I can't believe that I have wrapped up an entire month in Seattle already! The weather was sunny the entire week, with high temperatures around the upper-70s. Week 4's adventures include another hike, a Boilermaker reunion, swing dancing, and a day at the beach.
The Gold Rush
To start off the week, I participated in my second hike to the Oyster Dome, which is part of the Chuckanut Trailhead. It was quite a climb; it was an incline non-stop for a good three miles. While I was on my way up, I ran into another group of hikers. One of them welcomed me with a "Boiler Up!". Being a thousand miles away from Purdue territory, I was a little baffled. I was wearing my Boiler Gold Rush Team Leader t-shirt that day, and he tells me that he did Boiler Gold Rush ten years ago. He then pulls out a Boiler Gold Rush water bottle, and it clearly states that it was from 2004. I couldn't believe that I had run into a Purdue alumni who had also participated in BGR on a random trail in Washington.
Since the climb was a steep one before that very moment, I needed a breather; what a perfect time for a photo.
Two hours later, my group made it to the top of the mountain. There wasn't much to see during the trail, and since people have to watch every step, my eyes were glued to the ground. The view was astonishing. Did I really just climb from street level to here?
A Boilermaker Reunion
The meeting with the Purdue Alum set the mood for school spirit throughout the week. The internship program put on a meet and greet for Purdue alumnus and interns. I met up with fellow Boilermaker, Flor, and several other interns for pizza. Anytime you go to the recruiting building, you have to get a picture on the canvas revealing your school spirit.
Not much later, Purdue University's Twitter account responded:
Getting Back to the Swing of Things
On the Facebook group for interns, someone asked if people were interested in going swing dancing. I haven't been to Fountain Square in over a year, but I have always enjoyed swing dancing despite my lack of coordination and balance. On Friday night, we met up at a dance studio for basic dance lessons before the actual dance session began. During the lessons, skills came back to me. There was only a slight difference in rhythm, but everything else was just as I remembered it. That is, until the music played.
I'm not sure if I'm the only one to have this problem, but my dancing skills plummet when music plays. It's much easier when someone is shouting a rhythm and tells you what to do. Despite this, I try to catch my footing and have fun with it!
Note: The fact that I did not include a photo of myself dancing is INTENTIONAL.
A Day At The Beach
To conclude the week, a large group of people organized a cookout on a beach. You might be asking, a beach in Seattle? Well, it's not quite on the ocean, but it certainly felt like a beach. Alki Beach is located on the South side of Seattle, across the harbor and the Port of Seattle. The sand was extremely hot, and I certainly got burned, despite applying sunscreen. At least that contributed to my tan, which of course is not a bad thing!
It's not every day that you see a large mountain range while laying out on the beach.
