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.

It's About That Time of Year Again!!

It is September. Can you believe it?? How the heck did it already get to be September?!? I feel like this summer flew by so fast! Not going to lie, it felt like a long time being away from my apartment, but when I think about what I did this summer, I feel like I did SO MUCH in SO LITTLE TIME! It's pretty strange.

I have now been away from summer camp for. . .let me think. . .about 6 days. So pretty much a week. I did go back to the camp's site yesterday for a meeting, but it was SO QUIET. I kept expecting the summer staff to show up and hang out for a bit before all our preparations for the next group of kids showing up started, but obviously they wouldn't be coming. Summer is over, and all the staff are either working normal year-long jobs, or going back to school. It's very strange to think that they won't be back for almost 10 more months.

I kinda MISS it. haha

I would've probably guessed that it would happen. Towards the end of summer though, I couldn't wait to go back to my apartment and be in my own space. Now though, I want to go back.

It's like how the saying goes, "You never know how much something or someone will mean to you until it is no longer there or available. You never know how much you'll miss it until it's gone."

Technically, camp is not "gone." It's just a long changeover. A long period until we begin again for summer camp work. It'll come back.

Also, the first day of school was today in the Buffalo Public School District. Very exciting. I really missed my kids. I also missed my teachers as well. I had FANTASTIC teachers in the earlier part of this year. I spent most of my time with Ms. Krause and Mr. Wells (Probably my two most favorite teachers, mostly because I got to know them and learn from them the most). I really enjoyed working in the other classrooms as well, but felt I was most needed in the two previously mentioned teacher's classrooms. Mainly because they were by themselves, and the other two classrooms I were in had co-teachers. Regardless of that though, I loved all my teachers.

My students that I work with will be moving up from the 3rd grade to the 4th grade (for the most part). I haven't seen them in so long. I saw a few over the summer at camp, but haven't asked them or seen them since they were there. And not all of them went to camp. So it'll be great when I can work with them during lunch and ask them how they've been and what they did this summer.

Today, I went with a few people that I work with (Rachel, Mason, and Lois) to Chestnut Ridge Park. It's a very nice park to hike around in, as they are mostly famous for the Eternal Flame (a flame that burns in a natural gas opening near a waterfall). We ended up walking to a different location though. We were looking for a swimming hole that Mason had previously seen on one of his hikes during the summer. It was a nice hike (about 20-30 minutes) before we found the swimming hole. However, it wasn't as deep as what it was earlier in the summer. It may be due to the fact that it hasn't REALLY rained in a few weeks. We still waded in, and enjoyed the brisk cold water. Rachel ended up carrying half a watermelon on our hike, and we pleasantly enjoyed it's contents at the swimming hole. YAY Rachel for bringing yummy fruit!!!

So other than starting school this month, I've just been trying to reconnect with people haven't talked to in a while. I have seen several people this past week, and it's been awesome! I also need to call several more before life happenings happen and I don't have the time to do so. Hopefully I continue to do so the rest of the month!

Other than that, I am planning a long weekend trip to the Adirondack Mountains. I'm so excited!!! I've never been there, and I've been wanting to go for a while. I'm SO excited to see the leaves change color while hiking up some mountains and seeing the AMAZING views! I'll definitely put up photos on here once I come back.

Anyways, I have attached a few photos here from our Chestnut Ridge hike to the swimming hole. Enjoy! I'll give updates soon!!

Love and hugs.