Weekend Fun in GA

I'm going to hold off blogging about the research aspect of my summer, due to the fact that most of you won't find it interesting, and because I really haven't done anything THAT exciting in the lab. Next week I will make sure to though.

We have had some fantastic weekend weather here so far, and we have taken full advantage of it. Here is a run down of our Saturdays thus far:

State Botanical Gardens of Georgia  
Only about 3 miles from campus was a wonderful collection of flower gardens and hiking trails. 

 Kayaking the Broad River 
A half hour away from campus was a place to rent Kayaks and Canoes to go down 5 miles of the river. 

 Hiking the Gorge at Tallulah Falls

A little over an hour from campus was a beautiful state park centered around the river gorge. There are 1099 steps to go down and back up the other side! We completed all of them :)

On our way home from Tallulah, we stopped in Helen, GA

"In the late 1960's, Helen was revitalized from a remote mountain community into a replica of a quaint Alpine Village located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains"

Summer Adventure: Georgia!

As many of you know, I am spending 9 weeks of my summer in Georgia! I was accepted into a research internship at the University of Georgia in Athens, along with 11 other students. I decided to travel by plane to get there, and just take my car off the road until December, when I get back from studying abroad. Well getting there was much more of an adventure than I anticipated. My flight was scheduled to leave Binghamton at 7:10am, with an hour layover in Philly, and be to Atlanta by noon. Well...things change. The plane was having some propeller issues, and the mechanic took over an hour to arrive. He poked around for another 45 minutes until they decided it was not going to be able to fly today. Unfortunately all the other flights out of Binghamton were booked for the next few days. They announced that they would be sending us all in taxis to other airports nearby. My flight was changed to 4pm out of Syracuse. Thankfully I had awesome parents that came to my rescue and spent the day with me in Syracuse before dropping me off at the airport. I finally arrived to Atlanta around 9pm. I had missed the dorm check in, the first dinner out with the other interns, and the group shopping trip to walmart (which I was counting on to feed me and keep my hair clean etc.) I didn't even arrive in Athens until 9am the next morning. One of the lead researchers at the University was willing to pick me up and take me to her house for the night. Was NOT expecting that. It all worked out in the end. I finally got to meet every one the next morning at orientation and I got a ride to walmart eventually.  I have now been here a week and a half. So far it's pretty great. Here's my dorm:

I am living in a suite with 1 roommate, 2 suitemates, and a shared living area and bathroom. It's a pretty nice set up. We have a small fridge in the room and a kitchen down the hall. We have been eating a lot of easy stuff, but are slowing starting to actually cook more and more. 

Well, this is a long enough post for now. I'm tired. Be on the lookout for future posts regarding the research that I am doing this summer, as well as the adventures I am having outside the lab.