Hello, dear bloggees – you’ve got a combo of Susie and Chad at the helm of the blog today. Here in Brunswick, between the drizzle and the 63 degrees, it feels a bit more like November than July (or early September, at least…), and every parking space in town is filled with tourists running from the beaches. It looks great over there in Europe, however, with a sunny high of 70 in Amsterdam – and that, friends, is relevant because our inaugural Europe Coast to Coast to trip is underway as of this morning! Despite the wild weather stateside, all is well in Apo-land now that all of our trips are rolling, hiking, paddling, and volunteering all over the world! From California to the Netherlands, Apogee students are feeling good! [Apogee Directors are also feeling good – mostly because the forecast for wet weather is finally being replaced, if slowly, by a lot more sunshine due in the next few days….]
Let’s see what everyone is doing today:
NEMCA: Philip and Emma’s hearty eightsome tuck on Tuckerman’s Ravine today – Philip reported that, with the help of copious amounts of Nutella, everyone is doing terrifically, despite the rain. After a final big hike tomorrow, these guys will be taking on the Kennebec River – and after all of this rain, it promises to be quite a ride! Here’s a few great shots of the gang working their way up Tuckerman’s…
Watch out! Monsters!
NEMCB: Meanwhile, on the other side of the hill, Victoria and Matt aren’t stymied by a little dampness either. We heard from these guys today – they said that the kids are irrepressible! Barring downpours tomorrow, they’ll be making an attempt on the summit of Mt Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast. Here they are earlier today on Mt Willard.
CI: It was Nantucket Challenge Ride today for our Capesters. And no, that doesn’t mean dodging all of the cable knit sweaters and red pants going in and out of Murray’s – it means 40 miles or so circumnavigating the island. As far as the Cape goes – this is hardcore!
Forty miles? Ain’t no thing when you’ve got guns like these…
Post-Challenge Ride ocean dip. Living large – Cape style…
VM: Our Vermont crew traded in their bikes for kayaks and are loving life! The rain isn’t bothering them at all — the lake is wet anyway! They’ll be doing their service in the Burlington area tomorrow and will get to spend part of the afternoon exploring the town. When they’re back on the bikes in earnest, they’ll be getting awfully close to Canada!
DEX: Sometime during the night, the deities that officiate 3G towers deigned to allow the email Izzy sent in with pictures of our Dex-sters living the sweet island life to get through. It’s been foggy down there in Isle au Haut Bay, but that lends itself to its own beauty and provides an opportunity for quiet introspection – and cannonballs into the old quarry pond…
Where are those pedals, anyway?
Cannonball!
Not great cannonball form, lads – but we’ll take what we can get…
CQA: Ben and Lizzie checked in today from the foggy coast near Pemaquid Point in Maine. And I don’t know whether it’s the fog or the spirit of techno-phobic traditionalist lobstermen pervading the area, but they’re not able to send us any pictures today. Everyone is doing very well, though – and definitely happy to take advantage of tonight’s indoor accommodations!
CQB: Now fully packed and rolling north, Posie and Postyn’s CQ group is looking and feeling great, despite what some may refer to as a “damp, dreary, rainy day” here on the coast of Maine. We prefer to think of days like this as opportunities to look good in bright colors! We saw them briefly as they cruised through Brunswick and onward toward Wiscasset (aka, “the prettiest little village in Maine…”) and a night indoors and out of the rain!
Relatively standard smiling shot – looking good, guys.
Whoa, scary ninjas!
The grisly aftermath of ninja poses gone awry…
CSA: Here’s a shot of Hannah and Dylan’s crew caving near Utuado, Puerto Rico. Muy bueno, no? You can spot Hannah trying to look super cool with her backwards neon baseball cap. Trying and…succeeding! In other news, they’ll begin their service in earnest tomorrow morning after a full orientation of the finca (“farm”) where they’ll be working the rest of this week.
MSA: Our Montana Adventurers are busy putting the “service” in Montana Service Adventure today. It’s a hot one on the plains today, but they are loving the (nearly) cloudless sky. Kelly wrote today: “We’re working at the Helena Community Garden planting, weeding, and mulching. Everyone is psyched to be making a difference in the local community.”
PCA: DINO ALERT! Don’t worry, guys, I think it’s dead. Or fake. In any case, Ally and Tim’s group is loving cruising down the Oregon coast, especially since there was a rest stop at the Dinosaur Gardens today. They’re headed for Harris Beach State Park today!
PCB: Mia and Jeremy enjoyed a dinosaur-free day to the north of Ally and Tim’s group – and their smiles say, “hey, it’s great that we don’t have to worry about being imminently eaten by a T Rex.” At least that’s what I read in the pic…
Look, mom – no T-Rex! And a beautiful day on the coast of Oregon!
CMC: It’s been a great day in California for our CMCers. They enjoyed a great 5+ mile hike in Big Trees State Park. True to its name, the trees were indeed big! See below… They’re provisioning this afternoon before making their way into Yosemite National Park tonight before tomorrow’s backcountry hike begins.
That, friends, is a big tree.
ACC 1: Two pics from our ACC1ers today – can you tell the difference in theme? By the way – these guys are doing great. They’re into LaGrange, GA and very much looking forward to their first day off the bike tomorrow!
ACC 2: Mike, McKayla and their Indomitable Few roared into the the Sandersville, GA metroplex this afternoon – they’re doing just fine, thank you very much. They’re so solid, in fact, that they can do their roadside Quaker Countdown standing up – kindly observe below…
Nice wrap, McKayla – but let’s tuck that watch band in, eh? Remember – safety first!
ECC: WOOHOOO!!! Group: assembled! Anna is probably the only one in this photo not completely jet-lagged, so we’ll assume everyone else’s hands will also be in the air in jubilation within a couple of Euro-timezone days. The forecast is perfect, and our European Coast-to-Coasters are going to just love their first days in the Netherlands. “Laten we gaan!” (Google translate tells me this is Dutch for “let’s go!”)
Nothing beats jet lag like hanging out by the canal in old Haarlem on a sunny afternoon.