Aloha!

Aloha from Hawaii!

Mary Beth and I have been enjoying our time away from our lives on the mainland and embracing the lovely culture of the island. We arrived in Honolulu last Wednesday and spent most of the day exploring the area around the hotel we are staying at in Waikiki. We are staying in the middle of the shopping district and we are a ten minute walk to the beach, so there is lots to see. We got up early yesterday to hit the waves. The water here is lovely and Waikiki has an amazing beginner's break. We took a surf lesson from Mike who had been teaching for about twenty years. We each caught at least seven waves in our first hour in the water and finished our lesson exhausted, but very happy.

me surfing!

Today, we took a trip up to the North Shore to check out the waves there and to get away from the mobs of tourists here in Waikiki. The beaches on the north shore are beautiful and the waves are intense! We didn't venture into the water here, but we got to see some amazing surfers ride the waves here.

The North Shore 

While we were out shopping yesterday, I discovered an artist local to the north shore of Oahu who creates these beautiful paintings and recently teamed up with Rip Curl to make some pretty awesome apparel. Her name is Heather Brown and be sure to check out her website and her blog.

We've also been meeting some pretty interesting people here. We met a pro surfer at the Rip Curl store named Edrick Baldwin and a hopeful singer-songwriter named Elijah who currently works at a Cheeseburger restaurant. There was also the two Japanese guys that came up to us on the beach tonight who run a cosmetics business in Japan and could not believe we were only 21 and 22 and that we really do work for NASA. 

Mary Beth and I have been spending the past few hours before bed playing our new ukeleles, which we are very excited about. They are quite possibly my new favorite instrument because it's small, easily portable and it is very difficult to make it sound bad. Tomorrow we will be taking free ukelele lessons from the music store in downtown Waikiki. The guy we talked to when we bought our ukeleles promised that by the end of the lesson, we would be able to play "Happy Birthday," "I'm Yours," and "Amazing Grace." We're hoping that by this time tomorrow, we will be ukelele masters.

"Surfer Girl" by Heather Brown

Go Bruins!

Last month, Alexis and I took a trip to UCLA to visit our favorite brothers of the Psi Chapter. After a three hour drive, a few wrong turns and a harrowing drive through LA, we finally arrived on campus. We got to see their pep band in action at a UCLA women's basketball game while sporting our new blue and gold shirts. 

My little bro and me at the game

UCLA Pep band

Later that night, we got to see the Beta Omicron candidiate class go through second degree and then hang out with the brothers of Psi and sisters of Epsilon Kappa at a "Decades" themed after party. I was rocking a poodle skirt I had from a half-time show I did in high-school and Alexis went as a hippie.

Overall, it was a great trip. I loved being able to meet new brothers and sisters that I haven't seen at district events as well as seeing old friends again. Going to these events and seeing how much love there is in the bonds between brothers and sisters makes me so proud to be part of an organization like Kappa Kappa Psi. I didn't think it was possible to feel so much love from people I have never met before, but every time I meet a new brother or sister I automatically feel this connection to them. It is almost like we become instant friends because we already share this great love for music and promoting band programs everywhere. Especially in the Western District, I think that we share a unique enthusiasm and connection to other chapters that is not found in any other district. The best are truly in the West! MLITB!

New Dance Video is Up!

Mary Beth and I did our last dance improv project in Utah during our hike through Little Wildhorse Canyon near Goblin Valley National Park. Enjoy! 

The Journey Back Home

After exploring the canyons of Utah, we started the drive back to California. The trek took us to Grand Junction, CO to drop off one of our crew members at the airport and then to Salt Lake City. We decided to take a break from driving in Salt Lake, so we visited the Temple. We walked around the visitor's center for a bit and got to talk to a couple of girls that were on mission in Salt Lake City. It was really cool to listen to their story, learn a little about their faith and hear what they did on their mission.
We also made a pit stop at Decades on State Street. If you are ever in Salt Lake City, be sure you check it out. I picked up a sweet pair of cowgirl boots (red and black with stars and rainbow stitching!) and an awesome bag for less than $50. I could have easily spent hours in there looking at everything they had and I will definitely be going back if I am ever in Salt Lake again. Intrigued? Check out Gala Darling's article on Decades and other vintage stores in Salt Lake City.
From Salt Lake, we drove to Winnamucca, NV to stay the night. Where is that? It's some unimpressive town somewhere in the middle of Nevada. We ended up stopping at two motels that night because the person working at the first one was too drugged up to understand what we were saying. The next morning, we got the hell out of Winnamucca and drove all the way to Lake Tahoe. We spent the day in downtown Truckee going shopping and being happy to be back in California. We went wine tasting at Uncorked and enjoyed a lovely variety of wine. Later that night, we headed up to the Squaw Valley for trivia night at an Irish pub. We were tied for first after the first round, but then the questions got ridiculous and we lost to a bunch of stoner skiers.
The next day, I tried snow boarding for the first time. Since I live on the sunny Central Coast, snow is not something I ever get to see. I have seen snow falling from the sky about three times in my life, most of them being on my various trips to Utah and I've never gone skiing or snow boarding before. Let's just say that snow boarding has not become one of my favorite pastimes. I spent most of my day on my butt in the snow or with my face in the snow. I will not be strapping myself to a snow board again anytime soon.
After we brushed the last of the snow off, we got back into the government van and drove back home to the Bay Area. It felt really good to be back home after being away for so long, but it felt strange to be by myself for the first time in three weeks. While on the road, Mary Beth, Chris, Brad, Noah and I spent pretty much every waking moment together and it was strange to be alone again. Nevertheless, I had a marvelous time in Utah and I look forward to going back someday.

People in Spacesuits? We Must Be on Mars!

During the second week of our rotation at MDRS, a few people from the NDX Space Suit Project came to test out a prototype for a spacesuit they are developing for a future mission to the moon or Mars. I got to wear the suit for about 10 minutes and was able to complete three sets of observations before my heart rate went through the roof and they pulled me out before I died. Though the suit was way too big for me and probably weighed as much as I did, getting to be in it gave me a new appreciation for the difficulty of doing science in an environment outside of earth. Doing the simplest things, such as picking up a GPS unit or trying to use a soil chart, was five times more difficult in the suit. Simply walking in the suit took more effort and I had to really concentrate on keeping my balance and try not to topple over every time I took a step. Never the less, it was great to see my fellow crew members get a good fit in the suit and do some good science in it.

Mary Beth serving as Cap Com

Brad getting suited up

Brad working on a transect

Mary Beth in the suit!

In the Sexual Canyonlands

Little Wild Horse Canyon

On the last day of our stay in Hanksville, the crew went on a hike through Little Wild Horse Canyon. This was a beautiful slot canyon located near Goblin Valley State Park. There were the most amazing geologic formations inside the canyon from open spaces with trees and plants growing in it to narrow winding passages. While hiking, Mary Beth and I took the opportunity to pause and do some dance improvisation inside the canyon (video will be up on our channel soon!). It is places like this that really humble me and leave me in awe of how beautiful our world is.

Mary Beth and I in our matching t-shirts

Walking through the canyon

More walking through the canyon

Unique weathering patterns on the canyon walls

Where the Hell is Hanksville?

I am currently finishing up a two-week research trip in the San Rafael Swell in Utah. I'm here in Hanksville, UT with a crew of four other awesome people studying the endolithic microbial communities that live in the rocks out in the desert. We were staying at the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station  for a while, but have since relocated to the lovely Whispering Sands Motel in Hanksville due to a carbon monoxide scare.
Since we've been here, we have seen some pretty amazing geology. We visited Goblin Valley last week and had an amazing time admiring the unique rock formations.

A few of the "goblins" in Goblin Valley

Due to differences in rock hardness the elements have eroded the sandstone into hoodoos that resemble goblins. The stunning thing is that there were so many of them. Once you hike down into the valley, they seem to go on forever.
While we were there, Mary Beth and I did some dance improvisation. In the spirit of trying new things, we decided to start a dance project and challenge ourselves to dance in places outside of an indoor studio. Check out our videos and be sure to subscribe to our channel!

Dance improvisation in the Valley of the Goblins