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californ-i-a
I left for California to visit Rowan on June 19, however, United SUCKS and my flight was cancelled so I didn’t end up leaving until June 20 at 5:45 am. I was TIRED but it was worth it. When I got to the Bay area we started by getting some Mexican food OBVIOUSLY and then went home where we hung out, played with Rowan’s dog Mookie and chilled. Thursday we left for the Yuba river which is about a 3 hour ride from Oakland. Rowan’s family friends live about 8 minutes from the river. We got there at night so we immediately hit the hay in order to wake up and get to the river. Friday and Saturday were spent at the river slipping down waterfalls and searching for little trout. On Saturday, Eli’s roommate from college came down from Tahoe to hang out with us at the river which was really nice to see him. The weather near the Yuba is HOT HOT HOT but the river was like 70 degrees so it was absolutely perfect. We had these dank ass bagels too, probably the best bagels I’ve ever eaten in my life. May have been the highlight of my whole trip...
On Sunday we left the Yuba, got home and immediately had to pack and turn right around to go camping at Point Reyes. Rowan and I hiked in around 4 and got to the campsite at 7ish, set up the tent then made some freeze dried chicken fried rice. GOURMET. We went to bed when the sun was still out but #noregrets. On Monday we started our day fairly late, made some breakfast (aka the dank ass bagels with cheese and salami) then headed out for a day of hiking. We started by making our way to the beach. It was foggy and cold so no one else was on the beach which made it so much more relaxing and beautiful. We saw a washed up jellyfish on the beach, its tentacles sprawled out on the sand. We also saw a dead pelican being eaten by vultures YUM! and then discovered this cave that had so many different plants and flowers on it I could have looked in it for hours. We stayed on the beach for a while then headed up on a trail that was overgrown by plants you couldn’t even see the trail to walk on. We stopped at a big opening with a giant tree that we climbed up and sat on for a little bit. The second trail to get back to the campsite was also overgrown, mostly with blackberry bushes which made it that much better! We ended up hiking 10 miles. We made some delicious freeze dried beef stroganoff then called it a night. Tuesday we hiked out, another 5 miles, then drove to the point of Point Reyes overlooking the ocean (where a lot of blue whales come to) and sat for a bit looking out. Then we went to In n Out which was MORE DANKNESS!!!!!Â
Wednesday we had a chill, quiet day. Went to the track and did a work out, Rowan made delicious enchiladas, we probably went to bed by 10. Thursday was another chill day but we went into San Francisco at night with a couple of his friends and tried to hit up the bar scene but it was pretty dead so I just knocked out when we got home and slept great honestly. Friday we stayed in SF, went to brunch at his favorite diner, then walked the length of the Golden Gate park all the way to ocean beach where we sat and chilled and felt the warmth of the sun for a while. Friday night we went with Rowan’s parents and family friends to a Grateful Dead cover band show which was really really fun and my legs were KILLING ME from boogying down so hard. Some man and his wife kept hitting on Rowan and me and I’m fairly confident they were swingers tryna get us to go home with them. NO THANKS.
Saturday we went up to Marin county to another family friend’s house for a little pool party action. It was sooo hot so the pool felt amazing. The couple of the house we were at are bee keepers so we got a bee lesson and got to try super fresh honey.Â
On Sunday Rowan and I went to an A’s game. We stayed until the 8th inning where the other team scored 8 runs in one inning and we decided we didn’t need to watch the ass whooping anymore. We headed home, went out for dinner and then left for the airport.
FUCK UNITED. When I got to the airport I looked up at the screen and MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED. I didn’t get any notification, no update, nothing. I have the app and I registered my phone number and email but didn’t receive anything about a cancelled flight. I got through security and the app said I was put on a different flight to Chicago so I went to that gate, but apparently it had been overbooked so they told me to go to customer service. I scurried along to customer service only to find out MANY people were also having problems with their flights and everyone was yelling and stressed and I cried a lil. My phone updated and said I was on an 11:15 flight to Nashville, but since this happened last time and it didn’t end up working out I figured I would stay in the customer service line and see what they had to say. But then it was 11 and I was still 5 people away from being helped and they weren’t even doing much so I decided ‘fuck it’ and sprinted to the gate. Somehow I made it on. Now I am in Nashville, waiting for my plane to Chicago where I have another 3 hour layover before heading to Burlington. I’m not sure if I have shitty flight luck or if I just chose the shitty airlines. In any case, I’ll probably never fly United again.
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USA v. Ireland/ Guinness Factory
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ecuador-->ireland
What a whirlwind semester. I was home for all but four days before heading down to JFK to meet up with my soccer team and fly to Ireland for a week. We took a red eye which we barely slept on. The food was incredible though on the way there and the way back, props to Delta. When we first landed in Dublin we got to the hotel and then quickly went on a walking tour to get to know the city a bit. We were late, so the tour didn’t take long and then we had to grab a real quick lunch before heading to soccer practice. We practiced with a man named Dave Collins who played professional soccer and he was an amazing coach. He was excited and engaged and even though he didn’t know us, he pushed us and wanted us to succeed. We got dinner and gelato that night then went back to the hotel exhausted.
We woke up real early the next day and headed to what we thought was going to be a nice leisurely bike ride through Dublin but was actually up a mountain and was extremely difficult. The views were beautiful but we were so dead for our game later that night (which we lost, naturally). We biked up to the Guinness lake, which is owned by the founders of the beer. The lake is dark blue and the owners replaced the mud beach with white sand so it would look like a Guinness. How extra.
On May 31 we went to the Cliffs of Moher which were INCREDIBLE. So beautiful and huge and just makes you feel so small. Very greeeeeen too. I walked with Sydney to the end of the cliffs and we just sat there for a while taking it all in. It was really calming and relaxing after our bike ride the day before. Nice break on the ole legs. After the cliffs we went to lunch and I had some Irish beef stew. Good down home cooked meal if ya will.
On June 1st we learned the old Irish games of hurling and Gaelic football. I was not good at hurling, but Gaelic football is essentially hand-ball/soccer so that one was a lot more fun. Hurling is really hard and you have to hold a wooden bat type thing (also known as the hurl) and my arms were just way too weak. Its the fastest sport in the world and seems lowkey dangerous... After that we had time to go to the Guinness factory where we strolled through the factory and then got to the top and had a beer. A lot of people didn’t like theirs so they gave it to me which I wasn’t complaining about thats fo sho. After, a huge crowd of us (all pretty buzzed from one beer and not having had lunch that day) stumbled our way back to the hotel but not without stopping at an Irish pub for a Guinness shot. We were surrounded by only old OLD OLD OLD Irish men- who seemed pretty enthused by our presence. Eventually we got to the hotel and got ready to leave for the USA v Ireland men’s game. USA lost, both teams weren’t good, but it was still fun to attend!
On June 3, our last day in Ireland, we went up to Northern Ireland. We started the day with a tour from a Catholic man who had been to jail because he was part of the rioting from the Catholic sector of Belfast. He was really interesting and was super passionate about the turmoil northern Ireland is still facing today. He told us about the divide between the Protestants, who think they are British and the Irish Catholics and how the two groups are separated literally by a wall- now known as the peace wall. Ireland is fighting for their country and their right to be Irish while the Protestants are trying to take over Northern Ireland and treat it as something else entirely. Pretty crazy stuff. After the tour we went to Giant’s Causeway and this rope bridge that leads to a little island off the coast. Both places were sooo beautiful and made the day just so perfect. We even got to see Puffins!!
Overall, a very successful trip despite hardly being fed or allowed sleep. One week in Ireland was certainly not enough and I hope to get back there and explore some more. I just can’t help but think about how lucky I am to have had these opportunities and it makes me want to continue to get out there and adventure. But for now I must work.
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when u finally find good beer after 5 months
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24 hours til home
Cuenca was awesome. Thursday night we ate our guac and chips on our little porch and then the owner of the Airbnb came to talk to us a while about politics and people and architecture and then he showed us his loft which he built and designed which was pretty dope too. After, we went and got some beer at a microbrewery which was awesome finally having good beer again and then got some din din.
Friday we explored more and went to the central historic part with the big churches and lots more restaurants. It was a quick walk from our loft. Got some super good ice cream.
Saturday we tried to wake up and get our day started early to Cajas National Park but we finally got out to our favorite breakfast spot around 10 and then weren’t at the bus station until 11:30ish, but hey that’s Ecuadorian time for ya and it didn’t ruin our awesome day. Cajas is absolutely beautiful, its part of the Paramo which is a main water source for Ecuador and home to so much biodiversity. We set off on what we thought was a three hour hike until we got an hour in and finally saw the trailhead. We had gone the wrong way. LOL. So instead of doing the hike we explored around the national park like little kids. And then Rowan lost his phone. We looked for it for like two hours but that baby is a goner. We were so tired after Cajas so we went and got some dinner then watched some Netflix- been a looooong time since I’ve watched Netflix.
Sunday we had a nice lazy day cause it was raining. We got some good breakfast, walked around a bit, watched some Netflix, popped in and out of art shops. Nice day.
Yesterday we went back to Cajas despite the heartbreak Rowan had faced two days prior. This time we actually did the hike, but ended up somehow going the wrong way again and it was supposed to loop us back but we just ended up on the side of the highway. It was only about a 10 minute wait before we flagged down a bus and hopped on. We took a night bus from Cuenca to Quito so we had about six hours to kill before the bus so we got some ice cream, meandered to a place for dinner that ended up having the NBA on so we watched that, then went to a different place that had the NBA on and then finally went to the bus terminal. Our bus left at 11:25pm and got to Quito at 8am. It was a long night but I luckily slept most of it other than when the only baby on the bus was crying and when the bus driver was jamming out.
Today is my last day in Ecuador and I can not believe how quickly this semester went. I am so lucky to have done the program I did and I feel like I didn’t take a single moment for granted. Looking forward to some good American food though...
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