Adventures in Moab

This has been a stellar week.

Whenever I'm in Utah, it's because I have school.
That's why I was so insistent to arrive a week early;
so I could do whatever I wanted.

One of the things I decided to do was go to Moab with a few of my Nursing friends.
I drove down with Amanda, where we proceeded to hike in Arches National Park.
Please refer to video:

It was hot and I was very sweaty, but it was lots of fun.

Later that evening, we hooked up with Spencer and some of his friends from work.
We went on a night hike to an arch that we were supposed to repel...
Amanda and I chickened out on the repelling part,
NOT because that part scared us, but because the hike up to the arch was the sketchiest thing in the world. I had a genuine fear for my life as I began the climb up, and I eventually worked my way back down before I died. Spence and his buds still repelled though, and it was fun to watch them.
Left: Malayna repelling upside down
Right: Spencer's silhouette above the moonlight as he repelled
Bottom: Amanda and Me, safe on the ground


That night, Amanda and I stayed at a hostel.
I would say that it's one of my more unique experiences.
Everyone else there was male and old.
It'd be safe to add sufficiently creepy to that list too.
Oh, and I can't forget to mention that we were awakened in the morning by the lovely sound of a drunk man vomiting in the bathroom next to our room.

That nasty memory was soon forgotten,
as Spencer took us on the coolest rafting trip ever!
It was so so so much fun.
I can't even explain what an amazing day it was.
It was the perfect mixture of thrill from the rapids and serenity from the nature that surrounded us. I'm set upon going back next summer.

After rafting, Spencer took us to a custom T-shirt shop.
We took our own shirts (Less than $2 a piece)
and picked any design they had ($3).
So we ended up with cool Moab shirts for under 5 bucks!
Talk about a sweet deal.

I cannot reiterate how much fun I had.
I love my friends and I love making memories with them.

The good, the bad and the absolutely disgusting.

The Good:
Today marks Stephen's one year.

Yes, ladies and gents, my Stephen is halfway through with his mish.
This makes me so so so happy.
It's almost a little unreal that an entire year has passed me by.
I look forward to what this next year has in store.


The Bad:
I have been in a car ALL day.

We left Ohio at 4 am and drove until 6 pm.
It has been a lonnnng day.
We are currently stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota.
It's a cute little town, know for its "Corn Castle"
...haha, I love it.


The Absolutely Disgusting:
There were earwigs in the hotel bed.

Isn't that about the nastiest thing you've heard?
My mom and I were exhausted and looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the evening.
We walk in and the room smells horrendous.
Immediately, my mom flips the covers back and we see this earwig crawling on the sheets. On top of that, there were bugs on the lampshade.
Ewwwwww.
Just thinking about it makes me squirm.
We looked at each other and got the heck outta there.
Now, we're staying in a nice hotel, with no bugs.
Goooooodnight.

Talk about embarrassing...

Today I did something that was quite embarrassing.
I played golf.
Now you see, if you're any good, this isn't embarrassing at all.
While standing at the first tee, I thought that I would do alright.
Then I began playing and I discovered just how wrong I was.
Essentially, if you were to take par and double it, I MIGHT have a chance.
Even that is pushing it.
How do pros make it look so easy?
I felt like I should just be able to will the ball where I want it to go.
On occasion, I had a few beautiful shots, but for the majority of the game,
my shots were all over the place.
I learned a lot and I definitely came away better than when I started,
but let me tell you, golf is not some hidden talent that I posses.
Surprisingly, I kind of want to play again.
Embarrassing as it was, I enjoyed trying something new,
and it was a great way to spend some time with my dad.

Goodbyes are cruel.

Summer is wrapping up, which means saying goodbyes.
Ugh, I hate them so much.
Four months ago, I was on Ashley's bed, in a fetal position, crying my eyes out.
Why?
Because I was gonna miss everyone in Utah.
Now, I'm saying goodbye to my family in Ohio, and let me tell you, it sucks.
I feel like I stay in one place just long enough for goodbyes to be really tough, then I get moved somewhere else so I can repeat the process.

I suppose it's possible to look at this in a positive light and say,
"I'm so blessed to be surrounded by people whom I love dearly. It stinks that I have to leave, but I'd rather be sad about leaving than happy to get out of some terrible circumstance."
That mentality will set in at some point,
but for now... I'm sad to be leaving my family.
They're kind of awesome.