I just posted this in the adayinmylife community:

I have done two previous ADIMLs here and here, though I haven't posted in a very long time. I went to Powell's Bookstore last year and this year I did it again. And that guy I mentioned in my second post and I got back together right after he deployed.

I am currently a 19 year-old freshman in college living at home in Idaho and this is my Sunday, March 16th, 2008, the last day of my spring break. This post includes, as I said, Powell's Bookstore and Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon and a very long car ride back to Idaho. This day also happened to be my mom's 53rd birthday. Be forewarned, the beginning is SUPER FUN EXCITING and the last half is painfully boring. But that's what happened, so that's what's reported.

Photo count: 56 below the cut, one above=57 pictures total.



01.
Moooorning, sunshine! Not really. My brother, James, and I shared a hotel room (he had the bed, I had the hide-a-bed) and were woken up by the obnoxious room phone ringing. Thanks, Mom. She wanted us ready to go in a half hour for her birthday breakfast with her brother and sister. We did the celebrating with cake and presents a few days before.

02.
First things first, though. Hallo, Rhett and Scarlett, I haven't changed my background since I first put them on there. Web browsing time!

03.
Operation change clothes: complete! Yes, those are gnome pajamas on the floor. Don't be hatin'. And you'll notice a lack of showering because I did it the night before. I'm a night shower-er.

04.
Right after getting dressed, my phone began to ring! Squee to the max, it's my boyfriend calling through the internet. We talked on the phone for a few minutes while I attempted to put away James' Wii one-handed (the night before we had played Super Smash Bros. Brawl for a few hours, go Pit!). Sadly, the majority of my phone conversations with my deployed soldier are only a few minutes because there is either a line for the phone or he has to go to work.

05.
Tooth brushing. I had to take five different pictures to get this, blargh.

06.
I took an unflattering picture of James and threatened to put it online if he didn't take a picture with me...this was the result. DEATH GLAAAARE.

07.
Oh, liquid eyeliner, why are you so hard to apply and make even?

08.
My hair has grown a bit since last year, but not very much...I have a slow growth rate.

09.
Anyway, immediately after getting ready Mom, Dad, and I followed James in his fancy-smancy Prius. He had plugged the address into the GPS thingy in his car, but the route kept trying to take us on roads that were blocked off because of some walk-a-thon or something. Mom was feeling sick and actually barfed on the way (into a garbage bag, not on herself or anything, sorry, no pictures of that :p).

10.
We parked in Powell's Bookstore's parking garage and I led Mom to the bathroom so she could freshen up. Luckily, she started feeling better right after she threw up, so everything was okay. For those that don't know, Powell's Bookstore is a HUGE second hand and new book store that I wish I could live in.

11.
Next we had to find our way to the Marriott so we could meet my aunt and her hubby for breakfast in the restaurant. My dad and James led us using a map on Dad's phone...their stupid long legs made it hard to keep up with their pace (nope, not jealous at all). >.> <.<

12.
At breakfast, everyone else chose to get the breakfast buffet and were able to serve themselves right away while I had to wait for my meal...

13.
But I do believe my cinnamon roll French toast trumps all breakfast foods, mwahahaha! It was delicious. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

14.
Sometimes I'm almost convinced that James doesn't know how to smile...but this picture makes me curious as to how come my brother is so much more tan than I am when I was so much more tan last summer?

15.
Almost the whole family together...the only one missing would be my older sister Kimberly...why won't men smile?

16.
But who cares about my silly observations, because next we went back to POWELL'S BOOKSTORE. My favorite place on earth. Once again, I didn't take many pictures inside because I was too busy drooling over amazing books.

17.
You see this face? This is a face of "I LOVE MY PARENTS" because they bought me books.

18.
And this face? This is a variation of the same feeling.

19.
Aaaand, time check!

20.
Is this post a bit predictable? It's following the same sequence as last year, because next we went to Voodoo Doughnut! Mmm...such a healthy day...cinnamon roll French toast for breakfast, donuts for lunch.

21.
Yep, I drool when I look at this picture, too.

22.
Check out that line! And this was on a Sunday! I don't remember it being that busy last time, but whatever. We got the Voodoo dozen where they pick 13 donuts for you. We were all very excited for them, obviously. And el oh el at my mom and I almost matching.

23.
Mango tango!! My favorite! And this was a big deal for James because last year when we brought donuts back to his place he couldn't eat any because of the program he was on to lose weight, since he's met his goal he can now have occasional treats.

24.
Aw, such creative works of ART. YES, donuts are ART.

25.
AHA, there's a smile! And my bro's nose in the top right corner.

26.
Inside the donut man...how delicious you must have been, donut man.

27.
Mmm, mango tango filling...it tastes even better than it looks.

28.
And now the part of the post that gets really boring...but such is the harsh reality of car trips...rarely are they very exciting. Stay tuned for scenery and sub-par photography! Mom and I said goodbye to James and Dad, as they were headed back to the Seattle area and Mom and I were going back to Idaho. They had a 3 hour trip, we had a 7 hour trip. Not very fair if you ask me. This was as we were leaving Portland.

29.
And wouldn't you know it, right away it started to rain...luckily the scenery was pretty so it made up for SOME the boringness that lay ahead.

30.
Now is as good a time to mention as any, so I'll just mention it: the car ride was supposed to be seven hours...it took about nine hours for us to get home.

31.
This face? This face is the quiet dread of a very long car ride.

32.
What's funny is that these scenery pictures were taken when we weren't that far out of Portland...

33.
I wish I could take photos around this tunnel, I love the green foliage and stuff, but sadly I'd probably get run over...since it is a freeway and all that.

34.

35.
Oh my poor phone, I've not even had it a year and it's probably been dropped a million times.

36.
In Dalles, Mom and I stopped for gas.

37.
Then we stopped at McDonald's for a bathroom break, Mom's coffee, and...

38.
My dippin' dots! Yes...a very healthy day. Cinnamon roll French toast, donuts, and dippin' dots for snack. I had dippin' dots for the first time about 10 years ago at Space Camp, back when they were brand-spanking-new.

39.
I usually get motion sickness if I read in the car, but I figured that because it was a fairly straight road we were driving on and the book was mostly pictures (very pretty pictures) that I would be fine. And luckily I felt fine :)

40.
Tree farm! The rows are hypnotizing.

41.
And FINALLY, we made it to Washington state... now we have to get to Idaho.

42.
We stopped in the Tri-Cities for dinner. First we spotted a Taco Bell, then a Subway, but we missed the turn into the parking lot and we found ourselves in a parking lot for this Mongolian place. Lots and lots of pineapple went into my meal...mmm...

43.
Aww, how cliche.

44.
Just on the other side of the Tri-Cities we stopped at this little store for some apples and a potty break for Xenia...because I totally forgot to go at the restaurant.

45.
This was in the bathroom. Anyone else remember being so fascinated by these as a kid?

46.
It started getting dark after we left the store and we began to notice the trail of cars behind us was growing. College students must be returning from their spring break! (Oh yeah, that's what I was doing).

47.
Haha, out in the middle of nowhere Washington, Mom asked me to look out for deer because they are sometimes around that area and she didn't want to hit any...I turned to my right and immediately saw a MOOSE. It was my first time ever seeing a moose and I wish I had gotten a picture. I've lived in Idaho for fifteen and half years and never before seen a moose...I think that means I fail slightly at being an Idahoan.

48.
By 8:30 or so we made it to my mom's other sister's house (in IDAHO finally) to pick up some things. We sat and chatted for a while before it was absolutely necessary to get home. This is my aunt's dog Willamina.

49.
We finally got home around 9:30 and after unloading the jeep I figured it was time for another donut. Poor donuts...they rode in the backseat and look a bit disheveled.

50.
Don't worry purple donut, I'll eat and love you just the same as I would a non-disheveled donut.

51.
This is my cat Dmitri. I think he was a bit mad at me for leaving him behind when I went on vacation.

52.
Around 10:00 I got all my stuff down to my room and then decided it was time to get on the computer again. See that picture? That's me and my manly man man.

53.
And this face? This is a face wondering why I thought it would be a good idea to do ADIML when there would be a "seven hour" car drive involved and school the next day at 8:30 in the morning. This is also me having a fight with my computer because it thought it wasn't connected to the internet. (And don't be hatin' on the gnome collection in the background!)

54.
Finally I decided it was time for bed...and this was all the energy I had for a before bed ritual: grabbing the stridex out of my suitcase and rubbing my face down, putting my hair in a braid, and putting on my pajamas.

55.
Uuugh, had to set my alarm for class in the morning...

56.
And bedtime! This picture freaks me out a little bit, but I love it anyway, haha...probably because my hand and eyes look really creepy. That teddy bear was a birthday gift from my boyfriend.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)