Over and Out

Over And Out

Have you ever felt like you were meant to do something? That is exactly how I felt about the last nine months. Chancellor decided that life is too short, and that we should travel  as much of the world as  possible. TA-DA! After France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Texas, California, Hawaii, Arizona, and Utah it’s over. Each city had something new.

 Boston has amazing history, interesting people, and clam chowder. New York has busy streets, high skyscrapers, and amazing broadway productions. Washington D.C. had historic sites and politics. Philadelphia had amazing history amazing food, and sports.  France had  years of history, museums, and the food. Italy had deep history, food, and amazing people.  Switzerland had breathtaking scenery  trains, and fondue. England had bloody accents, tea, and the queen.

California  had  movie stars, amusement parks, and fun. Hawaii had old traditions, amazing beaches, and animals. Arizona had hiking, biking, and fun adventures. Utah had skiing, mountains, and fun with the family. It’s really amazing remembering these magnificent places and thinking  ”oh, yeah I went there.”

 I will always remember the feeling of being on the top of the Effiel Tower. Thinking that I was a bird then seeing that birds do fly at this altitude. Walking up the steps of the Leaning Tower of Pisa feeling adventurous. In California on the Egyptian ride feeling like puking my guts out. In Hawaii, standing up on the surfboard. When I think about these moments I can’t help but smile. Those moments will never be forgotten. It’s crazy just thinking about these places. Going to Europe I knew it was gonna be different, but traveling America I saw really big differences! I thought every town was going to be somewhat like Memphis, but no.

            Our family grew so much closer also. We all have really bonded. I’m so happy all of these life changing moments were spent with my family.

I think of the world so differently now. There is so much history in one spot. I mean in Rome just standing in the street under your feet are centuries and centuries of history!  Just thinking about it makes me exited all over again!

            I hope that  all of you  do something in your life that you’ve always wanted to do! I know that I have, so what are you waiting for? 

Over and Out.                                                                Rainey

Sunny and Snowy

Traveling from Arizona to Utah was so fun! Seeing cool rock formations, eating really good cookies from Aunt Janice, and getting pulled over by the Utah State Police! When we got to our house at the Silver Star Resort, we got unpacked. We all couldn't wait to go skiing! The next day we got our boots and skis fitted. We had to wait one more day until we could ski. Finally we got out on the ski hill. We had a blast! For the next week we skied every day. I went 43 mph on the ski hill. Peyton brought his go pro so we got some cool photos and videos.We went on the terrain park every day. My mom's friends came out. We skied with them too, but every day the snow was melting. We got a little snow storm that helped a little bit. Mom's friends went home, and we were left waiting for our cousins. Jackson is 4 days older than Peyton and couldn't really ski this year because of bad knees. Joslin is 2 months older than me and could ski this year, but there wasn't much snow left anyway. So we went shopping, swimming, and bowling. We even did this really fun yoga thing where you do yoga on a paddle board in a hot crater with mineral water. We went to the outside swimming pool and played star, dodge ball, even a game that we invented! Everyone except Mom, Aunt Jen, and Joslin went fly fishing in the Provo. It was super cool! I caught 4 fish! We went to a cool swiss famliy dinner in Deer Valley.  Then it was Easter! It was super fun spending it with the cousins! Sadly they went home the next day. And now we are going home tomorrow! My next blog will be about the adventure. So be sure to tune in! See you all VERY soon!

Rainey

Wild, Wild, West

We took a flight from Maui to LAX. After five hours of movies ( happy feet 2 ) and TV shows (Hawaii five O and the Middle ) we landed. It was like 11 o 'clock at night, but sense we were in Hawaii our body clock said  8. We got our car and started driving to Scottsdale, Arizona. This is where my great aunt lives. We decided to visit her because she's what started it all. Aunt Janice was diagnosed with  Ovarian Cancer. She was about to have her big surgery when my mom visited her. This was in the summer  of 2010, and we are almost always at the pig (my lake house) in the summer. When my mom got back we went to dinner, and she told us how aunt Janice was doing. That's when Chancellor said that life is to short and that we should do something like travel the world. My mom pulled out a pad and a pen. She asked us where we might want to go. And off we were!  Back to landing in LA.  We drove a little bit out of LA and found an Inn. My aunt Janice lives with her best friend who we call Aunt Lee Ann. The next morning we drove 7 hours to their house. We were greeted by there dog Hudson. We had a wonderful dinner and some great sleep! The next morning we rode bikes and walked. Then Aunt J told us about an awesome camp where you ride horses, through hatchet, fire some guns, and go on a jeep tour. We said we would love to do it! The next day we drove out to the ranch. My horses name was Shortcut. If your laughing, don't. Peyton's was Princess, now laugh all you want! Here is all of the horses names : Shortcut (me), Princess (Peyton), Gizmo (Chancellor), Blue Boy (Callie), Widow (Aunt J). After horseback riding we went to the lunch they made for us. After lunch we went to the hatchet  throwing station. Peyton was the best! After hatchets we went to the revolver shooting stand. Chancellor shot down that one! We rode horses one more time then went on the jeep tour. We were going up and down these small hills when we got stuck. Our back left tire was off the ground three feet! After we got unstuck, the driver named Dubee lit a very dangerous cactus on fire. Dubee then cut it open, and let us eat it. It was like a bitter kiwi. We rode back to the ranch but then rode a little further to get to the skit shooting. We started shooting skeet, and turns out mom was the best. It was a fun way to start off Arizona. The next day we hiked a mountain called camel back. It was crazy at some points because it was like a rock wall without a safety rope. When we finally got to the top we saw the wonderful view and relaxed. Our motivation was In and Out Burger, so it felt good to get down the mountain and get one. When we got back to the house I jumped into the freezing cold pool. It was like forty degrees if you don't believe me you can ask my brothers. To get five dollars, I had to stay in there for twelve minutes. I won. We also did this thing called AZ on the rocks. It is a rock climbing place. It was really really fun. For the next two weeks we did a lot of fun stuff. We went golfing, mudding, talked to a nutritionist, hiked, and rode our bikes around. We even went to this cool new museum about music called MIM. There was a station for every country. Each station had a musical instrument that fit that country personally. There was even a section where you could play some of the instruments. We even went to a spring training game. It was the San Fransisco Giants verses the Colorado Rockies. When the Giants won T.J. Snow even tossed me a ball. It was so cool. We drove there in an old Volkswagen Van. Her name was Milly, and she was so much fun getting there, and coming back.  One of the highlights was the Grand Canyon and Sedona.  I can see why the Grand Canyon is one of the seven wonders of the world.  It is so beautiful, deep and wide. There really is no way to describe it.  It just need to be seen by everyone.  Sedona was very cool.  We went on a pink jeep tour which was super neat. The rock formations are incredible.  I loved Arizona so much and visiting my Aunts for so long. I will see you all on the ski hill.   We are off to Park City, Utah

Rainey

The Big Island comes with Big Surprises

We got on to the Big Island not knowing what to expect. The big island was formed by a volcano. They even have an active volcano. When we landed at the airport and to our delight it was an outdoor airport! We got our rental car and started driving to our timeshare. Like I said before this island was formed by a volcano, so we saw fields of volcanic rock. We actual drove threw it.  Yes , the road was in the middle of the volcanic rock. It was super cool. The next day we went to a great snorkel spot near our timeshare. We saw two sea turtles, lots of colorful fish and a huge puffer fish. It was so much fun that we could not wait to go to one of the top seven snorkel spots in the world. To get there we had to go by boat.  We were going on a zodiac. We got up the next morning to go to the meeting place.  Once we got to the dock we had a great lunch and then got in the zodiac.  We had a great captain and first hand that took us to the bay.  This is also the bay where Captain Cook sailed into and where he met his fate.  It was so cool to snorkel here because of the structures of rock and coral and of course all the fish. We even saw a moray eel.  Also, while we were snorkeling, a mama humpback whale and baby were playing and breached not far from us.  I could hear them under the water.  Way cool!  It was a fun day. The next day we went back to the beach close to us to snorkel and surf.  Of course, the "Walrus" Todd did not try to get back on the surf board.  The next day we got up super early to head out for the other side of the island.  We were headed to a ziplining tour. We got to the first zipline which was really short, but it was suppose to get us ready for the ones ahead.  The next 4 were quick and fun.  And then it was time for the last two.  The biggest one was so big and long that you passed over a 300 ft. waterfall. It was so awesome! After the ziplining we went on a helicopter ride over the active volcano.  We even saw the red magma bubbling!  Scary but fun!  That night we went to a movie.  It was so fun to go to a movie in Hawaii. The next day was a big day.  Night diving with Manta rays!  We got on an amazing boat and went out to a bay. This is where the manta rays come and feed at night.  We got to get in the water before it got dark so we could get used to it.  Manta rays feed on plankton.  When it got dark, they put these hug lights on the bottom of the ocean which attracted the plankton and manta rays. Manta rays do all these rolls and flips when they eat.  You can only imagine! We saw them do barrel roll after barrel roll.  We were inches from them!  It was amazing!  The next day we went to a place called the four seasons . Why you ask? It 's where the turtles hang out! We counted 14 sea turtles in all! It was a fun way to end Kona and to begin Maui. This is sad to say, but  the next island is Maui and our last ):

Rainey


P.S. Sorry how long it took ! 

Paradise gets a new meaning

Our first night in Honolulu was torture because of our condo.  I didn't sleep the entire night.  It was smaller than a regular bedroom, and it was suppose to fit all 5 of us.  We quickly tried to find a new place for the rest of the week.  Dad found an amazing beach house.  It had a huge back yard that was right on the beach.                         The best part was I had my own bedroom.  It was beautiful.  Super nice.  I really got into baseball (go Boston Redsoxs) and football, so the backyard was awesome!  We met really nice people that happened to be our neighbors.  They had 3 kids, Jake 13, Joey 10, and Jimmy 8.  Jimmy was hilarious!  We hung out with them for most of the week.  We did go to Pearl Harbor, and it was so sad.  We went to the USS Arizona Memorial which was right on top of the USS Arizona which sunk during World War II.  You could see the ship.  After a fun filled week, we are off to the Big Island which is really the name of the island!  Zaugg adventures will continue!!!  If we live through this island, no one knows!!!  PS....Go Giants.  By the way, if you want to see pictures, go to my brothers website, www.peytonzaugg.blogspot.com

Rainey

HaWOWii

When we landed in Honolulu, lunch was on my mind.  I didn't care that I was in paradise, I just wanted lunch.  So, we headed to Stingerray's in the airport.  Next we caught our connecting flight to Kauai.  Kauai is famous for all the movie that have been filmed on it.  Jurassic Park, Six Days and Seven Nights, South Pacific, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more.  The island was very lush and beautiful.  Considering that the main highway was a 2 lane road that went all around the island, wait, you can't consider it, because you would have to see it to believe it.  We stayed in the village of Princeville.  Our side of the island is the rainy, jungle side.  That's right, just 45 minutes away has a completely different climate.  Amazing.  But, the weather was gorgeous on our side too!  We got to our condo and hung out.  The next morning we headed for Tunnels Beach.  Sound familiar?  At the time we didn't know it, but this was the beach where Bethany Hamilton "the soul surfer" was attacked by the shark.  We went snorkeling not far from where she was.  The next day, at 6:30 in the morning, we headed for Port Allen.  This is where we took a catamaran sail trip.  We were suppose to go to the Na Pali coast line, but a huge swell came in and we had to go to a different part of the island.  It was so fun.  We saw so many marine animals.  But to name a few, Humpback whales, Monk seals, dolphins, and of course my beloved sea turtles.  That afternoon we went to a place called the Beach House.  It had a small bay that was famous for sea turtles!  I headed straight for the water with my snorkel gear on determined to swim with a sea turtle.  After swimming around for a little bit, I finally saw one.  The two of us swam side by side for quite a while.  I even got to see another one.  I saw a shiny thing in his flipper which I realized was a fishing hook.  I started crying.  The poor turtle didn't do anything wrong!  We finally went back to our condo, worn out from a full day.  I went to bed early still thinking about the turtle with the hook in his flipper.  The next day we set out for Poipu, a surfers paradise. We decided that this was where we were going to take our surfing lessons.  We all did great except one of us.  I'll give you 3 hints.  He's the oldest of the group, he is the owner of Matrix achievement Group, and he is the one that you would think couldn't surf.  You guessed it.....Todd.  Now the next couple of days we spent swimming and snorkeling.  And then it was my birthday (Feb. 2nd).  Mom and Dad had something big planned, but they wouldn't tell me.  I woke up to flowers, singing, and gifts.  Paradise!  We drove to this shopping place and stopped.  I saw a sign that said Blue Hawaiian and with a helicopter on it.  We were going on a helicopter tour.  It was so beautiful.  Words can't describe the beauty we saw.  But, luckily the entire ride was filmed and recorded, so I have a lifetime DVD.  To my surprise, we ended the day with a birthday cake.  After a great birthday (the best ever), we fell in bed again!  The next day we went surfing all day and had a great time.  In the morning we left for the airport headed to Honolulu.  See you in Oahu!

Rainey

From Germantown to Hollywood

This is better late than never.....I'm going to fast forward a little bit.  We left Sunday, Jan. 21st for Amarillo, TX through Arkansas, Oklahoma, and 1 hour past the Texas state border line.  After traveling all day, it felt good to get out of the car and eat at T.G.I. Fridays and watch the Giants beat the 49ers.  Go Eli even though Brady is going to crush you.  After some well needed sleep, we got up and drove to Flagstaff, AZ.  The rest of Texas and New Mexico was in our dust.  We got to Flagstaff, and it was snowing.  Again it felt good to stop, rest and sleep.  Off and away we drove to California.  Driving into LA was like a movie.  Palm trees, beautiful houses, and crazy drivers!  Well, not in the movies are there crazy drivers but in real life they swarm the place.  At the hotel we got warm free cookies.  Next day we headed to Universal studios.  Praise the Lord for yelp maps!  It was so fun to see some of our favorite movies become rides.  It was not fun to go into the House of Horrors.  After a day filled with fun, we headed back to the hotel.  The next morning we headed to Hollywood.  Mom thought we should go on this famous shopping street (Rodeo Drive).  If you've ever seen yelp maps, you'll know that is shows a red pin where you started and green pin where you end.  A little blue ball is you.  This famous shopping street set us off course.  Our destination was near Malibu.  After some "confusion" and once again yelp maps we finally got to an amazing restaurant right on the ocean.  It was super fun.  The next day was a hang out day.  We swam and played tennis at the hotel.  That night we headed to Dave and Busters.  Guess who got 1,000 tickets??  The next morning we were off to Hawaii.  After some more "confusion" we got to LAX and made our flight.  We hopped on the plane with much excitement!  I practice my "Aloha" on the entire flight.  Mom read a Hawaiian magazine, Peyton listened to music, Chancellor and Dad watched movies, and then it happened. We were flying to Hawaii.  I'll soon be writing about Kauai, the island we are headed to first.  Until next time, feeling adventurous!

Rainey