A Game and Some Exhaustion

So, in the past week, I have finished a book called Ender's Game and battled an extreme form of exhaustion called jet lag. Ugh.

I guess I should start with the book.

Ender's Game  is about a boy named Ender who was selected for a special school. This school,, the Battle School, was created for finding the perfect commander for an upcoming attack to wipe out the only other intelligent race in the galaxy. In Battle School he became commander of an army of other students in the Battle School's game. He excelled. He then moved on to Command School to see if he was ready to command a real army. Here he plays simulations.

I'm not going to give you any more or I'll ruin the story.

However, I'd give this book a 4.8 because there were a few phrases that you have to figure out before the end, and I had the author's definitive edition! The book was very good though.

Now, back to exhaustion.

After 9 holes of golf at 7, I hopped on a plane and flew all the way across the country to get home at 10 p.m.(Vegas Time) To me, it felt like 12:00 p.m(South Carolina time). After the bowl of cereal or bagel or whatever I had (I can't remember) I fell asleep and awoke at 7:30 a.m. (Vegas Time), I felt tired yet back on track. My parents were the exact opposite.

I'm now off to other thoughts, so I should say a humble goodbye:

Goodbye  readers! I'm sorry I kept you waiting!

Fin,
    Andrew S.

Boats, Dolphins, and Planes, Oh My!

So, today my sister, my father, and I went to this awesome place called Patriot's Point. We went aboard the USS Yorktown...

The USS Yorktown
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/USS_Yorktown_CV-10_Patriots_Point.jpg

...And it was absolutely AMAZING. If you imagine floating city that has it's own airforce and enough food to feed a small city, you've got it. There are jets on the top deck and in the ship. It even has an elevator for the planes. But this, for me, wasn't the coolest part. It was the fact that most places were not off-limits. You could walk through most of the ship. From the engine room to the bridge. I almost got lost. We even ate like a sailor!Don't forget the recipe for 10,000 cookies. We then lost it, but it had to do with 500 eggs and several pounds of sugar.

But something weird did happen today.

It is called an emergency button, a flight simulator, and some air conditioning.

It all started with the boarding of a flight simulator. The hydraulic door opened with a whoosh of sound and a dream of being alone on the ride. Well, that was crushed- like a grape. Two people came aboard, one man, one woman. The ride started, and was telling about safety- a crucial fact that states, "If emergency occurs, press emergency buttons above your head.." The girl presses it. The lights go dim, the cabin lowers, the screen goes blue, and alarms sound outside. The girl says, "I'm sorry! I thought that started the ride!" The attendant says pull down on the switch, then she restarts the ride.

When we got off no one spoke of it, until we got back to the beach house. Then we "ROTFLed" all over the place.

I haven't told you about the dolphins and water taxi... (I don't think I did...) Well, we rode a water taxi around Charleston Harbor. The dolphins came really close, and well, I got super excited. They snorted and played around the largest ship ever to come in to Charleston, SC. (It was SUPER huge!)

There is one last thing (well, two) that I would like to say.

Thank You.

I would like to say "Thank You" to all who serve and protect the United States of America. I see who you live and it makes me feel so thankful. After going to the Medal of Honor Mueseum on the USS Yorktown, it made me feel so thankful.

I really can't thank you enough.

Ocean and Quizzical Hellos.

The ocean is VERY inviting.

I like it that way. It waves and beckons, like any house that is well decorated and inhabit it by caring people.

These are the good things about the beach. Much like the surfers, I love them. So, I will not have time to blog too much, so let me make this hello. And goodbye.

This blog is short, and so are summers.

Imagination Makes Lands Even More Happy.

A moment of dreams.

Imagine a place where outlying islands rule the skyline and lobsters make beachgoers happy. The yachts sail silently under a beautiful cable-stayed bridge. Dophins paddle the coast, in sync with the surfers on the waves. The air is full of parasails and kites as the birds flot seamlessly across the shoreline. This is the place where I am happy.

This is Charleston.

In two days I will be going to this place, where boats and surfers make the area alive.

The Arthur J. Ravenel Bridge

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Arthur_Ravenel_Bridge_%28from_water%29.jpg



Morris Island Lighthouse on Folly Beach, SC
http://www.visitusa.com/southcarolina/images/follybeachpic.jpg

I'm done with the imagination, however great it is, but here's the thing. I'm going there. I'm really excited. This whole thing is one of the big things of my summer. It's really sad that the trip to my grandparent's is so fast. We are going to go to the ocean. Some people at my school have never left the Valley of Vegas.

(Hey! That's a cool nickname!)

Signing off, this is Andrew S.!

Roller Coasters Make Me Happy. So Does Sleep.

So, yesterday was the day in which I went to Carowinds, an AWESOME amusement park in North/South Carolina. They have a ride that sits on the border!

The higlight of my journey, though, was the amazing Intimidator. This ride, as I have mentioned before, if 232 feet tall and reaches speeds in excess of 75 mph. The ride was inspired by Dale Earnheardt, "The Intimidator".  In the photo below, the large red and gray structure is the Intimidator, and that's not the complete thing. The seats themselves were intimidating! Once we were off the ground and being dragged up 211 feet of track the G's started to kick in, and I was yelling like no tommorow. At the far U-Turn in the track, or somewhere else (it all blends together) I yelled, "My salad bowl!" This was followed by a long bout of screaming down the hill.

Thanks to http://www.coastergallery.com/2002/PC63.html for the photo!

However, this was basically the last ride I went on! The park had a waterpark with a wave pool and slides! My sister loved Planet Snoopy, and she and I rode on countless rides, including a gliders ride that you control the lift. This park was AMAZING.

When we were done with the pool and Planet Snoopy, we were overheating. So, what place would be better than an ice show? Well, there was an ice show.

It was called Snoopy Rocks! On Ice! It was very cold inside, which was the point, I guess. It was alright.


I had a good day overall (other than the fact I was soaking wet after I went on an innertube ride), and today we get to chillax on the couch. Yay.

Penguins. What an Abundance.

Tommorow is the big day.

The day of Carowinds.

The day I ride the fastest, longest, and tallest coaster in the Southeast.

The coaster lasts for 3 minutes. I have never heard of a coaster that long. This thing is 232 feet tall! That's insane! Also, I am going to ride tons of other rides at this amusement park on the border of North and South Carolina. There is a ride that crosses the border! I am soo excited.

Today, we saw Mr. Popper's Penguins let me tell you right now, it was NOTHING like the book.  You'd have to read the book to know, but let me say the movie had nothing to do with ladders and theathers.

Signing off, this is Andrew Shepherd.

The Cookie Monster Eats Other Things Than Just Cookies.

Quack, Quack, I'm a chicken.


Sorry, I needed to get that out of my system. My sister and I played with this puppet that my mother or uncle used to own. We made Cookie Monster eat plastic cigars, a stick, and a Barbie (without it's head and arms). Later I went on a golf course. The Crate Myrtles were alive and well, so the deck got painted with pink flowers during a South Carolina afternoon shower.

I have an announcement.

I am going to the Carowinds amuesment park next Monday.

I am going to ride the Intimidator.

The longest, fastest, and highest coaster in the Southeast.

I am extremely excited.

A History. Of Three Days.

My story starts on the day of July Third.

We went to see Cars 2. The movie was great, though I felt it was a tad overdone. But, competing with the first must be hard.

The highlight of that day would be seeing my sister's hand being chrushed in the door of a car. I'm screaming, she's screaming, everyone is screaming. I'm afraid my sister's hand is broken, and I yell, "Stop it! You're scaring her!" I then proceed to getting hit in the head. All is well, and her hand is spared.

We are now to the point of the 4th of July.

Today's main course was swimming with a side of caddying and sunburn, with an appetizer of dissapointment. In the morning, I awoke to caddy in my grandfather's golf game. This was fun. Next, we went to the pool. I thought I had enough sunscreen on after golfing, but I made a horrible mistake. By the end of the day, I had sunburn galore. That night we were going to go eat at a place called Moe's. Here comes the dissapointment: it was closed. So, we went to the Fatz Cafe, and I had these awesome chicken fingers with baked potato soup and cheese grits. We later watched fireworks on TV.

Today, Tuesday the 5th.

Shopping. That's what we did. From Belk to Wal-Mart, we shopped like crazy. We then ate at a friend's house and had steak and peas. At home, we had cheesecake. We also watched the Casey Anthony trial. I about screamed.

Hey folks, I'm sitting out at a strange park in Nintey Six, SC. We are waiting for fireworks. We saw them last year, but we are going to see them again. Ttyl!

Topiaries, Mexican Food, and Warehouses Make Up My Day.

So, today, I watched Warehouse 13 for a large portion of it.

It was good. But the food at the "Santa Fe" was good, but I soon got all full from the rice.

Afterwards, we went to see the topiaries in Uptown Greenwood. They were really good, but I was tired, sweaty, and bug-bitten.

I am tired, so, goodnight.