twincityhacker

Before I jump into the trip, I'd like to say that K09 The Cosmic Princess finished downloadiing yesteryday and I've seen the KTMA era theme song! YAY! I didn't watch anymore because I was just going to download my pictures from the trip, and go to bed. So I downloaded, watched the theme song, and THEN went to bed. But it all works, so I'm happy.

Anyway. The 'fest.

Went down to the school at 6:30, and were on the road ON TIME at 6:45. I even snagged a seat to myself. It was so foggy when we left the visablity was down to ten feet, and you could look at the Sun if you so desired. The driving took about 3 and a half hours from Jasper IN to St. Louis, and I even got in a little conversation with Mariah, Bear, Bob, and Josh. And after a few tries I got a picture of the St. Louis Arch when we drove by.

The camera I was using shuts off after 30 seconds, so I couldn't frame it well, but since the traffic was crawling at that point, it didn't matter much. Ten mintutes later, we were at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens.

So we all split up and I hot footed it to the Japaese Garden for the food demonstation, only to find out that the demonstation wasn't actually happening at the Gardens. But I did see...

Then I walked around the Japanese garden, but in the oposite way than they intened you too. Why? I just started one way and by the time I saw the "This Way" sign I decied not to walk back and start over.

The center island of the Japanese Gardens.

And the really, really big koi. Suposedly koi can grow up to four feet long and 100 years old, or so say the signs near the koi feeding station.

And the bridge in this picture was the point where I realized I was going the wrong way. and not just going the oppiste direction of the guided tour. The bridge was labled one way, but people were going both directions AND stoping in the middle of it.

After I finished touring the Japanese Garden, I went into the Boxwood Gardens...

The Boxwood Gardens wandered out into the testing site of new breeds of roses people have made and have sent in to be tested for an award. The program lasts two years, the first year 50 cuttings are planted, and the second the roses are paired down to 20 cuttings, and after that year whatever roses preformed the best, sometimes including all 20, the award is given.

And not only did they look pretty, they smelt fantastic.

Then I meet up with "the girls". All the girls on the trip except for myself and one other all had decied to run in one massive pack. By this time I had seen all I really wanted to see except for one garden, so I joined them. Right after I had shot a photo of a rarely used angle. They were in a show choir/swing choir pose if you can't tell. Or that's what they said.

So we walked though the English woodland gardens to get the Japaese Gardens, all the while most of the girls were quoteing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They started because of all the shubbery, and conitued from various parts of the film until we were half way thought the Japasese gardens. And we went through the Japanese gardens backwards as well.

And while we were leaving those gardens, we ran into the karate demonstaters. And once we found out that they were about to begin, we followed them to the demontration site. And half the girls couldn't sit down because they were wearing white pants and shirts. *evil laugh*

While they were demonstrating, we found out that practice Karate is incredibaly, increditalby painful. One in particualr was a hold were the attacker was thrown on the ground and were on thier side, and you were holding thier arm by the elbow straight up, which gave you the option of either pinching their tracera and cartariod artery, or breaking their arm at the elbow.

And when he demonstaed the last part without the actual breaking the guy almost screamed because the head demonstater was pretty much picking the guy on the ground's entire weight by his arm.

As we where leaving the area after 40 minutes because the stuff was getting progesivly harder to watch for some people, they started the "Martial Arts Groupies" teeshirt idea.

After the Karate demonstation I saw the last garden I wanted to: The Mosulem Garden. It was mostly the fact why the HELL they would have somthing like that, and the garden was mostly ivy, some shubbery, and some maples. This would be a picture of the actual mosoleum. I don't know whether or not some one is buried in it though.

By this time it was 2, and I started hunting down the food. I had some fresh, fresh califonia rolls made in front of my eyes, and some middling soba noodles with pickled ginger that I ened up spilling all over myself. And a peach and bannana smoothie, since I had drank all my water.
Then shopping. I got half my Christmas shopping, mostly for Tyler and Christine, done. YAY! But I did get a shirt with a thousand paper cranes on it and chocolate pocky for myself.

By this point, I started reading the clocks wrong. I thought it was an hour later than it actualy was, so I thought it was time to go. So I started waiting in the lobby for other people to show up. There were some guys with me so I knew that they were still here. So i went into the gift shop for five minutes because I was still a touch early. Then everyone was GONE! So I looked, and I looked, and then after ten minutes I went out to the bus to see if they were waiting for me there. Turns out that I still and a half an hour before I even had to think about getting ready to leave. So I browed the Japanese culture books checked out the flower arrangeing and bonsi room.

One of the girls had gotten some candy in a tube, which you poured on to chopsticks where you then whiped it into this frothy thing. So they tried rubbing it. But I got it working for them, so it turned out okay. And some one gave me their calamari jerky. I did not eat it up like pocky. But it was better than others made it out to be.

Then we went home. For about 15 minutes that is, before we stoped at a mall for supper. Since I had eaten two hours before, I wasn't really hungery so I got some chicken teryaki and rice to go adn browsed Hot Topic because I haven't been in one for two monthes and it was right next to the food court. And I almost bought this hidouesly overpriced button, because I couldn't get the shirt with the same design on it. But the button was so over priced, I didn't.

Then we actually went home. I nearly started throwing punches because people were being stupid and flashing around bright lights. I would have been more tolerant if I wasn't cold because all the windows were down and no one would put them up, tired from the long day, and having a headache from all of the above and not having any painkillers. Even if I DID start hitting people, no one would have noticed because people were smacking each other with empty soda bottles and glass botlles, and just plain hitting each other.

But I made it home and I found out that K09 The Cosmic Princess finished downloading. The painkillers helped too.