Spokane!

Mom and I are in Spokane, WA, for her National Rural Letter Carriers' Association conference. While Mom is sitting through meetings I am exploring the nearby campuses of Gonzaga and Eastern Washington--research for grad school, you know--hanging out in the park with the geese, reading soooo much, and playing the Xbox. It is a pretty sweet little place. Although more than one person has told me that Spokane is the place to find Meth, I don't think I'm going to let that ruin my experience here. I haven't seen any drug deals go down right in front of me, so I'm just going to pretend it doesn't exist for the week. Thanks, friends, for all the meth updates. Sheesh. Anyway, we have been finding some interesting little stores and watched Inception in IMAX. There is another IMAX theater that is playing an Everest movie that I would love to go see. We'll be here until this Saturday and then back to MT.

Home!

I made it!

Of course saying goodbye on Friday morning was sad--I was doing ok until I hugged Gary Brown goodbye. Then it went down from there, and I cried saying bye to everyone else.

The bus ride was ok. We had one girl throw up--I always have a puker on my bus. At least she made it in the little bag I gave her. Then when we got to Long Island the car service came to pick us up. 14 bags--8 of that big suitcases--for 5 people and one black sedan. You do the math. I wasn't about to sit there and wait for another ride to the airport, though, so I made sure everything fit. We didn't have leg room--Katie up front was sitting cross-legged, and the 3 of us in the back weren't doing too much better. And then the driver took us straight through Manhatten, through China Town, and into the Holland Tunnel. It took forever.

I stayed in a hotel at Newark that night and then went to the airport at 5:30 in the morning for my 7:50 flight. I of course went to the wrong air carrier to check in. I thought I was flying Northwest but I was flying United instead. Suckiness! That didn't make me miss my flight, but it did mean I didn't get breakfast. I popped some Dramamine because I didn't want a repeat of the flight over and that put me to sleep for the entire 3 hours until Denver. Then I took more Dramamine and slept from Denver to Great Falls.

I also sat next to 3 military guys in civilian clothes that were headed to Montana for the first time. They asked me if I was stationed in Great Falls, to which I kind of laughed, because I clearly do not look like I am in the military. Do I? Anyway, the guy next to me called in on his cell phone before we took off and said he was Agent something-or-other. That was intriguing. He had a military backpack and a Marine tattoo on his arm. I wonder just what they were doing...

And then I arrived and proceeded to switch cell phone carriers to Verizon and to buy a new cell phone. I didn't really want internet on my phone, but after seeing the other cell phone options I went with the Ally Android smartphone--it was the only one that wasn't a step down from my current cell phone. And so now I have unlimited text, 5 friends, and unlimited data. It is so strange to have Gmail on my phone and to be able to Facebook. But I totally dig my star charts and all my GPS capabilities.

Mom and I are off to Spokane, Washington, for the week.

Ciao!

Last Day Sadness

The next time you hear from me, I will be back home in Montana...

We are packing today. My bunks are all finished currently, with the exception of bathroom baskets and the like.

It is also POURING rain right now. Not happy about that. I don't want to have a wet banquet night because there isn't much we can do with them. Outdoors is our friend tonight. And what about the last campfire and the launching of the candles into the lake??? And singing the Alma Mater for the last time?? Joe Widman asked me to stand by him for the Alma Mater. It was so nice! He's Bill's brother and in charge of the laundry every summer at camp. He's been here for like 15 years or so and has joined the list of my favorite people at camp.

I am all packed up and ready for tomorrow, when I will board a bus for Long Island, NY.

Talk to you all soon!

Take That!

Final Fight! And Sing, of course, as you can't have one without the other.

Green won Color War!!!! I think it was extremely close this summer, though.

Batman was in the Final Fight, as was James Bond, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Superman, a guy riding a horse, the giant hotdog, Spongebob, and I think that might have been it--oh yeah, and the Monster bad-guys from the Color War break. Needless to say, there was a little too much happening in all directions to really focus on any one person. The guy riding the horse went down quick, as did Spongebob, but Batman acquitted himself well. The giant hotdog had everyone kicking him at one point but he squirmed out while they were distracted and won the fight.

Color War is officially over. That leaves us one cleaning day on Wednesday and one packing day on Thursday.

Then I am on a bus to Long Island, NY.

And then I am on a plane for Montana!!! And then I am home.

Camp Thinking

Last night was Rope Burn/Kettle Boil--my least favorite activity during Color War. And of course I was on for it again this summer. 5 summers of watching water boil and ropes burn...

HOWEVER, this summer I was pleasantly surprised! Due to some intense prepatory work beforehand, the entire event took 18 minutes and wasn't long enough for my butt to fall asleep on the bench or for my hands and feet to get numb from cold. And the girls didn't have to cheer for an hour and get bored. Surprise number 1! I actually enjoyed it.

After walking back from the office I ran into Dan and Joe Widman, Bill's brother. Joe proceeded to tell Dan that I was one of his favorite people on camp. It was so nice! It made me smile last night.

Marjori told me that I need to go to Senior Camp last night. Another surprise moment. Marjori has previously told me that I need to stay with her. She is right, though. I need a new challenge. I was even contemplating not coming back next summer--thinking about running off to work in the circus or aboard a ship or something. Maybe go to Africa. Greece. Who knows. And now I have to do some serious thinking, because going to Senior Camp would definitely be a challenge. And I would get my old girls, who I absolutely LOVE and who I have kept in contact with this summer for hang-out time.

I don't know. I think I will just enjoy the last 5 days and get myself home and think about it later.

6 Days!

Camp is almost over. It is the final weekend, the last Saturday, the last Sunday BBQ, the last Leadership night, the last stretch, the point where I can see the finish line.

Sad days.

And yet, I am ready. I am always ready to be over when it happens. I will still miss everyone and it will be sad to say goodbye.

I am on a bus to Long Island this summer. Then a car and driver will take me to the airport and I will get on a shuttle bus to my hotel where I will get some much-needed sleep before getting up at the crack of dawn to board yet another shuttle back to the airport where I will be leaving on a jet-plane for home!

Mira!

Carnival! We were Group Leaders--as in, all the Group Leaders ever do is sit in the Adirondack chairs and do string or walk around in our polos with our clipboards. It was a way to poke fun at ourselves a bit because we definitely know how busy we are and just how much work we do at camp. I was an Adirondack chair and Danielle sat on me. We are at the very end of the group, against the wall.

So Much

We have been just humming along here at Bryn Mawr. List time!

1. Chocolate Banana Night! I wore my Chocolate Banana Night skirt--the orangey-gold one with the hibiscus flowers--and a very interesting yellow slicker with hood. We surprised the girls in a good way and had some bananas dipped in chocolate. Still don't really understand the significance of that night, to be honest.

2. We have been having the BEST clues regarding Color War! All James Bond-esque. The final clue last night involved a boat chase on the lake with homemade rocket launchers that shot fireworks. It was so awesome! I love stuff like that.

3. Carnival! I was an Adirondack chair, dressed all in green with soccer socks on my arms and legs. I have a perma-green eyebrow right now thanks to that costume--we painted our faces to look like the pointy Adirondack chair backs.

4. I hit the outlet stores last Friday and found the best deals. I snagged a North Face jacket for a ridiculous price in the best shade of blue ever. And I bought my first ever pair of Uggs. Yes, I did. But they don't look like your typical pair of Uggs. They have a zipper up the back and just look like really nice boots. I think they are the nicest pair of boots I have ever owned, to be honest.

5. Less than 2 weeks!

6. I talked to Kaelan and Kameron last night on the phone and it was AMAZING! I miss them so much! Kaelan and I decided we would ride our bikes all around the world, starting with the park and then going to Australia. Kam wants to come too and he'll be in charge of security, ie, wrestling crocodiles.

7. I have a cold. Sad face. I can't breathe out of my nose very well and have no voice.