Susie here, blogging from mission control in Brunswick! I’ll be in the office this summer after three years as an Apogee student, one previous year on support staff, and one year leading in 2012. My blog-writing skills might not be quite up to par in comparison with Chad, the blog guru of Apogee HQ, but I’ll do what I can to keep up.

We had a busy day here as six more trips got going today in Oregon, Montana, Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. Now our flight tracking is slowing down and our groups are getting to know each other. Everyone else on the road has arrived safe and sound at their locations and are swimming, eating, and having a great time. Without further ado:

MSA1:

With only a few flight delays, our Montana Service crew is (almost) all together and already soaking up the beautiful Big Sky air in Bozeman! Leader Garth Franklin seems to be getting into the western mindset by donning a nice big cowboy hat for this photo at the airport. Once all wheels are down from the air it will be 28 wheels rolling north!

 PC1A&B:

Pacific Coast leaders are just about done getting their groups together in the airport and looking forward to settling into camp! It won’t be long before everyone is on the road, cruising down the beautiful Oregon coast.  Here’s a picture from Mia and Jeremy’s group.  As of press-time, we were still waiting to get a shot from Ally and Tim’s group…

CI1:

Rosa and Noah have met up with the crew down on Cape Cod and have already gotten busy with Ninja-playing, helmet-checking, and general fun before hitting the road. As we can see in this photo, we’ve got some very dangerous ninjas cruising the Cape!

NEMC1A&B

The rain was coming down here in Maine as our NEMC leaders hit the road this morning, but from the looks of these photos, the sky was clear with the sun shining as Matt, Victoria, Phillip, and Emma met their groups in Weston, Massachusetts. Phil and Emma are going to be captaining the Black Stallion this year, with Matt and Victoria at the helm of White Lightning. Everyone looks to be stoked to lace up boots and strap on packs!

VM1:

After their first day of riding, Vermont to Montreal have been swimming at Half Moon State Park and are busy getting dinner ready. They feel great after the first ride and can’t wait to continue northward! Allez, on y va!  (The bad news is that cell reception is not great at their campground tonight, and the picture they swore they emailed/texted to us is not here – we’ll update the post if it arrives overnight!) 

CMC:

California folks are out on the water today, kayaking and having a great time. They are sleeping on the protected beaches of Tomales Bay tonight  and are just loving it. I just spoke with CC and I could hear a lot of laughter in the background–I think plans for a human pyramid are afoot. And the photo is coming in….looks like they have a slightly different interpretation of a pyramid, but it looks great!

ACC:

Our first cross-country crew got into camp, deep into South Carolina, around 3:00 today and seem to be dealing well with the heat. Popsicles are always a great reward for mashing miles!