GOSH DANG.
It's been like, way over a month since my last post and for my avid readers (assuming you exist), I am truly sorry. My
academic social life has been at a high thus distracting me from the important thing at this time of year: finals #sorrynotsorry
(i guess blogging, too).
This upcoming week is the last week of classes and then finals week will follow. My finals shouldn't be too overwhelming, as two of them are PE classes (tango and core conditioning). However, I do have a few papers to write, so that will take some time and effort. Then upon heading back to Eau Claire, I have the joy and privilege of taking a three week summer course for three hours a day. This girl can't catch a break (though, that doesn't start until after Memorial Day). My summer will once again be spent in Eau Claire working (and twerking #notreally) and other adventures that are obviously unknown. But until then, I am going to enjoy my final weeks that I have here in Juneau, Alaska.
Today a group of us went on a bike ride out to the Shrine of St. Therese. It's just over ten miles to get out there and quite hilly. I was on a one speed bike, which was actually quite enjoyable (at least when it came to going up hill). The way back, though, was killer as a result of the high speed wind that was going against us. One should be able to glide going down hill while enjoying the breeze and resting the quads. But of course we still had to pedal (to the metal) in cold soggy socks with cold rain blowing in our faces and quads that were throbbing in agony. But we persevered. By the end, my back and face were covered in mud. I even some how managed to get dirt on my teeth... It was all worth it: we were on the highway passing small creeks, waterfalls, several lookouts, etc. The whole time I had wished that I had my GP to document it all for you guys. I will next time!
Though Easter was a few weekends ago, that was also another day filled with adventure. We went to a 6:30 AM church service that was out at the glacier. It was a little chilly but thankfully I had a hot thermos of coffee in hand. Afterwards, we grabbed breakfast and went on a spontaneous hike along the Blueberry Trail. It was maybe about 20 minutes or so and the end brought us to what we assumed to be a helicopter landing pad. It was surrounded by giant nets, so we just laid in them for a while overlooking the mountains. Later that night there was a bonfire at one of the beaches so Sunday night was spent
roasting intentionally burning marshmallows for s'mores and sending off paper lanterns into the night sky. With the luck I have, mine ended up not making it up. I'm still deciding if the faultiness of my lantern is somehow symbolic of my life...
The big thing prior to Easter was Spring Break 2K15. So many airport stops to land in Jacksonville, FL all of which were filled with anxiousness. AND when we had a two our layover in Chicago, Mom and Dad drove out just to give me a hug (and I guess Brittni too). Seeing them was really wonderful. We met Mitchell at the airport like the Sunday of break and from there our adventure started. That first night we drove to Destin but stopped in PCB because Step-on-me was there, so I was able to see her, too! AH. FAMILY. That Monday in Destin, we all get pretty sunburned... but in the end, it all turned to tan. The beach was white and sandy and just mega gorge. Later Monday we drove about an hour or so to Pensacola where we camped at Fort Pickens while being pretty close to the beach. That night, though, none of us had blankets so we just huddled together in our $30.00 Walmart tent and used our body heat to keep warm. Tuesday we made sure to get blankets for that night. Much of Tuesday was spent driving to Orlando, we camped again, and Wednesday was probably my favorite day. As it was the day we went to HARRY POTTER LAND (Orlando has a more formal name for it). But essentially, the whole day was spent at Universal. We bought passes allowing us to skip most of the line so we were able to maximize our 'coaster time. Thursday we drove further South to a sketchy motel just north of the Keys. And when I say sketchy motel, I mean SUPER SKETCH. I'm surprised that we lived through the night. Along the way, though, we stopped at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and explored there: manatees, 'gators, bears, birds, squirrels, fish, etc. Friday we got up and drove to our final destination: KEY WEST. Of course as college students, we had not booked a hotel and camp sites were pretty much nonexistent. So we went to the travel center booth and found an opening at a little B&B. Friday and Saturday was spent mostly on the beach whereas Sunday entailed more exploration of the town as well as driving back to Miami to catch our flight back. My sunburn was killer so the flights home were pretty unenjoyable. It was a relief to be back and just soak them in more aloe and wash off all the MRSA I probably got from the airports...
Anyways, those are all the big things that have been going on or have gone on in my life over the weeks. A few other things: I crave donuts all the time, I still eat an abnormal amount of popcorn, classes are going well, I finished Bob's Burgers, I got an internship in Spain for the summer but decided to not take it, I'm almost caught up to Game of Thrones, it's super rainy...like all the time, and pretty much I'm just loving life in Juneau.
Much love!
- A
