U.S. Sightseeing

My parents are big on traveling. Every summer or holiday, they manage to work in endless hours of being trapped in a moving car that they call taking a trip. It actually isn't that bad, but after a while, you realize that the book that you are still on the same page in the book that you were reading, and that none of it is making any sense. Of course there are benefits to traveling a lot. I have been to about 30+ states, and out of all of those, I will have to say that the northeast region of the U.S. is the most serene, yet desolate place. The trees are always in the perfect shades of green, yellow, red, and brown. The towns that you pass through seem hidden in the rolling hills of perfection. Everyone you meet there is extremely friendly, treat you as if you were a long-lost brother returning home from far away places. My second favorite place is definitely Colorado. It is home to the Rockies, which probably sounds as exciting as smelling your grandmother's feet, but they are extravagant. The endless trails and paths through heaven never failed to excite me, and the ever-so-good camping food (not!) just adds to the experience. You almost never seen anyone out there, except for the occasional camping store out in the woods run by a guy with one tooth and giant leather paws callused from many days of the outdoors. So I you ever decide to go on a road trip, make sure you stop by these places!

Terrorism

Well I think everyone knows that America was a victim of terrorism on November 11, 2001. The terrorist group Al-Quida hijacked 3 planes. One crashed into the Twin Towers, another hit the World Trade Center, and the third crashed in a rural field in Pennsylvania. It was a huge shock to the country. I was in the third grade when this happened, so I don't remember it much or understood it at the time. What I do remember was the deadly silence that traced our school and our country that quiet afternoon. Eyes were glued to TV sets all afternoon and evening, and there was no trace of humor in anything, no matter how hysterical, for the next several days. The motives are unclear to me, but I'm sure our trusty government spent hours every night thinking up ways to tell it to the public with sugar-coated solemness. (Yes, that was sarcasm.) Airport security was taken up several hundred notches. You might as well walk than fly because of the paranoia. Bags were checked multiple times, your ticket and handbags were probably X-rayed with secret devices. There was no way that you could be an object more deadly than a Game Boy on a plane. The security is still very tight, which is a good thing, because I think that the country feels a whole lot safer.