Meg on the Down Island Trip	Gracie and her smile

At the Blue Hole

The past eight days have been exciting yet quiet around campus. The first kayak trip left on the 22nd of October. On the first day we went out to the schooner keys, about three miles from campus, arriving there around noon. After setting up tents and camp, we had the whole remainder of the day to play in the sand and snorkel.

The next morning we headed back to School, picked up Anna, and continued the rest of our adventure. We had time to snorkel and reflect on our experience thus far. After much anticipation, we had our 2-day solo -- but before we left the group, we all ate brownie batter mixed with peanut butter and animal crackers -- fun and nutritious! When we got back to campus we were excited to see what the remaining Island Schoolers had been up to during our absence.

Glass Window

When the first kayak group set out on their trip, the rest of us went to a local high school to spend the day with a student. Each of us was paired with two seniors from Preston H. Albury High School. We went to every class and activity with them. It was great to learn what it's like to go to a high school on Eleuthera. On Wednesday, we went diving off the wall though a tunnel, and ended up 95 feet below the surface. While there, some of us saw a reef shark, while others saw plenty of amazing fish. Two nights later, we had the opportunity to do a night dive at Tunnel Rock. All of the nocturnal creatures we would never see during a daytime dive came out to feed: we saw a moray eel and lots of different corals. Tony found a huge crab, and carried it around for everyone to touch. On Saturday morning for exercise, we went on the first of three 8-mile runs to prepare us for the 13.1 mile (READ half-marathon)run in a couple weeks. We ran toward Deep Creek, and turned around at the old airport - everyone made it back to campus. That night we had a great discussion of Omeros while dining on home made chocolate chip cookies.

Rob and the Reef Ball crew

The final part of the "on campus" academic rotation was the two-day Down Island Trip. On Monday morning we piled into two vans, (call names, "Night Train" and "Luke") and headed toward Rock Sound. Our first stop was at a Blue Hole - an inland access, through underwater caves, to the ocean - and a cave. We insisted on stopping at the local grocery store to stock up on snacks, and only then were we ready for the rest of the trip. Before leaving Southern Eleuthera, we climbed a gigantic Banyon tree. After about an hour in the car, we arrived in Governor's Harbour, where we went to the famous Ronnie's to buy t-shirts. The next stop was Gregory Town, a place where we could buy knick-knacks. Once all of our shopping was done, we loaded-up and went to the Glass Window, where it was very windy so we cut our time short so as not to be swept off the rocks! It was getting late, so we headed to Preacher's Cave, the place the first European settlers - the Elutherian Adventurers - arrived on Island. We made camp, ate, and slept the night.

Keith, Mary, and Danielle with thier cowbells!

The next morning we went to a nearby cave, and made our way into the underground water caves. We all spelunked and explored the caverns in the cave. Our last stop was Surfer's Beach to ride the waves. Rob got tossed around trying to ride one in - hopefully the pictures will come out! Finally, it was time to head back to school.

Danielle ~ Hi Mom, Dad, Tiff, B, Lance, Mary, David, Mike, Erin, and Shannon I love you and miss you all! I can't wait to see you again and Shannon, Happy Birthday, I hope it was the best ever! Bye and Love to you all!

Lauren cleans a conch with her teeth

Lauren- HI mom, dad, and Alex!!! I miss you soooo much and can't wait to see you in two weeks! Hi to everyone at RP, I miss you guys more than you know. I LOVE YOU!!!

Megg- HI Mom, Dad, Anne, Will, Maude, and Racie. I miss you and love you. I will see you in two weeks. Also- Tiff, Stacelyn, the Kosoffs, and the rest of L'ville crew, I'll see you in December, and I miss you guys soooo much.

Rob- Hi Mom, Dad, Margaret, and Stuart. I can't wait to see you during parents weekend. Hi to everyone at BL and all my other friends. I'm having a blast but can't wait to see you all.