My first official OAR trip of the semester was a glorified potluck a few hours from Gainesville. Nina led a leisurely hiking trip to Torreya State Park, home of the endangered Torreya tree and some of Florida's only elevation changes. As typical of Florida in January, it was very hot outside and I ended up shedding my flannel and sweatshirt layers instantaneously. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on this trip but there were about 40 others to compensate. The hike was simple and easy. We completed the loop before dark and set up camp around the yurt that Nina had reserved. Yurts are really cool but difficult for me to explain. Essentially, it was a giant circular tent. Usually, they are collapsable but the ones in the park are not. These also had air conditioning and beds, an OAR luxury. Everyone started cooking dinner and sharing with everyone else, potluck style. I personally ate enough for three, maybe four people and felt kind of sick. Bevin, Kelsey, and I also brought our ukeleles and attempted to play something together. I mostly just strummed mine for fun and barely picked at any chords. I ended up sleeping in the yurt and was lucky enough to secure part of a bed. Unfortunately, my sleeping bag was too hot but the air conditioning was too cold, so I was uncomfortable temperature-wise for a majority of the night.
The next morning, we started another hike and then a group of us turned back for a picnic area, where we set up slacklines and played frisbee. I am terrible at frisbee. Mike and Kelsey have both tried to help me with throwing but my aim is abysmal. I improved somewhat over the duration of several hours but this was marginal. We all lounged around the picnic area until the rest of the group returned. Then, my car decided to go to the beach at St. Joe's. It was out of the way but watching the sunset over the horizon with dolphins jumping in front of us made the drive worth it. We ate dinner at a local pizza place we found on the side of a minor highway and it was delicious. They told us up front that they weren't used to having UF students in FSU territory but we had a peaceful exchange regardless. We returned home at a reasonable hour, another unusual OAR occurrence.
Events occurred: January 12-13, 2013
The next morning, we started another hike and then a group of us turned back for a picnic area, where we set up slacklines and played frisbee. I am terrible at frisbee. Mike and Kelsey have both tried to help me with throwing but my aim is abysmal. I improved somewhat over the duration of several hours but this was marginal. We all lounged around the picnic area until the rest of the group returned. Then, my car decided to go to the beach at St. Joe's. It was out of the way but watching the sunset over the horizon with dolphins jumping in front of us made the drive worth it. We ate dinner at a local pizza place we found on the side of a minor highway and it was delicious. They told us up front that they weren't used to having UF students in FSU territory but we had a peaceful exchange regardless. We returned home at a reasonable hour, another unusual OAR occurrence. 
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