Shotgun Hole? Who Said That?

The first official meeting of the semester was held during the second week of classes for some reason, with a planned after meeting paddle. Our new president has been militant about recruiting and advertising, though usually OAR just lets people find it on their own. Thus, the first meeting was packed and the after meeting paddle was beyond full. Mike and I, as well as a few others, decided instead to lead a trip to Shotgun Hole, an OAR favorite. Our group was about 10 people and we had the rope ladder with us, since Mike had commandeered all of the vertical gear the previous weekend with the intention of leading vertical practice. 

I was really hesitant about Shotgun Hole. I had been so careful with my shoulder injury and had been feeling better but I wasn't sure if this trip would tip the scales and send me flying back to the doctor. I brought a set of vertical gear and rope just in case I couldn't climb the rope ladder. Luckily, it was unnecessary and after about an hour or so of swimming and paying around in Shotgun Hole, I sprinted up the rope ladder with ease, a successful test of my shoulder. 

Grand Tetons Part Seven: The Drive Home

The drive home was long and exhausting. We drove straight from Boulder to Missouri, with plans to stay at Liana's house near Fort Leonard Wood. She had no idea that Mike was with us so we decided to keep it a secret and surprise her. We convinced our other friend, Anna, to also come surprise Liana and met up with her just outside of Liana's neighborhood. Mike hopped in her car and they followed us. Logel and I emerged first and then a few minutes later, Mike and Anna pulled up. She was so excited that she jumped and screamed, leaping toward us eagerly. Soon thereafter, the five of us piled in Liana's car and went to buy some fireworks. We headed to an empty field to set them off. I am not much of a fireworks person. I like them in theory and I like them from a safe distance but setting them off freaks me out. Rather, I ran around with sparklers and danced in the darkness.

The next morning when we woke up, Anna had already returned home and Liana had already headed to base. We started another lengthy drive to Chattanooga. Logel drove most of the way while I was sprawled out in the back seat, wrapped in my fuzzy purple blanket. Mike commandeered it at one point so he could work on his computer without the harsh glare from the sun. When we arrived in Chattanooga, we dropped Logel off at his brother's and headed down to Sandy Springs, GA, just north of Atlanta. We stayed with Mike's aunt and uncle, who were very hospitable and generous. We were greeted with food, showers, and warm beds to sleep in. We woke up early the next morning and sped home. I made it back to Jacksonville with an hour to spare until my doctor appointment. The drive was mostly uneventful, hours of music peppered with random conversations. I was just glad to be home to start the healing process.

Events occurred: July 1-2, 2013

Midnight Paddle on the Santa Fe

Within 48 hours of returning to Florida, I found myself driving down to Gainesville to go on a typical OAR night paddle. Mike texted me the day before and I drove down with no hesitation. I met him at his apartment and we proceeded to the Gear Shed, where Bevin was ready to throw a canoe on top of her SUV. We picked up Nina and Kendall, then headed to the Santa Fe River. Squishing five people into a canoe is quite the OAR specialty. We paddled upstream for a long period of time, barely moving against the current. Getting back to the car took virtually no time because the water was moving so swiftly that we didn't even have to paddle. We heard voices around our car and panicked. We tried to approach slowly in case it was a band of thieves or murderers or something. We saw floodlights though, and realized it was the police. They saw our car and thought it was abandoned or something, so they just wanted to make sure we were ok. We thanked them as we loaded our canoe and then headed home. 

Events occurred: May 8, 2013

Toronto/Boston Road Trip Part One: Red River Gorge

When Michael approached me about road tripping to Boston, he knew me well enough to know that I would be a guaranteed "yes." The semester was over and I didn't have any finals left other than some papers I needed to turn in. I took a chance and figured I could write them on the road, which luckily didn't completely backfire. The deal was that Michael's younger sister Sarah goes to MIT and she wanted her car for the summer. So, we were driving up to Boston to deliver it and then flying home whenever. Michael and his girlfriend Carolanne had already booked their flights for Saturday, May 4th, but I decided to wait. Greek Orthodox Easter was on May 5th this past year and my family always has a huge celebration in New York that I have never been able to attend. I figured that I ought to go, since I would already be in the Northeast and I had become accustom to riding the bus between Boston and New York City. 

The day after our last day of classes for the semester, I met Michael at his apartment in Gainesville. We packed my stuff into his car and headed across town to pick up our fourth. Her name was Rhea and I had never met her before. I had some reservations about Rhea because I had never met her before and we were going to be traveling together for over a week. As soon as I met her, however, all my concerns disappeared. Her cheerful disposition and her ukelele both won me over instantaneously. Carolanne also joined us and we headed for Panama City. The plan for the entire trip was to go to Panama City, where Michael's parents live, to trade his car for his sister's, and then drive to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky to meet up with another OAR trip for some climbing. We went to the beach in Panama City and it was beautiful. The sand was pure white and the waves were lapping the shore gently. Rhea immediately collapsed in the sand, soaking up the sun and taking a nap. Michael and Carolanne explored the shoreline and I wandered aimlessly in circles before joining Rhea on the sand. Soon thereafter, we ventured to Michael's parents house, where we were welcomed with an incredible dinner and generous hospitality. We enjoyed our time their so much we ended up staying until close to 10 PM. We piled into the Corolla and headed toward Kentucky. 

One important note about this road trip is that Sarah's car is a stick shift. Michael was a competent manual driver and he had taught Carolanne how to drive stick over a year before. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the opportunity to practice since then. Rhea could also somewhat drive stick shift but she struggled with getting the car into first gear. To quote her, she either "peels out or stalls out," which was fun to experience at 3 AM. I can also drive manual cars but I had only learned a few months before, when Mike took an afternoon to teach me. I had been driving my mom's car around Gainesville for a few months for practice but it was the only car I had any experience with. We also picked up an Auburn student in Georgia who had sent out an email to OAR, wanting to join the Red River Gorge trip and needing a one way ride to Kentucky. He had the most stick experience, learning to drive stick shift as a valet. Commence road trip.



The drive to Kentucky was a nightmare, merely because it is about a 12 hour drive or so and we started after 10 PM. I took one of the first turns driving and I was grateful for the opportunity to sleep during the worst shift of all: 3 AM to 7 AM. Luckily, the rest of the world doesn't tend to drive around at these hours, so our lack of manual driving skills were mostly unnoticed. We arrived in Kentucky at 11 AM and met up with the rest of the OAR group. We headed off to climb shortly thereafter. By the time we made it to the wall, however, I was exhausted. I curled up under a tree and passed out. I never actually climbed anything at the Red, which is a shame because the climbing there is famous and fun. That night, we returned to the camp ground at Miguel's Pizza and I split a weird pizza with Nina. It had potatoes and a bunch of other odd ingredients on it but it was still delicious. I also connected to the wifi and attempted to work on the 20 page research design that I had to finish by the following Monday. I had done very little for it and was trying to find some decent pdfs to download so I could work on it sans wifi. 

The next day, unfortunately, it was raining. We decided to forgo climbing and go for a hike instead. We discovered some interesting trails nearby and happened upon a natural bridge as well. I was still tired and thus began my cycle of sleeping and consuming coffee that dominated the trip. Carolanne joked that I was like a puppy because I would run around for a few hours and then tucker out, bouncing between high energy and no energy with little in between. We then headed north again, toward Cincinnati and Buffalo. 

Events occurred: April 25-27, 2013

Post-Colombia: It's Wedding Season!

My typical adventure train veered onto a different track last spring. Within two weeks of each other, my childhood best friend (and freshman college roommate) and my cousin (who was and is like a sister to me) both got married! Since I've known both of them since birth and maintained close relationships with both of them, especially in the past few years, I was of course IN both weddings, as a bridesmaid. Weddings themselves are definitely adventures, and luckily for me, I didn't have any monster brides and both weddings were a blast.

Emma was the first down the aisle, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida. Rain was not part of the plan but it's actually considered good luck if it rains on your wedding day. There were a ton of bridesmaids, we had so much fun running around and getting ready in our cowboy boots. Typically, I'm more of a hiking boots kind of girl, but those would have clashed with my dress. After an emergency change in venue from outside to inside for the ceremony because of the rain, we sprinted outside for the reception, dancing around in the mud and rain. I was grateful for my cowboy boots as I stomped in puddles and stayed (mostly) dry, dancing into the night in the pouring Florida rain.

Fast forward two weeks to a sunny (yet still chilly) Saturday afternoon in Locust Grove, Georgia. Courtney's vintage-themed wedding was a crazy combination of Greeks (my side of the family), Dutch, and Filipino-Cajuns from Louisiana. She made everything herself and let us pick our own dresses. My long antique dress was perfect for twirling around and it was great to see all of my family dancing around, especially my brothers. With tons of open space, I ran around from family member to family member, talking to everyone and getting to spend quality time with my younger cousins as well as my aunts, uncles, and grandparents. My mother and I also performed the Time Warp for everyone, followed by my brothers and I belting the words to I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) and Don't Stop Believin'. 

Events occurred: March 23, 2013 and April 6, 2013