Too much to tell

I returned home end of last week from my 4-5 week long travel experience to Germany and Italy. It's amazing how it can feel like you are there so long, but then seems so short once you return. I arrived back to America and was missing Europe already. But it sure is nice to be home, and be around English speaking people again! I did take many pictures! My family was nice enough to sit down with me last night and look at all the pictures I took. It took quite a while. I think for the sake of everyone's minds and sanity I will divide the trip into at least two posts. Since I was in Germany first, I will start there.

Trip started out with my friend Clint and I flying from Oklahoma City to Berlin, Germany. When we arrived in Berlin, after an overnight flight, amazingly we had enough energy to explore a little of Berlin. Took a little while to figure out how to actually get transportation and work the transportation, but we did it and were able to see the Parliament Building, Holocaust Memorial, Berlin Wall, walk through a huge city park, and eat some curry wurst. We also found out where the Embassy is too! Haha, no worries, didn't have to use it. I liked Berlin. It didn't seem like there was a whole lot of city traffic and it was decently clean. I think with how great their public transportation system is cuts down on a lot of traffic! And so many people in Germany use bikes. One of my favorite things about Germany. You would see 80 year old males and females riding bikes around!

First elevator, big enough for two people. It was TINY!!

Holocaust Memorial in Berlin

Berlin Wall

Brandenburg Gate

One night in Berlin then off to make our way to figure out the train transportation system. Went to a smaller train station at first, had a lot of communication issues, so then we went to the Hauptbanhoff (main train station) and had a lot more luck. Got our train passes validated then headed out to the north coast. Kinda difficult figuring out how the trains worked at first but with good maps, asking a few questions, and a little common sense, we were able to do it! First, we headed to Straslund, a small little town on the northeast. Nothing much there, just a cute little walk through town. Then we went more east to Sassnitz. Very small town with a harbor, it was pretty. Ended our day in Rostock. We didn't like this town because it is where we figured out very early that backpacking Europe doesn't necessarily mean all avoidance of plans and itineraries. We got to Rostock and were unable to find a hostel with any room. We walked for a long time with our backpacks and couldn't find anything. This is where we realizes that even hosteling requires some advance planning and booking. Kinda stinks. I wanted to be able to just end at whatever town I ended at and find a hostel. Instead, generally you had to book a hostel at least a day in advance, otherwise they would most likely be booked. So we ended up having to stay in a hotel in Rostock. Just prolonged me getting to have my first hostel experience.

View from my first hostel

Next day we headed to Hamburg, Germany. I really liked Hamburg. You don't hear much about the place, other than maybe that where hamburgers came from, which is not true by the way! It has a lot of rivers and canals going through it. Great place for walking around. There are a lot of hostels, shops, restaurants, and bars. Just like most towns in Germany, plenty of pretty old churches and museums. This is where I learned from a group of guys in the city center we talked to that when a local guy over 30 is seen doing some kind of community service like sweeping of beer caps this means he is looking for a girl to kiss. One if they are a virgin, and 5 if they are "regular girls." Haha, very interesting. For girls, they usually do something like clean doorknobs for a kiss! haha, so don't go around cleaning doorknobs or sweeping bottle caps unless you want some smooching! After exploring we found our hostel! For our first hostel experience, we got kind of spoiled. This one was really big, included a big buffet breakfast, and had a gorgeous view over the canal.

City Hall, Hamburg, Germany

Off to Brandenburg, Germany the next day. Had read that this was a very pretty area, so we thought we would check it out. Got on the train early to make the most out of the day! We walked around most of Brandenburg. It was a very pretty town. We saw lots of old buildings and even in this little town there was a good public transportation system. We came across a very pretty Jewish Memorial. Talked to a teacher that was bringing his students to the memorial the next day. After that town we wanted to go to Wittenberg where Martin Luther King grew up and nailed the 95 theses to the church door. While we were on the train, something didn't feel quite right. So 45 minutes after being on the train I decide to check the map. We were headed in the complete opposite direction because we were going to Wittenberge instead of Wittenberg. Really, just one little letter difference in the towns? Found out last week that my aunt had done the exact same thing, only they went all the way to the town and tried to get a taxi to their hotel which would have cost $1000!!! Wonder if that happens a lot. Because of the huge delay in the day and our determination to see this town, we made it there only to have about 30-45 min to quickly walk around the town in order to catch the next and last train out of town. We did it, very hastily, but we did and saw what we wanted to see. Wish we could have spent a little longer, but oh well, things happen.

Jewish Memorial

Very cute, old house

Example of public transportation in a small town

Our "original" plan for this day was to end in Dresden, Germany, but because of the delay and getting late in the day we realized we couldn't make it to Dresden until 0500 the next day! So quick change of plans and headed back to Berlin. Had to book our hostel while we were on the train! This ended up turning out nice because the hostel was really cool and we got to see some more nice sights in Berlin the next day. We even got a free dinner at the hostel!

Best chocolate store in Berlin!

After sightseeing Berlin some more we headed to Dresden, Germany. This city is known for the mass amounts of bombings and people killed during WWII. It was a really cool city. Besides arriving there and walking for hours trying to find a hostel that was actually in Munich, we really enjoyed the city. Once we figured out the correct hostel we were trying to find and getting there we had a ton of fun. The hostel was probably one of my favorites. Met some really cool, nice people, good staff, had a nice kitchen we could use and good lounge area. Few people we met were two Australians and a Canadian whom we went hiking with the next day. The hostel also had free bikes to rent so we got to ride around the town on our bikes, which I had been wanting to do everywhere we went since Germany is so conducive to bikes!

Free, but painful and loud!

First day in Dresden was amazing! We went to Saxon Switzerland National Park, east of Dresden near the Czech border. It was and awesome hike with amazing views! The first part of the hike was very busy and touristy on a built trail to amazing viewpoints and cool stone bridge. Then we hiked further into the woods, less crowded. We discovered the cutest little German town ever! It was so fun, so many cute little houses. Stopped at a very yummy local restaurant, where they served the best looking and biggest white asparagus, the specialty in this region. HIked back down through a gorgeous canyon and ended the hike with our first gelato, yummy! After the hike, we got bikes again and headed into old town Dresden. So many gorgeous buildings next to the river. It was a very pleasant bike ride. There are a lot of Biergartens in this town so we stopped so Clint could enjoy a beer! Fun and exhausting day in Dresden!

Clint, Me, Australians, and Canadian!

Next destination- Munich, Germany, beer capital of the world, home of Oktoberfest. We didn't really like this city, but it's worth spending at least a day because its Munich, duh!! haha. It was a long train ride from Dresden to Munich but we still managed to make it to Dachau that day. Dauchau is a little north of Munich and it is one of the most significant concentration camp. It was bigger and is where most the Nazis did their training. Wasn't intended as a death camp, but some killings were done there, just not in the mass numbers that were done like at the death camps. We saw the roll call grounds, barracks, interrogation room, medical examination room, crematory, and gas chamber. There is a really good section of memorial dedicated to the jews. The same acid used for gassing them to death was also used for disinfecting their clothes after they died to reuse, gross! It was a very sad, depressing experience, but one worth having.

Furnace

Gas Chamber

Memorial to the Jews

The hostel in Munich was our least favorite. Not very personable at all. Second day in Munich we walked around the whole town. Few interesting things. Saw the Oktoberfest grounds and the Haufbrahaus which is the biggest beer hall in the world. We walked through a huge Munich central park. This was such a nice park. There is a little river that goes through it that is very interesting because it has this wave that the locals go and surf, it was so funny to watch.

Trying on German clothes!

Next three days of our trip was spent on the romantic road. This is a section of Germany winding from the south on the Austrian border up to Frankfurt. We rented a car for three days. It was a gorgeous time spent driving through the german countryside and getting to see the Alps. There are so many bike paths through this countryside, something I would definitely like to to sometime! First night we were in Fussen, Germany, next to the Alps and on the Lech river. It was gorgeous. Got to climb up a castle clock tower! We saw a couple other castles as well, one of which is the Neuschwanstein Castle, which was the inspiration for the Walt Disney Castle.

My favorite town

Second day of Romantic road we drove to Rothenburg. Before getting to Rothenburg, however, we stopped in a few small towns along the way. One place we stopped at, Nulnberg we got stuck in a severe thunderstorm. It was kind of fun! That evening we made it to Rothenburg, this was Clint's favorite town. It is completely surrounded by the old wall and you can walk on top of the wall almost all the way around. It was very fun. Even a bike path on the outside of the wall! It was fun imagining being in this town during the medieval times. The town was very cute with lots of shops and restaurants. This is where we did most our shopping for gifts. Only so much you can buy backpacking! After Rothenburg, we ended in Frankfurt. Before getting there we stopped in Wurzburg and walked around the cute little town. In one of the churches we stopped in here there was a service going on, so we hung out for a little while listening to the service, even though we had no idea what they were saying it was cool to listen in on! There is this big fortress a little outside of town overlooking the town that was fun to walk around. Very big, stone walls, felt like I was in a movie. Then we drove to Frankfurt to return our rental car. Then as we were walking around trying to find our hotel we stop to ask a couple for help. And help us they did! We figured out that the hotel wasn't even in Frankfurt! Whoops, Clint got a little turned around I guess. So they helped us book a hostel for that night, which I stayed at the next night as well cause Clint flew back to America the next day. We really didn't like Frankfurt. Didn't help that we didn't get a good start to the city, but it is a more industrial, business like city and more trashy. The hostel we stayed at was ok, had laptops we could use so that was nice. After Clint flew out the next day I met up with a guy from the hostel from Slovenia and walked around Frankfurt with him. It was interesting talking to him about Slovenia and hearing his thoughts on America. That night I hung out with him, 4 guys from South America, guy from South Africa, guy from Asia, and a guy from France. Very interesting time that's for sure. Unfortunately I couldn't stay up late cause I had to get up at 2 that next morning in order to catch my cheap flight from Frankfurt to Milan, Italy.

Whirlwind tour of Germany seeing lots of cool architecture and history, experiencing German train travel, hosteling, and local as well as other people and cultures. It was a great time, I learned and saw a lot! Will be on my list of destinations to visit again!

Busy with fun!

The last few weeks in California were spent with lots of work and play. My other travel nurse friends, Katy and I, hit the streets of Santa Monica with a couple of other friends one night. This is such a cool area of the city. There is a lot to do there and explore, we just chilled and talked, it was fun. We were going to go salsa dancing again but everyone at the club already had partners so we didn't want to stand there looking dumb waiting for someone to dance with!

Katy and Mandeep

Katy and I

After a busy four days straight of work I got a break and some time to finally do some hiking! Griffith Park is where the Hollywood sign is located and is only about 10 minutes from my apartment. It turned out to be a very long hike, but awesome because for most of the hike there was no one or hardly anyone else around. I actually felt like I was getting some peace and serenity in the middle of the city! It was crazy! Ended up being like a 4-5 hour hike also that went up and past the Observatory, to behind the Hollywood sign, then back down to the front of the sign and off the mountain. Later that night I went to a comedy club, first comedy club I have been to. It was interesting, would like to try a bigger and better one next time! One of my last days off in Cali I explored some of Long Beach area around Belmont Shores. It was a pretty area. Got to walk along the beach and see a lighthouse! I also got to eat at an amazing French restaurant, had Alaskan Halibut, not really French, but it was good. LA has such a great variety of restaurants and so many, I wish I could have tried more of them. Then I worked four more days in a row, they turned out to be three terrible days followed by my last amazing day! I had the same patient three days in a row, and finally got to deliver her on the last day. It was a good end to working at that hospital.

LA

The next day I packed up my apartment and car and drove to meet Luke for some mountain kiteboarding! Luke has been talking about doing this with me for a while, and I have been scared to do it ever since! He just got a mountain board to use with his kite specifically on the dry lake by the base he works at. He has only tried it on the grass behind his house, so he was excited for the dry lake. And he just got all the elbow and knee pads for it. So I met him at the dry lake with my nerves running! We got him all set up first and he did great! There wasn't a whole lot of wind, but on the dry lake it doesn't take too much to get you going, just harder to keep the kite up.

Go Luke!!

Then it was my turn...! I was so freakin nervous! My legs and arms were shaking so bad. Luke even said he couldn't believe I eventually was able to balance on the board cause my legs were shaking so bad. I had to have Luke put his leg behind the board and a hand on my shoulder at first cause I felt so unsteady. It was hard for me to get the confidence at first to stand on the board. I have a tendency to try to stabilize the kite too much and for too long before I get on the board instead of just going for it. After my first little run on the board my heart was pounding so hard I told Luke this was gonna be a good workout if that kept happening! I finally got a little more confidence, not much though. I managed to ride a ways, only fell like once I think because the wheels got stuck in some ruts. It was fun, Luke if a good person to try new things with. He is so patient and a great teacher. He gives me confidence and time for what I need. By the end of the day Luke got really good to where he was riding heel-side and toe-side, a very hard thing to do with the kite only pulling you in one direction! He had fun.

My turn

All padded up

I stayed with Luke one night then left the next morning to meet a bunch of people in Moab, Utah for some camping, mountain biking, climbing, and hiking. I knew as soon as I was headed to California for this contract I wanted to stop in Moab on the way back. So I started talking to Luke, Jackie, and Luke's childhood friend, Mark, early to start planning! Turned out to be Mark inviting a bunch of his friends and me meeting them. Luke and Jackie had other things they needed to do, and it is a long drive for them for just the weekend. I wished they were there though, it was an awesome time! It was a busy weekend so it took a while to find some camping, but we finally did! The first night there were five of us and we went hiking the first morning. And three of us biked Slick Rock that afternoon. The hike was fun, we went to Corona Arch, then climbed up to top of the arch. Not the easiest climb, but it was fun and got the adrenaline going! Apparently Mark was there one year and saw a group of people self repelling off the arch, crazy! We almost did it but ran out of time, maybe next time. Slick Rock was a challenging, hot ride, but always a fun ride. This is the first and only other mountain bike trail I have done in Moab. It is such a unique trail! No pictures of mountain biking, didn't was to bring my camera and risk danger to it!

Mark, Scott, and I on top of the arch

That night I rinsed off in the waterfall close to the campsite which felt amazing! It was cold, but refreshing. Later the rest of the group met up with as at the campsite. Turned out to be 11 total people. Only knew Mark and one other guy from high school previously. They all were pretty cool and fun to hang out with. It was a good group of people. The next day we biked Porcupine Rim. This is supposedly the hardest trail in Moab, or one of the hardest I think. It is a 14 mile ride, the first 4 miles being tough rocky uphill the whole way, awesome view at the top, then 10 miles of challenging downhill. It was a tough ride, probably the toughest I have ever done. There were 7 of us riding together, 2 of which kinda of rode off by themselves cause they were so fast. I was nervous riding with the guys but I didn't slow them down too much. There was one other girl with us as well so that was good. I was beat by the end of the ride, but loved it!

Colorado River

The next day we just packed up camp and decided to do a little climbing. Mark did the lead climb and made it look very easy! After one other person it was my turn. The wall looked like tons of fun from the bottom. It also looked a lot easier than it actually was from the bottom. The climb took me a while to do, but I did it, making it not quite, but pretty much to the top. If I had longer arms I might have been able to make it to the top. I kept working and working at it right at then end, wearing out my arms to where they just finally couldn't do it anymore. But it was an awesome climb! About 6 of total did the climb. I love it, I wish I could do more climbing, it is so amazing. And just being able to chill there in the sun watching and cheering everyone on, was the greatest.

Zach, the official baleyer of the day!

Mark, the lead climber. He made it look easy

The wall we all did, only had time to do the one

My turn!

About halfway

Scott

I got back from Moab last night and now I had today and tomorrow to unpack, organize, and repack all my stuff for Oklahoma and Europe. Dad and I drive to Oklahoma Wednesday and I fly to Germany on Thursday! I can't believe it is almost time!! I will not get back from Europe until June 12th, then spend a week in Oklahoma with Kylee, Clint, and the new baby, Clark! I'm excited. So this will be my last posting for more than a month. Then I will have a lot to catch up on...!! I will not have internet or cell phone access that I know of yet. May sneak on the internet every now and then, but no guarantees. Looking forward to getting to share all the amazing experiences to come in Germany and Italy!! Hope everyone has a great start to their summer!

Los Angeles

In case I haven't mentioned it before, Cedars-Sinai Hospital (where I am working right now) is a Jewish hospital. Around the hospital and where I live is a very large Jewish population. We have many Jewish patients. Sometimes they are not the easiest patients to deal with, but I have had a few great ones. The picture shows above is one of those great patients. I actually triaged her and sent her home, it was when I was working 4 days in a row, so I told her if she came back in the next few days she could ask for me, and she did! So I was able to connect with her and bond. She had a very tough delivery, but made it through! She didn't know what she was having but when she had her boy she invited me to his Bris, which they perform when they are 1 week old. The Bris, or "Brit Milah" is the "covenant of circumcision," a Jewish ritual performed on a baby boy 8 days after birth. The parents owned two Kosher restaurants so they held the Bris at one of them, which might seem gross, but was actually a good idea because there was so much food it made preparation and clean up a lot easier, and there was lots of room. I was very honored she invited me and thought it would be a very good experience for me. And man, was it an experience. I felt totally awkward because it was mostly all Persians...and there was me, white girl in the corner feeling awkward! Then during the actual ceremony so many people were gathered all close, so I couldn't really see anything, but heard a lot of chanting and praying! It was very interesting, and the food was good! One thing I really like about this population and their parties, is they show up, stay during the purpose of the party, fill up their bellies, then leave. They don't feel guilty eating and running, its normal, the party is over, time to go. Glad I went, even though I felt very weird.

I have learned a few things about the Jewish religion while here. One important one affects our care to patients significantly. On Friday nights after sundown until Sat. night sundown they are not allowed to work or involve themselves in anything technological. So, for example, this includes not being able to drive anywhere, not pushing buttons in an elevator, and no pushing call lights for their nurse. So women in labor will walk to the hospital and if they need the nurse they have to find the nurse or will just wait until the nurse comes in the room again. So we have to be aware to check on the patient more often since they might not call for the nurse. And the hospital actually has their elevators automatically stop on every floor on Saturdays since they cannot push the buttons, interesting they can actually use the elevator though! And on Friday evenings and Saturdays you notice how big the Jewish population is because they are all out walking instead of driving! Passover week has been especially abundant with that as well!

A couple weeks ago I decided to go to Las Vegas. I was going to meet Brea and Tom there to do some mountain biking, but the weather decided it wasn't going to be good for mountain biking, so we cancelled the biking plans, but I still decided to go for a night because I got a night at Circus Circus for only $30!! Thought I couldn't beat that! So I got there on a Thursday afternoon, drove around a bit, checked in then decided it would be fun to see Phantom of the opera. When I was in middle school we had a field trip to Boulder for the Phantom of the Opera dinner theatre. It was awesome and I have loved this play ever since. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it in Vegas. Before the play I walked around the Venetian a while cause that is where the play was at. It was fun. Wasn't too weird at the play by myself, only after while I was waiting for my car that I had Valet parked because the group of older guys was looking at me weird, probably wondering why I was alone! Back at the motel I got free chips and salsa and a drink. The next day I found a good all you can eat sushi place then walked around the outlet mall and got some stuff for going to Europe (I leave in less than a month)! The outlet mall is fun to walk around, but still very expensive stores for an outlet mall! But it was a fun quick trip to Vegas.

That Friday evening I left Vegas to meet Luke and Jackie in Lake Havasu, AZ. Jackie's parents live there and we were going for a weekend of fun times and jet skiing! It was a little chilly and stormy on Saturday so we didn't jet ski that day, instead we went to a boat show then Luke and I decided we needed to practice some lake swimming for our triathlon. It was a good thing we decided to practice! We knew the water was going to be cold, but it was very cloudy and windy as well, so I was not looking forward to swimming then running, but we knew we needed to do it. With just our shorty wetsuits on we get into the water and I attempt to start swimming, but I was overcome with the cold water and many waves. I couldn't catch a breath worth anything and was shivering. There was a little point across the way we were just going to swim back and forth to from where we started. When I was about half way and Luke at the turn-around point he looks back and sees me struggling. I couldn't swim. I was cold and couldn't breathe because it was so wavy. I was kind of panicking and hyperventilating. Finally I made it to the turn around point. The way back wasn't much better. I was swimming, but still couldn't put my head under because I couldn't breathe. The 2nd attempt went a little better, and by the 3rd I was finally feeling a little more comfortable. I finally started swimming instead of just surviving. It was interesting. When we were done swimming, we rushed up and put on our running clothes with frozen fingers and feet, making it an interesting process. We took off running and by this time luckily the sun had come out a little bit, still windy though. About halfway through the run I finally got feeling back in my feet. It was a good learning experience for both of us! Glad we did it, it wasn't necessarily fun, but constructive!

Then next day was nicer so we were able to take the jet skis out. Between Luke and Jackie and her parents they have 7 jet ski's total. So we were all able to have a jet ski. I really didn't want to get in the water because it was still freezing, so I was a little nervous staying stable on Jackie's unstable jet ski, but I managed. It was fun riding along the lake, cold going fast with the wind, but a good time. And Luke did well avoiding the water on his standup. We got to play around on the jet ski's a little, I got to ride Jackie's dad's, which you can get up to more than 75mph, but the speedometer caps at 75. I got it up to 70 for a second and that was definitely fast enough for me! It was fun! Jackie's parents have a 90% solar powered energy efficient home. It's gorgeous, they have a pool and hot tub overlooking the lake. Very nice house, and they like the heat so it is a good, fun place for them to live! No pictures of jet skiing unfortunately, kinda hard to be on the water and take pics!

Anybody watch Glee? I have to admit I do, and I really like it. I am asking because I was at the gym last week after work. I was walking around trying to find a medicine ball and I see the back of a guy who I think looks like one of the characters on Glee. I only saw the back of his head and when I walked around I saw the side of him and was even more convinced, so I kind of started walking slowly looking back and he turns and starts heading right towards me and then I knew it was him! He walks up and I ask him if he is the guy on Glee. He said jokingly and plainly No, and kind of teasingly touched my medicine ball. I walk next to him and tell him I really like the show, he says thanks then heads into the gym to play basketball. I got to watch him play a little ball, with other, completely normal people. Well he is normal too, but you know...he is famous! It totally made my week! I couldn't believe it, I mean, I should believe it, my gym is right on Hollywood Blvd, but still. Afterwards I felt like a complete idiot, starstruck and girly. But what else was I gonna say, "Hey man, how are ya?!" Anyway, it was Mark, the guy that plays "Puckerman." He has a very distinct haircut! In the picture above he is the one on the bottom right.

The other day I was riding my bike to the gym and I saw a robbery in action at a bank along my way. All the cops were outside with their guns up and waiting. That was entertaining! Mom and Papa, don't be scared, I wasn't in danger, I just went to the other side of the street!

Now, time to talk about the triathlon! Finally, last weekend Luke, Jackie, and I woke up on Saturday morning at 3am to drive to Lake Perris, about 70 miles east of LA. We arrived at about 5:30, registered and got all prepared for the race. We were happy to find out he and were starting in the same heat together. He was in the military category so he started in the same heat with all the other women, lucky he signed up for that category so we could start together. So we are waiting for them to tell us to go, we tell each other good luck and give each other hugs. Then off we go. I see him once right after we started, then it was time to get serious. But, I had another similar experience as the test run in the lake, there were so many people around, kicking and splashing. I was hyperventilating and couldn't swim right. I was using a lot of energy. All I could think about was how far away the buoy looked and I had to make it all the way to it and back again. Finally I started actually swimming and got in my groove. Made it to the buoy and I knew I was going to be fine after that. It was a good swim. Then as I am about to make it to the end of my swim to get out, I see Luke getting out of the water. I couldn't believe it. Out of all the other people in the water we finished the swim at about the same time. It was great. Jackie was holding our sunglasses and watches so after she handed Luke's his I had to holler that I was coming up so she could grab mine. It was a long, hill run up to the transition area but not as bad as I expected. I took off on my bike with Luke behind me. He passed me, then I passed him, then he passed me again and stayed ahead of me. But I could see him the whole time. As I ride up into the transition area, he is just running out. So I saw him the whole run as well. I got dizzy right at the beginning of the run, it faded a bit, then dizzy again at the end. But I made it through, about one minute behind Luke. Luke finished 4th overall in the military category, 40 something of guys, there were a lot of guys! The guy that got 3rd in military was like 15 minutes faster, so it would have been very hard for Luke to beat that, so at least he didn't miss 3rd by just a little bit! I finished 9th overall girl, and 2nd in my age category! Luke really enjoyed it! We both won something in the raffle afterwards, Luke won a free entry at their next race in October, so he may be doing another one! It was a fun time and it was good to have our support person and photographer, Jackie, there cheering us on!

Sprinting it out, trying to beat the guy next to me and not fall over due to dizziness!

Ride Luke Ride!

Way to go Luke! You did awesome.

No! Don't do it!!

Sunday after the triathlon we played frisbee golf at the very first frisbee golf course. About 30 min from my place. It was a 20 hole course. It was fun, and the weather was perfect. And this past week I have done a little more LA life stuff. I got a facial with Katie, another travel nurse. I highly suggest doing this, it feels great! We had a small pool party on our roof of the apartment and we went to a salsa club for some salsa dancing. This was very fun, it is tough, but a good workout and very fun to do! Takes some time getting used to. And you feel like an idiot because most everybody there knows what they are doing. Another day I went to Newport Beach with some ladies I work with where we got an hour long massage for only $15! It was a very interesting massage too. They used all their bodies and force to get in your muscles, and they stretched you and pounded you. It was painful sometimes, but overall felt great. Then we had all you can eat sushi and hung out at a yacht club for a bit. Figured out that one of the ladies, who is an older Korean lady, is awesome to hang out with! She knows how to pick up the guys and flirt, haha, she is entertaining.

After this week I only have a week and a half left. Time goes by so fast...