Updates before Summer!

Hey!

So it's been a while since I last posted, but wanted to make sure that I posted something before heading out to summer camp. The last two months have flown by SO FAST! I can't believe it's two weeks before the school year is over, and there's still so much to do.

So I left the blog saying that I had gone to the Buffalo Zoo at the end of February. March was pretty good. . .I went to see one of my best friends named Scott in Vermont, which was great. I was able to see him on his birthday (YAY!) and also spent some quality time with him. It was nice being on the farm, relaxing, and doing chores. Plus we played a really cool game called Quirkle, which I will more than likely buy at some point haha I also learned how to make cheese curds from scratch, which was WAY cool!

Early April, I went to Wisconsin to visit some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. I visited Mitch and Suzannah, great close friends of mine. We all worked together for a while at Crex and it was so GREAT to see them! Mitch is getting married next year, and I'm super pumped that he's happy with Britt! Suzannah is doing great too, and I loved spending time with them both! I was also able to see Chelsea, a good friend of mine that attended Northland with me. She just had a baby and he is such a cutie! I really wanted to see this little bundle of joy, as he is the most important thing in Chelsea's life now. So I had to meet the competition haha JK.

On my way back to Buffalo, I met with Mav as well -- who was a good friend of mine at Northland as well. She lives in the Chicago area, and it was great to spend a little bit of time catching up with her as well, especially since we hadn't talked in a long time.

It was just really great to see a bunch of people that I really love and care for, and was so glad I was able to make it out on that trip.

Lately, I've been preparing for summer camp and working, but I've also been spending some time outdoors -- well, as much as I am able to. I recently went hiking to Zoar Valley, which is this really cool park that has a creek running through a gorge. Definitely a cool Western New York park to visit (I want to visit it again sometime soon)! I ran the Bully Free 5K at Lorraine Elementary, to support the bully-free program at one of the schools I work at. I went to the Lilac Festival in Rochester NY to celebrate the arrival of spring and flowers. Spent some time at Canalside with my friend Taharra, and a few of her family members -- soaking up the sun in the first really nice day before summer starts. And finally, I went home Memorial Day weekend to see some family, which was especially nice since I hadn't seen them in over 5 months. And finally, I went to a Northland College alumni event here in Western NY - who knew that a small college in Northern Wisconsin would have alumni here? It's so far away from where we all were, and that's crazy! But awesome at the same time! So I've been here, there, and everywhere I guess. It didn't seem that much, but now that I am writing this all down, it is A LOT!

Anyways, summer camp season starts soon. And I'll be even more busy than I am right now. I. AM. PUMPED! Enjoy the pictures I posted below!

This is my friend Scott watering the seedlings in the Greenhouse. Lots of healthy looking plants here! 

My friend Scott peeling an egg to go with dinner. YUM!

The cheese curds I made! With help from Scott, of course! These cheese curds were going to come home with me, but I accidentally left them in Vermont. Scott ate them for me so that it wouldn't go to waste. I think it was planned all along.

The two people to the right of me are Mitch and Suzannah! They're such great people and I miss them so much!! The woman to the right of Mitch is Suzannah's friend, and she was super nice! She brought a board game over to Suzannah's house that was really fun! And Arbor the dog was pretty cool too! We ate brunch at the Delta Diner, which is world-famous. Definitely a diner out in the woods!

We went on a hike on the North Country trail, near Mirror Lake in the Chequamegon Forest. As you can see, it was definitely still snowy and wintery in upper Wisconsin, the complete opposite of where I had come from in Buffalo.

My friend Chelsea with her baby Asher Channing. It was a kind of cold day out, so we wanted the baby bundled up. He was only a month old at this time! His birthday is March 14th!

The Northland-famous Mavrelis. It was great to eat dinner with her and chill in Chicago for a bit.

Shoot. I forgot I did this, but now am going to post this up. This is a really good friend of mine named Grace. We went hiking at Chestnut Ridge, a cool park in Western NY. It was a day hike, and we were hiking to the Eternal Flame, which is something that everyone in the Western NY area should see at some point. Just because it's a cool hike. And where else will you see a natural gas formation lit up?!?

Chestnut Ridge hiking can be pretty intense. You may or may not survive.

The group that hiked Chestnut Ridge. Can you see the Eternal Flame behind the waterfall??

Meetups and Exploring the ZOO!

So I'm not sure if any of you have heard of meetup.com. NO. It's not the dating website (although I think from time to time that it sounds like it). It is a friends-meet-and-enjoy-the-event site!

Meetup.com is a website and app that basically allows one person to invite people that are interested in going to an event so that he/she doesn't have to go by themselves and can enjoy other people's company. For instance, if say I wanted to go to the Buffalo Zoo -- all I would have to do is post an event (Going to the Buffalo Zoo for the day) and other people that are also interested in going to the Buffalo Zoo for that day and time can join me. It's a really cool website/app that gets people to know other people and have fun at various events in and around the city as well as in other places. Most larger cities have meetups, although there are some smaller towns here and there that may have a few groups in the area.

Anyways, the reason that I brought it up is that I've been going to several different Meetup events around Buffalo and have met cool people, but also have done cool things. One day, I volunteered with a group of people to set up food donation boxes that would be handed out to families that needed it at a local food bank. We ended up packing 225 boxes that were about 35 lbs each -- making it a total of 7,875 lbs of food packed by our group! Another time I played volleyball with a bunch of people at an indoor court. I've also gone to a lot of meet and greets -- where I meet people involved with a specific group and just talk to them. It's been really great.

I also went to the Buffalo Zoo at the end of February. The Zoo in Buffalo is I believe the third oldest zoo in the country, and is actually a lot nicer than some people in Buffalo said it was. There are a wide variety of creatures (not as much as the Detroit Zoo however) and they just opened the Arctic Exhibit a few months ago which has one polar bear cub currently housing it. The other polar bear cub was one that a friend of mine had taken care of at the Alaska Zoo before it was actually brought to Buffalo. I believe that cub was moved to a different zoo (no idea why though). So that was exciting seeing all the different animals.

Bills Game Extravaganza!!

So I realized I started this entry way back in January. . .and just never posted it. Hmmm. Sorry. That was my fault.

In early January, my roommates and I (along with our friend Grace) ended up going to a Bills game. If you've never been to a Buffalo Bills game, and especially one in the middle of winter, it's a whole 'nother world. I've never seen so many people out in the cold just hanging out and talking! It was really cool - literally and figuratively. It was also nice that someone near us ended up having a firepit. I think that's what kept my fingers and face from freezing.

All in all, it was a really fun day. Definitely one I recommend experiencing in the snow. Bills won that game too. It was all because we were there haha

Thanksgiving Break Events

Hey! I hope everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving! I was fortunate enough to have the day before and after Thanksgiving off from work, due to the fact that the other staff and I worked the previous weekend with kids and having a day off due to the school calendar.

This Thanksgiving, I signed up for the Buffalo Turkey Trot, which was an 8K race from North Buffalo to downtown. I started the race with Brittany (my roommate) and Andrea (a friend and coworker originally from Oregon), along with FOURTEEN THOUSAND PLUS other people!! Oh my goodness. There were so many people! And they all had different costumes, were different ages, and of different running abilities. It was so cool to see all of these people come together to support the Buffalo YMCA.

Brittany and Andrea SUPER pumped before the start of the race!

Running with the Crowd!

After finishing and about to celebrate! WOOT WOOT!

It felt so nice to run in the Turkey Trot. I think I will do it again next year. It was a great way to start Thanksgiving, before eating all of the delicious food. After getting back home, we all started making dishes for our Friendsgiving Feast we were having later on at a friend's house. It was a great way to spend Thanksgiving with people that you know and care about. Everyone from our program that was in Buffalo for the holidays and didn't go home with family celebrated together. It was EXTREMELY nice!

The next day, I ended up going to a concert that headlined Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and New Politics. The Griswolds were there, and so was an artist called LOLO. I didn't get to hear much from LOLO, but the Griswolds were great. New Politics was super full of energy and all of their songs were catchy. The crowd was pumped up during their entire performance. The vocalist also made his way into the crowd several times too, which was really cool.

Andrew McMahon was really cool too. He had a grand piano up on stage (how does he travel with something so BIG?!?). The piano had some turf on the top of it, as well as a fishbowl with no fish. It was still very cool though. I really like him. Something I learned about him was that several years ago he was diagnosed with cancer. He now supports an organization called LOVE HOPE STRENGTH FOUNDATION, which helps people sign up for the bone marrow registry, to hopefully match a cancer patient with someone that can save their life. It is really amazing how many people they've matched together from having people take 3 minutes of their time to swab their cheeks. Here's the link to the foundation; http://lovehopestrength.org/

Anyways, I really enjoyed this concert, and met two great people (Kelly and Josh) who helped make my experience enjoyable by talking with me during the show. They were super nice, and I'm glad I was able to hang out with them during the concert!

New Politics (both above and below)

The vocalist from New Politics in the crowd.

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (both pictures below).

A Friendly Visit From My Friend Scott!

MY FRIEND SCOTT CAME TO VISIT ME!!! Ahhhhh, it was SO GREAT!!

He is the second friend from college to come and visit me, after my wonderful friend Chelsea did almost 2 years ago (She and I have a framed picture together on my dresser). It was so nice!

Unfortunately, I had to work most of the day on Monday (He arrived Sunday 11/1 Night). After work, he and I ate some really great food at India Gate Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue. It was SO good! If I were to want Indian Cuisine again, I would most definitely go there! Anyways, after eating dinner together, we went for a walk down Elmwood and through Allentown. It was a really nice walk, and we were able to have a really nice conversation about life.

The next day, we ended up going to Niagara Falls. Scott had never been there before, and I told him it was a must-see attraction. We took the metro bus there, and ended up looking at the falls from the top. I told him there was another part of the falls to see, and purchased tickets to the Maid of the Mist Ferry. He was very surprised, but I told him that if he was here, he should go on it. I mean, when will he get the chance to go another time? Who knows. But we went on the boat, and he LOVED it. It was fantastic. Plus, we saw some smaller falls up close. It was quite an adventure, and just an all in all great day.

What made it even better was attending the Matilda Play at Shea's Theater in downtown Buffalo. It is a beautiful venue, and holds many people. The play had some similarities to the movie, but I think that it was pretty cool hearing the kids sing songs and dance. It is amazing to see how the theater comes together when watching a play. I unfortunately fell asleep towards the end of the movie (It was a long day), but was able to catch the end.

Anyways, it was great seeing Scott and talking to him for a few days while he was here in Buffalo. He is such a great person, and I am very glad he and I still talk. Here are some photos from that day:

Thanks so much Scott for visiting me! I'll see you sometime soon again!

Fall Camping and Hiking in the Adirondack Mountains!!

Just returned from 3 days of camping and hiking in the Adirondack Mountains in eastern New York State. Let me tell you. . .it was so BEAUTIFUL! The colors in the leaves were very bright -- showing yellows, oranges, reds, greens, and shades in between. The hills and mountains were EVERYWHERE. We (as in myself and three other friends plus another friend for the day) explored the Lake Placid, New York portion of the Adirondacks. . .which is where most of the High Peaks are located.

I've learned lots of things during this trip. The first being: ALWAYS CARRY A MAP OF THE HIKING TRAIL FOR THE DAY. The first full day we were there (after arriving around 1:30 am on Saturday morning), we ended up going about an hour hiking out of our way because the trail was unmarked and we didn't have a map. We were trying to find the trail to reach the summit of Whiteface Mountain, which is the fifth highest mountain in New York. We were hiking that trail because if we were to take a car to the summit, we would've had to pay over $40 total just for that portion, since it cost about $11 for the driver and car, and $8 for each additional passenger. Crazy pricing!

So yes, needless to say, we were pretty upset. We had hiked for an hour and had to start over again. We ended up going on the right path this time though. . . and came across a climb that was extremely steep. I thought the hike up Devil's Lake in Baraboo Wisconsin was intense, but that was before I saw this trail. It was completely rocky, and it was like climbing steep stairs FOREVER. The hikers we came across told us that was the most intense part of the climb, and that it was about a mile long. HOLY CRAP! We climbed up those rocks though, but it was starting to get late and we were exhausted after hiking over an hour out of our way and using our energy to start over again. It was an amazing view at the top of that steep climb though. It was BEAUTIFUL.

We decided to end that hike after that. We were hungry for food, and just wanted to relax by the campfire after the intensity of that. It was my favorite part of the day, besides the amazing view. We made rice with veggies, and it was OH. SO. GOOD. Smores were also part of the meal, and that was thoroughly enjoyed by mostly everyone.

The next morning, we got up early to get a head start on the day. We were out of our campsite around 9 am, and made it to the parking lot of Adirondack Loj, which is where there were a bunch of different trails, most importantly the one leading up to Mount Marcy. After talking with the office staff, we learned that we were starting pretty late. For future planning: MAKE SURE TO START THE HIKE TO MOUNT MARCY SOMETIME BETWEEN 6 AM AND 8 AM. It is definitely an all day hike, with a round trip hike total of about 15 miles, which means that it should take most people between 5 and 8 hours to reach the summit of Mount Marcy.

Our goal then (after learning we started too late), was to reach Indian Falls, which was a little more than halfway towards the summit of Mount Marcy. The trail was really nice. . .it wasn't too steep, and was flat in a few areas. We passed Marcy Dam, which was about 2.5 miles into the hike. Also for future planning: IF YOU WANT TO CLIMB TO THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT MARCY, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO CAMP NEAR MARCY DAM THE NIGHT BEFORE. That way, you can get a head start at a reasonable time and reach your campsite before dark.

The view from Indian Falls was gorgeous. We could see Mount Marcy in the distance, and there were a few other mountains in view. We ate lunch there (it was a bit chilly, but such a nice lunch stop), and then decided to climb to the top of Tabletop Mountain.

A bunch of hikers told us (as we were climbing up and they were climbing down) that they had gone to Tabletop Mountain, so we figured since we had climbed that far already, might as well climb to the top of that mountain. Just so everyone knows, that trail is not clearly marked AT ALL. Anyone climbing the "trail" is just following the brook and rocks towards the top of the mountain. It felt like we were bushwacking, only there were no bushes to wack. There were lots of roots, and lots of mud. LOTS of mud. We made it though! There was a sign on top of the mountain that said TABLETOP MOUNTAIN, and even though the view wasn't as nice as we expected, it felt amazing to have reached the top of that mountain. We made it to the top of that mountain at our turn around time, which was 3:30pm, and I am SO happy we were able to do that.

We made it to the parking lot by dark (we were pretty tired from walking though), and enjoyed a pb&j sandwich right outside the car. It was great.

That night, we ate pasta, and baked potatoes using the fire. It was so great to enjoy the last night of camping, before we needed to head out of the Adirondacks and back to the real world. I would definitely love to do it again (HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR!) and I'd be much more knowledgable of what to expect in doing these two hikes again. I really want to try for these two again next year. I am determined to make it to the top.

I have left some photos to share from the trip. I highly recommend anyone interested in hiking the Adirondack Mountains to go out and do it. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

This is us at Lake Placid, New York. This is the Saturday morning we had gotten to the campsite super early. We were in town to grab extra supplies we had forgotten, and to wait for Abdul, who was joining us for the day. From left to right is Brittany, myself, Andrea, and Abbie.

This is a photo from the top of the steep hike on the trail to Whiteface Mountain. It was a great view and I'm so glad we made it through the mile of intense climbing/hiking. As you can see, we were super excited to reach that point.

 Panoramic View

Group photo op on Sunday morning, on our drive to Adirondack Loj, which would be where one of the trails to Mount Marcy begins.

This is what the trail to the summit of Mount Marcy generally looked like. The leaves were very colorful and this was the most prettiest trail we had hiked on all weekend.

Brittany and I at Marcy Dam. Such a precious moment.

      

The view near Marcy Dam was fantastic. There is a campsite (actually a couple of them) very close to here. I wouldn't mind waking up to this view in the morning.

This is what you see as you approach Indian Falls. The water was pretty cold.

Me near the edge of the rock base at Indian Falls.

Panoramic View at Indian Falls.

The view at the top of Tabletop Mountain. Elevation: 4,413'. Number 19 of the 49 highest peaks in the Adirondacks. Approximately 9 miles round trip.

Group photo of us at the summit of Tabletop Mountain.

Proof that we made it to the summit.

 Panoramic View of the summit at Tabletop Mountain.

On our way out of Lake Placid, we had to take a photo of us at the city sign. How cool is that?!?

Summer 2015 Photos

These are NOT all the photos from Summer 2015, but I felt that this was a good selection.

This is a picture of my housemates, Mike and Brittany. We are a bunch of crazy, fun-loving, adventurous people. I love them dearly! This photo is super funny in that we had just bought this charcoal grill and were having a hard time lighting it. It was a Memorial Day Cookout that ended up being over an hour late starting because of how little we knew of how to start it. Now we can do it pretty quick!

Picture of the Buffalo shore, right on Lake Erie.

This is a picture of Lois. A friend of mine. We decided that we needed to swim in Lake Erie and decided that this spot was a good choice. However, we kept debating about whether or not we were allowed to swim because of a sign confusion. It was placed in a weird spot stating that the waters were not safe to swim in. However, there were others there in the water. We decided to go in and actually go swimming. It was pretty cold, not going to lie. A week later we came back, and there was a clear sign stating that no one was allowed to go into the water at this area. WHOOPS.

The first free concert in Buffalo for summer 2015 was a Matt and Kim concert. The music was great, and had some great openers. However, once darkness came, the concert quickly became chaotic. These four ended up staying up front through most of the chaotic-ness, which involved the crowd pushing against the barricades and being so close together that it was hard to breathe, and fights breaking out. Lesson learned here? Don't get right next to the stage for a free Matt and Kim concert. Chances are you'll get crushed and pushed, and have a hard time escaping it.

This is a photo from participating in Color Me Rad at Darien Lake Amusement Park. It's a great run, and the profits go to a charity located in the area. It was a great run, and allowed us to spend the day in the amusement park riding roller coasters.

The two photos above are from the STS9 concert at Artpark in Lewiston NY. It was a cool lightshow, and the band played some great tunes.

This is a photo of me, courtesy of one of my students Nadia. She artfully depicted my blue colored hair perfectly :)

In July, my housemates and I (mostly Brittany) decided to foster a dog from an animal shelter. Meet Roxy, a 5-year old pitbull (pretty sure a mix) that was at the shelter for just over a year. She is super sweet with people. We are currently working on getting her behaved around other animals. We love her a bunch though!

Sunday brunch with some amazing people that I work with!

Photos above are from a sailing trip on Lake Erie with my co-workers. It was a great trip, and we ended up swimming in open water on Lake Erie. It was SO AWESOME!

Group picture of some summer camp staff on a staff trip to Darien Lake Amusement Park. I loved riding on the roller coasters. We pretty much rode them all day. My two favorite rides were the Boomerang and the Viper. It was a great day!

This is a panorama photo of the beach at camp. The clouds were rolling in, and I thought it would make an amazing picture.

A Cradle Beach Sunset.

Grilling kabobs and corn outside to celebrate the last few days of summer.

Some aerial artists dancing to music using sheets during their performance. They were amazing, especially since they were able to twist and maneuver using the cloth and their bodies to keep themselves in the air.