The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots

Category: Travel

  • Part One: The Girls Have Fun

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    My mom has a great love of buying things at garage sales, re-selling them on Ebay, and collecting the profits in a “girl’s fun money” jar. So far this has resulted in at least one fun girl’s trip every time Amy happens to be in town. Well Amy came home recently, I think for my…

  • The Wedding

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    Up here the sun sets late and rises early, and the relatives go to bed later and get up earlier. My mattress on the living room floor was not an ideal place to catch some zzzzz’s. In the morning I pulled a blanket over my head to block out the light and the feet shuffling…

  • Grandma 

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    Grandma brought 15 cans of prune juice in her carry-on bag. (“No,” said Grandma, correcting me, “it was 6 cans of prune juice and 5 cans of pineapple orange juice.) We checked that bag, after all. Grandma got to keep her shoes on, but she was still patted down by TSA for having hankies in…

  • Dear Atlantic: You’re no Pacific, but You’ll Do

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    The wave rose above me like a yellow wall of death. Time froze, weirdly, as every terrifying tsunami dream I’ve ever had flashed through my mind. “You have to jump into it!” Janessa yelled, and I closed my eyes and jumped into one of my biggest fears. This was a terrible idea. The wave completely…

  • The River Beckons

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    I love the way the river smells. I love the way it feels to guide the course of a canoe with a small flick of my paddle. I love being on the water, maneuvering around rocky islands thick with birds and wildflowers. As a middle kid in a large-ish family, it was very difficult to…

  • Let’s Camp Here Forever and Never Go Home

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    “Going on a trip is kinda like eating at a buffet,” said Ben. “Do you get a little of everything or a lot of a few things that you really love?” Our camping trip was definitely the “a little of everything” variety. We drove up and down the southern Oregon coast, seeing everything there was…

  • Adventure Boots

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    “Do you think I should take my rubber boots on this trip?” I asked my brother Ben, as we planned our camping adventures. “You might as well, if there’s room in the car,” said Ben. “They might come in handy.” Sure enough, the first trail we hiked was soggy and muddy. I ran back to…

  • The Redwoods Expedition (Part 2)

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    (Read part 1 here) I woke up to the sun streaming through the windows of Elaine’s van, shining on the orange pillows and vintage suitcases. “Yes! Maybe it will finally warm up in here,” I thought, curling deeper into my sleeping bag. It had been a rather cold night. I heard a rustle of tent…

  • The Redwoods Expedition (Part 1)

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    I resented daylight savings when I got up early Monday morning to take my last final of the term, but as evening rolled around I was so thankful for it. “Maybe we’ll have just enough time to set up our tent before it gets dark,” said Ashlie, leaning over the seat. I held my phone…

  • The Longest Christmas of my Life

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    Hour 1.0 to hour 8.5 One last time, I slept on Amy’s brown leather couch, the soft tropical breezes drifting through the screen door. I rarely have insomnia when I’m in Thailand. Or maybe I do, but the night is so beautiful through the wide windows that I don’t even notice. I dreamed that I…