All I have left is this photo..

I walk into the house. It’s perfect. It has two stories and is open with plenty of room, but there is something funny about it. It is layered in a thick coating of dust. It hasn't been lived in for fifty years. I walk unconsciously down the wooden stairs. I somehow make it to the bedroom at the end of the basement. It still has black, grey, and pink strips painted thoughtfully on the wall. I walk onto the freshly put in carpets. The expensive carpet that covers the blood stains. Not even thinking anymore I open the closet; in the corner I see a photo.  The photo is of a family; 3 girls, a mom, and a dad. I flip to the back side of the photo. It’s from 2012, fifty years ago. This is the family who used to live in this house. They look happy, all wearing matching blue shirts.  “They look happy”, that thought echoes in my head.  I don’t know much about this family, only from what I've heard from people. They were active in their community and their church, always willing to help out anyone in need. This family is a legacy around here. Some even say they haunt this house waiting to take revenge on the next innocent home owner.

Luckily, I know the truth. It was the youngest daughter’s 17^th birthday and the family was celebrating. Without any warning, two men broke into the large white house, one from the main entrance and one from the glass French doors. The family was drug apart and taken to each a separate room and duct taped to their beds. One by one they were slaughtered. Even to this day no one knows why.

That brings me back to her room, the birthday girls, supposedly the one who was murdered last. She almost escaped I once heard a lady say. This photo doesn’t tell the story of the murder though. It tells a completely different story. A happy story of a typical American family and that is how I want to remember them. Some people say they had it coming, that they deserved to die a miserable and young death. That’s why I moved into this house. I need to uncover the truth, but until then, all I have left is this photo.

Camping

Childhood Memories

Crackle, crackle, crackle...do you hear that? It's the sound of a fire, but not any fire, a camp fire. Let me take you back in time to my childhood, a happy place filled with water balloons, sunshine, boat rides, and of course, camp fires.

I am the youngest of three girls. During the summer it was always a tradition for our parents to take us camping as much as they possible could. Our camper was little and white with green paint chipping off of the side. It had one microscopic bedroom, two bunk beds, a couch, and a table that folds into a bed. The camper also included a tiny kitchen, one only big enough to wash the few dishes we ever used. None of this really mattered to us considering we were rarely inside the camper.

 As soon as we got to the camp ground we would roll a large green rug outside of the camper and would set up the awning out to shade us from the blazing sun. After getting smothered in sunscreen we were allowed to run around, ride our bikes around the loop, or my favorite thing to do, collect sticks. If we were really lucky sometimes our parents would take us down to the beach to build sand castles or play in the semi cold water. No matter what, at the end of the day we would always have a camp fire and my dad always roasted us a delicious red hot dog. We would end the campfire with him reading a scary story and us taking a blue poker stick and setting the tip of it on fire and holding it to the sky and at the top of our lungs we would scream, "calling all aliens!". This is something only we would understand.

Camping was a huge part of my childhood and I had some of the best times of my life in that small campground Pick City. It was great bonding time with my family, especially my sisters. Even now that we have sold our camper, my sisters are no longer living in the same house as me, and life is moving on. I will never forget all of the funny and precious memories we had going camping.

Thailand

Imagine a place where you can do almost anything and everything your little heart desires! Well believe it or not there is such a place. This wonderful place is called Thailand. If I could go anywhere in the world for my dream vacation, this would be the place. Thailand is near the ocean and they have gorgeous beaches all over.Just imagine running into the deep blue ocean with the warm sand squeezing between your toes! Thailand is also home to some of the most beautiful temples of all time. These temples include the temple of the reclining Buddha,temple of dawn, temple of the emerald Buddha, and finally the temple of the golden Buddha. I can just imagine walking into one of these temples in Bangkok and embracing the culture of the Thai people! Thailand also has awesome shopping opportunities. There is almost every American store in Thailand plus unique shops that you can find no where else. Riding the sky train would also be a must. Finally the biggest reason that I would want to go to Thailand is to see Bam, a foreign exchange student that stayed with me a couple years ago. I would want to spend tons and tons of time with Bam and want her to show me her favorite restaurants, stores, and favorite things to do.When Bam came to America I showed her the rules to follow in America and I would expect her to do the same for me in Thailand. With all of these amazing things to do and see in Thailand this makes it the perfect vacation spot for me!