Filling You In, Somewhat.

Sorry about the late response, guys. It won't happen, again... Maybe. No guarantees, really. I didn't have internet access at Angela's house, so there was nothing I could do about it. So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah! We went to the Boston Redsox baseball game! It was so much fun, of course. 

FENWAY PAHK!(that's in a Bostonian accent, btw) And, I'm allowed to talk in that accent, since I'm an official Bostonian. We went on a tour of the park, got to walk on the field, and meet Wally(this green monster thing that's supposed to be their mascot). Then, we went on top of the GREEN MONSTAH(which is exactly what I had to say and how I had to say it in order to be an official Bostonian). The tour guide said that he was going to mail us certificates and everything. Maybe they'll be there when I get home. ;) Which, btw, is Sunday! I'm actually pretty excited about it, too. It's not the I miss the house, or that I can't stand to be away from my family for any longer(I mean, I do miss them). It's just that I've missed the South wayyy too much. I like the heat much more than the cold. I'd like to look around and see trees/fields, rather than buildings/factories. I'm a country girl, I can't help it. 
We're in South Carolina visiting Ricky's cousins/Stevie's friends. We have such a complicated family, btw. There's Kesley, Daniel, Randy, Eli, and Austin. Randy is Ricky's twin brother(yes, there's two of them). Kesley and Daniel are married and made little Eli, whose 10 months old, today. And, then, there's Kesley's little brother, Austin. He's not that important. I'm just kidding. "He's as awesome as awesome can get," as he puts it. He really is pretty cool, though, and the closest to my age that I've gotten on this whole trip(he's 13). So, we're pretty cool, now. :) Btw, he told me to write about him.. Like, he's holding a gun to my head and everything.. Not really. I just like to pick on him a lot.

That's Okie. He's Daniel's little wiener dog that I just might steal. Like, seriously. He has barely left my side since I've gotten here, and he's so adorable.. Obviously. And, he's just like me.. SUPER LAZY! Hahaha. But, in reality, I can't take him home. Oh well! I can enjoy the time with him(and everyone else here) while I have it. And, honestly, it was great going to Boston; I got to see family that I never get to see, I got to see places I've never gotten to see, I had lots of fun away from my little home, and I made lots of memories. Its vacation, of course I've experienced all these things. But, one thing(along with many other things) that I've learned is that it's not about where you go or the money you spend or anything like that; it's the company you surround yourself with. Like, for example, I had tons of fun just dancing/singing in the car with Ricky and Stevie on the way there and back. It's the little things(cliche, right?) that really matter, and that are really important. Well, that's my life lesson for the night. 
-Camile <3

Out On The Town.. Well, Kind Of.

Mm. Shrimp Scampi at Pagliuci's. :) Its this cute, little rinkydink(yes, I use that word) restaurant in Boston. Yes, I was actually in the actual city of Boston. No more Woburn(well, until later on in the week, that is). 

This is Pagliuci's. :) And, there's so much light coming in, because they had these big windows that were like doors, and they were open(you can kind of see out of them in the first picture), which made for somewhat of a cold lunch, since the wind was FREEZING. If there was no wind in Boston, it would feel just perfect outside, but, of course, there's got to be cold(very, very cold) wind just about all the time. But, that's what you get when you're up north. The wind here almost makes me miss the heat back home("almost" being the keyword).

This is Uncle Fran in Faneuil Market/Hall! :) This picture makes me laugh, because I was trying to take a picture of just the inside of the building, but when I looked at it, Uncle Fran somehow got in it.. And, just look at his face! Hahahha. I showed him the picture and explained that it definitely wasn't planned(he's not a big picture-taking guy), and he just laughed and mentioned how horrible he looked. But, I thought it was a keeper. ;) But, on a serious note, this place was beautiful. :)

Horsie! I'm weird, I know. But, seriously, this was one beautiful horse. And, in case you were wondering, no, we did not go on a carriage ride; they were way too expensive. But, it was still nice to see some. :) You may be wondering how we actually did get around, huh? Welllll...

That's right! TRAIN! :D Or the "subway," as we like to call them. It actually wasn't entirely super exciting, but it was my first time, so I enjoyed it. :) I must say, though, there were some interesting passengers.. O.o For instance, we were changing from the orange train to the blue train(different colors go to different places) and there was this colorful tunnel thing that we had to walk through. Well, I wanted to take a picture of it, since I thought it was cool, and these three guys(they were about 19-20ish, in age) decided to walk around us and get right in front of me just as I was taking the picture. And, people were doing that all day, so it was getting kind of old, by that point. So, the next picture I took looked like I purposely took it of the three guys walking through the tunnel thing, which, I promise, I wasn't. I mean, two of them were really cute, but I'm not that kind of stalker.. Well, most of the time I'm not. ;) Anyways. So, we got on the blue train to go back to Uncle Fran's apartment, and guess who decided to get in the same exact car we did? That's right. Those guys did. And, might I add, I think one of them thought I was cute or something, because two of them stood a couple seats over, and he sat almost right across from me and kept looking at me and smiling(and yes, he was one of the two cute ones). I mean, I didn't mind, but I still thought it was kind of strange. Especially, since when their stop came up, the non-cute one goes, "Come on, Zac. Let's go. This is our stop, Zac." But, he said it in a super New Yorkian  accent(which I don't think was real), and he said it like this "Zac" guy was a ten-year-old. They were both laughing, but "Zac" wasn't. He just kinda got up and left with them. Of course, I thought it was freaking hilarious. But, it was still strange.. Very, very strange. 

Those are just some pictures of a few, of the very many, beautiful buildings here, in Boston. The fourth picture(the one with the random Asian lady, one of the many people who kept getting in my way while taking pictures, I might add) is of "The Narrowest Home In Boston." Or, at least, that's what some random guy, that just so happened to be going the same way we were, told us. And, I definitely believe him.. I mean, I don't think I'd like living, nor could I live, there. I'd get too claustrophobic.

Those are a few pictures(more photography-style than the others) of some of the places we went. The first one I didn't even plan. I just took the picture and the sun just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, so it turned out awesome. :) Stevie saw it and tried to get one like it, but admitted that mine was better. The third picture is Paul Revere. And, apparently, he's a Boston Bruins fan(in case you didn't know, that's Boston's hockey team, which, are playing in the Stanley Cup, tonight). So, OF COURSE, they put a jersey on him. I thought it was funny. Especially, since, when we got to it, there was a girl scouts group on a field trip there, and one of the girls said something about it and gave their input of who should really be in it. What was even more hilarious was when her mom yells, "Hey! Remember you're in Boston! So, shut your mouth!" Hahahaa. She was mortified when we started laughing and she realized how loud she yelled it. Of course, she was a Bruin's fan, so I doubt the fact that they were in Boston really had anything to do with it. ;) The fifth picture is of some garage door thing that someone had painted hearts on, probably vandalizing, and I thought it was cute. And, it turned out pretty good. :) And, that cemetary? I took that picture by putting my camera on top of a wall(which was above my head, btw) and pushing the button. I guess the pictures you don't really plan on looking good, actually turn out great! Yay photography! :D 

Oh, and there was a street performer that we saw while in Faneuil Market/Hall(please, google that, because I didn't get any good pictures of it, but it was awesome). I videoed his whole performance, but it took up all the memory on my camera, so I deleted it. He was put in a straight jacket, tied up with a rope, and suspended, upside-down, about 10 feet from the ground. He had to escape and get right-side-up, again, all by himself. He was hilarious. And he had a cute volunteer, named Liam, who kept staring at me. :) Haha, sorry, if all this talk about cute guys bothers you, but I'm a teenage girl, and just want you to know exactly what I experienced. Plus, if you really know me, this is no surprise to you. ;) Anyways. So, this guy(the performer, not Liam, haha). He was actually really perverted, but it was in a joking way, and everyone thought he was just hilarious. I was going to post the video I actually got of him escaping, but it's only like a minute and some odd seconds long, and it wouldn't upload it for some reason. But, yeah. He was great. And, it was a great experience getting to walk around Boston, ride in trains, and see lots of interesting people. :) Oh, and almost everytime I say, "Boston," I accidentally say it in a Boston accent.. Yeah. I'll be a full-blown Northerner before the end of the week! :D Well, Boston Red Sox game tomorrow!
-Camile <3

Coolest. Uncle. Ever.

That sexy beast is my favorite uncle, Fran. What's he doing? Digging into the best(not just because it was my first) calzone ever on the face of this planet. Its like 2 pizzas stuck together with cheese, chicken, and broccoli stuffed in the middle. In other words, PARADISE. <3 This isn't the best picture of him, but I don't care. He doesn't even know I took it. :) I'm just a ninja, like that. Anyways, he's the coolest uncle ever. And, most definitely, the most hilarious. But, as crazy as he is, he's one of the(if not "the") sweetest men I know. And, you'll definitely hear more about this guy in this blog. 

Taken from the van, on our way there. This is the sunset in North Carolina(you'll see the sunrise for the next day[today] later on). It was really pretty, but I couldn't quite get the greatest picture of it, since we were riding down the road and the windows were dirty. So, not the best picture, but it'll do. :) 

This is the sunrise in New Jersey. Notice how our sunset and sunrise were in two completely different states? Hah. Yeah. We were doing some hardcore traveling(I'll list all of the states we went through, in order, later on). And, this sunrise was one of the brightest I've ever seen. I mean, I haven't seen very many, but still. It was so blinding that we were stressing, because we couldn't see the signs to the ramps we had to get off on. It was a stressful ride, anyway(again, I'll be explaining later; just be patient), so this didn't help!

This is a beautiful bridge that we had to get onto while in New Jersey. What was the toll? EIGHT FREAKING DOLLARS. Insane, right? We thought so, too. And, little did we know, this bridge took us from New Jersey straight into New York. We didn't realize this until we got across the bridge and saw signs saying, "Manhattan" and "Bronx." There was no state line, so we were a little confused. Of course, it wasn't even 30 minutes into New York that we hit the Connecticut state line, so yeah. 

The one out of two pictures I got of New York. I think this is Manhattan, not New York City, but its still New York! This was a really old bridge that we passed. It wasn't until just now that I realized we were most likely on a bridge identical to that one as we were passing.. I'm a little slow. :P But, hey, its probably because I've only had 2 1/2 hours of sleep in the past almost 40 hours! So, don't judge me!

BOSTON! FINALLY! :) Well, technically, its Woburn, Massachusetts, but its 5 minutes down the road, if not IN Boston, so it counts. This is like the "town square" of Woburn, which is like 6 blocks long. This particular area was just kind of random, but it was cute. And, the first picture I took in Boston. :) 

My Aunt Angela's house in Woburn. Its so cute, isn't it? :) You should see the inside, but we're not staying there until later on in the week, so I'm not even going to post any of the inside. Plus, it kinda feels weird walking around her house taking pictures of it.. O.o Though, I'll probably post some of random places in her house. Like, for example, her creepy stairs.. One stairway leads up to a dark upstairs, and the other, leads down into a creepy basement(which I haven't been in, nor do I plan to). 

This is the cute, little Italian restaurant/cafe thing that we got our lunch from. If I remember correctly, its called Marco's. The inside reminds me of being in Italy(minus the Boston accents), and the food is pretty delicious. Its a great place for real, Italian cold-cut subs! :) I had a piece of a calzone, but it was good, too!

A clam shell we found on the beach! Oh, and this is supposed to be a SMALL one! :O There was another one bigger than this one, that was also a "small" clam. We(me and Stevie, not Ricky and Fran, because they're too lame) were supposed to dig for some clams, but the tide was too high. Bummer! But, oh well. We've got time. :)

This is a little restaurant on the beach that has one of the BEST calzones and pizza EVER. Its really small, but uber cute. And, did I mention its ON THE BEACH?! Yeahhh! Apparently, Uncle Fran comes here quite a lot, too. He knew just what to order and how to get there and such. Gotta love him! :)

Last picture, I promise! This is the sunset in Boston on the beach. :) Btw, that's facing the road and stuff, not the ocean. Oh, and all these pictures, plus many, MANY more, will be posted on my facebook for everyone to see! :)
The ride there was absolute TORTURE. We started out in the afternoon and it was super hot outside. Oh, did I mention that the A/C in the van is out? And that only one of the windows rolls down? Hah. Yeah. It was insane. But, once we hit the Carolinas, it started raining, so it cooled down a lot. Okay, so here's our route: Alabama>Georgia>South Carolina>North Carolina>Virginia>West Virginia>Maryland>New Jersey>New York>Connecticut>Massachusetts. Phew. I had to get Stevie to help me out with that, btw. It took us a total of 22 hours to finally get here. Which, included stops and turn arounds and GPS screw ups. Yes, that's right. Our GPS is stupid. It kept randomly "recalculating" when we were going the right way! And, one time, it told us to get off on this exit, turn right, turn around, turn around again, then get back on the interstate exactly the same way we were going before.. TOTALLY. FREAKING. INSANE. So, we didn't count that in our number of turn arounds. Which, btw, was only 2 times! Total record, I know! And, it was when we were in Atlanta, Georgia, which is a pretty insane place to drive, in case you didn't know. But, after all the GPS mess-ups, our own screw-ups, some hilarious and interesting conversations, and a cappuccino in Maryland, we made it to Boston in one piece. :) And, I have only the Lord to thank, because it definitely could've been worse.. Much, much worse. So, I'll continue to keep you guys updated as much as I can. Especially since, as you can see, I have internet access! Woohoo! Yay for Uncle Fran's awesome neighbors' internet! ;) Haha. 
-Camile <3

Post-Packing Jitters

I know what you're thinking, "Packing? Packing for what? ...And, is 'post-packing' even a word?" Well, first of all, I have no clue if that's a word; I just kind of concocted it myself(btw, I do that a lot). But, if you're so illiterate that you have no clue what it might mean, its just a way of saying "after packing." And, secondly, I'm packing because I'm leaving for Boston, Massachusetts, tomorrow! Yes, that's right. I, Karen Camile Tompkins, one of the most southern/"redneck" people you'll ever know, am going UP NORTH. And, to top it all off, I'm super stoked about it. Crazy, right? But, anyways. In case you were wondering, the reason I'm going up there, is to see some family. The only ones I know of are as follows: Uncle Fran, Aunt Angela, and Tim(not sure if he's an actual uncle or not, so we'll stick with his first name, for now). I'm looking forward to seeing Uncle Fran the most, of course. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend quality time with a crazy, Italian uncle that has the coolest Boston accent ever, and always gives you life lessons in terms of basball? That's right. Only jerks wouldn't. And, I, my friend, am not a jerk. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm excited to stay with Aunt Angela and Tim, too, but I've only met them once, so I'm not sure exactly how they do things and such. Uncle Fran, on the other hand, I grew up with him, and look up to him a lot. But, we'll see what this journey entails. Another reason why we're going up there is to go to a Red Sox game(the baseball team that my brother-in-law, Ricky, is absolutely obsessed with), and just go sight-seeing. I mean, ITS BOSTON. There's lots of cool(mostly historical, but still cool) places to see.

I just got done packing, except for a few odd-end things that have to wait until later, cleaned my room, and decided to go ahead and do a pre-Boston blog to let you guys in on what exactly is going on. Especially, since my cousin, Chelsey, keeps nagging me about blogging. (Hey, Chels(: ). I, honestly, don't even know if I'll be able to get an internet connection at their houses, or if I'll even have the time to get on the internet, much less blog. So, this could be my first, and only, blog about Boston until I get back. But, I'll try my best to find a way to keep you guys(or, really, just Chels, and maybe my mom; I doubt anyone else will actually read this) updated. But, I don't really care who reads it or not. I mean, yes, I encourage anyone/everyone to continue reading/following my blog, but, if you don't, there will be no hard feelings. Not only because I wouldn't exactly know if you were following along here unless you told me, but also because I just do this to practice my writing skills(I love writing, btw), get my feelings out, and so anyone who cares to know what I'm up to can actually know and hear it from me. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering(since, I know you probably are), when I say '"We are going to Boston," I'm referring to my older sister, Stevie(the middle child), and her husband, Ricky, and I. They have 2 kids, but they're staying here with the grandparents. I wasn't even supposed to go at first, because I would be the one babysitting, but then they changed their plans and said that I could go if I wanted. I asked my mom, and she told me that I could if we had the money. And, honestly, I prepared myself for disappointment since we never really have the money for anything, but I was very surprised, and extremely happy/relieved, when she said I could actually go. Now, here we are, less than 24 hours away(16 hours and some odd minutes, to be exact), I'm packed(for the most part), and now its just a matter of time. And, trust me, I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world. And, in that time frame before we leave, I have to: go to church(for 2 hours, since we're having dinner there, tonight), somehow get my dad to get me minutes for my phone(they're supposed to already be up, but its still working, and he hates buying me minutes, but he'll get over it), absolutely, positively be completely packed and ready to go, attempt sleep(I'm a night owl, btw. I'll probably end up reading all night), get up, take a shower, wait for Ricky, then make sure I put everything in the van, and wait until Stevie gets off work, THEN, we FINALLY get to leave. But, of course, its about a 23 hour drive, so I won't even actually be there until FRIDAY. I'm going to lose my mind. But, oh well. Its not like I need it anyway, haha. Well, "that's all I have to say about thaaat." Sorry, I love Forrest Gump. But, seriously. The next time you guys and gals get to read this, I'll be in Boston! Woohoo! I just wish everything goes as good as I hope it will. 

-Camile <3