The Highlight Reel

The trip to Rhode Island was one of the bigger adventures we had this summer (besides Greece, of course), but Colin and I jam-packed a ton of other things into our schedule, too. So, here's the highlight reel. This definitely isn't everything, or even necessarily the big things, but they're the things I found worthy of documenting with photos.

To start, an evening on the Esplanade. This is by far my favorite spot in Boston, and I spent as much time there this summer as I could. This particular photo was taken when Colin's brother Ross was visiting. We packed a picnic dinner and stayed until sunset.

Sunset picnic on the dock

Soon after, Colin and I spent a Saturday on Spectacle Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, with two friends from SNRE. On our way from the T to the wharf downtown, we passed under a new art installation made of thousands of multi-colored ropes anchored to nearby buildings. It was apparently quite an engineering feat, but it looks magical!

Rainbow ropes floating over downtown Boston

I also spent a ton of time at the river on my own. I was hoping to take a stand-up paddleboard yoga class, but unfortunately - on the exact day I was scheduled to take the class - the levels of blue-green algae exceeded health standards, and CBI cancelled all SUP classes for the rest of the season. I was majorly disappointed, not only to miss out on SUP yoga, but also not to be able to take a paddleboard out and dangle my feet in the river on my own. Even though CBI didn't restrict individual SUP use, it's a lot less fun when you have to rinse off after getting wet or risk itchy rashes. Come on, Boston, get your pollution under control! I'm holding out hope for a better paddling season next summer.

A particularly beautiful day on the river.

I also won tickets to a Red Sox game from IEc. Colin, who really loves the Red Sox, was unfortunately in Connecticut on the day I won. I, who mostly just loves watching baseball, went for the hot dog and atmosphere. My seats ended up being in the middle of a clump of Toronto Blue Jays fans, but that was okay because the Red Sox won 10-4!

Seeing the Budweiser sign at the stadium always reminds me of Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

And that brings me to fall. The foliage in Boston was particularly beautiful this year. I had to take a work trip to Albany, NY, in mid-October, and although I was initially annoyed at having to drive seven hours for a two-hour presentation, it ended up being great. The leaves were at peak color, so I kept my face glued to the car window the entire trip. (I wasn't the driver.) If you have to drive from Boston to Albany, I recommend doing so during October.

The prettiest tree in my neighborhood.

And then, to wrap up fall (oh geez, it's getting wintry already...), was Halloween. This year was extra special because I celebrated in Austin, TX. One of my best friends from college, Yifan, decided to have her bachelorette party in the middle of the country to split the difference between her home (California) and her friends' (Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Virginia). She sort of randomly chose Austin as a fun city that none of us had been to before. Coincidentally, one of my best friends from high school, Beth, just moved to Austin, so I took an extra day off work to hang out with her before the bachelorette party. Much fun ensued:

Beautiful Texas fall day (it was 80 degrees)!!

Claire, Beth, and Will reunited in their new homeland.

But then, just as the bachelorette weekend was set to begin, Texas got one of its infamous flash floods. It poured for about half a day, completely closing the Austin airport (one friend who hadn't come the day before was diverted to Houston) and submerging major highways in more than a foot of water. And then, just as quickly as it all began, it subsided. Actually, it didn't quite all subside; click this link to see the usually beautiful Barton Springs Pool, and then check out my decidedly unbeautiful photo of the day after the flood:

See the fences and lifeguard stands that are nearly submerged?

Nevertheless, we had fun and still dressed up for Halloween. We decided to go as hipster Disney villains. I was Hipster Maleficent. I took this photo after I finished making her iconic horns and successfully attaching them to a slouchy hipster hat (another engineering feat). This is my evil/scary face. I need more practice with that... but I was super excited to wear glasses! I have always loved glasses and been disappointed that I was born with perfect vision. I was thrilled to have an excuse to buy no-prescription "fashion" glasses.

I am super proud of these horns--newspaper and tape for the win!

And there you have it: summer and fall in a nutshell. Life's been good.