Flew into LAX from La Paz, Baja California Sur. The day I left Mexico was very similar to the day before I left - very hot. The temperature was rising, so I was thankful to be headed, at least for a few days, into cooler temperatures. Checked out my first ever rental car, a red Corolla, and drove down to San Diego. Met up with my friend Mike and grabbed some pizza, whoo hoo! Then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's to spend the night and start packing. They had left earlier that same day for a trip, so sadly, we could only leave each other notes.
May 11, 2010
Packed up the car and drove a wee bit north to San Marcos, CA. Visited with my Aunt Shannon, Uncle Stuart, and cousin Peter. We had very yummy Indian food for dinner; and I got to hear all about Peter's new special order bike that will be coming in soon! Picked out some new plants for the front garden and spent some time gardening for Peter's cub scout badge - he supervised where they should go but wasn't a bit fan of the worms and slugs I kept finding. He liked the rocks.
May 12, 2010
Hit the road headed north. Called up a friend who lives outside LA and she was tied up with some work stuff until the afternoon, so I killed some time by visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Lots of little kids running around, I had to stop myself several times from wanting to correct kids who thought the puffins were baby penguins or that the sunflower star was an octopus! Oh well. Met up with Lauren, who I met last year on San Juan Island, but is currently working in California for the Department of Fish and Game (CDF&G) doing all kinds of cool wildlife stuff. We had some coffee and lunch/dinner, and she gave me a tour of her killer backyard and convinced me to stay the night with magical words like wildlife and avocado trees and chickens. I did get to pick an avocado right off the tree! I camped in the backyard under the sycamore tree (because Lauren has cats) and Lauren headed off for what proved to be an uneventful evening doing surveys for CDF&G. I ended up seeing her backyard visitors that she had suspected were around - bats! Very cool evening.
May 13, 2010 - May 14, 2010
Well fed, I hit the road headed east. Stopping at the Las Vegas welcome center, which happens to be in an outlet mall. And during a gas station stop in Hurricane, Utah; saw some of the women members of the fundamentalist Mormons group - dressed in prairie garb. I ended up sleeping in the car since all of the campgrounds at Zion National Park were full. Sadly . . as the air had a nice chilly edge to it. Delicious! But I did get to see a coyote sneaking around. The next morning, I drove through Zion and made a split second decision to drive up to Bryce Canyon, taking the backroads through Utah to Denver, CO. Bryce was beautiful, I walked around a little bit - saw a bluebird, prairie dogs, and mule deer. Continued driving through the Utah backroads and came across SNOW! I guess Mother Nature thought I had missed out this year, so she brought winter late to me! I briefly considered mutiny to spend more time in the snow, but decided to plug along. The snow was fun, until it started sticking to the road. But it didn't last forever. Then when I crossed the border into Colorado, it started snowing again! And continued nearly the whole way into Denver. Burrr! It felt kinda nice to put on layers again though and be all cozy. Settled in for the night at the house of an SBC '06 alum, Melissa.
May 15, 2010 - May 16, 2010
Woke up and headed to breakfast at the Waffle Brothers with Melissa and her sister Elizabeth, and meeting up with Mallory (SBC '09) and another friend of Melissa's. It was a very yummy breakfast. Then I walked around downtown Denver with Mallory catching up, visiting the Aveda salon, and otherwise talking each others ears off :) Had dinner with Melissa and Elizabeth downtown, lots of pasta since they had a half-marathon the next day. I woke up and re-shoved things back in to the car, and met up with them after the race for breakfast burritos and coffee at a cute little coffee shop. Then I hit the road, headed for Omaha, NE. Arrived in the evening to spend the night with my friend April, who I knew in Alaska, but she is now working at the Henry Doorly Zoo.
May 17, 2010
Explored the Henry Doorly Zoo - which is a huge zoo - and got to meet up with an old friend - a puffin named Sebastian who I had worked with in Alaska - but the ASLC had sent several tufted puffins and rhino auklets down to Omaha while I had still been working there and I had always thought it'd be cool to visit. We played games with my keys and I talked to a keeper about how he likes to annoy the divers. He's all grown up in adult plumage, but no mate yet. My favorite part of the zoo was the rainforest area - it's a huge walkthrough with monkeys and birds all over, some of them free-range and can run right up to you! I really felt like I was walking through a rainforest and the plants were incredible. I think they're supposed to be real, aside from the larger trees that are a part of the structure. The zoo also had a new Madagascar exhibit including a walk-through with the lemurs! April and I met up in the afternoon, after I watched her feed the sea lions, and after rinsing off at home (apparently being the sea lion and elephant keeper doesn't make you smell the greatest at the end of the day) we explored downtown Omaha, eventually eating dinner at a local brewery.
May 18, 2010 - May 19, 2010
Hit the road and drove to Indianapolis, IN where I stayed with Liz and Brett Marvel (Liz is a SBC alum from '05). Not the most exciting drive . . and none of the Cracker Barrels I stopped at had any good books on tape for rent. So I just made fun of how country the radio got. Hit the road the next morning after some great quiet time and coffee with Liz. Stopped just an hour south and met up with Rebecca (SBC '08) for some coffee and scones. Then continued onward through Kentucky and West Virginia, arriving for the night in Lynchburg, VA to spend the night with Kimberly and Dave (both SBC alums - David from the graduate program; Kimberly from undergraduate '05 and graduate program).
May 20, 2010 - May 22, 2010
Hit the road and stopped in at SBC to visit the gift shop; walk around the boathouse; and stop in and say hello to Laura Staman, the director of the Outdoor Program. Then headed towards home . . making one more brief stop at the Short Pump mall, before pulling into the driveway in Virginia. The next day I went and checked in at the Williamsburg Winery to get put on the schedule for the summer; explored the local farmers markets and winery festival; and had a fun adventure with James at the emergency room since he needed stitches on his ankle for a work injury.
Summer plans:
Working at the Williamsburg Winery, where I have waitressed in the past. Hanging out with Mom and helping out wherever I can. Adjusting to allergies on the east coast and in the south - so not fun. I may log some volunteer hours somewhere if I can. I will still be doing some legwork for the School for Field Studies - working on abstracts for submission, etc.
I've been listed as a volunteer for the Gulf Coast oil spill, but they haven't called yet. If they do, then I would love to go down and serve, assisting with wildlife rehabilitation. I received oil spill training last spring with TriState Bird Rescue. Right now they are just utilizing local volunteers.
In July, I will spend two weeks in Alaska as a part of a Nova Southeastern University graduate course. VERY SUPER EXCITED. I will have a few days to play around Seward before the course starts - plan on enjoying the fourth of july festivities, hiking, bonfires, and seeing old haunts and old friends. Maybe hit the water for some fishing or wildlife.
I will return to the School for Field Studies in early September and work for them for the fall term; completing my term with them in mid-December. It'll be sea turtle nesting season, so some of the research will focus on baby sea turtles. We hope to get some work completed towards publications as well.
I'll try to fill in the blanks between what happened in April 2009 until now since I stopped blogging - so keep an eye out for some backlogged blogs!
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