June 29

June 29
Today was mahlique's 17th birthday, which was only five days after Houston's but to me it felt like our night at that Kentucky campground was months ago. Now we are in Indiana, the birthplace of both Suependa and mahlique; and as a special treat their family and suependas other three children drove down to Corydon to greet us. And as an additional treat "yai" (mahlique's grandmother) brought homemade tai food. And this food was delicious. My mom is in love with tai food; so I'm no stranger to pa tai and yellow curry, but these homemade dishes were the best I've ever had in my life. And probably the first time I ate "real" tai food and not an American spin off. Needless to say I consumed five full plates, and by full I mean the food was about to fall off the plate. The food was great but the best part of the day was the look on mahlique's, Suependa's, and Kevin's faces as they were reunited with their family. Getting up and biking everyday is difficult both mentally and physically. Having a strong family to support you is that one factor that makes you keep going

July 3
the eve of July 4th. This was the first time in the entire trip where we stay in a hotel. To be more specific it was the embassy suites, located across the bridge from cincinnati, OH. The parents gave us each $20 and pretty much said get out and explore the city, be back by 11. Ao naturally the kids went out the find some Chinese food. Unfortunately today was Sunday and all the local shops were closed down. After separating from the rest of the the group me and Ibn stayed in Covington and walked around for hours trying to find someplace to eat. Around 9 pm, out of desperation, we fi ally walked across the bridge into the city. To my amazement we were greeted by iron man 2 playing on a big screen in the town square, and more restaurants than I wanted to choose from. Coincidently we found the rest of the group in the first place we entered, and and after eating we went out to the square to watch fireworks. It was great to have the freedom to walk around the city and do what you wanted, such as kyvon dance battling little kids and a homeless man. It's a type of freedom we don't have while on the bike and I can speak for the group when I say that this was a bonding experience, which brought us all closer.

July 4th
Today was the big day. The day all of us had been looking forward to for this whole trip. Today SNR woke up from our hotel in Covington, and drove 40 minutes to Kings Island, OHIO.
INSERT PICTURE

The second we exited the van every single one of us was ready to dash through the entrance and head straight to the BEAST, a roller coaster that Suependa had ridden as a child. And rightfully named the beast was a crazy ride. I swore I was going to die once we started to ascend and I saw the first drop. And I'm not gonna lie I was holding sue's hand for that first big one. But just like every roller coaster you ride, that fear turned into exciment as we rolled around the first turn. By the end the whole crew was yelling, screaming and laughing at one another as we flew over each additional twist. At the end it was so fun that we ended up going again. Actually beacauee we were there so early we all did it at least 3 more times. After the beast we all were sea hint for the baddest roller coasters in the whole park. We hit a couple stumbles, like the crypt. I swear I've taken my 5 year old cousin and more exciting rides. Just a suggestion to anyone wanting to go to kings island..... Just let that one go. But even after such rides we found the one that made the day. The diamonback was by far the most extreme coaster I have ever been on in my life. The first drop was 90 degrees, and I kept thinking "how the hell am I still falling?". The best part for me was hearing chris, who was sitting next to me, scream " oh shoot!" for the entire ride. And my reaction might have been partly shock and partly fear from the actual roller-coaster, but i laughed so hard i didn't stop crying until about 5 minutes after we left the ride. After the diamback the group split up with the four boys (Chris, Mahlique, Kyvon, and Houston) going to the water park, and the rest of us going to get food at one of the cafeterias. So we ate and laughed at how everyone reacted to the rides and had a good time while we chomped on our pizza and orange chicken. It wasn't until a couple of hours later until he the group reunited at th delreiem, an insane contraption that twisted you around and hen swung you back and forth...... Really high. And het has these pointy spike sticking up from the ground, and I promise that they were about two feet from hitting me. And of course the best part was hearing the screams and distorted curses from my fellow SNR members. After that ride it became time to leave the park, unfortunately . But even as we left we could define rly look back and smile as realized that this park represents our trip nearing it's end. Only ten days left.

July 5




Sent from my iPhone