By Grace Wright, Tim Gruber & Ghost Writers
5am waking up in the morning, gotta pack my pack, bagel with schmear, seeing everything, summer is flying! Cranking, hiking with everybody, I see my friends! Kicking in the 2nd pod, hiking up a mountain, everybody’s got a smile on, should I eat a blueberry or raspberry granola bar? It’s Friday! Friday! Gonna play minigolf on Friday, surfing tomorrow, weekend, weekend! Friday! Friday! It’s Friday, and while the weekend traffic congestion begins to plague a good majority of us, our Apogee trips are taking the high road and scooting by the long lines along the shoulder – there’s nothing slowing them down!
[Ed. Note: 10 points to the parent (not kid) who can identify the source for the intro paragraph…]
Maine Coast Junior (MCJ2): School may be out for the summer but these MCJ minions can’t stay away from the cafeteria. The gang slapped on some fashionable hairnets and big grins while volunteering for the Maine Midcoast Hunger Prevention Project in Brunswick this morning. Packaging lunches for needy kids earned them the reward of tasting some of their hard work. A sweet treat for all! Lots of kudos to this gang for serving others during their last full day together – we’re sure they shared some great A’s and P’s around the dinner table in Portland tonight.
Cape Cod & the Islands (CI2): “Car back!,” “pothole!,” “slowing and stopping!”, “FORE!?” Oh the sounds you hear on a CI trip! ’Twas another gorgeous day out and the Cape, perfect for biking and a round of 18 holes on ye olde mini-golf course! Similar to their biking escapades, birdies and eagles were abound on the green, yet it appears the water trap captured a shank ball. They hung 18 today, but tomorrow they’ll hang 10, bro (cause they’re surfing – get it…?)!
Caribbean Service Adventure (CSA2): There’s no better time to enjoy the Caribbean seaside towns than today! After a morning of hard work at the Cabo Rojo Wildlife Refuge, our CSA-ers took to exploring a small coastal town along the southwest border of the territory, not only checking out the shops but making time for ice cream as well! The group is looking forward to kicking their feet up with a movie night tonight before a big day of surfing tomorrow.
Vermont to Montreal A (VMA2): Ferry on my wayward son, there’ll be peace when you are done… Oh, Kansas – wrong state – sorry about that! After a lovely few miles this morning, our VMers caught the unique Champlain Bike Ferry and rested their legs while soaking up the gorgeous Vermont views! They should be stocking up on Vermont maple syrup for a taste test upon crossing the border into Canada tomorrow, eh?
Maine’s Downeast Explorer A (DEXA2): It’s a beautiful day, sky falls you feel like it’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away. With hikes up both Gorham and Beehive trails our fearless DEXA2ers sure didn’t let this beautiful day get away. After surveying the gorgeous Maine views this bunch headed to Bar Harbor for some window shopping. Turns out you can’t buy views like the ones in Acadia!
Maine’s Downeast Explorer B (DEXB2): Day two in the Baxter backcountry for this DEX crew! They made their way further down the Appalachian Trail to their deep-woods after a day’s worth of trail games, salty and sweet snacks, and a little peek of Maine’s apogee – Katahdin! They are fueling the tanks now to ensure they’ll have engines roaring up Katahdin when they take on the challenge in just a few days.
Costa Rica Language & Service (CRLS2): As Enrique Iglesias would croon, “Bailando!” These dancing divas showed off their salsa moves last night and munched on some of the tasty tomato dip itself. After falling asleep with the thoughts of National Geographic’s top 10 river rafting destinations dancing in their heads, they awoke to the excitement that their dreams were in fact a reality! Whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River proved to be quite the adventure today for these Spanish scholars.
California Mountains & Coast A (CMC2A): Farewell to our Isa, David, and our CMCA crew for the next few days as they head into the backcountry of gorgeous Yosemite National Park. These hiking pros will be spending the next few days exploring some of the most beautiful, western hikes Yosemite has to offer. We’re already counting down the seconds until we can see some of those backcountry pictures – we’re sure you are too!
California Mountains & Coast B (CMC2B): It’s the final day in the Yosemite wilderness for our CMCB-ers – and their challenge day of their trip! The group hiked along beautiful, winding rivers as they gained close to 2,000 feet of elevation over just a couple of miles. Their day was filled with sunshine and breathtaking views of the Cathedral Mountain Range – a perfect way to finish three days in the California backcountry! We’ll have the pictures to prove it tomorrow!
Europe Coast to Coast (ECC): Iron your lederhosen, dust off your cuckoo clocks, and whip out your turntables for a little 5th of Beethoven’s symphony. Our ECCers put their bikes in C Minor gear, and powered their way through the Triple Entente of German hills! They huffed and they puffed and they….crushed the 17% incline!
America Coast to Coast 1 (ACC1): One day, double the H2O, triple the digits. Those are the numbers from this gang’s first century ride today – 105 miles to put down in the books! Not only did they conveniently find the only shade in Texas, they are crushing through their last full day in this huge state (the largest in the lower 48, in fact.) Wahoo for reaching the hundo mark!
America Coast to Coast 2 (ACC2): Well they started out down a dirty road, started out with panniers in tow. And they’re learning to fly… Based upon the speeds of our ACC2ers, they may as well be flying! They’re raising the roof as they ride their way through the great state of Texas!
