By: Annika Nygren
Day 34: Now that Pun Day Monday is said and done, I promise to go back to the basics today and keep this post short, sweet and to the point. No more getting fancy for me for a little bit. Our leaders are enjoying lovely weather all over the world and we are excited to report many smiling, happy faces! Let’s dive in, shall we?
Cape Cod and the Islands (CI): What a gorgeous day to be on NantucketI Island! Emily and Will’s group of beach goers tackled their challenge ride today of 35 miles and took these awesome shots along the way!
Apogee jerseys and game faces ON.
New England Mountains and Coast (NEMC): Matt and Midge’s group summited Mount Pierce today! A beautiful day for a hike, but unfortunately, not a lot of service in the area so we will have to wait until tomorrow for our beloved NEMC pictures. And if you ask me, yesterday’s pictures will forever put a smile on one’s face!
Vermont to Montreal (VM): A nice ride with rolling hills today! Our Vermonsters enjoyed the beautiful scenery in addition to conquering the biggest hill of the trip, also known as: The Wall!
California Mountains and Coast (CMC): First day of two and a half out on the water! Emma and Dylan’s group have started their 48 hour sea kayaking adventures. Unfortunately they couldn’t catch service before heading out, so we will have to wait another day until we can see pictures from these sea adventurers.
Caribbean Service Adventure (CSA): Working hard in the rain forest today! Will and Lucy’s group spent the morning digging irrigation ditches and will be spending this afternoon checking out some caves!
Coast to Quebec (CQA): Mike and Mary texted me this morning to say that they enjoyed a delicious breakfast to celebrate their arrival to Quebec City after sleeping in a little! Enjoy your day of exploring guys, you made it!!!
Mimicking statues are we?
Coast to Quebec (CQB): After today, Pete and Sherry’s group will be going their separate ways back home and to the delicacies of real beds and home-style cooking. They are pumped to be exploring the city they worked so hard to get to and having one last final dinner on the town tonight!
Titanic?
#leaderselfie
I spy some sweeeeet bike short tan lines
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEX): It’s hard to believe Marino and Erin’s group only have one day left together! They are exploring the wonderful land that is Freeport, ME and going out for a final dinner tonight in Portland! It will be sad to see these hiker-kayakers go!
Montana Service Adventure (MSA): Another day of riding on the wide open plains on the way to Dupuyer (pronounced “Daah-poo-yer”). Today’s ride brought Hannah and Opie’s team by a Dinosaur museum! Otherwise, it was just 14 people, 28 tires and some great views all the way into camp!
Guys – we went through this with another group last week so you should know better – there is a GIANT dinosaur right behind you! This is not the time for pictures!!
Northwest Explorer (NWX): Back country, back country… oh glorious, glorious back country! Izzy and John’s group are enjoying their first full day and are pictured below at the trailhead right before their journey. Today’s hike was on the shorter side and they will be increasing their mileage as the days go on! We shouldn’t hear from them until Sunday!
Pacific Coast (PCA): Out of the Redwoods and onto Eureka! Tonight (and tomorrow’s – woooo rest day!) campground has a pool, hot tub and showers! Talk about luxurious!
Pacific Coast (PCB): Surfing yesterday, Redwood forest riding today! Kate and Trevor’s group had an awesome time riding the waves yesterday in addition to riding their bikes through some pretty epic (and tall!) scenery.
Alps Explorer (AX): Once again, Jack and CC have graced the blog with gorgeous blog photos! They took some time at Le Brevent to soak in the majestic views of Mont Blanc, front and center, and the town of Chamonix far below! It was very, very rainy there over the last two days so we’ve got them out of the elements and tucked in to a charming little gîte (yeah, that’s a jazzy french circonflexe accent) in Les Houches tonight. With better weather in the forecast, they’re onward and upward tomorrow!
Group hugs seem to be a theme amongst this crowd…
Cable car selfie!!
A little fog at the top of the “hill”!
Wow, just wow…
America Coast to Coast (ACC1): Their last pre-SD day off is being well spent in Prescott, AZ! They bought team socks, explored town and our heading back to the motel for some swimming, laundry and chilling! Just six more days until their big arrival in San Diego!! Can you believe it?! 
Silly souvenir shopping as modeled by Josh and Laura!
America Coast to Coast (ACC2): Sam and Ally’s crew celebrated their one month anniversary last night with some sparkling cider, everything brownies (and I mean everything– cookie dough, oreos, and then brownie batter) and a delicious dinner! Tonight, they’ll be tucked in to Pine, Arizona.
There they are, in all their glory.
A toast to day 30!
Now that is a great t-shirt!
Well, that about wraps it up for Apogee this Tuesday. Our ECC trips are on their way home and I am very excited to see all of leaders back home again! I can’t believe Apogee has less than two weeks left in the summer; time flies when you’re having fun! I should also mention that I am out of the office for the next two days, so keep your eyes peeled for some awesome blog posts written by our very own Chad, Kevin, Shem, Cait and/or Alex! I will see everyone again on Friday. Adios, amigos!