What I Need...and Want!

Alright, so I've had many people ask me the question, "So, what do you need? What could you use for your trip?" Well, I finally went through my packing list(s) and what I have, and I came up with a short list. Literally, it's short! I have mostly everything I need so far, as I want to pack lightly. Buuuut, there are a few things that are suggested that I just don't have, so take your pick. But please do not feel obligated to get my ANYthing before I leave.....wait 'til after, because I L-O-V-E care packages! I've just had too many requests, so I thought I would post it. However, with the hope that I do not receive six battery chargers, please leave a "comment" on here or somewhere so that others see it. But, here's the small list:

• Battery charger that charges both AA and AAA batteries (small) - I saw one that does that, and it came with 2 AAA and 6 AA rechargable batteries.....I also saw a very very large one, and it was much too big to take with me. An extra set of four rechargeable AA batteries would be helpful as well.
• Small travel mirror
• Tampons - Tampax Compak, variety packs - any that I don't take with me can be shipped later, but a good supply is apparently recommended
• Cute, small umbrella of the utmost highest quality
• 1 more bandana (purple, orange, or yellow)
• Misc. sizes of Ziplock bags - really, if you have Ziplock bags at home (small, medium, or large), just bring 2 with you! I don't need many.

Things I don't need but REALLY want:

• Mixed CDs or copies of your favorite CD's....then I can name the mix after you and download all the music to the computer and my iPod - when I listen to those songs, I'll get weepy and think of you :)

Thanks mucho. Wednesday evening, we're headed to the Brewers - Cubs game for standing room only! Hopefully it'll be a great game.

MS TRAM Pictures

Chisholm

One of the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota....although Wisconsin has more. But who's counting?

Sunrise early Friday morning

After the finish line....we want more biking!

Mom getting ready to go at a rest stop

And then we ran into Sully and Mike....from Monsters, Inc.

Many of our safety motorcycles parked outside the bars...notice the cooler strapped on the back that is overfilled with MGD bottles.

Bikers heading out of town in Chisholm. Early Wednesday morning.

But we stopped at Black Bear Bakery first.

Number 814, baby.

Most people enjoy spaghetti dinners to get their carbs. Not me. Grand Rapids on Sunday night.

Start line.

Enjoying those power bars.

I like to ride my bicycle.

Miles cycled: 275.
Towns used as campgrounds: 4.
Number of rest stops: 20.
Finished lines crossed: 1.
Visits to First Aid for Icy Hot: 6.

Well, those are the statistics for last week's vacation. Most of you may be saying, "Vacation? What?" But, it's true. It was a vacation much needed and much appreciated. In case you don't know, I biked the MS TRAM last week, which stands for Multiple Sclerosis, The Ride Across Minnesota. It was amazing. All in all, I was able to raise $445, which was 148% of my fundraising goal of $300. Here's a big shout out and THANK YOU to all who donated to the cause. So, in short, thank you, thank you, thank you for making such a meaningful contribution to supporting clients with MS and finding a cure for the debilitating disease!

Our first day began in Duluth, where we checked in at the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus. Duluth is truly a beautiful city! We were then bussed to Grand Rapids, MN, for our first night of camping and getting ready for the ride. Each night, about 1000 riders and many other followers (perhaps 300+ more people? of supporters, family members, RV drivers, volunteers, etc.) took over these small towns in northern Minnesota and created tent cities, beer gardens, entertainment stages, and long lines at the shower trucks (yes, we shower in trucks).

Monday, we began our first day leaving from Grand Rapids on the Mesabi Trail. After about 8 miles, we stopped for coffee at the first little town just to wake us up (well, tea for me, but that's neither here nor there). We rode about 60 miles on Monday and ended up in Chisholm, where we would spend the next two evenings. After much-needed showers, we headed for food, and boy, did we find FOOOOD! (See, this is why I don't really lose weight when I cycle...I keep needing to refill my body with the calories that I've burned). Rain found us on Monday afternoon and evening and soaked our tents, but fortunately it wasn't while riding. Our second day in Chisholm involved about a 60 mile loop as well, returning to the Minnesota Museum of Mining in Chisholm on Tuesday evening. Chisholm seemed to be your All-American Town, if I ever did see one. So cute. There were so many people that were just so nice and so excited that we were there. In fact, when we first rolled into town, we were waiting at a stoplight and an old (old, old, olllllld) man rolled down his window and yelled, "I hope you folks really enjoy your stay in Chisholm!" So cute and welcoming. Tuesday night, we enjoyed gourmet pizza and a rockin' country band as entertainment. The band went late into the night and accompanied the migraine I had. I spent much of the night rolling around and cursing the band (it seemed like they were right outside my tent), trying to figure out if I wanted to just unzip my tent and chuff (slang for puke, vomit, throw up) right outside. Blech. Fortunately at some point through the night, I was able to fall asleep and the migraine was a bit more mild in the morning.

Our next day, Wednesday, was our easier day with a 55 mile trek to Biwabik. We started the day at Black Bear Bakery...delicious. Our final rest stop along the route had root beer floats for sale, so it made our day. Yum. Again, refueling with calories. Necessary. Although the mileage was a bit lower, we had a headwind for much of this day, as much of it was going either South or East against the Southeast wind. We did a great job. We ended in Biwabik and camped at some sort of field area, which was apparently a city park. After a hot day on the bike, we were greeted with shower lines with about an hour wait in the sun. In Chisholm, we had another option for showers in a field house, thus eliminating long lines. In Biwabik, we were not so lucky. Oh well - we were finally clean, so it all worked out. That night, we decided to camp close to the port-a-potties, which ended up being a not-so-great move in the morning. At about 5:00 AM, I awoke to a voice directly outside of my tent saying, "Wow, it's a little too quiet around here. I better talk loud so I can wake people up." Thank you, oh so kind and considerate sir. Oh well. An early start to our 70-mile day.

Thursday, we biked our hearts out in order to beat the impending rain, and we did an okay job. We biked through probably 20 minutes of rain the entire day, which actually wasn't too bad. The last stop supplied us with ice cream from the Schwann's man....yes, they totally made my day. This was by far the toughest day though, despite the ice cream. We had a strong headwind the entire 70 miles, as we were again heading South and East. Also, we were faced with a lot of hills and the rain. There were also a bunch of miles with really rough road in the beginning. The last eight miles, however, were some great downhills to Lake Superior and the town of Two Harbors. Great times. We spent the night at the Two Harbors Ice Arena and did mucho celebrating for our last night.

Friday was our easy day with 26 miles along Lake Superior straight into Duluth. And by straight, I do not mean flat! In Duluth, we were faced with a 3/4 mile hill...whose butt I did kick. Yes, that's right - I made it up on my bike! Awesome. It felt so good, and then it poured (rain) at the top. Great welcome to Duluth! Fortunately, within the next two miles, the rain let up so that we were able to cross the finish line without raindrops. Crossing that finish line, though, it amazing. It's hard to put words to it, but you're literally greeted by hundreds of cheering people who are all there to remind you of what it's really for--Multiple Sclerosis, perseverence, and helping each other out. Such a great experience.

Obviously, I won't be able to participate next year, but I know that my mom and Linda (our other biker) would love to form a team! It only takes four people, and don't be intimidated by the mileage. You can do it! It just takes a bit of training...trust me, I saw so many people on this ride that I was like, "They're biking?!?! That's awesome." The average age is probably about 60, so my belief is that anyone could do it. And it's fun - I'd recommend. So please think about it!

Posting picture above...

Towing Jenna

I had my first experience with towing a car today. Yes, that's right, Jenna took a pooper in a gas station parking lot today. I never even saw it coming. Remind me next time I am in the car market (in about three yearsish) to refrain from buying a VW. I loved all things German....that is, until I realized that Jenna the Jetta is only out to cause me trouble. Darn it all. Oh well....$380, a new starter, and 24 hours later, Jenna should be fixed. Let's hope. Thank goodness I took this teaching job this summer.

Teaching

I've been teaching this week, and it's been fantastic. I teach two math classes for students who are going into the ninth grade, and they are all there because either they need extra help or they don't show up for class. Needless to say, the ones who do not show up for class during the year also do not show up during the summer. Therefore, they are the ones who are much further behind than the others. It makes it difficult as a teacher when they show up after missing two days of summer school and I need to re-teach them the material they missed and also have them keep up with the rest of the class (in order to pass, all work needs to be turned in).

But it has been great. The other day, my second class informed me that the cutoff between "old" and "young" is definitely 30. It was unanimous. Today, a student delivered some flowers and an apple that were from her older sister who I had taught two years ago. I was able to talk to two parents so far with confidence, something that was a little shaky in my past experience in a school setting. Yesterday, I overheard a student talking about a miscarriage "her sister" had (I thought she told her friend it was her, but when I asked her later in private, she said her sister). Then we had a short, sweet talk about precautions and good decisions. The other day, a student was talking about her aunt's pregnancy, and another student asked, "Does she know who the father is?". The students have been showing up early and leaving late.

I love it. Today we talked about the weather, and I told them I hope it doesn't rain tonight because my mom and I are having a party. The conversation went like this:
Student: "You have a party with your mom?"
Me: "Yes, we're having some family and friends over."
Student: "With your mom?"
Me: "Well, it's not one of those MTV parties that you see - we're not going to get too crazy."
Student: "Sooo...do you just sit around a table with some chips and dip?"
Me: "How did you know? We're making four dips. It's going to be fantastic."
Student: "You are old."

Kids are fantastic.

And it's seriousness.

Flight on August 13, 2008 from MKE to LAX, 8:50 nonstop to 11:00 AM. Then the days of intensive training and disillusionment begin. Wahooooo.

Welcome to the Chi.

I didn't think it was true, but when I checked, it has seriously been over two weeks since I've updated. Yikes. Well, just a short one here - sorry. My trip to Chicago and Milwaukee during the week of the Fourth of July was fantastic. Kendra flew in from Montana, and we were hosted graciously by Lindsay and Brendan (and Gizmo the cat, of course). I don't know how it was possible to do this much in one week, but we did a ton. I am still a bit exhausted! The itinerary included such things as eating amazing Mexican food, seeing a play (Missoula Oblongata...small world!) in Lindsay's friends' loft, hosting a birthday party, going downtown, Michigan Avenue, hanging out on the top of the Hancock Building, checking out the beach, Fourth of July roof party with 360 degrees of fireworks, thrift shopping, great food, Milwaukee, Brewers game, polkaing at the German Beer Hall, breakfast with Vanessa, and checking out the beach (again, this time in Milwaukee). Am I forgetting anything? Probably. But, here are some pictures.

Also, yesterday I received my staging kit from the Peace Corps, which means that I am in the process of booking my flights. For the first time since I accepted my invitation in March, my emotion about this whole process went from extremely excited to extremely nervous. I barely slept last night and I had an upset stomach this morning. What is going on with me? I know it is going to fantastic and fine and dandy and an amazing experience, but all of a sudden I am a scared chicken - that's not cool. I'm guessing it's natural though. Or, at least hoping. But soon hopefully my flights will be booked! I'll keep you updated (in theory, if I ever update this thing).