Did I Say Fast? haha..

After writing my last post, where I was hopeful and excited and pleasantly surprised how quickly time had been moving...I hit a rut. Time slowed to a stop. I became restless and did not know what to do. Liv was out of town in NY, hiking with friends. Katie and I had opposite schedules and saw each other only in passing. Tara had been having trouble managing her own work/life balance and we couldn't seem to sync up our free time to have chats. I felt alone and bored and nothing I could do would stop it. 

So, I called back a guy that had given me his number a week prior. This was a mistake. He said he'd like to take me out and show me a good time here, since I'm new to the area. His idea of taking me out and this great time was meeting me at a local brewery in his basketball shorts and hat that still had the plastic portion of a tag attached to it. He didn't even brush his hair. Like..it may just be me, but when someone says take you out, I'm assuming it's either with a sniper rifle or with a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt without holes in it. If there are holes, at least it's ironically bought that way from Aéropostale. (Aéropostale is still relevant, right?) God forbid I assume there's food involved. Suffice to say, I did not stay long and vowed not to date here again. 

I did not learn my lesson, however, because I agreed to meet another man in Bar Harbor at a bar he was bartending in the following Sunday. He was rude to his customers, though he did not make me pay for my drinks. He was rude to wait staff at the restaurant we went to after his shift. He requested I hold onto his weed when we stopped by his place to allow him to change out of his bartending uniform (I forgot about this as I was legit RUNNING from the hotel lobby later on). He was rude to his friends AND to me when we all went swimming afterwards at a local hotel and he demanded we pay him back for a room he reserved without asking us if we wanted it. He was trying to stick his tongue down my throat whilst simultaneously flirting with the single moms in the hot tub. He called me a cunt for flirting with him and making it "seem like you wanted to bang tonight" and then leaving him "high and dry" with a hotel room he paid $200 for.  Apparently being nice to men who are shitty is flirtatious and somehow promising. 

Not sure what's wrong with men in Maine, but it just wasn't the vibe.

Thankfully, Liv got back on Friday and we were able to resume what passes as normalcy up here. Beach days, margaritas, and making plans for season's end. On Saturday, we are going to see the new Barbie movie in theatres and boy am I EXCITED for it. I just have to get through four more nights of work, but the new guy starts tomorrow so I just have to train him and help out with smores for the next few nights. Shouldn't be too hard, right? That means I no longer have to work five days a week and can go back down to four and actually sleeeeeeeep on the weekends! Wooohooo!! 

In the meantime, management finally spoke with my male roommates, the J1s (two men from Turkey, two from Columbia). They have been rather messy and assuming I clean up after them, buy our trash bags, our paper towels, take the trash out, etc. They also all have second jobs which they ask to be taken to when the weather isn't good, which was a lot the last two months. One of them washes his face in the upstairs bathroom like he's trying to put out a fire and doesn't clean up after he's done, so often that the paint on the counter top is peeling already. These things would be nothing on their own, but when it's all of it all of the time and I'm the only one that they can lean on - it becomes a lot. So I asked one of the managers to speak with them, as they were not picking up what I was putting down. 

My manager spoke with them, bought them cleaning supplies, made them all agree to a cleaning schedule, and now the three women in the house use the upstairs bathroom and the four men use the downstairs. Apparently, they were not happy with this arrangement, but as one of the three women in the house living in the filth and cleaning up after them, I am just fine with it. I can fully see that I am coming off as high-strung here, but if you could only see the photos of the mold in the shower, the food in the sink drains for days, and the pee all over the seats in both bathrooms...you'd be feeling the same type of way. I'd asked them several times prior and no change. One of the other women has begun cooking and eating in the house behind ours because she refuses to clean up after them just to use the kitchen. It's that bad! But I digress...it should be resolved now. Though the guys may be tiffy about it for a while. Oh well. 

So! To recap: two weeks ago was rainy and depressy. Last week was lonely and terribly full of terrible men. This week is starting to look up, though I've had a stomach bug the last few days - I shit you not :P I'm struggling here, but there's only . . . seventy eight more days of camp! 

I know this post was all complainy and blah blah blah. But what can I say? They can't all be winners. I'm here to keep you updated to the events of my life and right now that's the highs And the lows. The sun has returned to Maine, so we should have more highs coming up. Besides, the Barbie movie, the Lumineers, and Noah Kahan concert coming up --- those have to be highs, right? 

Enjoy some pictures of our boat cruise from last week and of Katie wrapped in her beach towel on her birthday!

L2R: Grant, KJ, Katie, Me

Katie bundled at the Beach

Sea Cliff Waterfall during our Boat Tour

Boat Tour Boat Tour

Back to Camp

I have lost track of the number of weeks here, but I do know that there are only 96 more days of camp! That's crazy. When I pulled in May 1st, I thought "Man, six months here is going to be wild and super long." But here we are almost at the exact halfway point, and I feel like I just got here. I had so many plans to get healthy in a way I thought was the best for my body and my mind. Turns out, I didn't need that at all. Yeah, I may be twenty pounds thicker than I was this time last year, but I'm healthy - I'm getting in my veggies, drinking so so much water, and being active every single day. With the thickness comes healing, and with healing - peace! 

But enough deep and meaningful shit - getting back from Canada was met with a whirlwind of changes at camp. The only other night audit at camp up and left the Saturday I returned. Apparently, he wasn't vibing with his roommates and was saying some really off-kilter stuff. Slurs and anti-LGBTQ types, and we don't fuck with that. So I'm not upset he left. And, to top it off, I FINALLY get a full 40 hours like I was promised when I started. I was barely getting 30 because he HAD to work 4 nights and I only got 3, and nothing I said changed it. Bottom line? Boi, bye. I'm working five days a week now, with about 14 hours a shift, so it's been rough getting sleep, but I'll take it. I'm managing, even if that management system involves booze. 

Second! The only other gal living in my house of four guys from Turkey and Columbia left Friday. She's been really struggling and started talking about leaving camp three days in because it wasn't what she thought it'd be. And I totally get that, it also wasn't what I thought - or was told - it was. But it's money and it's a new experience, and I've grinned and bared it, but she wouldn't. And good for her! Go after what you want in life, never settle, even if it means finding another source of income and starting over somewhere new. That's been my journey in a nut shell, so more power to her! In the words of the youths - GO PISS GIRL! 

Third - ever since July started, Liv and Katie and I have been plunging into the ocean, rain or shine, every single day. We started a few days before July, but promised we'd do it every day in July, and as Liv claims, every single day left this season - even in October when it's snowing. I may get hypothermia, but oh well! It's good for the soul. Even when I am dead tired, coming off of a fifteen hour night shift, no sleep the day before and barely any food in my system... I am out in those waves. I am floating, diving, dipping and living. Since starting this, I have actually been sleeping better. Deeper, even. More consistently. And my skin has started healing itself. I have less blemishes, less redness. I honestly think these daily dips are healing us inside and out. 

Tubing Successfully on the Beach at Newbury Neck

Not to totally flip the script, but - I MISS TARA O'BRIEN. So so dearly. And she's my first stop when I leave here, only 96 more days. It's hard being away from my people and best friends. But this is the life I've chosen, the life I love, and the life I never want to give up. Missing people is part of it, albeit a shitty part. I feel like we've been away from each other much longer than this and have managed, and I have faith in us. I have so many stories to tell her about camp and my journey and my ocean plunges and Canadian campsites. That's going to be the best part - catching up! 

The plan going forward is, thus far, GET THROUGH CAMP - then, home to Tara in October. Get the last two weeks of the RenFair in. Stay for probably two whole weeks, but not more than four, just to hang out, see some people, get some storage unit stuff figured out, and then scoot back out west. Visit people on the way out, pit stop to pick up a kayak, and then get back out to Arizona and stay there until the cruise in January, maybe hit up Joshua Tree again. Go on the cruise - drink, have fun, be merry. Apache Junction in March per tradition. Then, hopefully, starting a camp job in Zion in Utah and hiking in my free time. I'm really aiming for the PCT in 2025, and I'm going to hike the hell out of 2024 in preparation. You won't see me getting in a walk-3000-miles type of shape this year, and that's okay. You mostly train for the PCT as you walk the PCT. There's no set level or way to hit Mile One. 

See you on the flip side, homies! Jump in a body of water this week - you won't be disappointed!

Canaduh! Ocean Kayaking! Jelly Fish!!!!

 Without further ado...

We went to CANADA!!!! ~~~~~ 

Packed and Ready to GOOOOO

I spent five days driving from Maine to New Brunswick, to Prince Edward Island, to Nova Scotia, and back with Liv and Katie. We spent our first night in the Bay of Fundy, camped out next to the ocean. Literally fifty feet from it. We made pasta and a fire and sat watching the tide go out. At some point in the middle of the night, they took their pillows and sleeping bags out of the tent and went to lie on the beach to wait for the sunrise. I was out cold. So when I woke up, I had no idea where they'd gone. I walked the camp twice before I found them. They looked like two sleeping seals rolled up in their sleeping bags!

Left to Right: Katie, Liv, Me

From there, we drove to Prince Edward Island and spent the day sunbathing on the beach and taking freezing cold dips in the ocean. We brought lunch, some drinks, and a book each. We saw a jelly fish with a brown top and tendrils that looked like veins, full of bright red blood. We set up camp at a KOA and strung up three hammocks while we enjoyed tacos and a local band playing in the main dining hall. We packed up our tent bright and early the next morning to head to our final destination: Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. We paid the $50 Canadian dollar toll to leave the island and drove the almost seven hours north.

PEI Swims with Katie

This time, we were staying in a cabin at a KOA under a cliff by the ocean. It was Saturday night, so we got dolled up and headed to North Sydney to have a "fancy dinner" at a boat house on the bay. We took pictures (from above, Liv demanded), drank wine, and had some amazing food. We ended the night with a fire and went to bed early. Sunday, we spent the day driving the loop around Cape Breton Highlands NP and stopping for pictures and small hikes. There was an amazing waterfall that we had to climb to. Liv and Katie held onto me when I needed the stability, it was very nice of them. I had to stay on a rock high above them because I couldn't make the climb back up if I'd gone down. So I took pictures of them playing in the falls and laughing and having a good time. We went topside of the falls after to make sure I got to play in the falls from a safe place, as well, so I could enjoy it too. 

Liv and Katie in the falls

The drive up and around was so full of dense fog and mist, it was so beautiful! We ended the night back at the cabin with a final meal of fettuccini and broccoli over potatoes and sausage, all over a nice and big fire. We went to bed early again to start the drive back to Maine at 6am. 

Liv just VIBING on the scenic drive through Cape Breton

This trip was so amazing and the girls were so helpful and didn't judge me for my inability to do some things. They held my hands when I needed to be steadied and lifted me from the ocean when I couldn't find my footing. They were so helpful and nonjudgmental, it was nice. We have plans to return to Canada in a month or so to do more of Cape Breton and make it down to the south of Nova Scotia, hopefully ending in Newfoundland. In the meantime, we have Lumineers in August and Noah Kahan in September to look forward to. I like these kids. 

When we returned, we went kayaking on the ocean in the bay of Maine near Ellsworth. It was terrifying out there, it was so foggy and I mean FOGGY. Dense fog so we couldn't see either shores when we got out near the boats. But we saw seals and more jelly fish, a few bald eagles and an osprey! I have been kayaking and canoeing before, but never on the ocean and never in such foggy weather. It was dope! 

Kayak with Liv

And Katie!

Then yesterday, we had spent the day going to new spots: an interesting little farmhouse that doubled as a café in the mornings and restaurant in the evenings. Then Serendib downtown, which had Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine. My first time enjoying curry without being nauseated! I was so proud. When we got back from Serendib, we were all sitting on the couches at the Youngbloods house and Liv says, Let's go swimming! The sun was going to set in a little over an hour, but who was I to turn down swimming?! We headed out to what I've learned is called "Newbury Neck" and took a freezing cold dip in the ocean and saw another jellyfish. We sat on the beach drinking and talking about our minds and our time so far at camp. We talked about our dislikes and talked about how much we appreciated having each other up here. We promised we'd take more dips in the ocean, talk less about work, but hang out more whenever we could. We were going to make the best of the summer in Maine, and I believed us. 

My Serendib mascara bled (me, Katie, Liv) at our late night dip

On our drive home, we decided to make one last stop at Margaritas and got pleasantly tipsy to get up the hill back home. We laughed, I cried (it's becoming a habit - who knew I was a crier), and we enjoyed our Friday night back in our Maine home. 

My takeaway from the last week or so has been to just Live. Be healthy, but have fun. Be daring, be careful, be spontaneous, be adventurous. Be whatever will make you love your days you can create on your own. Just Live. That's all we can really do. We just like to throw in adventurous trips and dips along the way. 

I was in awe.

Stay tuned... it's not always this dope, but we're trying to make the most of our time here!  

My takeaway from the last week or so has been to just Live. Be healthy, but have fun. Be daring, be careful, be spontaneous, be adventurous. Be whatever will make you love your days you can create on your own. Just Live. That's all we can really do. We just like to throw in adventurous trips and dips along the way