June 16th

Went biking into Massachusetts today, through Southwick and Westfield. The trail goes through a short tunnel, and the walls have been painted with an underwater scene. It's really beautiful and neat. We rode to the Congamond boat dock, and saw a little terrifying snapping turtle, which my mom and aunt coaxed back to the shore--it had been heading for the highway. Lastly, in Westfield we came to the old railroad bridge. It was really cool and scary to cross. It's a shame it will probably be renovated someday like the one in East Granby. A convenient, safe, and helpful change, but a shame nonetheless.

June 15th

Many moths gathered at the Phelps entrance to the trails. Maybe they were eating or mating or something. Or maybe they were plotting to take over the world.

June 13th

View from high up Mountain Road in East Hartland.

June 10th

There were big storms the past couple days. This weeping willow fell in one of the yards on our street. The roots are very shallow, so the wind just ripped the whole tree right up. Realizing that a picture didn't capture just how huge this tree was without a reference, I got a picture of me standing at the roots. This tree was massive, and it even took another tree, a little pine, down with it!

June 9th

Hung out with Bryce and Marcia today. Bryce had wheat thins at his house, which were stoned. You can tell by the big red eye on the front, I guess.

June 8th

Rails for Trails is so beautiful! Above is a stretch of the trail in Massachusetts. Below is a picture of the new bridge in East Granby.

June 6th

I spent today with my David. You know how there are those round red balls outside of Target? Well, one of them had been covered with cloth to look like a beach ball. I was so amused.

June 4th

Traveling home from orientation. I'm counting this as a picture, even though it's a link. It's a link to a video, though, of the trip, so that counts. It certainly took enough effort. I had Marcia and Rachel as traveling companions for the majority of the trip, which was nice. We went to a Waffle House for breakfast, and a Sonic for lunch. Sonics are AMAZING!!!

CLICK FOR VIDEO! (I mean, if you want, you don't have to)

This video has been blocked in Germany. I think that's kinda cool. My video was BANNED in GERMANY! 

June 3rd

Burger King needs to work some things out with its burgers...

June 2nd

Last night of orientation. A bunch of us went out, and I saw this cell phone booth. Unfortunately, it was just for show, and I couldn't get inside of it. But it's still cool.

The second picture is of our hotel. I was wondering why there was an eerie green glow outside our window each night. I mean, I guess I still don't actually know why, but at least I see it wasn't just me.

June 1st

I am officially an RUF intern! Today begins my job, and I am now on the payroll. Woot! This is a picture of a perfect strawberry, as discovered by one of the girls I met here. I must say, it is rather beautiful.

May 31st

I'm staying in a hotel for RUF orientation, and I noticed the elevator has an extra button that says "Emergency Elevator Power". I'm really curious what this button is for, and what it will do. In case of fire, you're told never to use the elevator. I don't know what other types of emergency this may mean. Perhaps it makes the elevator zoom super fast right to you, so if you are being chased by someone, you can jump in and be safe. It becomes a SUPER ELEVATOR!

May 29th

I stayed the night at Marcia's to break up my trip into manageable parts. She showed me this amazing mural by a man who actually changed his name to Blue Sky. It is completely two dimensional, but it sure looks like you could walk right into it. Marcia said the sun lights up at night. He also created this giant fire hydrant, which is actually surrounded by a fountain. So awesome. He created a lot of artwork scattered around Columbia, SC.

May 28th

I went to my cousin's house, where the whole family on my dad's side was gathered. My dad is the one on the right in the first picture, with his two brothers. The second picture is of my four cousins, the children of my uncle at the left side of the first picture. I had such an awesome time.

May 26th

Today we hung out around the resort. Our afternoon was spent by the pool, where there was a lady doing airbrush tattoos. Steph and I decided we should get tattoos that would be out of character for us. I got a dragon on my shoulder blade, and she got barbed wire around her arm. We looked fierce. Unfortunately, the very next day we accidentally put sunscreen on them and they rubbed off. But the pictures remain!

We also went geocaching! You can find a video of our adventure here.

May 25th

Jamestown! Once again, there was a huge gallery with way too much information to take in in one day. The first picture is of the fountains outside the welcome center, behind which every state flag is flying. There is also a recreation of the fort, and of the Powhatan village, as well as recreations of the three ships on which the first settlers arrived.

May 24th

Yorktown! At the victory center there is a gallery full of information about the battle, as well as a recreation of a campsite. This is a surgeon's tent. We also went to the battlefield and walked around, looking at the canons and embankments. There was also a grave site with a headstone of someone who died February 30th. How cool is that? Yes, there had to be three pictures today.