Tag Archives: zoo

Penguin Friends Forever

Two years ago, I bonded with a group of amazing people on an unlikely adventure. I knew volunteering at SANCCOB, a seabird rehabilitation center outside of Cape Town, South Africa, would be an experience, but I had no idea I would make lifelong friends and two years later reconnect with three of them – Laura, Eve, and Annmarie – in their home countries. Here is the picture diary of our reunion:

(Housekeeping update: Post on the conference is coming. I am still processing the experience.)

I thought it would be appropriate to start with pictures of us from two years ago.

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From left to right: Angela, Laura, Clarise, Annmarie, Carly, Lauren, Becky.

Continue reading Penguin Friends Forever

Sister Act

Alicia, one of my best friends, my Big Sister in fact, came to visit me last weekend, and we had a marvelous time!

Sister Sister

It took no small feat to get her here – after having to reschedule around a prior commitment, then a day-of delay at the airport causing her to have to change flights. Thankfully good fortune prevailed and we were reunited after 10 months of being apart!

Our first agenda item: Fall Crawl 2012. The afternoon was filled with friends, laughter, music, and drink, as any good bar crawl should be. I enjoyed introducing Alicia to many of my closest friends while we both pretended to be back in college. It was fun and carefree and ended with a delicious slice of pizza. How could we go wrong?

Crawlin’ with friends = The good life.
Good times

Ever ambitious, we rode the bus home to prepare for a Halloween party with my friends from graduate school. I went in my standby penguin costume while Alicia dawned a sheet to be my iceberg. (Apologies! No pictures were taken.) We enjoyed a brief time at the party, and Alicia met more of the people who shaped my time at Clemson. However, the crawl crawled up on us, and by nine, we were both ready to sleep.

The next day can be described by a single gerund: walking. After a tasty homemade breakfast, we made for campus. While others slept, we went on an extensive walking tour.

Welcome to the Tiger family!

Alicia commented several times on the abundance of Tiger Paws and the Clemson name. I let her know this is the norm, we are a Clemson Family, and we take that commitment seriously. From years of Solid Orange and One Clemson, I have come to assume this is the standard on all college campuses. Having Alicia comment on it allowed me to realize that this is a special quality and not one to take trivially. As I write, I feel my Clemson Pride stir, something I will always cherish. Go Tigers!

Our next stop was Greenville. We thought we had a respectable Sunday lunch at 1 PM only to learn after that my car clock tricked us with the time change! With plenty of time, we took off on foot to explore Greenville. We saw Falls Park, open artist studies, many little shops , all the while chatting and catching up as though we did this every Sunday.

On the bridge in Fall Park!
Kiko!

Eventually, we felt we had seen what was available, but still had some time left, so with spontaneous glee, we took off for the zoo. With childish excitement, we both shouted “Elephant!” as we approached the first exhibit. Then remembering our age, we took on an ever so slightly more restrained demeanor. Cats and primates and reptiles, oh my! My favorite exhibit was the giraffes where we could see baby Kiko, born less than a 14 days ago, on October 22.

We concluded the visit with a delicious treat at Spill the Beans and a short ride to the airport.

I miss you already Sis! Unicorns!