Good evening folks.   Kevin here.   So when Chad and Sam have a day off or leave town (like tonight…they’re both on their way to Quebec to pick up our two Coast to Quebec groups in the morning), the blog falls into the hands of yours truly.   I’ll be honest with you.   Writing is not my favorite thing to do.   If you have a spreadsheet to review or numbers to look at, I’m your guy.   But writing takes me…well…a long time to formulate (which is why the nights I write the blog, it doesn’t get posted until after 6 PM).     When it’s just the two of us in the office in the off season (ie. Chad and myself), he bangs out a clever paragraph time after time in minutes…    I can’t stand it.

But this doesn’t matter tonight as I’ve come up with a way to shake things up…or at least I’m trying to be clever.

I think all of us that grew up in the 70’s and 80’s have noticed a lot of recurring themes in the teen clothing styles of today.   High visibility/neon colors are back.   Those big sun glasses of the 80’s that Tom Cruise wore in Risky Business have been seen around college & high school campuses now for a couple of years.   I’m thinking “Members Only Jackets “, big hair and “Parachute Pants” returning to high fashion are just a few months away (I don’t really think this, but I’m on a roll).

As I’m guessing most of you reading this tonight were teens or college students in the 70’s and early 80’s, I wanted to throw out a challenge.   Within the words of this posting are 4 song titles from…you guessed it…the 70’s and 80’s.   The first four people to post the four song titles and the corresponding singer/songwriters on our Facebook comment box will get a 2012 Apogee T-shirt!

So for example, if the blog reads, “PC 1A had a great day biking the California Coast.   Shem mentioned that a procession of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and a Little Red Corvette passed them during the morning hours,” you’d write “Little Red Corvette — Prince” in our Facebook Comment Box.     I’m not looking for one person to find and post all four songs.   One song and one singer per poster (so to speak) – so four t-shirts for four people.    Does that make sense?   We’ll find out.

And if that doesn’t make sense and this contest is a flop… I’ll stick to the facts going forward.   Deal?   Deal.   Here we go.

Oh, and by the way, Little Red Corvette and Prince are not one of the four songs in this posting that get you a t-shirt.

CI: Shannon and Drew sent a couple pictures of their group on the ferry and on Martha’s Vineyard today.   I just spoke to Drew, and he said everyone was mixing extremely well, and that they played some basketball and soccer today at their campground.     Tomorrow they’ll be doing some service work on the Farm — that is the Farm Institute.

CMC: Our California crew is spending their last day together exploring the sights, foods and streets of San Francisco together.   Here’s a shot of the gang in front to the Golden Gate Bridge this morning.     I spoke to Tim a little while ago, and he said it’s been a great trip.

CQA & B: More than 3000 miles away from our California Mountains & Coast crew, our Coast to Quebec groups spent the morning and afternoon footloose and fancy free exploring the city of Quebec.   A final dinner out for each group tonight is on tap before the van ride back to Maine in the morning.

DEX: After summiting Katahdin yesterday, the Downeast Explorers beat it this morning for southern Maine and Portland where they’re out enjoying a great final dinner right now.   A few shots of the gang over the last few days.

CSA: Backlit photos.  Got love them.  The group spent the morning volunteering with the Salvation Army and this afternoon at the beach.  That’s livin’.  CSA Parents, hopefully you can make out your child’s silhouette…

TSA: A day of volunteer work on a farm in Pienza, Italy.  The cats I get, but not sure what the story is behind the donkey…

MSA: After being in a black hole of cell phone reception for 4 days, the Montana Service Adventurers emerged yesterday in West Glacier, MT with wonderful stories of volunteer work, spectacular hikes and rides, and swimming holes.  Today they enjoyed a much deserved day of rest with plans to explore the west side of Glacier NP.

PC1A & 1B: Both groups continue their southern journey towards the finish line, the Golden Gate Bridge.  This huge achievement will be realized in only two days!  Thumbs up and keep rockin’.

ACCA: These guys made it to Paris, TX with no time to spare.  They got into their accommodations for the night right before the skies opened up with rain.  I checked the weather this morning in Paris, TX, and the high for the day was lower than it was here in Brunswick!  Very strange…but a good thing.

ACCB: And finally, Mike & Danika’s crew enjoyed a relaxing day of games and rest at our friends the Wall Family.  Here are a few of the kids enjoying lunch at their home.  Many thanks to the Walls for their wonderful hospitality, their help with bike related issues, and for making our groups always feel so welcome.