UNCG Summer Music Camp

Every summer, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), there is a summer music camp that has 860 students each week. I go with one of my friends that plays the flute. You have the option of staying in the dorms or being a day-camper. I have always stayed in the dorms. The food is horrible. It is fun.

Washington, D.C.

My mom and I just got back from Washington, D.C. We went for the Fourth of July. We stayed at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. The Omni has been the location of every inaugural ball since FDR. We toured the White House, Pentagon, Supreme Court, Capitol and National Archives, all in one day! The next day, we went to Arlington Cemetary, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The next day was the Fourth. There was a parade along Constitution Avenue from 11:30AM to 2:00PM. Then, there was a concert on the West Lawn of the Capitol from 8:00PM until 9:00PM with Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin and Natasha Bedingfield. At 9:15, there was the fireworks. From where we sat, the were all right above the Washington Monument. They were beautiful. I would definitely go back and would recommend this to someone else.

Camp Raven Knob

This picture is of Camp Raven Knob. For Boy Scouts, we go to summer camp for a week and we take merit badge classes and have free swim in Lake Sabotta. The Vaughn-Woltz Order of the Arrow Arena is the set of stone bleachers that you see in the bottom left of the photo. Raven Knob is in Mt. Airy, NC. This picture was taken from a rock formation called "The Knob" on top of a mountain.

San Francisco

My family and I have had to travel to San Francisco several times while my grandmother was about to die. My uncle lives in Chico and my grandmother lived in Livermore, a town outside of San Francisco. When my grandmother died, my mom, my dad, myself and one of our parents' friends went out to her funeral. We spent the rest of the day in the Berkeley hills and San Francisco. We went across the Golden Gate Bridge and drove down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. We love San Francisco!

Savannah and Hilton Head

In August, my mom and I are going to Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island! We are staying at the Mansion on Forsyth Park (pictured above) in Savannah and in a condo in Hilton Head.

The Homestead

The Homestead is a beautiful resort in the mountains of Virginia. The Homestead is located in Hot Springs, Virginia. The hotel was built in 1766. They offer horseback riding, and outdoor pool, indoor pool, spa, bowling alley, ski resort, golf courses, fishing, biking, hiking, tubing, and relaxing in sulphur springs. The Homestead is a family friendly resort!

Traveling

Whenever my family and I travel, we look for the best deal possible. My dad found a package that allowed us to stay at the Luxor for $87 per night! This included airfare, also! My mom got a deal on a room at the Venetian for $159 per night when normally they are $249 per night!!! My dad got a tremendous deal on a room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in D.C. A room for $110 that normally costs $345!!! Our vacations are lots of fun!

My Trombone

I like to play the trombone. I am first chair (the best) in our band. I was allowed to play the Star Spangled Banner at our awards ceremony. I made All-District and All-County Band. I love my trombone.

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BELLA!!!

These are pictures of my cat, Bella! She is one year old.

"Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" Sign with Mandalay Bay in background

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My Dad's Blog

brentmackay.blogspot.com

Tae Kwon Do

My entire family has earned their 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. We started in September of 2006. We have had a lot of fun during our experience. There are 10 belts you must complete before getting to black belt. White, orange, yellow, senior yellow, green, senior green, blue, senior blue, red, senior red and then black. There are basic techniques, self-defense and forms that you are tested on before you can progress to the next belt. Forms are a combination of basic techniques that are about 30 moves long. Self-defense is how to defend yourself. Sparring is controlled "fighting." You wear padded gear to soften the blows to your opponent. Tae Kwon Do is very fun and is a great workout.

Biltmore Estate Website

www.biltmore.com

Grand Bohemian Site

http://www.bohemianhotelasheville.com/

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

When I was in fifth grade, our class took an overnight trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We drove the eight hours to get there and stopped at the Virginia Military Institute, Harpers' Ferry and Anteitam. All of which were famous sites of the Civil War. When we got to Gettysburg, we had dinner in a grand hotel and went to a cemetary and heard ghost stories about the field we were sitting on. Then we went to our hotel and spent the night. The next day, we went to two old towers that were used during the Civil War. We went up on Seminary Ridge and to a piece of land in Gettysburg owned by North Carolina. Then we went to Big and Little Roundtop and Devil's Den. It is said that your camera will break if you take a picture of the inside of the den. If it doesn't break, there is said to be ghosts in the photo. The picture of the rocks proves that neither happens.

Biltmore and Grand Bohemian

My family loves to go to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore is the largest home in America. The Grand Bohemian is a hotel across the street from the Biltmore. I highly recommend this hotel for anyone going to Biltmore. There is a winery, restaurant, bistro and inn on the grounds of Biltmore. Families will love this place!

Bella

This is my one year old cat Bella! We bought her at the end of January 2009. She is a Blue-Point Birman kitten. The fur on her legs is a dark brown, but the fur on the ends of her paws are white. We call them gloves. The Birman breed is very affectionate (loving)!

Yorktown

The USS Yorktown is an old Aircraft Carrier that is permanently stuck in the Charleston Bay in Charleston, South Carolina. I went and slept on the Carrier twice with boy scouts. There was a submarine, Coast Guard ship and destroyer ship there, too. You could tour all of them. Fort Sumter was nearby as well. Charleston is really fun!

www.hotels.com

www.greenbrier.com

Greenbrier

The Greenbrier is a AAA Five Diamond Hotel in White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. The Green brier has an outdoor and indoor pool, shuffleboard, horseshoes, croquet, horseback riding, carriage rides, sleigh rides, bike riding, shooting clays, bunker tours, fisshing, three golf courses and lots of event space! The Greenbrier is a family friendly hotel!

www.vegas.com

Pictures of Las Vegas

These are pictures of our trip to Las Vegas in August of 2008 and April of 2009. In August, my mom and I stayed at the Venetian and Bellagio, two Italian themed hotels. The Bellagio has elaborate fountain displays nightly from 4-8 PM every 30 minutes and from 8-midnight every 15 minutes. In April, my dad and I stayed at the Luxor, the only Egyptian theme hotel. The Luxor is a pyramid with a statue of the Sphinx in front. Both times, we went to Hoover Dam and Red Rocks Canyon. My dad and I went boating on Lake Mead where I almost crashed the boat. We also went to the top of the Stratosphere Tower. 109 floors tall! Las Vegas is a very fun city.