Fiery wedding!

Not mine! My good friend Shauna got married today to her perfect guy, Dustin, in one of the most beautiful ceremonies ever. Beautiful because, well, you will see the pics, and it was also a great reunion of old friends. The Pines Lake, NJ clan, all friends from when we were months old, hung out all day, danced the night away, talked and had a grand time.

Oh yeah, and I performed double staves in the barn as the party heated up. Literally!

Memory lane

‘Stuck’ in Burlington, Vermont, I stayed with my dad’s old UVM college roommate, Greg. During dinner, I shared stories of college life, and Greg shared with me stories of my dad’s college life. I would say that it was definitely a fair exchange! After all the grief the my dad gave me a year ago for moving off campus, Greg showed me where my dad lived, and I think that my place is nicer. Can I get any second opinions out there?

In search for double days

I was invited to the first of my friend’s weddings this year (woah!), and en route to the bachelorette party, my flight was cancelled. Bummed was an understatement, but I decided to try to make the most of being stuck. I was stuck in Burlington, Vermont after all, so I rented a SUP from the Gear Exchange (best shop ever), and proceeded to paddle along Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain itself is beautiful, but the cliff bands that line it are breath taking. They are most definitely climbable, and I can see a double day of climbing and paddling this summer. Anyone want to join me?

Graduation

The 13’s. It’s funny because I don’t see myself ever lumping a group of people together and generalizing. Usually it isn’t possible. Usually it isn’t true. But the 13’s. They have been some of my best friends at Dartmouth, great mentors and as a group, just straight up amazing people. I really look forward to seeing all of them bring their infectious energy into the ‘real’ world, and as much as I will miss having them around, I know that they are itching for the next big adventure.

Bike Nats!

It is a Dartmouth spring tradition for biking and nording – Beer Nats. There are three events, and all end in hilarity. The particular one you are looking at is the criterion – three laps of the organizer’s choice with two catches. The first requirement is that the rider needs to drink a beer by the time they finish, and the second is that the last lap is naked. Don’t worry! It is all in the name of good fun!

Senior week bbq

Senior week is here and I am tagging along with the seniors for fun. Tonight we went up to Emmi’s family place in Vermont. Vermont is just straight up beautiful, and after chasing some cows for a while (and getting chased), we went to make some grub. We all laughed over the gender separation that naturally happened in the process - boys at the grill, girls in the kitchen -  but enjoyed the handmade burgers nonetheless!

Bonk

Today I biked at one of the coolest places: the Northeast Kingdom near Burke Mountain in Vermont. Kingdom developed because mountain bikers were cutting illegal trails on the farmland surrounding Burke for years, and the trails were rumored to be awesome. The landowners got together and decided that it would be beneficial to make biking at Kingdom a legit thing. With tons of trails, and maintenance, Kingdom has a bike following that goes from day-trips to weddings.

Rob and I with two of our Nordic skiing friends, Leif and Russ rode the trails. Trying to keep up with Rob and the Nordies, I was worked, full out sprinting to keep them within a sight line. After two hours, I bonked. With three energy bars, I pushed on. To be honest, the riding was too good to stop. By the fourth hour, my legs had enough lactic acid to make bonking look like a piece of cake. When we got back we were rewarded with the best banana splits ever. I would call that a win!