The Long Weekend Finally Comes to an End

Henna tattoo Tia gave me

First of all I would just like to apologize for not posting a blog last night. The day was absolutely hectic and by the end of it I was both physically and mentally tired. Not only that but my computer kept restarting and random times and I kept losing my writing so I just didn't really feel like dealing with it at 3 in the morning. With that being said, this weekend has been truly great. Technically it started on Friday but I've already explained what happened then and the party really began on Saturday.

I woke up early on Saturday because the trip to Newport was scheduled to leave around 8:30 AM. Just like last week though, the buses didn't leave until around 8:45. Nothing really took place on the bus except for people catching up on sleep. This turned out to be perfect actually as the bus ride was only 50 minutes and the power nap really helped with the rest of the day. We were dropped off at the bus station and we immediately asked for help on how to get to the beaches. We didn't really want to walk to take the bus as they suggested so we decided to rent bikes and take the scenic route through Bellevue to see all the amazing mansions along the way.

The ride didn't take that long and was actually really beautiful, despite having this massive feeling of envy the entire way there. When we arrived we found a spot, ate a quick lunch, and then immediately hopped in the water. I was with Dylan, one of my good friends from California, Khalid, Sakura, Tia, Matt, Chrissi, and Andy. We decided to swim out to a large group of rocks only about 100 ft from shore and sunbathe for awhile. I made sure not to make the same mistake as last time and put on plenty of sunscreen. It must have been really good stuff because I was laying in the sun for over an hour probably and I didn't get burned at all. After that though, we made the short swim back just to decide that everyone wanted to bury someone. Unfortunately I was the victim and I was sandy for the rest of the day.

My favorite picture of the fireworks

We left the beach around 3 PM, hoping that we had enough time to do a little bit of exploring before arriving back at the bus stop at 3:45. We didn't really want to go all the way around this island this time so we just cut right through on the main road. There were a lot of cool shops on the way back but we couldn't stop in all of them and we just decided to stop at a small coffee shop for some drinks before going all the way back. It was really nice overall but the nap I took on the way back may have been the highlight of that trip. We got back around 5:15 PM and I just relaxed in my room before our entire cluster decided to head to Indian Point Park for the fireworks. The fireworks were incredible and I must have took around 500-600 photos before the show was over. Hopefully these few good ones do it justice but I really doubt they can. After that we packed up, headed home, and I passed out immediately.

Another shot I got of the fireworks

Today was another good day as well. There wasn't really much to do but the campus was busy as it always is on Sundays, due to the new students that are arriving to start their sessions tomorrow. Some of my friends stuck around to meet new people but I decided that the mall would be a good place to go on a day like this. I had seen some cool hats in a shop earlier and I really wanted to check 'em out so we headed there first. We didn't spend that long there but I ended up getting two hats, which I really like. We came back around 4ish so that I could get started on my group project for Macroeconomics but we didn't have much time to study as everyone wanted to go to P.F. Chang's for dinner. It was all the way back at the mall so we had to leave a bit early to get there in time for our reservation. The walk there was really nice because it was a little before sunset and the sky had a really nice hue to it. The walk back was nice too but there weren't really any good chances for a photo. We got back, relaxed for a bit, and then returned to our rooms as usual. As I'm finishing this up I don't feel too tired but I have an early morning ahead of me and I know I should probably get some sleep. Jusqu'a a la prochaine fois!

Nearing sunset on the river walk through Providence