Enjoying A Day Off

Working here on the island, it gets pretty busy.  There always seems to be a group or two here from an organizational club, church, school, etc.  Groups come for one day, two or even three.  We may have a group of 6th to 8th graders or a freshman class from a University here on the island. 

The cluster of folks that make their way here to the island by boat come for many reasons including ways to improve leadership, community, service, character development, or environmental knowledge in their students.  As staffers on the island, we work toward accomplishing these outcomes with different games, initiatives, low ropes, high ropes, scavenger hunts, or outdoor educational experiences such as seed discovery and salt marsh exploration.  Each day is different and each day brings new discoveries and challenges!

I love what I do here on the island, and I truly enjoy working with all the other instructors/facilitators/directors as well.  As fun as work can be, down time is always appreciated as well.  Not only have I found great co-workers on the island, but also great friends in general. 

When we have days off or extra personal time, many staffers head back to the mainland. But there are also times when we all seem to be here on the island together.  Dance parties spontaneously erupt in the kitchen, house movies are enjoyed by all in the lounge, group discussions are started in the quad out on the grass, or simple walks are taken around the beautiful place that we live.  There is rarely a moment to be bored or have nothing to do!

Besides sharing time together on the island, we do occasionally find time to gather in the city.  Recently a group dinner and grocery shopping trip was made, an afternoon farewell to a Ranger who helped with educational programs was organized, and even a night out on the town for dancing came together. 

The island brings people together to work towards building a brighter future for the youth of the greater Boston area.  But it also brings individuals together to form special friendships and unique bonds.  Its a great place to work and enjoy a day off. 

Burger and Egg on a Bagel...always tasty!

B and I out for a night of dancing!

BIG E

I know all about fairs-local, county, state, etc!  However, I'd never been to a fair that brings SEVEN different states for one big exposition!  The Eastern States Exposition, otherwise known as The Big E, is a near three-week long fair that showcases all the wonderfulness of New England and its states. 

Brooke and I made our way to Springfield, MA on a Sunday, the very last day of the fair.  We were able to meet up with the Brown family and have some local guidance to the exposition.  We visited the Brown family's goats, watched some sheep shearing demos, saw the butter sculptures, walked through trade show buildings, and enjoyed the parade at the end of the day.

 The parade was one of our favorites as it was filled so many historically influenced groups.  Also, there were groups with music or candy and even floats that the people threw out bead necklaces! 

Besides the parade and other activities, B and I found the individual state houses to be super wonderful.  Each New England state has its own building that they can dedicate all of their specialties and products from their state in one place.  Rhode Island is known for clam chowder, Massachusetts Dairy Industry offers tasty soft serve ice cream cones for $1, and New Hampshire has some of the best Kettle Corn.  Because each state is rather small and they all have similarities, many of the booths offered comparable products.  However, each state also had very different selections to promote that were unlike the others! 

You can barely tell, but they are making the corn in this little gazebo in a big drum using a wooden paddle!

 One of the big differences about The Big E compared to fairs in the Midwest was the small part that 4-H, FFA and agriculture had during the exposition.  After combining seven states, one would think that there would be a plentiful of youth programs and animal projects represented.  There was a nice building dedicated to the animal shows and another for crafts, sewing, photography and other projects.  Agriculture and the youth of New England were represented, however, there could have been so much more! 

Of course though, B did find a great friend in this wonderful gal who'd just been freed from her heavy fleece.  W thought she looked best after her wool cut with bunny ears!

 Oh, and B and I milked one of the Brown's goats! 

It was a great day at the fair!  It was a new experience and definitely a fun one!!  

The Ocean

I grew up near streams, ponds, lakes, and rivers.  I learned about oceans in school, but I never really knew about the ocean.

Currently, I live on an island.  This island is bordered all around by the Atlantic Ocean.  If I want to get to the city of Boston, I must take a boat.  If I want to buy food or other supplies, I also must take a boat.  If you miss the boat, you don't get to leave the island until the next boat. 

Its a funny thing, this being surrounded by the ocean. 

Oh, and oceans have tides.  High tide.  Low tide.  Before now, I never thought of tides, but they can be so crucial to know about depending on where you live or what kind of work you do.  Here on the atlantic, tides come in and out about every six hours. However, the really crazy thing about tides is that they don't actually happen the same time everyday.  Yesterday high tide was around 11:00 AM and low tide was approxiametly 5:45 PM.  Today?  High tide: 12:15 PM  Low tide: 6:30 PM   

The wonderful things one can learn!  And about the ocean no less!