reunited with the WEST and more

HOWDY, HERD!

First, I'd like to formally apologize to Chip for completely forgetting about my blog duties; summer has been flying by at an unexpectedly quick rate! That said, the Vermont drizzle has finally tied me to my chair for some summertime reflecting. A lot has happened since we last said goodbye in May, but I'll try to keep this lighthearted: plenty of reading to come in the upcoming weeks :)

CHAPTER 1: Wild West 

As many of you know, I spend the majority of my summer in Boulder, Colorado, learning the ins and outs of “adulting” alongside the one and only Lilly Bates. While a typical day consisted of 6 am wake-up → hastily made breakfast → workout → many hours of interning → workout → delicious dinner, I would rather tell you all about some of my Wild West highlights! 

One thing that struck me was that Boulder never stopped moving. The streets are overrun, and this is a good thing, with cyclists, runners, of every age, even the occasional rollerskier, which brought a smile to my face. What I’m trying to say is, it wasn’t too hard to spend an entire day outside doing the things I love. This included many thrilling, but vertical-heavy, bike rides, brutal trail runs, smooth rollersking, and of course, plenty of coffee stops to rest those tired legs :)  

            crushing km's with Lilly and Co! Also met one of my favorite F1 drivers, Valtteri Bottas!

en route to town in PC ft Cooper

Crested Butte never fails to impress: views that never get old!

Four Loop Pass: epic day in the mtns with Molly and Lilly

CHAPTER 2: Sunny East 

After two months of Wild West madness, it was time to settle down near our East Coast roots again. The change of scenery was a pleasant surprise; no more gasping for air at altitude, and lucky us, the western sunshine seemed to follow us east as well.

bagging "peaks" and enjoying east coast dirt :)

discovering family heirlooms ft tan lines + honorable mention to yummy summer food

CHAPTER 3: Maine

After 11 long weeks of data analysis and AI system development, a well-earned vacation was calling. Lilly and I spent almost a week in Camden, Maine, enjoying some downtime at my family's home. Having been landlocked for the entirety of the summer, we took full advantage of both the lake house and the nearby ocean. Lots of laughter, good food, and drinks rounded out what I thought was a pretty epic summer! 

Maine Life: not pictured, the overload of oysters in my belly

As summer draws to a close, I’m getting super stocked to see everyone back on campus and meet the new members of the herd! 

Until next time, keep stacking skulls!

-  Janne

On the loose

 Hey fellas,

It so happens that the blog organizer forgot to do his blog... so here we are a week late. I'm looking at my camera roll and I'm seeing a lot of beach pics so bear with me. Here's the quick summer rundown and then a photo dump for ya.

Started out my summer with two graduations (Sage's and the seniors) which were both brutally long but featured many things from Angus streaking Stone Hill to playing pong with my high school friend's dad. Many goofs

Hung around home for a bit, worked at my grandparents farm for a couple days, caught up with all the fellas around home for the summer, and then headed out to Bozeman to spend a week with Sage and Tzevi and their glorious housemates Will and Jorie (of Bowdoin)

Went up a couple cool mountains, got absolutely fried in the sun, and got in a quality ride and burgers courtesy of C-Boner. Then I was headed home again for a week or so then off to NZ!

Many many many cool things have transpired down here. Lots of cool camping, experiencing living in a flat with some cool flatmates (surrounded by broken glass and on the corner of Butts road importantly), lots of mountain biking, absolutely radical running adventures, a little skiing here and there, and not to mention scoping out the night life around here which tends to start on Wednesday every week and never stops. Getting in lots of quality time with Ann, Ben, and Chloe of course and also making many new friends from all over the place!

Coming up are plans for the Merino Muster this weekend and an epic spring break road trip around the south island. 

Oh yeah we also go to school on occasion... but rarely.

Sage grad!

Willies Grad!

Bozeman w/ Boner

Bummin around Auckland

Various running situations as one does

Flatmates Finn and Rachel (Rachel here executing the classic sprinkles on celery) 

Things over in Wanaka (snow farm and dope ass river wave)

One of my only biking pics but its lit trust me

We get out and about... exploring my karaoke career

seriously

And here's the promised beach pics. Unfortunately I still suck at surfing but working on it

Finally a little faceplant cuz despite the rumors I do have flaws

Thats all from Chip for now, so incredibly stoked to see all you fellas back in VT for thanksgiving camp and get in some good goofs for me this fall!

😘😘😘 - Chip