100 MILE SUMMER

So I've decided to set a goal of hiking/backpacking at least 100 miles this summer. Here's why:
1. I like being outside
2. Great exercise
3. Good times with friends
4. I want to hike the distance of roughly 4 marathons in a span of about 3 months...makes for good stories.

Let me know if you want to join me on this endeavor...seriously.

PS. School is lame.

Easter

"When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:30

This time of year carries so much gravity. The God of the universe came to earth as lowly human and lived the perfect life without sin. He left the ultimate example of how we should live our lives, and then he gave his life for mankind. I don't know if I will ever fully comprehend the love of our savior.

How is it that I can know these things and go on sinning? I feel like Paul when he says "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans 7:21-25)

Easter week is usually a good time of reflection for me. It's so easy to just go through Easter without really contemplating what Christ did for us, but I encourage you to really think about it this year.

That's kind of an awkward end to this post, but I can't think of another way to end it.

Spring Break Part 2: The Rainforest

After we left the beach we went back to mainland Puerto Rico and hit up the good ol' jungle. It's called El Yunque Rainforest after the name of the god whom the Taino indians believed lived there. It was so beautiful that it was pretty easy to understand how this place had such spiritual significance at one point in history. The rainforest terrain was something that was completely new to me, but it didn't take long to fall in love with it.

You can see the ocean from the rainforest!

I didn't know it at the time, but I'm told this is hibiscus.

This picture is very jungly.

Despite what he tells you, that is definetly not Jordan making out with a random Puerto Rican girl under the waterfall.

Jordan and I after we dominated El Yunque Peak. You could see almost a 360 degree view of the entire island from here. Without a doubt it was the best view I've had in my life. And then later we decided that the indians probably did lots of rituals and sacrifices on that peak and it made it even sweeter.

All in all it was a pretty sweet trip. If you've never heard Reggaeton music, you should probably check it out. I hated it at first but I think I like it now.

Spring Break Part 1: The Beach

Well, spring break was pretty much the bomb diggity. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my time on the beaches of Culebra, a small island about 17 miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico.

This is Flamenco Beach where we camped. The campground was directly behind the beach and we could hear the waves crashing from our tent.

Another view of Flamenco Beach.

Tamarindo Beach

Carlos Rosario Beach

Carlos Rosario Beach at sunset. I really like how this picture turned out.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It was just a random palm tree by the ferry dock, but someone had painted Fajardo, Puerto Rico and Culebra -- the two places the ferry runs between.

Basically we did a lot of snorkeling, lounging in hammocks, eating, and just being lazy in general. Those things combined pretty much equals awesomeness. Stay tuned for Spring Break Part 2: The Rainforest.

Internet weirdo

So I was in a youtube mood tonight and I felt inclined to search for "emo vampire" just to see what kind of crazies I could pull up. This guy definitely fit the bill. Some people are just....wow. This will be my last post until after my awesome spring break adventure, so I hope all 3 of you won't miss me too much while I'm gone. Enjoy the creepy emo vampire guy.

The Infamous Funky White Boy Dance

He definitely brought sexy back.

Hey look! My blog didn't die!

 

I like this picture even though there's nothing really that special about it. I think I'm over liking pictures for "artistic value." It's way better if the picture just means something to you. Like the feeling you had when you took the picture, or the people you were with. So I'll tell you (if anyone is still actually still reading this dumb blog) why this picture is meaningful. I took it last weekend while hiking with two of my best buds, both of whom I don't get to spend nearly enough time with. It was so great being outside, and you could just feel spring about to explode all over the place. This picture reminds me of how brilliantly blue the sky was that day and how great the pines smelled. And how much I love spending time with people that I love.