As previously mentioned, I was without most technology this summer, which meant I had time to read. A lot. I read all kinds of books, but, per usual, most were in my normal wheel house of YA. I read so much that I found myself hitting up the bookstore whenever I could just so I would have a few books on hand at any given moment. 

I can not possibly review/recap all of these books, so instead I'll do a little awards show style sharing instead. Suffice it to say though, I didn't read a bad book all summer. It was like some magical, amazing, readers paradise up in the mountains. Since I've been home I've only managed to finish 2 books (reviews coming soon)- so current me is a little jealous of past me and the great books I read this summer while sitting around the camp fire. ​

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those are just a few of the books that really stood out- although I could say a lot more about most of these books. Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith reminded me why I love her books, Overturned by Lamar Giles was a fun mystery and Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum is an unflinching look at social media and the ramifications (both good and bad) of having an online life.  I'm trying to limit myself here, otherwise this post would be a million pages long. Needless to say, you can't go wring with any of these books. 

​Happy Reading! 

I couldn't quite get enough of the Adirondacks and headed back up for for one weekend. The goal was to do the kayak to Hitching's Pond and the hike up Low's Ridge. I had done this earlier in the summer with people from the museum, but I managed to break my phone so I lost all my pictures. This is a phenomenal trip that's pretty easy and gets you away from civilization quickly.  There's also the opportunity to see some wildlife, which is my favorite part of being out in the wilderness. Over the summer I saw a black bear, otter, bald eagles and some turkey vultures. This trip didn't have any wildlife sightings, but the possibility of there being something just around the corner makes the adventure more fun. 

That's always the first question you get when you come back to school, right? It's the perennial writing assignment for students everywhere. So what if it's November? I did awesome, fun and even educational stuff this summer and I've been meaning to write about it for months. I'm just finally getting around to it.

​Summer was all about 2 things this year: School and Adventure.

First I had to complete my internship for my CAS: Cultural Heritage Preservation. I decided that if I was going to have to work for minimal pay I was going to find somewhere that would let me still kind of have a vacation. So I applied to the Adirondack Experience: the Museum at Blue Mountain Lake and took a job as an interpretive intern. The internship itself was hit or miss for me- which I think is exactly how an internship should be. I figured out what I enjoyed and was good at and what wasn't going to be my jam, so I left with a lot more information then I came with, which is what you want. Long story short- I like working outside and had an absolute blast working Minnow Pond Trail and talking to guest all day about the area and especially the wildlife they might find. I didn't really like being inside the exhibit hall all day. The Life in the Adirondack Exhibit was great, but I found that I needed to have the outdoors. 

Which is where part two, adventure, comes in. I had the option of living on site at the museum, but instead opted to camp out in the various state campgrounds nearby. It was not always perfect (like when the trailer bit it and I had to take it home to be fixed), but that's okay because I hammock camp it anyways, so the only big adjustments were that I ate out of a cooler and had to get changed in the shower house instead of my own camper. I LOVED living outside this summer for 8 weeks. I miss living outside. I loved cooking over my fire and reading about 30 books over the 8 weeks. I loved when my family and friends came up to visit and we got to go on sometimes accidental adventures on my days off. Rather then give a massive recap of the 8 weeks, I'll just share a million photos with some mini stories about the fun times I had.