hoedspruit and along with a couple of other volunteers on the same flight, we were greeted by the base staff, loaded onto the mini bus and (after a few hours of waiting for other volunteers) we were off to base! On our way we saw our first glimpse of the African savannah, with an elephant visible in a reserve we passed on the way!

If you’re wondering what my typical day was like as a GVI Volunteer, please, read on!

A typical day:

4:50am Alarms would start going off in the dorm and people would start to roll out of bed. I always liked to set mine for 5 minutes earlier so I could beat the queues to the bathroom. Cereal would be consumed, you’d get dressed in the dark so as not to disturb people not out on drive and probably end up with your shirt the wrong way round...then get out to do your morning duty**.

5:30am you’re all sat in the truck waiting for that one person whose always late, although we never did leave anyone behind there were a few near misses.

And so the drive begins, its dark, freezing cold and most of us wore 2 blankets or more, coats, jumpers, scarfs, hats and gloves! My feet were ice blocks before we were even off the base. But the hope and awe of what you might see whilst out keeps you awake and excited. The spotlight is gliding across the sides of the road and everyone’s praying they highlight some eyes.

I can’t say we ever saw much with the spotlight. The best spots would have been a porcupine family and a civet, but it was mostly bush babies and sleepy impala. Most of the drive in the dark is just covering ground to get to the north of the reserve, where the cheetah boys usually hang out!

7am. As the sun starts to rise, we stop for coffee (my favourite spot was over the hippo lake) and discard some layers. As soon as the sun hits you suddenly feel silly for wearing hat, gloves and scarf! When the sun comes up, that’s when the real work begins.

Everyone can see! We’re more awake! There were some brilliant sightings at dawn including the dominant male lion and his sub adult cubs and a tower of giraffes (Tower = name of group of giraffes).

The main focus was to track the 3 male cheetahs. Using a telemetry tracker, sightings from the previous day and pawprints in the ground, we all put our heads together to find these allusive cats. If we found the cheetahs, we’d take down their location, what they were doing e.g. sat down, and fullness rating. Then off to track the lions! Or head back to base if they’ve already been found by other vehicles. (Stopping to admire anything interesting along the way)

What might you see?

Impala, nyala, giraffes, elephants, white rhino, kudu. If you’re really lucky, Leopards, if you’re blessed by god, hyena or pangolin!.

11:30am. Suns getting hot and usually by this time you’re either back or heading back to base. There might be a talk being run by one of the members of staff, something on base that needs painting or a dog that needs brushing. Or maybe you just need a nap?

12:30pm. LUNCH TIME. The base mostly served vegetarian food and it was cooked by 2 volunteers. Each day 2 different volunteers were assigned base duty, they would clean and cook. My favourite lunch was corn fritters.

1pm. With an hour and a half to kill before the next drive and the sun high in the sky, there’s not too much to do. You might help wash the cruisers, sunbathe or read a good book.

2:30pm. Afternoon Drive! This can either be another escapade to find the cheetahs, or work on the reserve. Reserve work was all good fun and extremely fulfilling. Sometimes we would be tasked in filling in off roads – roads created in the bush to try and get closer to animals – This involves chopping down the nearby dead trees/branches and lying them across the off road to prevent permanent use. Or maybe your task would be to chop back the verges.

6pm. Dinner time!

7pm. Chill!

We didnt always locate the cheetah boys. We were on the reserve for 5 days before my first sighting. But each day bought something new and every time we were lucky enough to find them I felt like the luckiest person in the world. To experience these guys in the wild was a privilege, I hope dearly we can continue to help Cheetahs, and all species survive.

What else does a GVI volunteer get up to on Karongwe?

Every week you have the opportunity to go into Hoedspruit town and take part in saturday night party night.

Every Sunday is your free day - rent a car and go to Kruger National Park! Explore the mountains or take a trip to Hoedspruit.

Every other week a volunteer can go to the local school, give presentations on local wildlife and playing sports with the children (they will beat you at football).

Attend lectures given by the staff to learn more about the environment youre living in, the animals around you and the conservation done to help them thrive.

**Morning duty? Before every drive check’s have to be done on the car to ensure its fit for travel through the bush. The tyre pressure needs checking, oil levels and all the other good stuff. If your morning duty isn’t vehicle based, you may have a role to do during the drive. This can include spotlight, as you leave several hours before the sun comes up and need a spotlight to see animals in the dark, vehicle tidy (the person with the binbag), or maybe you’re on data or navigation!

Data was probably the best role as you got to sit up front with the driver and take notes of sightings communicated over the radio by other vehicles, as well as your own sightings! However, my favourite role was navigation, trying to follow the roads of the reserve was difficult (especially when it got dark!) and I enjoyed the challenge.

#gvi #volunteering #wildlife #wildlifephotography #volunteer #gvivolunteer #cheetahs #cats #kitties #nature #southafrica #karongwe #wildlifeblog #adayinthelife #wildel

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dalamusrex · 7 years

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Munday ABCs

Tagged by: @dunmeriis

Tagging: All of you who wanna.

A—Age: 24 B—Birth place: Sacramento, California C—Current Time: It was 7:50PM when I started this. It’s 8:44PM now hahahha D—Drink You Last Had: Sprite E—Easiest Person To Talk To: My mom or dad F—Favourite Song: I can’t choose between Best Day of My Life by American Authors (it’s really great to sing along to at beginning of the day), Pompeii by Bastille, Wake Me Up by Avicii, and I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons... I also really love Imagine Dragons! G—Grossest Memory: I cleaned up vomit at work a few weeks ago, so that was fun. I don’t think I get grossed out all that easily. That, or I just have a very boring life. Probably the latter. H—Horror Yes or Horror No: Yesssssss I—In Love: Nope. J—Jealous of People: Probably. Actually, definitely. But I try not to let it change the way I treat people. L—Love at First Sight or Should I Walk By Again: I don’t believe in love at first sight. There are way too many factors in a relationship and love for appearances to be enough for anything aside from initial attraction or intrigue. M—Middle Name: Dawn N—Number of Siblings: One younger brother. O—One Wish: I wish life wasn’t stressful haha P—Person You Called Last: My coworker’s/friend’s wife. She’s pregnant with only 2 weeks left and their phones--their only method of communication--were about to be shut off if they didn’t pay at least $40, which they didn’t have, so I gave it to them. Q—Question You Are Always Asked: “Do you know where the (-insert oddly specific item name-) is?” R—Reason to Smile: Dogs! Pets. And animals in general. S—Song You Sang Last: I hummed along to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri at the end of Breaking Dawn when it was on tv last night. T—Time You Woke Up: 6:50AM U—Underwear Colour: Green. V—Vacation Destination: All I can think of is reefs, for some reason. I just wanna go somewhere quiet and tranquil and filled with peaceful animals. I also wanna pet a Whale Shark. W—Worst Habit: Picking at my facial acne and lips. Also procrastination. X—X-Rays: I got an MRI done when I got Encephalitis at like.. 11 years old. I’ve also had my ankle x-rayed after landing on it wrong on a trampoline. Y—Your Favourite Food: My mom’s Texas Sheet Cake! It’s practically tradition to have it on family birthdays Z—Zodiac Sign: I’m the most Cancerian Cancer sign ever

#munday #ooc #about missy

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remembermemorablememories · 5 years

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Saturday, February 2, 2019

post #390

main points:

- woke up early with mom to drive to flushing

- eat a breakfast at nan xiang

- pick up jwoos and go to LGA

- flight to chicago! watched bohemian rhapsody on the plane

- try to check into airbnb but keys weren’t there

- eat snacks at a chinese restaurant

- check into airbnb after contacting host

- walk around the area and visit chicago mural and get turbo tacos for dinner

- walk along 606 back to airbnb

- chill in airbnb watching youtube videos (vine compilations LOL)

today i:

- woke up at 7:00am to my alarm. then brushed my teeth and packed it. then went downstairs to get ready and load the car. dad also woke up to help move the car out of the way/get ready to take sheena to rehearsal once she woke up later

- mom and i left the house around 7:50am, then stopped by wawa to get some coffee. i haven’t had coffee in a really really long time. but i was like oh well i’ll give it a try

- i drove us for about two hours into flushing. on the car ride mom told me more about our family history. how she met dad, why she thought dad would be the best, her friendship with my uncle/aunt, how other people pursued my aunt but ended up with my uncle, how she helped my other aunt in high school. it was really fun to learn about our family history cause they never really talk about these things. the two hour drive felt pretty short because of what my mom was talking about

- got to flsuhing and we found some street parking relatively quickly. we got some nan xiang soup dumplings, tofu skin, fried pancake roll thing, and scallion pancake + beef. it was soooo good, i really like that place. we were really efficient, getting in around 10am, and out by like 10:40am

mom drove us about 15 minutes to jwoos place to pick him up. we filmed a quick thing with us putting stuff in the trunk for like 3 minutes then left to go to LGA

- got to LGA hella early, like around 11:15am? the security line had literally 1 person in front of us. then we got checked in and got to our gate, with plenty of time left... so we just kind of hung around, listening to music on our phones and watching glitch 6 smash ultimate videos

- we boarded the plane around 1pm, and promptly departed at 1:30pm. on the plane they had bohemain rhapsody so i was like oooooh. i watched it for the whole ride (which was basically the entire duration) perfectly aligned for like two hours. the movie was really really great. i thought the way they told freddie’s story was so inspiring and heart touching. i teared up multiple times and also got goosebumps. i really got the sense that he was someone who was struggling with his own sexuality but still wanted so desperately to be in love with mary. and his love for music was unbounded. great movie and great performance. i looked up online afterwards to see how accurate the movie was and some key things were inaccurate apparently. rip. LOL. i guess ya gotta manufacture some drama anyway

- we landed around 3pm, then got my bag from baggage claim. cause overhead compartments were full so they offered free checked baggage (they forced me to do it basically)

- we ubered and got to our airbnb around 3:45pm. it would’ve been a short ride but there was heavy traffic, making the ride like 40 minutes. we got to the airbnb and when we tried to get the key from the lock box, the box was empty.... we tried to call the host and message him but he didn’t respond. so we were like... might as well get some food cause we’re so hungry. we found a chinese place just down the street and went there to get some small dishes as a snack cause we were really hungry

- once we got there, the host called us and told us to call him once we got back to the airbnb cause he has the key and they couldn’t get it in the box cause it was so cold. thankfully it’s like 40 degrees today in chicago. if it were below 0 degrees like last week, we would’ve been so pissed LOL

- we got back to the airbnb, met up with the host and he gave us our keys. then we dropped off all our stuff, and then walked out to look around logan square

we left around maybe 5pm ish, then walked towards a chicago mural on a wall which looked kind of iconic. we thought it’d be cool. it was like a 15 minute walk from the airbnb. i took some video and jwoos took some pictures. on the way we caught up and talked about how things were going, he talked about how things went with tina, sony vs nikon vs canon, track from middle school and high school, and some other stuff. it was a good time

then we walked over to turbo taco which was a couple blocks down and got tacos for dinner. i got three tacos, two pork and 1 steak and it was pretty good. jwoos got a burrito

then we walked back towards the airbnb, stopping by the 606 trail, since cici said it was like the NYC high line. it was pretty, but there was a bunch of snow on the trail. just a general note a lot of chicago is covered in dark slush cause of the snow from the past week :/ kind of like gigantic puddles at every sidewalk corner

- we took the 606 trail all the way back and then got back around 8pm. we just chilled at our airbnb for the night. we watched some genesis 6 gameplay. like armada, ally, mkleo, leffen. then watched some skits like scott sterling. then we watched a bunch of vine compilations, some roy purdy, and that was about it

i took a shower, typed up this blog post. it’s now 12:24am cst which is 1:24am est. i am ready to sleep. i am tired boi. we just watched leffen vs mkleo, what a hype set

good night

the end

#post #february #2019 #travel #fun #normal

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happysandwichparty-blog · 7 years

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Japan - Day 0 & 1 (Travel & Arrival)

Good Morning, it’s 3:20am in Japan and I can’t sleep. So here is how our first day went!

We spent a lot of time traveling, that was the point, getting there. However overall it was a very smooth and enjoyable experience.

We started off the day with a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles. We flew through security with TSA Pre-Check, which I highly recommend, and boarded our plane quickly an hour later.

Then my one panic moment of the day happened - our plane had engine trouble and couldn’t leave the airport. We had a 4 hour layover at LAX, but engine trouble on our flight there, who knew how long that could take and how long we’d sit at the gate. After panicking in my seat for a bit, we finally got the go head after about a 30 minute delay, we were took off at 8:00am, 50 minutes after our scheduled time. Whew.

We arrived at LAX, quickly retrieved out bags and made the long walk (it’s really not that long, but suitcases are heavy!) from Terminal 1 to the International Terminal. ANA’s check in was right inside the door and the process took about 5 minutes. This was a day of everything going insanely quick, an airport miracle. To continue the trend, we spent only another 5 minutes in the security line, again with priority. Not taking off shoes and removing laptops is amazing.

The inside of the LAX international terminal is beautiful! I didn’t take any pictures, but i’d like to on the way back, it had a very modern feel to it!

We made our way to the Star Alliance lounge, which is on the 6th floor! At this point I was just excited to snack in the lounge, I hadn’t eaten yet!

The lounge was nice and decently quiet, this is the view from one of the more secluded corners.

Because of our arrival time at the lounge we did get to experience the breakfast and lunch snacks. Unfortunately I didn’t try as many of the breakfast items as I was trying to avoid certain foods prior to sitting on an 11 hour flight. But there was a nice selection to choose from.

Some of the lunch food below:

They had a wide variety of salads, all which looked amazing, as well as a noodle bar. Everything was tasty and just enough of a snack before boarding. We made sure the not eat too much in the lounge as ANA has their first meal service about 40 minutes into the flight.

At 11:50am we made our way down to the gate, which was just outside the elevators to the Star Alliance lounge (YAY!).

Again, we boarded very quickly, almost as soon as we walked up to the gate they started First and Business Class boarding.

I was very excited to be in Business Class for this flight, 11+ hours in economy is no fun. This was definitely an experience and made the long haul more enjoyable.

ANA’s Business Class s staggered, and although we were in the two middle seats, I had to lean forward to look at hubby. Much to his annoyance I continually popped my head around the partition many times throughout the flight, causing him to pause his movie and ask me “What?”.

As mentioned, the first meal service took place rather quickly, they started prepping as soon at we hit 10,000 feet.

The meal in Business is a course meal, and being a 5 star airline ANA is known for the service and quality of the food - it was outstanding. Having a good meal on an airplane completely changes the vibe.

The rest was your typical long haul flight - attempting to sleep, the seats lie flat so that’s a plus, and watching a bunch of movies (3 to be exact). Also don’t forget peeking over at the husband.

Oh he’s playing Zelda.

Despite the feast that wast the first meal, I was very much looking forward to the second, which was served about 3 hours before the flight landed.

For the first meal I chose the western option, for the second the Japanese. Many of us tend to follow the rule from Airplane! - don’t eat the fish. However, do eat the fish on ANA. It was all VERY good!

After fidgeting for the next 2 hours after the meal we finally made our final decent into Narita. The only major bumps on the flight were during the last 20 minutes, no big deal!

We are finally here!

And then we waited at customs for an hour.

But we got our bags quickly after finishing customs. Picked up our WiFi hotspot from PuPuRu at the QL Liner store, bought our Suica passes (highly recommend) from the JR ticket booth, and were on our way on the Keisei Sky Access line toward Asakusa!

I always hear mixed remarks about whether the subway system in Tokyo is difficult or not. It doesn’t seem much different than others, just busy, and not very fun while hauling luggage. But we made it to our destination, after a few train changes, Asakusa station, right by the Skytree!

A short walk later we arrived at our Air BnB, which is right by Sensoji Temple. Literally.

The view from the balcony is amazing!

The original plan was to go to Lawson and get some snacks. But, I laid down on the bed for 5 minutes and that was that, I decided sleep was better! And now here we are 3:20 am and I can’t sleep, go figure.

#japan #travel #travelblog #happysandwichpartyjapan #tokyo #ana #businessclass #asakusa

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tripstations · 5 years

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Review: Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 First Class

After flying from Miami to Toronto on American Airlines, we spent one night in Toronto. We just stayed at the Sheraton Gateway Toronto Airport, which I’ve reviewed before, so won’t be writing about again this time.

We met my dad in Toronto, and then the following morning flew from Toronto to New York. Why? Because I had booked us Air France first class fares (like I said, this trip is really special), and originating in Toronto meant that the tickets were several thousand dollars cheaper than originating in New York. I’ll talk more about the details of what we booked in the installment about our Air France flight.

Since this was all a surprise trip for my dad, suffice to say that he was mighty confused when he found out we were flying to New York. He figured we would be taking a long haul segment from Toronto, rather than returning to the US. I’ll have more on my dad’s take on all of this in a future installment.

Anyway, our flight from Toronto to New York was departing just before 10AM, so we ended up leaving the hotel at around 7:45AM. It was just a short walk to check-in.

Toronto Pearson Airport Terminal 3

Since this whole thing was a surprise trip for my dad, I had him stand back a bit during check-in, and explained to the agent that this was a surprise trip for him. So she gave me all his boarding passes. Then I handed him his boarding pass to New York, and not any connecting boarding passes beyond that.

Toronto has a US Pre-Clearance facility. Ford and I both have Global Entry, and were through immigration within about 15 minutes (note that when departing Canada you need to have your Global Entry card as well, or else they won’t let you use that line). My dad doesn’t have Global Entry, and it took him over an hour to get through security and immigration.

Ford and I waited in the American Admirals Club for our flight, which is my preferred lounge in this part of the terminal, given that it’s usually quiet. While we weren’t flying American, we accessed this on account of my Admirals Club membership, which comes with the Citi Executive AAdvantage Card. We used the time in the lounge to get some work done before the flight, so that we could spend more time with my dad later in the day when things got really fun.

Our boarding passes indicated boarding would start at 9:03AM, a full 55 minutes before departure. That seemed crazy for a regional jet, so I suspect that’s just the standard boarding time they post for any international flight.

We headed to gate A6E around that time. Boarding started at 9:20AM, starting with first class.

Delta departure gate Toronto

Delta 5322 Toronto (YYZ) – New York (JFK) Wednesday, August 28 Depart: 9:58AM Arrive: 11:43AM Duration: 1hr45min Aircraft: CRJ-900 Seat: 3D (First Class)

Our CRJ-900 was parked out on the apron, so it was a short walk to get there.

Delta CRJ-900

While I far prefer the Embraer 170/175 to the CRJ-700/900, these planes are still pretty nice for short hops. They have a great ratio of first class seats to economy. There were a total of 12 first class seats, spread across four rows in a 1-2 configuration.

Delta CRJ-900 first class cabin

If you’re traveling with someone then grabbing a pair of seats on the right side is ideal.

Delta first class seats CRJ-900

Delta CRJ-900 first class seats

Meanwhile if you’re traveling alone, it sure is nice to be able to get a solo seat.

Delta first class seats CRJ-900

Delta CRJ-900 first class seats

Delta has Comfort+ on these planes, so even in economy it’s not too uncomfortable.

Delta CRJ-900 cabin

There’s no bulkhead between first class and economy, so the aisle seat on the left side in economy has almost unlimited legroom (though also expect to get hit by everyone’s luggage as they walk back to their seats).

Delta first class seats

I assigned us the three seats in row three — we put Ford in the single seat on the left, while my dad and I sat to the right.

Delta first class seats

By the way, maybe my memory is just off, but I was expecting I would have to gate check my bag. Instead all of our carry-ons actually fit into the overhead bins on the right side. Are CRJ-900s just getting bigger overhead bins, or is my memory off?

Delta first class cabin

Anyway, legroom in seat 3D was quite good, and much like on Delta’s mainline planes, there were four separate pouches in the seatback.

Delta first class legroom

The tray table extended from the right armrest, and could be folded over in half.

Delta first class tray table

I love that Delta’s CRJ-900s have power ports. While American also has comfortable first class on most of their larger regional jets, few of them have power ports, so that’s appreciated.

Delta first class power outlets

Delta’s regional jet service is largely similar to their mainline service. There was bottled water at every seat, along with a pillow and blanket.

Delta first class bottled water

Delta first class pillow & blanket

Usually there’s not much you can say about service on a short regional jet flight, but the first class flight attendant, Holly, was incredible. She memorized everyone’s name in the cabin, and addressed people by name with every interaction.

Like, it’s nice enough when they try to address you by name while looking at a sheet, but memorizing names is on a whole different level.

She offered us pre-departure drinks of choice — I had a coffee.

Delta first class pre-departure drink

At 9:50AM the door closed, at which point Holly made her welcome onboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of one hour. I know most of the announcements they read are scripted, but I really do like Delta’s announcements more than those of just about any other US airline.

“We look forward to having the opportunity to provide you exceptional service on our flight to New York.” And provide us exceptional service on our one hour flight she did…

A minute later the crew performed the safety demonstration. The flight was more or less full — there were a handful of empty seats in economy.

We started our pushback at around 9:55AM, and five minutes later started our taxi. While our taxi as such was quick, there was quite a queue for takeoff. We ended up taking off at around 10:20AM on runway 24R.

Taking off from Toronto

It was much nicer outside than the prior day, and there were great views on the climb out.

View after takeoff from Toronto

As we passed through 10,000 feet I powered up my computer and connected to the Gogo wifi. The CRJ-900 has Gogo’s slower wifi, but for a short regional jet flight it’s still sufficient. There are also some streaming entertainment options.

Delta wifi pricing

About 10 minutes after takeoff Holly came through the cabin to serve everyone drinks. I just had a glass of water, while my dad had a black coffee. Again, she addressed everyone by name.

Delta first class drinks

She then came around with a snack basket, which had a variety of options available.

Delta first class snacks

About halfway through the flight I visited the lavatory. There was a lavatory at the front of the cabin, though it was really tight.

Delta first class lavatory CRJ-900

At 11AM the captain announced that we’d be landing in about 25 minutes. Shortly thereafter the seatbelt sign was turned on. The weather wasn’t exactly great in New York, and sure enough we touched down at 11:25AM.

View approaching JFK

From there we had a five minute taxi to our arrival gate at Terminal 4, which was B47.

As we deplaned, Holly thanked each passenger, by name, for flying with Delta.

Delta CRJ-900 first class bottom line

In general first class on regional jets is fairly comfortable nowadays, as I quite like the 1-2 configuration. I find there’s usually not too much variation in terms of the hard product, though Delta is ahead of the curve with installing power ports on these planes. I also like that they have bottled water, along with pillows and blankets, at every seat.

What really stood out about this flight was our exceptional flight attendant, who provided the best service I’ve ever had on a regional jet.

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bike42 · 5 years

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San Juan Islands / Victoria BC - Days 10-12 - Fri-Sun August 23-25, 2019 Kayak Adventure

We arrived at our Sea Quest meeting place at 7:50am and saw a group already gathered there. A group of 4 ladies from Atlanta greeted us, and from there we learned that we’d actually be two groups out on the same adventure. Soon we were joined by a single guy (Rob) and two other couples, and 4 college friends from Texas (including Joe that actually lives in Colorado). At a little after 8am, two vans from Sea Quest arrived, one pulling a trailer with the kayaks.

The respective drivers jumped out and read off the names of their groups: the ladies, one couple and Rob went with Ben, and the rest of us were paired with Jonathan.

Like any new group, we were sizing each other up. When I’m assessing, I generally look for compatibility in skill level (personality assessment is formed during the trip). The guys seemed extremely experienced, but I had serious reservations with the other couple (lack of water shoes and waterproof clothing for starters).

We climbed into our vans with our guides and began our drive to the other side of the island, stopping by the guide house along the way to pick up extra sleeping bags and pads for the couple (along with two other people to shuttle the vans back).

We drove to a county park launch site just north of Lime Kiln State Park. I recognized landmarks from our cycling trip and it felt neat to be so familiar with San Juan island!

Lots of help unloading the vans and getting everything carried to the beach. After waiting so long for this adventure, I think we all were very excited to get going. Most were familiar with the drill, stash your gear in the boat dry wells and start splitting up the common gear and stash that too. The couple however were clearly new to this, and when it came time for Jonathan to have us put on PFDs and spray skirts, then practice getting snapped into our cockpits, she had a panic attack. They had a huddle with Jonathan and decided to back out of the trip. I felt bad for them, but secretly glad as it wouldn’t have been the same trip with completely inexperienced trip mates. They should have somehow been screened out, as this is serious stuff - not uncommon for kayakers to have to be rescued by the Coast Guard out here.

I hadn’t mentioned that as we were gathered in Friday Harbour it started to drizzle. Rain wasn’t really forecast, but we quickly got into our “it is what it is” mode. It wasn’t too cool and we had the gear, so misery factor was very low. The subdued light made it better for searching for Marine life anyway!

We set out and our group was well matched for paddling. Not that it mattered, but as a group we were stronger than Bens group. We headed north along Haro straight with awesome views of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula beyond that. I had a big grin on my face; it was so exhilarating to finally be doing this (one of the first things I had on my bucket list when I first started actually keeping a written list).

Soon we started seeing salmon (pinks) jumping out of the water all around us. It was fun - better than fireworks! Impossible to not exclaim out loud each time!! I kept hoping we’d see a pod of Orcas come to eat them, but that didn’t happen for us (at least on day one).

We also started seeing Harbor Seals hauled out on rocks along the shore. Sometimes solo, but more often in groups. They had young with them, and Jonathan instilled in us how important it is not to disturb them. Should be common sense, but it is so tempting to get closer and get good photos.

We also saw several sets of Harbor Porpoises, they’d do 4 or 5 shallow dives, then disappear in a deep feeding dive.

After a bit, we stopped along a rocky protected beach to stretch our legs and have a snack. Then back in the boats, still traveling north along the shore. Amazing how big the island is when you’re trying to get around it by kayak.

We alternated between cruising along, with quiet moments of drifting and watching salmon jump, porpoises dive and seals flop around.

Then we had a lot more boat activity as well as developments along shore, and Jonathan told us we’re now just outside Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. We stopped as a small “park” island where there we two campsites (already occupied) and a toilet. From here, we’d cross the Speiden channel and head to our campsite. The sky was clearer, just light clouds and I was warm enough to shed my rain jacket layer by then.

Jonathan explained that part of the reason we were lollygaging earlier was that the timing of our crossing needs to be just right due to tides and currents, and also it seems calm, but wind can whip up fast and take us off course. Exactly the reason we’re out here with a guide!!

We crossed directly over to Spieden island, pointing in a direction opposite of where we wanted to end up, and with the current then, we ended up perfectly. As we were just entering the channel, the ferry to Sidney BC cruised through the channel, looking exceptionally large from our perspective!

Then we cruised the shore of Spieden Island, heading west now. Along the shore we saw many Harbor Seal colonies. We also saw a majestic looking pair of bald eagles high on a tree above a colony (Jonathan said he’d once seen an eagle eating a baby seal, the kind of nature I know has to happen but I’d rather not see!). The island has a large expanse of what looks like dead grass, and all along there we saw Moufflon sheep, apparently having been introduced to the island when someone was trying to establish a hunting camp. Even Jonathan was excited about how many we could see.

From there, we could see the slot of Reed Harbor on Stuart Island, we’d camp at the end of the harbor tonight! I’m not going to lie, when we turned into the harbor and saw how far it was until the end, I felt pretty discouraged! I’d pushed hard to cross the channel and I was exhausted!

The tour to the back of the bay was beautiful. There were a variety of boats moored there, mostly sailboats. Jonathan chatted with the folks on deck as we passed. He and his girl friend live on a sailboat in Friday Harbour and are readying it to sail to Baja Mexico some winter (he actually grew up living on a sailboat in Friday Harbour!).

As we got close to the landing, we passed a swim platform that had a baby seal hauled out in it with two adults swimming around it. We would have loved to see them jump up on it, but we were probably a perceived threat. Jonathan said they come at it super fast and fly out of the water. When they land, they bounce around a bit!

We landed at 6pm. Gorgeous wooded camp site in a state forest. Pit toilet, plenty of firewood, compost bin - good living! We hauled everything out of the boats and set up tents and got our stuff settled while Jonathan set up to make dinner (with JT as sous chef). Dinner was vegetarian burritos and our trip mates from Texas brought along boxes of red wine - heaven! As if it couldn’t be any better, Jonathan lit a fire and we had brownies for dessert!

Blissful night of sleep with the quiet and campfire smoke. Paradise camping!!!

Jonathan said he’d monitor the weather overnight and wake us up “at the crack of dawn” if we needed to move early due to weather.

About 4:45am, we heard music! It was Jonathan playing a guitar and singing “Summertime.” It was wonderful! He promised coffee would be ready by the time we packed up our tent.

The guys were experienced packers and soon we were slugging coffee and hauling the gear back to the beach. The light was amazing, and the view would change with every trip down to the beach. By 7am we were loaded and taking our pre-launch selfie.

Jonathan said there was weather coming about noon, just for an hour, but he suggested we paddle back to Posey Island and set up camp there and then make a proper breakfast! It was a gorgeous morning as we paddled back across the channel, but the clouds were moving in from the West and I agreed this was a good plan.

There were still campers there when we arrived about 9a, but we moved into the site overlooking the channel anyway. We unloaded the boats and Jonathan set about erecting the rain tarp over the tables. It was just a drizzle, yet we were glad when we got the tents set up and our gear stowed. Not quite sure how we lost a few hours there, but we had a fabulous brunch at 11:30 (egg sandwiches with similar ingredients from our burritos last night: fresh tomatoes and avocado, salsa, cheese).

After that, the group decided a nap was in order! We retreated to our tents. I read and napped and heard occasional rain on the tent, happy to be snuggly inside.

When we emerged, it was a different day. Blue skies, abundant sunshine and a nice breeze. We snacked for a bit and watched the seals in the water around the island. One was breaching and slamming down into the water - not sure why but it was like he was performing for us (like the salmon were yesterday!).

Then we headed out for a three hour paddle to the East. We were heading down the channel, views of islands and water to our left - houses and docks on the right. Jonathan heard some chatter about whale sightings over the marine radio, but too far from where we were at! We stopped at a kelp bed and he told us a bit about how various marine life needs it to thrive - and then we ATE some, we really did! It wasn’t bad, and with peanut butter, it was really good!

Paddled back to camp - about 3 hours in the boat and I was cramping up! Sat around chatting, drinking wine and having more snacks ... waiting for dinner. Fresh air and exercise makes me hungry!!!

As we were sitting around chatting, Jonathan came back around the island and pointed out a seal that was sleeping on the rocks just about 10 feet from us. We got up and took photos, and it continued to sleep, occasionally sneezing and loudly yawning. After about 30 minutes, he started moving around a bit more. Rubbing his eyes, scratching himself! The tide was just about reaching him and it was so cool to see him roll around a bit, and then bounce a few times and dive back into the water.

We continued to watch the sunset and wait for dinner (several hour process). At one point I was out on the rocks looking at the last remnant of the sunset and a kayak going by yelled “Orcas!” I thought it was worth checking out. I was halfway down the beach when I heard the characteristic “pffft!” I yelled for the others and continued down the beach. They were traveling fast, but I saw 4 of them as they traveled down the channel - too dark for photos, but a magical end to a great day!

Sunday morning we got a later start. I was up at 6, but it was closer to 7am before Jonathan serenaded us and told us to start “rustling.” We packed up while he made us French toast with blueberries and bananas. Both mornings he also made amazing coffee using a locally roasted blend and a French press.

We set out about 9:15am, cutting through the inside of Henry Island. That route took us across the mouth of Roche Harbor and the power boats and seaplanes were driving me a little bonkers and messing with my mojo! Soon we were back in a channel, and a little out of the chaos. We passed a small rock island that had about a dozen seals hauled out on it, including a mom and a baby. Another baby climbed out of the water and bounced its way up to the mom - so adorable!

At the south end of Henry Island, Jonathan heard via the main radio that there were Orcas just ahead of where we were! We paddled fast, and to the south in the Haro Straight we could just make out the “blows” and a little bit of dorsal fin. We couldn’t tell if they were heading south, or north towards us - but soon they were getting closer! Another guide, Casey was out further with his two guests (ladies also from Texas) and it appeared they were right in the whale’s path - super exciting! We headed south, anticipating the whales would turn in to the head of Henry’s Island and they did! We met up with Casey’s group and rafted our 6 boats together. Jonathan had told us Orcas sometimes think that’s interesting, and it proved to be true. They were all around us, putting on a show! Spy hops (where they just get their head up and look around), full breaches, dorsal slaps, tail flips, they showed us all of their moves. Words can’t describe the joy and delight this brought to us! I tried to take some video and photos, but it was so much better to just enjoy the moment.

I’m not sure how the guides know this, but the Orcas last night supposedly belonged to a “transient” pod, and what we saw today was the “J pod of the Southern Residents.”

We spent an hour with the Orcas, then they moved on to the south. By that time, I was ready to get out of the boat anyway! We paddled north and landed on a beautiful beach where we had lunch and a stretch break.

Since we’d messed around a bit, Jonathan thought we’d be fighting a bit of current and wind as we paddled back to the launch and that was the case! We powered through it, which is better than slogging along. Just before our turn there was a commercial boat harvesting salmon - I say harvesting not fishing because they were hauling in huge nets full. Jonathan was not happy about that. They have a moratorium on salmon fishing for the general public due to the decline in the salmon population (which directly affects the Orca population) but operations like this somehow get permits. Anyway - it’s fun to see a 23 year old so passionate about the cause!

Back to the park where we’d launched about 1:45pm. Warm and sunny, looked a little different than when we left in the rain on Friday. We unloaded our boats and stuffed everything in the trailer. Someone back at the crew office has a lot of clean up to do (Jonathan has a lot of strengths, but cleaning and organizing aren’t among them). We drove back to Friday Harbor with Jonathan talking more about the salmon and the Orca. Two of the Texas guys were science teachers so they always added interesting questions / viewpoints to the conversation!

We said our goodbyes and climbed the hill back to the hotel where we’d left 4 bags Friday morning. Our same clerk was delightful and gave us access to a conference room where we could open and organize all of our bags, clean up a bit and at least change into clean clothes. After that we had 45 minutes until our ferry came, so we hauled our bags to the dock and got a sandwich / latte / smoothie while we waited for our ninth and final ferry of the trip.

This ferry was operated by a private company - the San Juan Clipper, runs between Victoria BC, Friday Harbor and downtown Seattle. The boat wasn’t as nice as some of the state run ferries we’d ridden on, and they were out of chowder and chili, but said they had a few hotdogs left?! Plus it was sold out, so fairly crowded, and a jovial crowd on Sunday evening! We read, napped, snacked. I was glad I had my iPod along as the crowd was just a little too much right then and I needed to chill.

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213hiphopworldnews · 5 years

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The Best Travel-Worthy Music Festivals You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Charles Thorp

Switching Scenes is brought to you by Boost, a brand that knows the best experiences come when you change things up.

There are few summer activities with more potential for fun than an outdoor music festival. Warm weather, good beats, beautiful people — it’s a sure-fire recipe for a good time. The problem is when a really good festival comes around, word travels fast. That causes attendance to skyrocket year after year, leaving many of these events overcrowded. Suddenly, your blissful auditory escape has become a Mad Max-level fight for survival — throwing fists to score a food truck taco and collecting dewdrops off of discarded artist passes to quench your thirst.

Nobody said Coachella. Did you just think Coachella?

The good news is there are still a few gatherings that have managed to combine both immersive experiences and proper support facilities. Whether it’s because they’re well-kept secrets or just operated by pros, we don’t know. Nor do we care. The fact is that it’s unlikely they will remain this smoothly run forever, so you should probably check them out as soon as possible.

Not only have we listed them out for you here, but we’ve also set you up with some transportation and lodging advice. No excuses. This is the year to hit a lesser-known music fest.

Hangout Music Festival — Gulf Shores, Alabama

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Roller blading is a lot harder than I thought. Thankfully I didn’t kill myself. Just a scraped knee.

A post shared by Laura (@first.class.laura) on May 18, 2018 at 5:00pm PDT

Dates: May 16 – 19, 2019

The Download: Hey, quick question. Do you happen to be a person who likes to hear epic guitar riffs while looking out onto a beautiful, turquoise sea? Yeah, we thought so. Hangout Music Fest has killer acts like Jimmy Eat World and Hozier and you listen to them all while you enjoy some beachside cocktails on the white-sand shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s like all the best parts of spraaaaaaang breakkkkkk in one epic weekend.

The Arrangements: The closest airport is Pensacola International Airport, so there aren’t too many nonstop options, but the extra travel is worth it.

Boston Calling Festival — Boston, MA

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okay real talk… I keep posting pictures from when I was blonde and it makes it look like I never changed it. Real facts I was a red head for september, and now since october i’m brunette. After being blonde my entire life it’s been fun playing with my hair. BUT my stock pile of photos have run thin… and the this is one of my last pics I wanted to post with this hair! I sadly never took any real photos with my red hair… so I don’t know if i’ll ever post that. AND I haven’t taken any pictures yet with my brown hair… but I AM! and I like it :) wow this was just a really long post about my hair… enjoy this throw back from Boston Calling . . . #boston #bostonblogger #bostonphotographer #plants #plantsofinstagram #plantsmakepeoplehappy #beantown #newburystreet #feminism #photography #bostoncalling #hair #festivalfashion #festival

A post shared by Rebecca Hall (@rebeccaailihall) on Nov 5, 2018 at 3:39pm PST

Dates: May 24 – 26, 2019

The Download: This blast of a festival turns 10 this year and it’s celebrating with another amazing lineup featuring Travis Scott, Tame Impala, and Twenty One Pilots. There will also be a strong comedy presence lead by Michael Che, Jenny Slate, and Fred Armisen. Boston Calling is all around fun.

The Arrangements: Jetblue has reasonable and comfortable flights to Boston from most US cities. There are a number of great hotels in the area, but the writer of this article is a little biased towards The Charles Hotel… for obvious reasons.

Firefly Music Festival — Dover, DE

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Sidestage: @JaredLeto and @30secondstomars blowing the crowd away. Tucked away in the Deleware woodlands. —– @fireflymusicfestival • #30secondstomars • #jaredleto •

A post shared by Charles Thorp (@charlesthorp) on Jun 18, 2017 at 5:14pm PDT

Dates: June 21 – 23, 2019

The Download: This festival is young, but it’s quickly becoming one of the best music events in the world. Held in the woods of Delaware, where you can catch a nap amongst the trees between sets, some of the biggest acts in popular music are playing this year, including Post Malone, Zedd, and Passion Pit.

The Arrangements: The closest airport is Philadelphia, from there you can either rent a car or there are shuttles available on the Firefly site. There are a lot of hotel options, but by far the coolest option is camping onsite. They have glamping experiences and pre-set tents available for those who just want to kick back.

Under The Big Sky Festival — Whitefish, Montana

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Saddle up with @swanmountainoutfitters at #UnderTheBigSkyFest! They’re providing wranglers and trail rides around the ranch. . #whitefishmontana #explorewhitefish #visitmontana #montana

A post shared by Under The Big Sky Festival (@outriderspresent) on Feb 10, 2019 at 8:50am PST

Dates: July 13 – 24, 2019

The Download: The name says it all. Sip a beverage and listen to music under that big, vast, beautiful sky that Montana is famous for. This year, the Under The Big Sky Festival will bring out mainstays like Band Of Horses, Dwight Yoakam, and Jenny Lewis. Not to mention that an adventure in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Glacier National Park, is right down the road.

The Arrangements: Fly into Glacier Park International Airport and rent a car. You’re going to want to be able to drive around this enchanting American landscape.

Outside Lands Festival — San Francisco, CA

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Outside Lands was outta this world! Peep the street style and vibe from the iconic SF festival wknd. (Full editorial online 8.16.18.) . . Festival: @outsidelands Shot for: @eyesandedge Photographer: @timbocracy

A post shared by EYES & EDGE (@eyesandedge) on Aug 15, 2018 at 12:42pm PDT

Dates: August 9 – 11, 2019

The Download: Nobody combines the enjoyment of music and food quite like the crew from Outside Lands does, and the Bay Area setting means nothing but the best eats. Picture yourself sipping a local beer or red wine while listening to Childish Gambino, The Lumineers, or blink-182, all with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Not only that but they have cool specialty programs like GastroMagic where comedians get paired up with chefs. This is what heaven looks like.

The Arrangements: Jetblue has reasonable and comfortable flights to San Francisco from most US cities. There are a number of amazing hotels to crash in the city, but for a relaxing and restoring stay consider Hotel Zetta.

Life Is Beautiful — Las Vegas, NV

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I just got back from vacation and I already need another vacation lol thank goodness I’ll be running around festival grounds holding your hand in three weeks!!!

A post shared by MEGAN METROVICH (@meeggg_) on Mar 20, 2019 at 9:56pm PDT

Dates: September 20-22, 2019

The Download: Founded to revitalize this formerly dystopian downtown of a city, Life is Beautiful has quickly become one of the most compelling events of the year. The festival features the world’s biggest music acts alongside thought-leaders and culinary talents. It has the whole package. Expect to leave not only feeling fulfilled culturally but also inspired.

The Arrangements: There are a number of great flight options into Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport. The city is stocked with luxury hotels, but let us make a special recommendation for The Cosmopolitan, which has great food and unique nightlife.

source https://uproxx.com/life/best-underground-music-festivals/

#hiphop #hip hop legend #hip hop history #hip hop #music #trending #hip hop news #ballin #hip hop scen

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17 of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's best Instagram posts from 2018 so far

Though the happy corners of the internet are few and far between, if there's one place we've come to count on, it's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Instagram page. No, we are not joking.

Why? He posts great work-out videos! He fake feuds with Kevin Hart! He loves pancakes! The Rock's social media presence is an overwhelming source of fun and inspiration, and as of this publish date, he's uploaded more than 350 videos and photos in 2018 alone. (Yes, I counted.)

SEE ALSO: The Rock and 'SpongeBob' just had a glorious Twitter exchange

We thought we would do the world a favor and whittle down his 300+ posts to our favorites from 2018 so far. Don't pretend you aren't grateful.

17. One of many cute daddy-daughter moments

In da cuppp. After a very long and fatiguing day of work, the battle of wills between me and my baby, Jasmine Lia was just the mental therapy I needed. When she throws the cup and pretends to be sad... she’s rewriting the psychological chess game, that I thought I mastered. Think again daddy 🤯🤣

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Feb 1, 2018 at 1:11am PST

16. Highlighting the importance of CPR training

You hope there’s never an emergency where you never have to deploy the skill. Since we have another baby girl on the way - I wanted to make sure myself, my family and our staff took another choking prevention and CPR course on infants, children and adults. Highly recommend you guys do it, because never know what may happen and it’s always best to be ready. For the record, this baby is not real and not mine. My babies come out much browner. And cuter. #IOnlyMakeGirls 🤷🏾‍♂️💪🏾🌺

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Feb 26, 2018 at 9:17am PST

15. Raising money for charity

These are some good boys right here. Bright futures, well mannered and they’re already taller than @kevinhart4real. An amazing night for our @lafamilyhousing raising awareness and dollars to help families transition out of homelessness and poverty. I know what it’s like not having the security of a roof over your head.. these boys have gone thru it too. I’m proud of them and how they now want to give back to their community. Thank you to EVERYONE who attended. Powerful night. #LAFamilyHousing

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Apr 7, 2018 at 11:38am PDT

14. Charging $0.50 a pop for selfies with fans

Shooting a scene in Malibu for #Ballers and the smiling lady I have my arm around, unknowingly walked right thru my scene trying to take a picture of me. 😂🤙🏾 She was embarrassed so after the scene, I walked across the street and took a proper picture with her and her girls. I also charged these ladies .50 cents a piece for this selfie. Hey my love ain’t free. ❤️ A good day with some great fans. Thank you ladies for being so cool. #OnSet #Ballers #Malibu

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jan 17, 2018 at 9:46am PST

13. Just some Lauren Hashian appreciation

I’ll handle this business 😉💪🏾 Mama @laurenhashianofficial has her hands full nursing/feeding Baby Tia, so I’m feedin’ mama her dinner. My pleasure. So much respect to her and all mamas out there holding it down and running things. Just landed and good to get all my girl’s settled in. Now, I gotta go satisfy my own appetite.. Iron Paradise, here I come. #EveryoneGetsFed #DaddysGottaGoToWork #ChivalryIsToughOnTheKnees

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jun 10, 2018 at 3:53pm PDT

12. Nothing like a good #FlashbackFriday

FBF to when I was ready to “smash” everything in sight as the Incredible Hulk for Halloween, but then became sad because I had a f*cked up haircut. #HulkNoLike #ButHulkStillSmash

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Mar 1, 2018 at 9:53am PST

11. Celebrating International Women's Day

Girl power. To every woman out there ‘round the world - all ages and races - I proudly stand by your side to always honor, protect and respect. Especially, the loves of my life at home. Now if I can just get Jazzy to say the daddy is the most handsome, brilliant, sexiest man alive part, then we all gonna be cool. #MyAnchors #InternationalWomensDay

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Mar 8, 2018 at 6:55pm PST

10. Getting cuddly with an alligator

Gorillas weren’t the only animals I spent time with for my RAMPAGE research. Luckily, I’m a country boy who lives only a few miles from the swamps of the Florida Everglades. I do a lot of fishin’ and truckin’ down here and these gators are some of my favorite fresh water species. They’ve been rompin’ and chompin’ for 37 million years. Incredible animal.. especially once I’m able to calm ‘em, then I’m really able to appreciate up close. *Important legal disclaimer: If you come across a gator, don’t try doing this. You’ll lose a limb or something much worse. Call the Fish and Wildlife Commission or WorldStar. #LizzieLoves2RompAndChomp #ButDaddyDoes2 RAMPAGE WORLDWIDE APRIL 13th 🐊🦍🐺

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Apr 5, 2018 at 11:16am PDT

9. Taking time to surprise his die-hard teenage fans

It all started with a promposal to me from an awesome Minnesota high school student, Katie Kelzenberg. I couldn’t make her prom, but as a gift I bought out her local theater this past weekend for her and 232 of her closest friends to watch a screening of RAMPAGE. Plus, all the popcorn, candy and soda a teenager could ingest. I surprised her with the news over her schools speaker system during their morning announcements. Thanks for making my day Katie by asking me to your prom, glad you guys had a BLAST and thank you for being an amazing fan. And ps, if you ever decide to cheat on your tests - which of course you won’t because you’re brilliant... call me because I know all the tricks. DJ

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Apr 24, 2018 at 8:50am PDT

8. Words to live by: "Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself"

Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself. Mound of chocolate banana pancakes with the “fixin’s” on the side. Two great Netflix docs for the night, that I recommend: “Drug Lords” and “The Toys That Made Us”. #SundayGluttony

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jan 21, 2018 at 11:07pm PST

7. Working out with John Krasinski

An honor to drop sweat and pain for #TheMurphChallenge. Thank you brother @johnkrasinski for the challenge. And most importantly, thank you to our men and women of our US military - past and present. And boundless gratitude to their families at home who endure it all as well. Great day of sweat, pain and a few miscounts in the #IronParadise 🤣💪🏾 #MurphChallenge #BloodSweatRespect #FirstTwoYouGive #LastOneYouEarn

A post shared by therock (@therock) on May 28, 2018 at 8:00pm PDT

6. Working out alone

We’re all in the same game, just different levels. Dealing with the same hell, just different devils. Great training sesh! Big thanks to the hard core Mutant Nation Gym, Shanghai 💪🏾 #NowINeedCarbs #WorldTour #RAMPAGE

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Apr 8, 2018 at 11:03am PDT

5. Rescuing birds

Had to take care of this lil’ guy this morning who I found on my porch struggling hard to fly. All his lil’ bird buddies were hanging around looking at him and making a crazy cacophony of loud bird chirps - either encouraging him to fly or... “hey boys looks like we’re having Keith for breakfast”. Humans do not get the same treatment if I find you on my porch.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on May 10, 2018 at 12:11pm PDT

4. A memorable Cardi B moment in the gym

Kickin’ the week off right. #LetsBleed #WestCoastIronParadise 💀

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jan 22, 2018 at 11:20pm PST

3. Very rare sighting of a child-age Rock

Happy Father’s Day to this hardly ever smiling OG bad ass. Little boys by nature, look up to and idolize their old man. They want to be just like em, do whatever they do and are always looking for their approval. Funny thing is the day I stopped looking for that approval was the day I understood what it meant to be man and more importantly, a father. That shift lifted me to a new level of gratitude for the tough love he always gave. Years later as a man and father of three girls, I know that tough love, is a helluva lot better than no love at all. I’ll take it. It’s made me who I am today. Grateful to the original Rock. #HappyFathersDay #KingStache #RockyJohnson

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jun 17, 2018 at 11:23am PDT

2. The Rock gets his Tom Hanks (a là Big) on

As a kid I had this dream of playing my favorite ragtime song, “The Entertainer” from Marvin Hamlisch on piano. But I truly sucked at piano. Until I started using my feet. And that’s why it’s called #TheSting 🎹👣 🎥 by my partner in rhyme and grind @laurenhashianofficial

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jan 28, 2018 at 1:04pm PST

1. A pebble is born

Skin to skin. Our mana. Blessed and proud to bring another strong girl into this world. Tiana Gia Johnson came into this world like a force of nature and Mama @laurenhashianofficial labored and delivered like a true rockstar. I was raised and surrounded by strong, loving women all my life, but after participating in baby Tia’s delivery, it’s hard to express the new level of love, respect and admiration I have for @laurenhashianofficial and all mamas and women out there. Word to the wise gentlemen, it’s critical to be by your lady’s head when she’s delivering, being as supportive as you can.. holding hands, holding legs, whatever you can do. But, if you really want to understand the single most powerful and primal moment life will ever offer - watch your child being born. Its a life changer and the respect and admiration you have for a woman, will forever be boundless. And to my third and youngest daughter, Tiana Gia - like I did when your two older sisters Simone Alexandra and Jasmine Lia were born, you have my word, I’ll love, protect, guide and make ya laugh for the rest of my life. Your crazy dad has many responsibilities and wears many hats in this big ol’ world, but being your dad will always be the one I’m most proud to wear. Oh and one more thing.. you’re gonna love rollin’ in daddy’s pick up truck. #TianaGiaJohnson🌺 #3rdDaughter #BlessesAndGratefulMan #ImInTROUBLE

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Apr 23, 2018 at 10:52am PDT

Keep the content coming, Dwayne.

WATCH: What your receptionist says about your company culture

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