Berries and Dolphins

Hi All, I'm writing from Hinkle and have just returned from Panama City Beach, Florida. They have some of the best beaches I've ever seen, plus a bunch of relatives live there. My cousin and her husband took us out into the gulf on their boat, and we saw some dolphins! One came up flipper-style begging for food (though feeding them is illegal so we didn't have any). It had nasty fish breath, but was really cool anyway. Later in the day, we were swimming a bit closer to shore and I got stung by jellyfish a few times. Though that sucked, another dolphin swam up to me and hung out for a few minutes- it was awesome.

Otherwise, Robbie's life has been that of a typical creek-dweller. I've spent a few nights sleeping up in my family's cabin in the Daniel Boone National Forest, about two miles from my house. Though my house is technically in the DBNF, the cabin has no phone line/cell access, nor does it have internet access of any kind. Nice and isolated, really peaceful, gorgeous, etc. I love spending time in the cabin- I want to take Redhot there someday. Maybe a reunion or something.

The week before going to Florida, I fought off the rattlesnakes and picked over a gallon of raspberries and blackberries- really great stuff. My mom made raspberry dumplings and blackberry cobbler, and I probably gained about twenty pounds. Eh, well, I'll lose it soon. Which brings me to...

Mexico! I'm leaving on Wednesday for Cancun, and will come back a little over a month after via Mexico City. How will I get from Cancun to Mexico City? I'll figure something out. During the month, I'll visit Belize and possibly Guatemala (though I went there last summer), looking for all sorts of awesome archaeological sites that I can photograph and ponder to help me better understand the art and architecture of the region. My senior project will benefit greatly from it, too.

Somewhat distressingly, retreat starts a week after I return (so I must pack everything I want to take to Yale in that week). Even more distressingly, I won't be in Maine with Redhot. Sad. On the upside, I'm sure Whiffenpoof retreat will be a lot of fun.

Hope all is well in the various corners of the globe in which Redhotties have settled for the summer!