After Alma, we began our trip to Halifax, stopping first at Hopewell Rocks in The Rocks Provincial Park. So cool. We hiked down to the beach and wandered around during low, low tide. I spent the whole time staring at the rocks, trying to figure out the patterns of weathering and how high the tide goes without consulting any of the signs in the visitors center.
I'm a nerd.
We drove into Nova Scotia and made it to Halifax by late afternoon. Our hostel was an old building, conveniently located across the street from another old building that housed a restaurant and bar. We had some really great food and Amanda and I had some really great beer from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Meanwhile, Mike had an interview for a teaching job in Arizona.
After dinner we decided to walk around the city, which really resulted in us wandering down the waterfront, taking pictures and acting ridiculous (surprise, surprise). There were a few large sculptures and anchors that we thought it was necessary to climb on, and the sunset was gorgeous. We went back to the same place for dessert and beer before unloading the car and turning in. We had left our wet shoes on the hood of the car to dry a little more (and stop making the car smell awful) as a social experiment, figuring if someone stole our worn out, soaking wet, nasty smelling shoes, they really, REALLY needed them more than we did. Well, apparently no one in Halifax was that desperate for shoes.
Around midnight Mari-time (11PM Eastern time, 8PM Pacific time), we received word: Mike got the job. Yay! Except that means he has to leave on Friday, at least two and a half days before I get home from Canada. While that is excessively unfortunate, let's focus on the yay job part! Congratulations, Mike.
This morning, we visited the Citadel in Halifax, a historic naval base. It was interesting to read a bit about the War of 1812 from another perspective... beautiful structure, interesting to wander through some of the creepy passages and look over the ramparts.
We took a creative route to Prince Edward Island, stopping in Stewiacke for a picnic lunch and a picture with a huge statue of a mastadon. The ferry was huuuuuuuuge. Thankfully, despite 50% of us being the carsickest people I've ever met, we didn't have too much trouble on the boat. It was a gorgeous day for a ride across the Northumberland Strait.
The drive into Prince Edward Island was interesting. Guess I should have review my Eastern North America notes, because somehow I was surprised by the myriad of agriculture happening around us. It may also just have been seeing things that I just associate with much different scenery-- corn, soy, wheat, other things that I see growing at home, or associate with the midwest, where the windbreaks are not spruce trees and they don't grow right next to the beach. Very pretty and peaceful here though, and I always enjoy a nice drive through farm country.
We watched the sun set on Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, where I would learn what sand fleas are.
...
We are now settled into our enormous lighthouse suite. Seriously, there are multiple rooms and floors. If you are logged into facebook, and friends with me, you should be able to view our tour video:
And, in case you were wondering what the dancing was about, we did seriously spend our evening learning this (although we improvised some of the crazy foot work, especially at the end).
Tree of the day: Red Oak, the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey (more specifically the Northern Red Oak, one of many red oak varieties in NJ but the only one that grows this far north, according to my tree book and eyes)
Next up: Fredericton, New Brunswick, via Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Bridge, and giant lobster, rooster and magnet statues
26 July 2012
24 July 2012
Epilogue for Alma
I am overjoyed to be wearing dry clothes for the first time today.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
Fundy
Dear Mom,
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
22 July 2012
Mari-time travel
I always knew that Newfoundland is half an hour ahead, in its own time zone... I just didn't know that it was half an hour ahead of the hour ahead that the rest of Maritime Canada is... meaning, it's 10:30 here while our brains are on 9:30. We didn't notice this till after dinner.
Aside from time travel, it's been a pretty laid back day. We drove almost exclusively on Route 1 from Portland, Maine to Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. Long drive, but really lovely. Maine this time of year can pretty much be summer up as blueberries, antiques and trees. Lots of adorable towns, lots of pretty views of bays, lots of seagulls.
No moose. YET.
We have arrived safely in Saint John, New Brunswick after a very exciting border crossing at Saint Stephen. I mean, mostly it was me just being really excited to be back in Canada, because I think this country is great and could see nothing but trees past the border station. Also, the border patrolman was very nice and stamped our passports, which was not the case traveling back and forth between Walpole Island, Ontario and Algonac, Michigan (which I have yet to tell you about, but aside from those being neat places, it was very disappointing that the border patrol REFUSED to stamp our passports, claiming that they don't do that for land crossings anymore. More on this another time, right now I'm excited that I did get a nice new stamp today).
We just returned from dinner at this great brewpub in the Uptown district of Saint John called Big Tide Brewing Company. We took a short stroll and saw some beautiful old buildings, and took a short drive and spent some time staring at the Reversing Falls, where the Saint John Harbour/Bay of Fundy meet the Saint John and Kennebecasis Rivers/Grand Bay and it's just madness.
Tree of the day: For lunch we stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant on Route 1 somewhere near Northport, Maine. We ate on the deck out back, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and the glorious shade provided by a very nice White Ash tree.
Beer of the day: Seaworthy IPA from Big Tide Brewing
Tomorrow: more time wandering around Saint John, and ultimately ending up camping in Fundy National Park.
Aside from time travel, it's been a pretty laid back day. We drove almost exclusively on Route 1 from Portland, Maine to Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. Long drive, but really lovely. Maine this time of year can pretty much be summer up as blueberries, antiques and trees. Lots of adorable towns, lots of pretty views of bays, lots of seagulls.
No moose. YET.
We have arrived safely in Saint John, New Brunswick after a very exciting border crossing at Saint Stephen. I mean, mostly it was me just being really excited to be back in Canada, because I think this country is great and could see nothing but trees past the border station. Also, the border patrolman was very nice and stamped our passports, which was not the case traveling back and forth between Walpole Island, Ontario and Algonac, Michigan (which I have yet to tell you about, but aside from those being neat places, it was very disappointing that the border patrol REFUSED to stamp our passports, claiming that they don't do that for land crossings anymore. More on this another time, right now I'm excited that I did get a nice new stamp today).
We just returned from dinner at this great brewpub in the Uptown district of Saint John called Big Tide Brewing Company. We took a short stroll and saw some beautiful old buildings, and took a short drive and spent some time staring at the Reversing Falls, where the Saint John Harbour/Bay of Fundy meet the Saint John and Kennebecasis Rivers/Grand Bay and it's just madness.
Tree of the day: For lunch we stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant on Route 1 somewhere near Northport, Maine. We ate on the deck out back, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and the glorious shade provided by a very nice White Ash tree.
Beer of the day: Seaworthy IPA from Big Tide Brewing
Tomorrow: more time wandering around Saint John, and ultimately ending up camping in Fundy National Park.
21 July 2012
It's Mari-time!
I couldn't resist.
Bags packed (record turnaround of arriving home from the Outer Banks at 2AM, sleeping, doing laundry, packing, showering and ready and antsy to get going). Totally stoked to be traveling with the amazing JACK again. Canada and the Lighthouse Challenges (though one lacked a vowel) have been really great experiences and I'm thrilled to be spending a few days straight with some of the best girls I know.
Things I'm most excited for, in no real order--
Bags packed (record turnaround of arriving home from the Outer Banks at 2AM, sleeping, doing laundry, packing, showering and ready and antsy to get going). Totally stoked to be traveling with the amazing JACK again. Canada and the Lighthouse Challenges (though one lacked a vowel) have been really great experiences and I'm thrilled to be spending a few days straight with some of the best girls I know.
Things I'm most excited for, in no real order--
- Spending time together. It's been hard with Amanda living a state or two away, me being all over the place, grad schools and various other challenges. I'm really thankful that Jamie and Katie live so close but it can be challenging to coordinate.
- New Brunswick. I thought it would be hilarious whilst attending school in New Brunswick, NJ, to say "Hey, going to New Brunswick for the weekend!" and leaving the country. That never happened, but I'm still amused.
- Seeing stuff I learned in college in real life. Thanks Dawn Bowen.
- Finding a moose. It's going to happen.
- Seeing the joy on Katie's face as we stop at some of the big things in eastern Canada!
- Helping Jamie rack up some miles on her new car.
- Seeing Amanda for more than a day!
- CANADA!
- EVERYTHING!!!
18 July 2012
quick rundown
I promise more details in the not-so-distant future (August at the latest, when I return home from all of this awesome nonsense!)--
lots of things around Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Camden and Burlington counties with NRCS
San Francisco to Reno in early June, including but hardly limited to REDWOOD TREES!
to camp to help with staff check-in at the beginning of their training week
Irwin, PA with Jr. High mission trip
Walpole Island, ON with Sr. High mission trip
Duck, NC with the Hennessey clan
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with JACK
and then I will be staying still for at least a while, as this fall I'm teaching for Rutgers at Brookdale and am also taking a position as an adjunct professor at William Paterson. I'll be taking a class online through a school in North Dakota, and then hopefully will prove myself eligible for a dream job of some sort and start a whole new adventure in 2013...?
lots of things around Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Camden and Burlington counties with NRCS
San Francisco to Reno in early June, including but hardly limited to REDWOOD TREES!
to camp to help with staff check-in at the beginning of their training week
Irwin, PA with Jr. High mission trip
Walpole Island, ON with Sr. High mission trip
Duck, NC with the Hennessey clan
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with JACK
and then I will be staying still for at least a while, as this fall I'm teaching for Rutgers at Brookdale and am also taking a position as an adjunct professor at William Paterson. I'll be taking a class online through a school in North Dakota, and then hopefully will prove myself eligible for a dream job of some sort and start a whole new adventure in 2013...?
26 May 2012
another 20 mph sort of weekend
That quote under the title of this blog is from my good friend Paul, and it was referring to a trip to Williamsburg, VA that I took in under 36 hours a few years ago.
Well, this past weekend reaffirmed that quote, and how appropriate that it was back to Williamsburg for Paul's wedding to the amazing Laura. My role in the wedding was to deliver by noon Paul's groomsman and youngest brother, Pat, who had a prom to attend in NJ the night before.
Challenge accepted.
We left Pine Beach at 4AM. My friends Mike and Katy came so that 1. they could visit our friend Eric in Mechanicsville, on the way to Williamsburg, and 2. so that there were a few more passengers who might be awake with me. Good thing they came, because Pat was a little bit tired. Actually, Katy was too. They were like toddlers, asleep in the back seat.
I drove into sunrise around the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Pee break at one of the northern Maryland houses. Coffee break at Hyperion in Fredericksburg. Dropped off Katy and Mike at Eric's, and got myself ready for the wedding there (figuring I couldn't mess myself up too badly during the hour of car ride that Pat and I had left from there).
Hit traffic.
STILL got Pat to the hotel by 11:30.
I wandered around Williamsburg for a little while, enjoying the Wawa in the historic building and a lengthy fife and drum parade before wandering back to the church, still a bit early for the wedding. I dozed in the car in the parking lot for a while, listening to the musicians warm up.
And then, the wedding. The beautiful, beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Paul and Laura!
The reception was lots of fun (great beer!). I enjoyed catching up with some wonderful people.
The drive the next morning was not the greatest. Well, the drive was fine, but man I was tired. I went home Sunday morning to make it for my afternoon concert at church. Thank goodness for Mike and Katy, whose collective company kept me awake and alert the whole time. Another glorious 20ish mph weekend.
Well, this past weekend reaffirmed that quote, and how appropriate that it was back to Williamsburg for Paul's wedding to the amazing Laura. My role in the wedding was to deliver by noon Paul's groomsman and youngest brother, Pat, who had a prom to attend in NJ the night before.
Challenge accepted.
We left Pine Beach at 4AM. My friends Mike and Katy came so that 1. they could visit our friend Eric in Mechanicsville, on the way to Williamsburg, and 2. so that there were a few more passengers who might be awake with me. Good thing they came, because Pat was a little bit tired. Actually, Katy was too. They were like toddlers, asleep in the back seat.
I drove into sunrise around the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Pee break at one of the northern Maryland houses. Coffee break at Hyperion in Fredericksburg. Dropped off Katy and Mike at Eric's, and got myself ready for the wedding there (figuring I couldn't mess myself up too badly during the hour of car ride that Pat and I had left from there).
Hit traffic.
STILL got Pat to the hotel by 11:30.
I wandered around Williamsburg for a little while, enjoying the Wawa in the historic building and a lengthy fife and drum parade before wandering back to the church, still a bit early for the wedding. I dozed in the car in the parking lot for a while, listening to the musicians warm up.
And then, the wedding. The beautiful, beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Paul and Laura!
The reception was lots of fun (great beer!). I enjoyed catching up with some wonderful people.
The drive the next morning was not the greatest. Well, the drive was fine, but man I was tired. I went home Sunday morning to make it for my afternoon concert at church. Thank goodness for Mike and Katy, whose collective company kept me awake and alert the whole time. Another glorious 20ish mph weekend.
13 April 2012
I believe I deserve an A+ in day trips and changes of scenery...
...but definitely fail in planning ahead and getting adequate sleep.
After several weeks? months? of being in one state and not really going too far, I was desperate for a change of scenery. All semester I've been telling my cousin and my undergraduate advisor that I would come sit in on the class that the former is currently taking with the latter. I had Monday off. These stars all aligned and I took a day trip to Fredericksburg!
I stayed with Amanda and Mike in Bear, Delaware on Sunday night after a lovely Easter with my choir and my family. As I pulled off the highway into their neighborhood, I noticed ahead on the highway a sign for Route 301. The wheels were turning as I fell asleep in their guest room...
I woke up at dark o'clock and turned back on that highway. It's been years since I've taken 301 to get to Fredericksburg. Several cars and chicken trucks were heading north, but I did not see another car heading south with me until nearly sunrise, about an hour and a half after I left. Very peaceful drive along a rolling landscape.
Got to Mary Washington around 8:30AM and immediately picked up my cousin for a visit to Hyperion before following her to that class.Everything in Fredericksburg was blooming and gorgeous. I was so happy to have Hyperion in my hand and head to the geography department.
Class was good, and hanging out with my former professors was really great. I was so happy to have this change of scenery so heavy laden with dogwood flowers, cherry blossoms and wonderful people.
After class, I walked downtown to meet Jeremy, my stand partner from eight consecutive semesters of wind ensemble. We got more Hyperion (yay! and this excitement from the girl who doesn't drink coffee usually...) and sat in his office on the top floor of the museum overlooking a busy intersection downtown. It was basically awesome.
Beautiful, beautiful day. The weather cooperated, the drive wasn't terrible (even if it was ridiculous) and the change of scenery has me feeling refreshed and excited. A+
After several weeks? months? of being in one state and not really going too far, I was desperate for a change of scenery. All semester I've been telling my cousin and my undergraduate advisor that I would come sit in on the class that the former is currently taking with the latter. I had Monday off. These stars all aligned and I took a day trip to Fredericksburg!
I stayed with Amanda and Mike in Bear, Delaware on Sunday night after a lovely Easter with my choir and my family. As I pulled off the highway into their neighborhood, I noticed ahead on the highway a sign for Route 301. The wheels were turning as I fell asleep in their guest room...
I woke up at dark o'clock and turned back on that highway. It's been years since I've taken 301 to get to Fredericksburg. Several cars and chicken trucks were heading north, but I did not see another car heading south with me until nearly sunrise, about an hour and a half after I left. Very peaceful drive along a rolling landscape.
Got to Mary Washington around 8:30AM and immediately picked up my cousin for a visit to Hyperion before following her to that class.Everything in Fredericksburg was blooming and gorgeous. I was so happy to have Hyperion in my hand and head to the geography department.
Class was good, and hanging out with my former professors was really great. I was so happy to have this change of scenery so heavy laden with dogwood flowers, cherry blossoms and wonderful people.
After class, I walked downtown to meet Jeremy, my stand partner from eight consecutive semesters of wind ensemble. We got more Hyperion (yay! and this excitement from the girl who doesn't drink coffee usually...) and sat in his office on the top floor of the museum overlooking a busy intersection downtown. It was basically awesome.
Beautiful, beautiful day. The weather cooperated, the drive wasn't terrible (even if it was ridiculous) and the change of scenery has me feeling refreshed and excited. A+
02 April 2012
quick drive to visit Spain
as in the tribe, not the country.
I love my people. I know that I am seriously lucky to be related to so many kind, hilarious, wonderful individuals on both sides of my family. This weekend was a Spain weekend though. My cousin Bekea and her family were up from Kentucky, so we gathered en masse for lunch yesterday. It was wonderful to meet her new daughter Bronwen, to congratulate Jon and Janet on their engagement, to see Kathie's girls (even if they still haven't figured out who I am), to see pictures of Tulip and hear how ridiculous she is, and to catch up with everyone a little bit.
Aside from the normal banter and sarcasm though were some words of encouragement that I don't think were meant to be a subtle pep talk, but really lifted my spirits that have been dragging a bit for the past couple of months. (This is not to say that the love that many of you have extended to me has not been appreciated; believe you me, I would not have left my pile of blankets on the couch without your words.) I guess I've developed a reputation as a world traveler? I totally love this. The first question from many of my cousins was, "Where to next?"
The truth is, not too far for a while. I'm heading to Fredericksburg in a week for a quick visit with my cousin and my alma mater. I'll be in Virginia toward the end of the month for a lovely friend's bridal shower and my fourth attempt at the Muddy Buddy. I'm planning hopefully two short trips to the beautiful country to the north this summer (Walpole Island, Ontario and all over New Brunswick in July and August, respectively). These are all wonderful things. (and I guess I'm not giving them enough credit for not exactly being in my backyard...)
What I loved most about the "where to next" was the open endedness of it. Just because next isn't that imminent, doesn't mean it's not going to happen. I don't have any elaborate plans yet, but I'm really excited about leaving my life up to all of these nexts and yets, and really owe a lot of people more thanks than I could possibly express.
Besides giving me things to contemplate and smile about, the Spain family just makes me laugh a lot. So, thanks for that too, guys.
But thanks everyone, Spain or not, for all of the love you've sent my way as I figure out the nexts and the yets of my life. Seriously.
I love my people. I know that I am seriously lucky to be related to so many kind, hilarious, wonderful individuals on both sides of my family. This weekend was a Spain weekend though. My cousin Bekea and her family were up from Kentucky, so we gathered en masse for lunch yesterday. It was wonderful to meet her new daughter Bronwen, to congratulate Jon and Janet on their engagement, to see Kathie's girls (even if they still haven't figured out who I am), to see pictures of Tulip and hear how ridiculous she is, and to catch up with everyone a little bit.
Aside from the normal banter and sarcasm though were some words of encouragement that I don't think were meant to be a subtle pep talk, but really lifted my spirits that have been dragging a bit for the past couple of months. (This is not to say that the love that many of you have extended to me has not been appreciated; believe you me, I would not have left my pile of blankets on the couch without your words.) I guess I've developed a reputation as a world traveler? I totally love this. The first question from many of my cousins was, "Where to next?"
The truth is, not too far for a while. I'm heading to Fredericksburg in a week for a quick visit with my cousin and my alma mater. I'll be in Virginia toward the end of the month for a lovely friend's bridal shower and my fourth attempt at the Muddy Buddy. I'm planning hopefully two short trips to the beautiful country to the north this summer (Walpole Island, Ontario and all over New Brunswick in July and August, respectively). These are all wonderful things. (and I guess I'm not giving them enough credit for not exactly being in my backyard...)
What I loved most about the "where to next" was the open endedness of it. Just because next isn't that imminent, doesn't mean it's not going to happen. I don't have any elaborate plans yet, but I'm really excited about leaving my life up to all of these nexts and yets, and really owe a lot of people more thanks than I could possibly express.
Besides giving me things to contemplate and smile about, the Spain family just makes me laugh a lot. So, thanks for that too, guys.
But thanks everyone, Spain or not, for all of the love you've sent my way as I figure out the nexts and the yets of my life. Seriously.
12 March 2012
Peace Corps Update
As many of you know, I applied to serve with Peace Corps. This is something I'd been thinking about for a very long time, especially since my short time in Malawi, and after spending a lot of time talking with friends who have gone through the program, it seemed like the right time. I have long been interested in the developing world and serving others there. I actually applied back in October and had my interview in December. And then I waited.
and waited.
and waited.
And about a month ago, I received an email from my recruiter. I was not placed. She has withdrawn my application.
This has been extremely devastating and deeply frustrating. The days that followed were full of tears and lacking sound sleep. My immediate reaction was that I didn't want anyone to know. At that time, it's honestly because I was embarrassed. Who gets rejected from Peace Corps? What's wrong with me? How did this happen? What am I going to do? All questions that I didn't particularly want to answer, and still don't. It took a couple of weeks for this news to sink in and not completely overwhelm me every day. I still can't get it off my mind though.
I want to apologize to those of you who have asked me about this in the past month. I carefully responded to almost all of you, "I'm still waiting" because in a way, I am. I'm planning on reactivating my application and going through the placement process again, in hopes of a better outcome. I am sorry for misleading you, but I hope you can understand how much I've been struggling with this.
Eventually the embarrassment gave way to a nasty cycle of self-doubt, which continued my strong feelings of not telling anyone. While I've been rejected from tons of jobs in the past year, this one really hurt. This is something I was really excited for, really confident about and really looking forward to. I've been feeling rather low about myself. I know I am totally blessed with a lot of loving, encouraging people in my life, but in spending all of this time thinking about this whole situation, I also realized that what I need right now in my life is not pep talks, which is what lead me to continue not telling anyone. I don't actually think I'm a terrible person, in fact, in general, I think my education and experience are pretty great and that I'm a relatively qualified citizen of earth. I'm ok. But I am struggling with this, and trying to convince me that I am not loser only makes me feel worse for feeling bad in the first place. It's an ugly cycle, I know, but I'm being honest-- that's where I am with this.
If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you care enough about me to just keep being who you are in my life, which is what I really need right now. I still don't really want to talk about this, and I'm really hoping that this reactivation leads to much happier news soon.
I have written and rewritten this several times now, and the words never seem quite right, but I think I'm just going to share it as is, because it's quite a weight I've been carrying and I'm hoping that unloading it will be the first step into the next awesome part of my life, whatever it may be.
and waited.
and waited.
And about a month ago, I received an email from my recruiter. I was not placed. She has withdrawn my application.
This has been extremely devastating and deeply frustrating. The days that followed were full of tears and lacking sound sleep. My immediate reaction was that I didn't want anyone to know. At that time, it's honestly because I was embarrassed. Who gets rejected from Peace Corps? What's wrong with me? How did this happen? What am I going to do? All questions that I didn't particularly want to answer, and still don't. It took a couple of weeks for this news to sink in and not completely overwhelm me every day. I still can't get it off my mind though.
I want to apologize to those of you who have asked me about this in the past month. I carefully responded to almost all of you, "I'm still waiting" because in a way, I am. I'm planning on reactivating my application and going through the placement process again, in hopes of a better outcome. I am sorry for misleading you, but I hope you can understand how much I've been struggling with this.
Eventually the embarrassment gave way to a nasty cycle of self-doubt, which continued my strong feelings of not telling anyone. While I've been rejected from tons of jobs in the past year, this one really hurt. This is something I was really excited for, really confident about and really looking forward to. I've been feeling rather low about myself. I know I am totally blessed with a lot of loving, encouraging people in my life, but in spending all of this time thinking about this whole situation, I also realized that what I need right now in my life is not pep talks, which is what lead me to continue not telling anyone. I don't actually think I'm a terrible person, in fact, in general, I think my education and experience are pretty great and that I'm a relatively qualified citizen of earth. I'm ok. But I am struggling with this, and trying to convince me that I am not loser only makes me feel worse for feeling bad in the first place. It's an ugly cycle, I know, but I'm being honest-- that's where I am with this.
If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you care enough about me to just keep being who you are in my life, which is what I really need right now. I still don't really want to talk about this, and I'm really hoping that this reactivation leads to much happier news soon.
I have written and rewritten this several times now, and the words never seem quite right, but I think I'm just going to share it as is, because it's quite a weight I've been carrying and I'm hoping that unloading it will be the first step into the next awesome part of my life, whatever it may be.
11 March 2012
Nothing like driving across the state, through the Pines, on Route 70, enjoying the last of a beautiful day's sunshine, having three of your favorite girls in the recently cleaned car with you. Also awesome-- the destination was the Haddonfield Presbyterian Church, one of my stops on the Johnsonburg World Tour last year, to enjoy the beautiful concert put on by Baylor A Capella. Great day.
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