Sunshine Weekend

What a weekend. My friend Lizzy came to visit me, and it was amazing getting to have a piece of my St. Olaf life spooning with me in my twin bed, making African peanut stew just like we did nights at the WB house. There are really no words to describe what an incredible woman Lizzy is. She moved to Portland after graduating and has carved her own nook in the city. Hearing about her friends, her adventures, and her new experiences gave me a load of inspiration. And it was just nice to have a hug. How have I survived almost a month without a warm, cozy, meaningful hug?

Lizzy and I stopping for shade during a bike in the 90 degree heat.

On top of that, we had an action packed weekend. We biked somewhere around 25 miles on Friday to a little town called Troy, cooked our favorite meal together that night, woke up Saturday to the Farmer's Market, went swimming in the Spring Valley Reservoir, and then were treated to an AMAZING dinner cooked by Oscar, one of my teammates. And last night we got to do some dancing- both Salsa at Oscar and Hector's house, and less organized dancing at John's Alley where they had live music.

One big difference between cooking at my place and in Lincoln Manor: utensil availability. Opening a can is always a challenge.

Biking along the golden hills of Northern Idaho.

I also feel a big change in my heart now that the Hudson Bay Bound ladies made it to the Bay and are on their way back to Minnesota. It is a strange feeling- part relief that they are safe and they reached their goal, and part sadness that they are back in MN soon and I'll be way out here. Life keeps moving on no matter where you are, and sometimes it is a drag to remember that.