Irrigation Camp

I recently spent an absolutely lovely weekend in Nebraska with the fam. I had the pleasure of bringing my friend Maria with me. Maria is from a city, so we had to break her into the farm life.

We started with a tour of how cows are milked.

Maria bottle fed a calf.

Then we held baby pigs (my favorite).

Home clothes were required for this visit. We also introduced Maria to the Nebraska delights of Runza and Valentino's. Good stuff.

Yesterday, one of my VS housemates was in DC. We thought it would be a brilliant idea to rent a tandem bike and traverse the Mount Vernon trail, all 36 miles of it. Having never ridden a tandem bike before, I had the mistaken belief that we would hop on like any regular bike and away we would go.

This was not the case. Getting started on a tandem bike with two people who do not know what they are doing is NOT easy. I seriously thought we would have to turn right around and take the bike back. It was one big wobble-fest. And not just "ooh i feel a little uncomfortable by how much we're wobbling". It was like three feet of severe swaying before we tipped completely over. Three feet might be generous. But we eventually learned how to communicate, figured out a rhythm, and ended up having a very pleasant ride. It's an absolutely gorgeous trail. And once you can figure it out, tandem biking is very, very enjoyable. I rode as stoker for most of the trip, or the person who sits in the back. After about 5 miles of clenching furiously at handlebars that do not move, I finally relaxed and let go. We decided that if we ever did it again, I would take a book or newspaper to read during the ride. Tandem bikes do have the nickname "divorce maker", which I now understand. It really does take a lot of communication and give and take to make it work. And I could see how people could get really mad and frustrated if they weren't working together. If you ever try it, be sure to take someone along to laugh at your first attempts, because it is a truly humbling experience for someone who thinks they know how to ride a bike. 

Jib Ho!

On Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to crew on one of my coworker's sailboats in a regatta (a regatta is boat race for those of you who are not nautically minded). I have never been on a sailboat before, and had no idea what I was getting into. It was awesome. 

We were sailing a Cal 25, named Cal Tip'n. This is a picture of her, but not when I was sailing her. I had seen pictures of the boat beforehand, and to be honest, thought it was a fairly small boat. And while it is relatively small, I was amazed at the amount of work it takes to race her. The ideal crew size is 5 people - which totally surprised me. I didn't even think 5 people would fit on the boat. But boats are amazing like that - always bigger than they look from the outside.

My job was to man the main sail. This requires the least skill, as you can probably already guess. One of the things that surprised me the most was the extreme angle at which we were tipped a lot of the time. All of the crew jumps to one side after trimming the sails to prevent falling overboard but also to become "rail meat". This means you're not doing anything but sitting and distributing your weight in the most advantageous way.

This is not the same type of boat we were sailing, but it gives a pretty clear idea of how tipped the boat will be, as well as some good rail meat.




Also exciting is when you deploy the spinnaker. Our race was a winward/leeward race. This means that we went both directions in the wind (that is probably not what it means at all, but that's how I took it). So when we were sailing downwind, we would lower the Jib (the front sail), and raise the spinnaker. Neither of the below was our spinnaker, but it gives you an idea of what they look like. The fun thing about spinnakers is that most of them are really colorful. So when all the boats rounded the buoy to being the downwind part of the course and raised their spinnakers, it looked really, really cool.

Also surprising (although it probably shouldn't have been): it is HARD to pull a sail against the wind. It's like running with a parachute. I really thought my guns would be up to the task, but I definitely found it challenging. Lesson learned.

News

I am now a Huskie. I will be beginning a Ph.D. program at the University of Washington in Seattle this fall in clinical psychology.  I am so excited. It seems I just can't stay out of school, but hopefully this will be the last stop for me. 

This will, of course, mean quite a bit of change for me. I'm leaving behind my carefree evenings in favor of homework, will be moving from coast to coast, and for the first time ever, will be leaving my beloved maroon behind. In all my previous educational experiences, first as a Thresher, then as a Cougar, and then as a Pioneer (and a kinda big chicken), I have always supported the maroon.

 

But for all the changes ahead of me, I really couldn't be more excited. Getting a Ph.D. is a goal I have always been working toward, and I'm glad to finally be at this point. I think I might be most excited about never having to apply to a Ph.D. program again. 

I didn't plan on telling everyone at work so soon. I'm not leaving for four months yet, and thought I would be able to keep it under wraps until a little bit closer to my leaving date. That didn't even last a day. With a spooky sixth sense that I didn't know he had, my boss called me into his office the very first day I saw him after learning the news. He told me they were making some hiring decisions that depended on my longevity and wanted to know if I was considering going back to school. Now, it's one thing to not say anything, but when asked outright, I couldn't lie. Besides, it would be pretty obvious in 4 months when I'm suddenly leaving for school. So I told him my news, thinking we could keep it between ourselves. Ha. Within a week, everyone knew I was leaving. So the cat is out of the bag, and I can now talk about it freely without worry of the e-verse biting me in the butt.

Last Days in Hawaii

So this is a little late....but my last three days in Hawaii were spent on Oahu. Most of my time was spent at the conference, but I did get to enjoy the island a little. I took a surfing lesson.

I stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It may not have been the nicest, but it was by far the most excessive place I've ever stayed. And it was gorgeous.

The hotel complex had over 100 shops and restaurants, at least 5 pools, and who knows what else.

The hotel had a lot of wildlife.

I didn't really get it, but the hotel also had penguins.

Of course, before I could leave I had to make sure I wasn't accidentally taking any lava rocks with me.





And just for my wonderful brother-in-law, I captured a picture of this rare noble beast of Hawaii.

Snorkeling

This morning I went on a sailing and snorkeling adventure. The big rock in the middle of the above picture and to the left is Molokini Crater, and our snorkeling destination. The fish and coral were amazing.

After Molokini Crater, we took our catamaran, the Kai Kanani to another area where sea turtles are known to be prevalent. I didn't see any snorkeling, but did see some from the boat. In addition to our snorkeling stops, we ate breakfast and lunch on the boat, drank Mai Tais, and lounged in the sun.


Here's the crew lounging. Just to see what it felt like, I did pull a Mesnick on one of the railings.

After spending a little more time at my Maui residence, I've decided that it can best be described as a retirement hostel. The decor all says a couple generations before me, but the common area has a shared computer and a shelf full of Frommer's, Lonely Planet, and Fodor's guidebooks. I think the target clientele are people in their 20's who want to feel like they're staying at their grandma's condo. I had no idea that market even existed.  Some of the highlights include:

Nuggets of wisdom, found hung on the wall, on magnets on the fridge, and cross-stitched on pillows. This is one of my favorite examples.


The outside has an eclectic and awesome array of patio furniture.















Every lamp has a different colored lei draped on it.





A stylish yet convenient beaded curtain with a delightful tropical scene provides oh so much privacy for the bedroom. If you can't tell, the couch and chair are sporting a fish pattern.



Here's the awesome green and pink fish pillow adorning the bed.

It has been an absolutely lovely place to stay.

Sunrise at Haleakala

Taking advantage of my extreme jet lag, I started my day this morning at 2:45 am. Joining Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders, I drove to the top of Haleakala, a volcano on Maui. I thought this was brilliant scheduling on my part. Having only arrived yesterday, 2:45 am was 8:45 am in DC, a completely reasonable time to be starting the day.

After getting picked up, we went to Phil's headquarters for waiver signing, coffee, and muffins. The 3 am start time must have been rougher than on me than I anticipated, however, because the organizer of our trip had to clarify whether or not I was a minor. Now, I've oft been confused for being younger than I am, but under 18? I'd like to believe I at least pass for 20.

After getting our gear, we began the hour drive to the top of the volcano. Here we watched the sun rise, while a Hawaiian park ranger called (sang? chanted?) a sun salutation. 50 people staring intently for the sun to appear quickly learn that the sun is in fact, bright.

 

The crater edge, or at least our viewing point, was at 9,700 feet. Mountains are cold in the morning, and this was no exception. The temperature was 34 degrees when we arrived. Fortunately, Phil was kind enough to outfit us in these totally awesome bomber jackets. In fairness to the person who thought I might be minor, I am looking pretty rough.

Once the sunrise had been fully appreciated, we began our trek down the volcano. The total trip was about 28 miles, although less than 400 yards of that required pedaling. It was pretty cold for the first part of the trip still, so I added additional layers to my Fonz jacket, sad to cover it up. (I'm also ready for motocross in the rain.) The ride was absolutely delightful. It is a gorgeous trip down the mountain, around the island, and toward the coast.

At the bottom we stopped at the town of Paia for breakfast. Our guide deemed it a hippie town. I ate in enough time to visit the Paia Peace Stupa. In 2007, it was blessed by the Dalai Lama. It is very small inside, and mostly filled by the spinning thing. I'm sure there is a more appropriate term, but I don't know it. It always turns to the right, and as it turns, a bell rings. Guests are invited to enter, walk around, and say a prayer.

The rest of my afternoon was spent, surprise, on the beach. It is as lovely and tremendous as you would imagine the beach at Maui to be. I am beginning to wonder how to judge an "excessive amount of sand". This will become important when I turn in my rental car.

In case the connection between me sitting on the beach and me making the world a better place is unclear, I am in Hawaii for work. I will be attending a conference next week. I just couldn't fly all this way only to see the inside of conference hall.

I hope to share much more about my lovely residence, but for now, this preview of my favorite wall hanging will have to do.

Aloha

It took 18 hours to get from my front door in DC to my hotel in Maui. An exhausting 18 hours. But I am here now, and couldn't be more excited. The bottom picture is the ocean side of my residence while on Maui. It's a super quirky inn, and fabulous. There's no AC or TV. It's decorated like a Florida retirement home. I'm looking forward to sharing pictures of the framed cat picture and pink and green fish pillow on my bed. However my windows are about 20 feet from where the ocean starts, and the sound of the waves pretty much make everything else irrelevant.