Summer Glory

The hot and lazy days of summer have been blown away with the arrival of autumn’s fresh, cool breath. This seasonal treat coincides with the beginning of the academic year, which brings children and teachers alike out of their holiday reverie.

With the first of October only days away, my summer vacation is coming to an end. (The fact that my summer has lasted this long may seem a bit absurd for many of you readers, and I don’t deny this lucky break of mine.) I am back in Madrid, trying to settle down while winding up at the same time. I am living in the same apartment building with Angelica (Peruvian lawyer-lady) again, but we have moved from the 7^th floor to the 1^st. I’m excited about the prospect of no elevator, significantly fewer stairs, and a larger living space. I begin working at my school, Ciudad de Roma, on October 1, so I’m blessed with a few days back to reacquaint myself with the city and visit my favorite haunts before being thrown back into the work-force.

As you can see—or rather, not see—from my Blog Archives, there is a conspicuous absence of entries for the months of July, August, and September. I took the liberty of allowing my mind and my fingers a pause from blogging, and I enjoyed the luxury of having a national cell phone to connect with friends rather than relying on the Internet for many dear but long-distance relationships. And even though this blog is focused on my adventures overseas—which I look forward to sharing with you very soon—, I’d like to offer just a quick recap of my summer in the United States of America.

Beach time: I spent a number of weeks in Panama City Beach with my family.In PCB, I got to soak up the warm (and very powerful) Florida sun, eat fabulous home-cooked (& often recently caught) seafood, take walks along the beach, and go on scalloping excursions to Port St. Joe.Beach time was a perfect way to relax from the travel rush of this spring, and I deeply valued that time of rejuvenation, family, and friends.
Above: Aunt Cary, my cousin Liz, & Me and Dad, Pop-Pop, & Uncle Bill at dinner my second night back in the USA. Right: My brother A.D. & me with our cousins Liz & William Below: Mom & Dad cleaning blue crabs on our dock.

Above: I love this picture of Millie begging Dear and Pop-Pop for human food.
Below: We did lots of scalloping this year... and they were enormous!

Once a Furman student, always a Furman student: I was very privileged to be able to relive my Furman days and enjoyed working through the university for a couple of weeks. Before my senior year, I was the student leader for Furman’s Summer Outdoor Experience program, which is an open invitation for incoming freshmen to meet future classmates before move-in day and to go sea kayaking in Charleston or white-water rafting in North Carolina. Well, I got to co-lead all of the SOE trips again this summer, and of course, I had a blast working with my former boss and dear friend, Dr. Owen McFadden, and jumping out of trees on zip-lines. This college graduate even got to sleep in the dorms of South Housing again… talk about walking down Memory Lane.

After SOE ended, Justin and I had a few days in Greenville to reconnect with some old college friends, which was amazing and special. Izzy, EB, Mae, Alayna, and CatMat... I love you all!

More Florida Fun:

SK didn’t have much time in the US this summer,

but she did road trip from Iowa to Florida. I spent the night with her and her two sisters in Melbourne before going to Orlando to be with Justin.

How funny it was to see my dear friend in my own country!

Cherished time with Justin:
Throughout our 2-plus year relationship, summers have typically been a time of separation for Justin and me. Yet, this summer was the exception—it was a time of reunions! Justin returned from Turkey the day after I returned from Spain, and we were fortunate enough to spend lots of time (in comparison) with one another over the course of the summer. He visited my family in PCB; we had a few days in Greenville & Atlanta; I spent about two weeks with him and his family in Orlando and Cocoa Beach.

Left: We played a lot of sand volleyball in Cocoa.
Below: Dr. Domeck, Justin, Luke, and Mrs. Domeck

Justin and I drove east of Orlando to visit some Furman friends. We stopped in Tampa to have lunch with Steve before driving on to Bradenton. Todd gave us the tour of West Coast Tomatoes and told us everything we'd ever need to know about how to commercially grow 'maters. He's in the business... and he's getting married in less than a month! (I will be attending.)

Last weekend, I was in Orlando and the Domecks helped me celebrate my 23rd birthday a little early... it's tomorrow!