Day 36 – Out There, Carpeing the Diem (and the baguette)!

With a Whitmanesque barbaric yawp in their throats, our remaining trips are out there today seizing the day all over the world!  You’ve got Chad here at the helm of the blog this afternoon – gentle Sam is making his way north along the banks of the mighty Kennebec to pick up our last batch of Coast to Quebecers.  Let’s get to it, shall we?

NWX: Josh and Addie continue to seize the day – but they’re still doing it out of cellphone range.  They’ll emerge from the woods on Sunday.

CI: Demonstrating how the day can be seized in even the most banal Stop and Shop parking lot, Shannon and Drew’s hearty bikers got in a quick game of Uno or something like it whilst the cook crew made the rounds in the grocery store.  They’re looking forward to seizing their surfboards and hanging ten tomorrow morning before Provincetown and the ferry to Boston on Saturday.


CQA: Susie and Nick’s bon amis seized a civics lesson this afternoon in Quebec – before taking in a great French meal and Quebec’s lively nightlife tonight.  It’s one last A&P tonight before the van ride back to Freeport tomorrow.


CQB: Proudly seizing their French-Canadian baguettes outside the landmark Chateau Frontenac this afternoon were Mia and Alex’s sandwich-loving crew.  After the baguette-brandishing, these guys, too, are looking forward to one more great French meal, a long van-ride, and tearful goodbyes tomorrow afternoon.


CMC: The day has been seized out on our California Mountains and Coast trip.  After a day spent exploring San Francisco and enjoying a healthy (mostly) stop at the famed Ghirardelli Square near Fisherman’s Wharf, these guys are all homeward bound tonight.

 

CSA: Today’s motto for CSA should be “Seize the Transition Day” or something to that effect, as they executed their biggest move of the trip – going all the way from Vieques Island, seven miles to the east of the main island, to Cabo Rojo, way down in the southwestern corner of the main island.  But when I heard from Mason this afternoon, everything was going according to plan and they were enjoying a picnic lunch, mid-trip, in a charming tropical grove.  In keeping with their self-adopted picture theme (believe me, we did not encourage this), there was, sadly, another casualty today.  Everyone else enjoyed their lunch.



PCA: Micah and McKayla’s group seized the foggy morning today, cruising into the redwoods.  We’ll try to get a couple of late-arrival pictures of the Avenue of the Giants posted for you tomorrow, so you can see just how big these trees are!
PCB: And up the road apiece, Hannah, Shem & Co. seized the community service today as they volunteered with the Eureka food bank, sorting food and bringing their big smiles to the warehouse.  They’re on to the same Avenue of the Giants tomorrow.
TSA: Way over in Italy, Laura and Pat seized, well, everything they could out of their day at the amazing Spannocchia Estate.  Per Laura’s email this evening:  “we got to sleep in, then bundled brush [Ed. Note:  this was one of their service projects – gathering wood for the coming winter.] got to make friends with the pigs, and then a bunch of people went on a hike up to the ruins of an old castle. We had risotto, stewed beef, and this incredible dessert that was a layer of cookie, chocolate, and pear…. Spannocchia is a magical place.”

ACCA: And in sunny, hot Parker, AZ, Dave and Anna’s group seized the air conditioning controls and cranked them all the way up in their motel rooms this afternoon after a “quick” 70 miles from Socorro.  They won’t spend the night here, instead, they’ll ride down the road a ways (and sleep in California!) before dark to get a jump on tomorrow’s 110-mile day across the desert to 29 Palms.  It’s a big day tomorrow, but those visions of the ocean are looking less and less like mirages every day.


ACCB: Meanwhile, Mike and Danika sent us this shot of Mike’s birthday cake, seized by all last night.  Today, their group enjoyed their last pre-San Diego rest day in Prescott, AZ.  They’ll drop down into the desert tomorrow and contemplate their own Pacific visions all the while.