Packing up

It's finally here! I'll be on a plane to Chicago this time tomorrow, and will eventually find myself in Tallinn, Estonia. I just finished packing all the things I can for now, and feel good about everything. I seriously cannot wait.

I spent the weekend relaxing the days away with friends and family at our cabin in Wisconsin. I needed that, especially to clear my head for all the packing and preparing for the next summer 2013 adventure. It was also the last weekend I'd get to spend with my cousin Mitch, since he will be leaving for New Zealand for 6 months while I'm in Estonia. Gonna miss Team Kirby a lot this fall, but I think we both are looking for some new adventures before we re-unite in the winter.

Here's some pictures from the weekend, I had a ton of fun playing around with the new camera at night around the fire and under the moon&stars.

The loons were abundant on the lake this weekend

The boys and their fish, which was later our lunch

Ella!

Anyways, we're all cooking out tonight as a mini going away party for me, so I'm off to go chop up some veggies and get the brats ready for the grill. Next time I'm on here I will most likely be in between flights or in Estonia! 

Monday, Monday

Despite all the gloomy rain and cloudiness, I'd say that we managed to have a solid weekend here on da UP.

We kicked it off with a hike in the sun on Friday afternoon after I was out of class. Me, Cayc and Chelsea headed north to Copper Harbor, and found a trail that goes up the side of Brockway. After meandering around for an hour or so, we decided to hop back in the car and find a nice beach to lay on in our long pants and sweatshirts.

Trail up to Brockway

On the way back home, we then made a pit stop to Louies, the brand spanking new grocery store in Calumet. After being spoiled with several free samples and lots of welcoming conversation from the friendly people of Calumet, we bought some stuff to make pizzas and headed back home to make them.

yummy yum

Finished product!

Once we indulged on our homemade pizzas, Caycie and Chelsea were off to see Bill Cosby, who made an appearance at a show on Friday night at Tech's hockey arena. While the entire city of Hancock and Houghton was attending this, me and Celeste met up with Frank and his friend to go hit some old golf balls off the shores of Superior. Fun night to say the least!

Teeing it up with Frank

I woke up to rain on Saturday morning, so I slept till 10:30 or so since there was honestly nothing better to do. Once I rolled outta bed, I spent the remainder of the dreary day to finish decorating my room and such. Our 4th roommate, Kelley, also began moving in.

Later on, Travis and Hayden came over and hung out with me, Caycie, Chelsea and Chelsea's boyfriend Sean. We probably laughed and chatted till 2 AM or so, then hit the hay.

I got my solid 8 hours that night too, and rolled over to a text from Hayden asking if I'd be down to drive up to the tip of the Keweenaw for the day with him and Trav. Well of course I'm down, I've got nothing else to do on this cloudy but humid Sunday, seeing as I got my work done for the weekend on Friday. So I hopped into the truck when they came to get me promptly at 12:30.

The three of us spent the rest of the day driving around on logging roads in the Keweenaw, mobbing through mini lakes and lots of muddy puddles.

Boys being boys.

 We got out and tried to hike down to Lake Superior several times, and were halted by flooded swamps every time except one. We eventually made it out there, and braced ourselves against the chilly winds while exploring the rocky beach for an hour or so.

By then it was 6, so we all hopped back in Hayden's truck and set off for home.

Now I'm sitting at the kitchen table, getting ready for class in an hour. We've got a busy week ahead of us with this client project, but once the week is over, I'll be headed to our cabin for some time with the fam, then before I know it, I'll be on a plane to Tallinn. Whew! Still so much to do on my "before I leave Houghton for the summer" bucket list, but I have faith that we'll get a lot crossed off. Bring it.

Starting up

Well, I've reached Wednesday of the first week of summer classes! I moved into our house in Hancock this past Sunday after driving the 6 some hours from the Twin Cities to the UP, where I passed snow along the way. Crazy. Once I arrived, I couldn't stop running around and loving every last inch of this house. It has been so nice so far, I'm so excited to live here. I'm living with 2 of my roommates from last year, Caycie and Chelsea, and Caycie's best friend from high school, Celeste, for the summer. Here's some pictures I snapped of our home after I unloaded the toaster:

Anyways, classes started right up on Monday. There are 6 students (including me) in the Estonia program, as well as a faculty. After the first hour and a half of class, I got so so excited. It's truly going to be a great summer.

After class on Monday, I picked up my friend Travis and we drove out to meet my cousin on the Huron Bay. My cousin, Mitch, (he attends MTU with me) was visiting the UP for a few days with his friend Andrew before they both start those summer jobs up. So we, as well as our other friend Hayden and a few others, met up on the beach, fished a little, made a fire and just hung out for a few hours. And let me tell you, it wasn't feeling like summer at all. Cold, windy and cloudy the whole time. Ick. Nonetheless, we sure enjoyed each other's company, and campfire cooked food.

Hayden fishing near the mouth of the Huron

 Mitch setting up camp

Getting the fire started

The crew around the fire (taken by Hayden)

While Mitch, Hayden and Andrew stayed out camping that night, me and Trav drove back since we both had class the next day. Long story short, I managed to dodge every deer we saw on the hour drive back to Houghton, until the last 5 minutes in the car. Yup, hit my first deer. We were fine, not so sure about the deer though. The car I was driving (my dad's), now is a little hurt, but nothing serious. So that was an interesting and scary start to the week.

Tuesday was another chilly, windy but sunny day, so I decided to finish my homework for the next 2 days and meet up with Mitch, Andrew and Travis after class. We drove up to Copper Harbor, and enjoyed the sun for a few hours as we explored around some rivers and the shores of Lake Superior.

We then ventured back to Hayden's, ate dinner, watched some baseball, and hung out. Yup, looks like I'm still one of the bros...

This morning, I said goodbye to Mitch and Andrew as they took off for MN, and spent the day hanging out with friends outside. No class today, but back at it tomorrow!