epiphany: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Enter

Blogging for an entire month stresses me out. Watch how the following summary devolves as it gets longer and longer:

I started off with an intense sequence of weeks full of travel and merriment: I went to eight states in two weeks (not including Texas), got lost in the mountains of Colorado, won an epic game of darts in Indiana, and met the infamous Mrs. Giggle.

First came the MVS retreat at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp. I went with my housemates Katie, and Michelle, and the MVS director Hugo on a road trip that took about 18 hours and featured regular engorgement of as much food (good food too) as possible. The vegetarian thing fell apart instantly, but we are still committed to re-starting it and going a whole month. We left San Antonio at 7 pm after eating as much Indian food as could fit in our bellies, drove through the night stopping only for food. We reached Denver in time for a huge and delicious lunch. After putzing around downtown (window-shopping, touristy photo-taking, climbing enormous statues of cows)we went to Colorado Springs to eat at a steakhouse. Exhausted and overly satiated, my friends and I entered a state of delirium that lasted during a winding, bumpy ride up the mountainside, unpacking under an unbelievable starry night, and a heated foosball game, until finally getting to curl up under blankets.

Monday was a day of hiking. We started out with an easy trail in the morning which was very pretty, and very educational. In the afternoon we set off for a harder challenge and a more rewarding view. After about two hours of hiking we began to wonder where the wonderful view was. We debated turning around. But, we reasoned, it would probably be as fast to keep going rather than to turn around, after all: the trail was called "ring around the peak" so it obviously went in a circle. Soon thereafter we began to run low on morale. Then we came into a clearing and discovered that we had left the boundary of the national park. Thunder rumbled. We decided to turn around and we hustled frantically to retrace two hours worth of steps. By the time we got back to the main road it was sprinkling and we were delirious with exhaustion (again)and actually ran back to camp (yes, true) singing (yes, I know). We soon ran into the rescue party coming to look for us. And we found out that the trail we were on was 55 miles long.

In general, the retreat was fun. I got to meet a lot of people, we went to the Garden of the Gods, there was constant game-playing, contra-dancing, and yet more hiking. The speaker was interesting. I saw a lot of old friends. It was gorgeous.

trip to Indiana with Elkhart unit: long, but great conversations. one very nice stop in nebraska

fun, fun, fun in Goshen visiting friends for one hectic and crazy day (and night)
I was exhausted when I got there at 7 am after an all-night drive and slept for a couple hours then went on a picnic, mopedeling, south side soda shop, playground, party, darts, hookah. Seeing everyone was so nice. This is probably the last time I'll see so many college friends at one time...until a reunion maybe.

after only a day in Goshen I returned on a ridiculously long trip to TX. the highlights: making a home video, stopping in St. Louis, eating at a Waffle House (where you can have your wedding, apparently) with Mrs. Giggle

okay, I give up. Sorry. check back in for more.