Today is the last day of camp--I am on end of season cleanup duty today instead of being with the kids. Which is awesome. My jobs are to do an inventory of the first aid materials and make new first aid kits, and to get everyone's photos from the summer organized. The kids leave tomorrow and then we have amazing things planned!! Sunday night we are having a big dinner party and then a bonfire, Monday we were invited on a free whale watch all together, and Monday night we are going on a sunset kayak trip to Indian Beach where there are AMAZING rocks. It'll be nice to hang out with no kids to take care of. Tuesday night I'm leaving and going to visit Red in Bar Harbor!!! Can't wait to see her yayyyyyy.
The past two weeks went really fast...Mom and Kim came to visit last week. We ate really good food and went hiking and beach glass hunting. It was very fun! Then I went on my last travel day and had my day off. I spent the day at the beach with my roommate and it was warm and sunny like a normal SUMMER! Its been a long 9 weeks and I am really tired....and excited to go home. I have about a week in MA before I go to DC!!! YAY exciting times. Guess its time to end this blog. Or change it. Bye Bye BYE!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
best whale watch of EVER
Sunday, August 11, 2013
TWO WEEKS LEFT??
It is the beginning of week 8...the second to last week! Craziness. I spent the past weekend here at camp while the other 4 ESI's went on travel day. Lets see where I last left off...
Week 7 was somewhat of a wash because I didn't spend a lot of time on program.
MONDAY I had the most amazing whale watch on Whales n' Sails...it was pouring rain on our way in and out of the harbor, but once we got out there we had a great time. First of all...we saw a MOLA MOLA aka an ocean sunfish...the largest bony fish. It's basically a pancake that sits on top of the water with fins on the top and bottom of its body. First one they saw all season on the boat! And I spotted it!! Two points for Adrienne the marine biologist in training! Also because it was rainy there were rainbows everywhere and I saw a humpback breach AT THE END OF A RAINBOW. Literally. It was out of a movie. And on our way back we were in a pod of finbacks with about five on either side of the boat. We didn't even know which way to look. After a rainy way back there was a gorgeous sunset in North Head harbor.
Tuesday was my day off and I went in the ocean for the first time! It was freezing but I walked down the stairs behind camp to Seal Cove beach and jumped in...it was great.
Wednesday I drove to Bangor and dropped off a staff member leaving and picked up someone else. Basically a long day of driving...which wasn't so bad because I had good company.
Thursday....I had the morning off and then taught a lesson and Friday it was raining OF COURSE and I went to the Indiana Jones hike with the kids staying the next week. It literally has rained every single Friday except for one. And its the one day that we need to be outside almost all day. SO FUN! And I saw awesome things such as luna moths and mushrooms.
This weekend we went on a night hike and I learned to use my night vision! So cool! So here's how. Sit in the darkness at night. Cover your right eye with your hand so no light can get in and leave your left eye open while looking towards a light or flashlight for about 3 minutes...you don't have to stare directly into it but just expose your eye to a bit of light while the other one is in complete darkness. After about 3 minutes, turn the light off so it's completely dark and open both eyes, moving your hand from your left to right eye. You will see that your right eye has built up a chemical that allows it to see better at night (I forget what its called.) and its mind-blowing. Coolest part of my weekend. You should do it.
This week I am going on a whale watch tomorrow, then teaching lotsa lessons and shtuff. Second to last week! Crazy! I can't wait to have a few days with the staff and NO kids after next week....it'll be really great great great. Ok thats all for now. P.S. my mom's coming this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Week 7 was somewhat of a wash because I didn't spend a lot of time on program.
MONDAY I had the most amazing whale watch on Whales n' Sails...it was pouring rain on our way in and out of the harbor, but once we got out there we had a great time. First of all...we saw a MOLA MOLA aka an ocean sunfish...the largest bony fish. It's basically a pancake that sits on top of the water with fins on the top and bottom of its body. First one they saw all season on the boat! And I spotted it!! Two points for Adrienne the marine biologist in training! Also because it was rainy there were rainbows everywhere and I saw a humpback breach AT THE END OF A RAINBOW. Literally. It was out of a movie. And on our way back we were in a pod of finbacks with about five on either side of the boat. We didn't even know which way to look. After a rainy way back there was a gorgeous sunset in North Head harbor.
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| Grand Manan, you are beautiful. |
Tuesday was my day off and I went in the ocean for the first time! It was freezing but I walked down the stairs behind camp to Seal Cove beach and jumped in...it was great.
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| My backyard |
Wednesday I drove to Bangor and dropped off a staff member leaving and picked up someone else. Basically a long day of driving...which wasn't so bad because I had good company.
Thursday....I had the morning off and then taught a lesson and Friday it was raining OF COURSE and I went to the Indiana Jones hike with the kids staying the next week. It literally has rained every single Friday except for one. And its the one day that we need to be outside almost all day. SO FUN! And I saw awesome things such as luna moths and mushrooms.
This week I am going on a whale watch tomorrow, then teaching lotsa lessons and shtuff. Second to last week! Crazy! I can't wait to have a few days with the staff and NO kids after next week....it'll be really great great great. Ok thats all for now. P.S. my mom's coming this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Oh just the best whale watch ever. PLUS video.
So today we went on the best whale watch ever. Here's a video of the very playful calf, and its momma pops up a little bit later in the video. The calf is flipper slapping and just goofing around while mom feeds farther down (the calf can't hold its breath as long). At the end both fluke and then dive under the boat. ENJOY!
Monday, July 29, 2013
week six nonsense
HELLO! It is week six and I had my day off today finally. I traveled this weekend to Bangor to drop off and pickup new campers which was exhausting as usual. But we always get Indian food for lunch and Domino's for dinner...so that was amazing. Another plus is that I get to sleep in a nice hotel bed and shower in a nice bathroom! So that went pretty smoothly....no vans broke down. No children were harmed.
What have I done since I last posted.....OH Mike left...so sad. We are now without our fearless leader. And where will we get our banjo playing knee slapping dish cleaning music now? MIKEEE!!!!
I went to Pettes Cove three separate times last week. THREE! So much sea glass, so many cool rocks. I am really glad I don't have to fly home because all my bags would be overweight. We also went to do a salt marsh lesson for the first time this summer! It was really fun mucking around and finding plants that live there and demonstrating how it acts as a filter for fresh and salt water. I worked a lot in salt marshes last summer with the North and South Rivers Watershed Association so it was good to be back. Got to sample some sea pickle, which is a succulent found in the marsh. Never have I ever eaten so many plants straight out of the ground or the ocean before...and its awesome.
Today was my day off...and I haven't had one in almost two weeks, so it was much needed. I slept in, then went for a run and showered and started the ol' job hunt. Luckily I got interrupted by our lovely cook Sandra who needed my help in the kitchen for lunches, so I cut up some celery and made some PB and J sandwiches...very skilled cooking going on. Afterwards I spent about two hours applying to jobs and whatnot...actually found some cool research assistant positions around the DC area and hoping to get something interesting for the fall! Yay!
Around 3 we went to get tea and scones in Harrington Cove and it was lovely as usual. Then I took a long nap and then had a staff meeting. So eventful.
Tomorrow I am teaching forestry, bog and marine mammal behavior. Should be pretty easy. Excited for a whale watch on Wednesday!! I haven't been out on the whale boats since week 4 so I am itching to see some cetacean action.
Four more weeks here--so crazy. So many places left to go! So many things to see!
P.s. the Red Phalaropes are here...which means the RIGHT WHALES are coming. There are only about 450 North Atlantic Right Whales alive in the world....to see one would be amazing. They were hunted to near extinction but are now slowly coming back thanks to banning commercial whaling and shipping lane shifts. Crossing my fingers I get to see some....
What have I done since I last posted.....OH Mike left...so sad. We are now without our fearless leader. And where will we get our banjo playing knee slapping dish cleaning music now? MIKEEE!!!!
I went to Pettes Cove three separate times last week. THREE! So much sea glass, so many cool rocks. I am really glad I don't have to fly home because all my bags would be overweight. We also went to do a salt marsh lesson for the first time this summer! It was really fun mucking around and finding plants that live there and demonstrating how it acts as a filter for fresh and salt water. I worked a lot in salt marshes last summer with the North and South Rivers Watershed Association so it was good to be back. Got to sample some sea pickle, which is a succulent found in the marsh. Never have I ever eaten so many plants straight out of the ground or the ocean before...and its awesome.
 |
 |
| Sea Pickle |
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| Plant species for the kids to identify |
Today was my day off...and I haven't had one in almost two weeks, so it was much needed. I slept in, then went for a run and showered and started the ol' job hunt. Luckily I got interrupted by our lovely cook Sandra who needed my help in the kitchen for lunches, so I cut up some celery and made some PB and J sandwiches...very skilled cooking going on. Afterwards I spent about two hours applying to jobs and whatnot...actually found some cool research assistant positions around the DC area and hoping to get something interesting for the fall! Yay!
Around 3 we went to get tea and scones in Harrington Cove and it was lovely as usual. Then I took a long nap and then had a staff meeting. So eventful.
Tomorrow I am teaching forestry, bog and marine mammal behavior. Should be pretty easy. Excited for a whale watch on Wednesday!! I haven't been out on the whale boats since week 4 so I am itching to see some cetacean action.
Four more weeks here--so crazy. So many places left to go! So many things to see!
P.s. the Red Phalaropes are here...which means the RIGHT WHALES are coming. There are only about 450 North Atlantic Right Whales alive in the world....to see one would be amazing. They were hunted to near extinction but are now slowly coming back thanks to banning commercial whaling and shipping lane shifts. Crossing my fingers I get to see some....
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Whales...duh
BONJOUR from Canada. I just got back from travel day (when we bring last weeks campers back to Bangor, Maine and pick up some new kids) and I'm exhausted. But I'm happy! It went really well and even there were some hitches, none of them were my fault so YAHOO. Also we had an awesome dinner of roast beef and mashed potatoes and gravy so I was so happy. And of course we washed dishes to the tune of many a bluegrass song with Mike. Which is even better than dinner, really.
BUT rewind.
Last week I went on the best best best whale watch of my life on the Day's Catch. It was choppy water but we saw a baby and momma humpback and a few other pairs, and the baby was breaching and fluking and lobtailing and just so playful!!! It was amazing. Once he breached right next to the boat, like actually right next to it. SO amazing. I took an awful video of the fluke, but hopefully you will enjoy it anyways!!
Hmmmm...what else. Nothing really compares to that. Thursday I went kayaking out of seal cove and we saw the salmon pens up close (where salmon are farmed offshore) and a really cool sea cave. It was so sunny FINALLY and everyone was enjoying the weather and being on the water, it was very nice. We took the kids tidepooling afterwards and found some awesome critters.
That night all of the staff was off, so we got fresh lobster and cheese and crackers and beers and fresh baked bread (by Mike) and had an amazing dinner. It was really fun to hang out with everyone (all 8 of us) because we never really get to see the dorm counselors during the day when we're on lessons. Twas lovely.
Friday we took the kids shopping and did closing activities (mostly reflection stuff) and then had campfire that night. We do this thing where we pass around a talking stick, and everyone can say whats on their mind or how they're feeling, and its amazing how many kids really open up during it. They all say how they've gone to tons of other camps that didn't even compare to whale camp, and talk about how accepting and close-knit the entire group is. Its really cool to listen to kids who have found out how to be themselves, or become more outgoing, or realize its okay to be weird. Makes me feel like I'm doing a good job! yay me.
other thoughts:
-i've slept 10 hours and driven 6 hours in the past two days.
-the new campers seem REALLY awesome, like the best group i've had so far
-we're all constantly on the hunt for purple sea glass and licking rocks to find pretty ones
-camp is over in 5 weeks...what!
-we blast this song while washing dishes...you should listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKMBpyZlZ_I
-Mike is leaving this weekend. WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT HIM.
Seriously.
BUT rewind.
Last week I went on the best best best whale watch of my life on the Day's Catch. It was choppy water but we saw a baby and momma humpback and a few other pairs, and the baby was breaching and fluking and lobtailing and just so playful!!! It was amazing. Once he breached right next to the boat, like actually right next to it. SO amazing. I took an awful video of the fluke, but hopefully you will enjoy it anyways!!
Hmmmm...what else. Nothing really compares to that. Thursday I went kayaking out of seal cove and we saw the salmon pens up close (where salmon are farmed offshore) and a really cool sea cave. It was so sunny FINALLY and everyone was enjoying the weather and being on the water, it was very nice. We took the kids tidepooling afterwards and found some awesome critters.
That night all of the staff was off, so we got fresh lobster and cheese and crackers and beers and fresh baked bread (by Mike) and had an amazing dinner. It was really fun to hang out with everyone (all 8 of us) because we never really get to see the dorm counselors during the day when we're on lessons. Twas lovely.
 | |
| The bugs. |
Friday we took the kids shopping and did closing activities (mostly reflection stuff) and then had campfire that night. We do this thing where we pass around a talking stick, and everyone can say whats on their mind or how they're feeling, and its amazing how many kids really open up during it. They all say how they've gone to tons of other camps that didn't even compare to whale camp, and talk about how accepting and close-knit the entire group is. Its really cool to listen to kids who have found out how to be themselves, or become more outgoing, or realize its okay to be weird. Makes me feel like I'm doing a good job! yay me.
other thoughts:
-i've slept 10 hours and driven 6 hours in the past two days.
-the new campers seem REALLY awesome, like the best group i've had so far
-we're all constantly on the hunt for purple sea glass and licking rocks to find pretty ones
-camp is over in 5 weeks...what!
-we blast this song while washing dishes...you should listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKMBpyZlZ_I
-Mike is leaving this weekend. WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT HIM.
Seriously.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Ohmygosh its week four.
OK so its been a while since I've written, but lots has been happening. Lets see.
Week 3 was.....good! Lots of good whale watching--its only gotten better as time goes on! Last week I saw my FIRST humpback whales of the summer and boy let me tell you they were AMAZING! There were 3 of them that we were following for almost the entire whale watch, and they had been previously identified (by the white patterns on the bottom of their tail). Their names were Touchdown, Cornucopia and Foggy. We saw them logging (napping on the surface), fluking (raising their tails when they dive down from the surface) and just surfacing. They were incredibly beautiful and breathtaking and it was the best. Although finback whales (the 2nd largest animal in the world) are amazing to look at and watch, they are negatively buoyant and therefore don't show their tails (FLUKE) when diving. Humpbacks are positively buoyant, which makes it harder for them to dive, and they really gotta put their backs into it resulting in exposing their gorgeous flukes. WOOT. They went right under our boat at one point. AMAZING. Also...spending all this time on the boats with the captains and the crew makes me want to just work on a boat for the rest of my life and see amazing things. And learn knots. And brave the sea. BUT...we'll see.
I honestly can't remember much else..except that for the Friday night campfire all the staff learned the whole dance to Thriller and performed as zombies. Lots of fun. Long night of youtube videos and ridiculousness.
Week 4 is starting now and today I went on the puffin boat in the morning. I got to go ONTO Machias Seal Island this time, which is where the puffins, razorbills and common murres nest. Only 15 Americans and 15 Canadians PER DAY can legally go onto this island, and I got my chance today! We went into bird blinds--these little huts with little windows to lift up and see out of without disturbing the birds and their babies. They were so cute! And very uncoordinated. So cool to watch. After puffin-ing, we went to the bog and learned about some cool carnivorous plants and creepy bog sacrifice stories. Lots of fun--bog is one of my favorite lessons to teach. wooowoooooo.
Tomorrow I'm going on another whale watch in the afternoon on the Day's Catch--hoping to see some BREACHING!!!!!! And in the morning I am teaching a new lesson we just came up with, Modern Fisheries. Should be fun!
Other thoughts.
-The washing machine in the staff house makes the entire house shake like theres an earthquake.
- I'm slowly weaning myself off of sea-sickness medicine so that I can be a real sailor on the rough seas. Arrrr!
-It was really hot and sunny today! I got a tan line from my hiking socks.
-Anything can be fun if you participate in it and are open to it. As exemplified by my amazing campers who have the most fun playing silly games even though they're in high school.
-I put coffee in the fridge for iced coffee tomorrow morning. Yes.
-Thursday night the staff has the night off and we're getting lobster for dinner. DOUBLE YESSSS.
- After this summer I am planting myself somewhere amazing for at least a month without traveling by car, plane, train, or ferry. I have traveled way too much in the last month.
 |
| plankton from a plankton tow on the boat |
 |
| i found a heart shaped rock |
 |
| twilight tidepool panorama |
 |
| went to tea in Harrington Cove! |
Week 3 was.....good! Lots of good whale watching--its only gotten better as time goes on! Last week I saw my FIRST humpback whales of the summer and boy let me tell you they were AMAZING! There were 3 of them that we were following for almost the entire whale watch, and they had been previously identified (by the white patterns on the bottom of their tail). Their names were Touchdown, Cornucopia and Foggy. We saw them logging (napping on the surface), fluking (raising their tails when they dive down from the surface) and just surfacing. They were incredibly beautiful and breathtaking and it was the best. Although finback whales (the 2nd largest animal in the world) are amazing to look at and watch, they are negatively buoyant and therefore don't show their tails (FLUKE) when diving. Humpbacks are positively buoyant, which makes it harder for them to dive, and they really gotta put their backs into it resulting in exposing their gorgeous flukes. WOOT. They went right under our boat at one point. AMAZING. Also...spending all this time on the boats with the captains and the crew makes me want to just work on a boat for the rest of my life and see amazing things. And learn knots. And brave the sea. BUT...we'll see.
I honestly can't remember much else..except that for the Friday night campfire all the staff learned the whole dance to Thriller and performed as zombies. Lots of fun. Long night of youtube videos and ridiculousness.
Week 4 is starting now and today I went on the puffin boat in the morning. I got to go ONTO Machias Seal Island this time, which is where the puffins, razorbills and common murres nest. Only 15 Americans and 15 Canadians PER DAY can legally go onto this island, and I got my chance today! We went into bird blinds--these little huts with little windows to lift up and see out of without disturbing the birds and their babies. They were so cute! And very uncoordinated. So cool to watch. After puffin-ing, we went to the bog and learned about some cool carnivorous plants and creepy bog sacrifice stories. Lots of fun--bog is one of my favorite lessons to teach. wooowoooooo.
 |
| PUFFINS! |
Tomorrow I'm going on another whale watch in the afternoon on the Day's Catch--hoping to see some BREACHING!!!!!! And in the morning I am teaching a new lesson we just came up with, Modern Fisheries. Should be fun!
Other thoughts.
-The washing machine in the staff house makes the entire house shake like theres an earthquake.
- I'm slowly weaning myself off of sea-sickness medicine so that I can be a real sailor on the rough seas. Arrrr!
-It was really hot and sunny today! I got a tan line from my hiking socks.
-Anything can be fun if you participate in it and are open to it. As exemplified by my amazing campers who have the most fun playing silly games even though they're in high school.
-I put coffee in the fridge for iced coffee tomorrow morning. Yes.
-Thursday night the staff has the night off and we're getting lobster for dinner. DOUBLE YESSSS.
- After this summer I am planting myself somewhere amazing for at least a month without traveling by car, plane, train, or ferry. I have traveled way too much in the last month.
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