Blog Nation – good evening! Chad here. Hope this finds you all well. Over here on the East Coast, we’re making our way through what the weatherman promises to be the last wicked hot day. There has been a lot of brow-mopping at old HQ. But out there on the sylvan roadways and trails of the world, our Apogee-ians are staying cool, calm and collected (even way down in Texas….). We’ve got lots of trips that are just wrapping it up over the next couple of days, so let’s make the rounds, shall we?
TSA: Of the trips in the field, we only had one fail to send in a picture – and it was our amici in Italy, so we can’t get too mad at them. That said, I had a great chat with Laura this afternoon – they had made it to Rome in fine fettle and were looking forward to an evening meal on the terrazza of their hostel, followed by a trip to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Oh, and gelato. Always gelato. Tomorrow it will be a full day of exploration, hanging out, and a hug or two before the long flights home on Thursday.
CI: It was a gorgeous day on Nantucket and Shannon and Drew’s crew enjoyed this lovely view this morning. It’s one more night in sheets and on a bed before returning to the mainland tomorrow for a return to tents and the ride up the Cape.
PCA: There’s not a lot that beats walking around San Francisco after you’ve just ridden into its very heart. From Oregon. So high morale abounds among both of our PC groups today. Despite the pixelation and small size, you can see that Micah and McKayla’s group was loving life on Pier 39 earlier today. It’s one last meal and then an early wakeup call for flights home tomorrow!
PCB: And in the same neck of the woods, armed with better cell phone cameras, are Hannah and Shem’s merry few. They’ve been enjoying the free samples at Ghirardelli all day – several times from what I am told. These guys are headed for a last dinner in Chinatown tonight. A wonton or two make goodbyes less tearful – it’s what my grandmother always said….
MSA: Also enjoying their last full day together are our Montanans – here they’re powering up on Cowboy Pizza to fuel an afternoon of hanging out in Whitefish. The below picture shows just what happens when too much Cowboy Pizza is consumed in a short time – you start putting on craaaazy hats and horse masks. Happens to the best of us.
CSA: And our Caribbean Service Adventurers wrapped up the last service day with a very successful day on the National Wildlife Refuge in Cabo Rojo. They worked with the local Youth Conservation Corps to plant hundreds of trees on the Refuge. They’re off for an afternoon of exploration in Old San Juan tomorrow before saying adios on Wednesday.
ACC1: David and Anna’s group is loving their off day in Jacksboro – it has been a busy 24 hours or so, they had a surprise visit from Apogee legend Josiah and dad, Jay, yesterday and were reunited with a group member who had been away for the better part of a week. Now fully reconstituted and fueled up on this morning’s gourmet breakfast (see below), these guys are ready for the last push across Texas and in to New Mexico.
ACC2: Striking a pose somewhat to the east of our ACC1 group, Mike and Danika’s dynamos have set additional land-speed records getting into Whitesboro, TX early this afternoon. As I type, they are likely still enjoying the cool waters of the town pool. They’ve got one more day of riding before their own gourmet breakfast and high-livin’ on their off-day. I tell you what, time flies when you’re riding close to 100 miles a day through the Texas heat!
