We've been dealing with
pie charts a lot lately, so if I were to divide my day up, one fourth would to
to sleeping, another fourth to sightseeing, eating, and other activites, and an
entire half dedicated to standing.
Although our cohort
occasionally meets together during dinners or frisbee games, nothing beats
traveling into town together. For the past two weeks, I've acquainted myself
with countless wonderful people which I am proud to call my friends. On the
other hand, my cohort has grown to be something like a family. Everyone is
connected by a bond, no matter if we're in our own cliches during the day. If a
difficult test comes up or an intense project deadline creeps up, the cohort is
who we go to. It's remarkable how close I've grown to these people in the span
of three weeks.
Everyone gathered to the
van at 6:30 for the three hour long road trip. Through our naps, music jams and
jokes, the time flew by like nothing and we arrived at the falls. The first
thing we noticed the second we stepped out of the car was the heat. Unlike the
chilly wet Ithaca morning, the sun was bearing down at us without mercy. We
picked up our tickets and made our way to the Made of the Mist, a boat ride to
the center of the falls. Everyone groaned as we spotted the long, winding mass
of people waiting to get on the boat.
One way or another, we
made it to the end in one piece. Before boarding the ship, we took an
elevator
which led us down to the deck. There, everyone picked up a plastic blue poncho
and boarded the ship.
You can see the beautiful poncho wearers on the bottom! |
The beginning of the
boat ride was very unpleasant. Everyone pushed and shoved for a spot on the
edge of the boat. All the conversations were drowned by the sound of plastic
ponchos blowing in the wind and rubbing against one another. The air inside the
poncho along with the blazing sun didn’t do much justice either. It was when
the boat started moving that the atmosphere around us changed.
Everyone started off as
enemies, keeping their
eyes peeled for anyone who would dare come down and
swoop their spot. Those with the position at the edge grasped tightly on the
railing and planted their feet on the ground. Everyone else did their best to
wedge their bodies into place. Once the boat was moving, however, everyone
flowed with the currents. As we moved closer to the falls, everyone shared an
impressed awe as they watch the ocean currents unravel. As we neared the falls,
so did everyone on the boat. I even recall a woman, who started off glaring at
her surroundings for any intruders to her personal bubble next to the railing,
offering me some space to take some pictures shortly after the boat took off.
The falls up close. |
The boat traveled slowly
to the center of the falls. From afar, it looked like a massive cloud floating
on the water. As we got closer, it became more like a rain cloud. Water sprayed
at us from every direction. I could barely make out the rippling currents
beneath us because of the heavy mist, but they were definitely apparent by the
way the boat was rocking. All around us was the roaring gush of water traveling
down and occasionally, a gust of wind would send more water flying toward us.
It was a beautiful and magical scene. I’ve always been a fanatic when it comes
to the beautiful outdoors. The falls certainly met my expectations.
Here is the Niagra falls, everyone! |
Afterwards, we grabbed
some over-priced and under-tasting food and made our way to the next
event. I
didn’t have quite as much fun with this one. The lines were endless. We spend
forty-five minutes simply getting a pair of sandals which and I’ll have you
know, they weren’t the prettiest. Afterwards, everyone switched in and out of
line to actually get into the event, which would apparently be another two
hours. There was a lot of protesting, but eventually, we decided that going
back would be the smartest decision if we wanted to be on time for check in and
dinner.
Ugh. Lines. |
Although we were met
with a disappointing wait, the cohort never fails to find fun in the end.
During our waits, we occupied each other with riddles, jokes and even games.
Shanti later pointed out that without the long lines, we probably wouldn’t be
playing Ten Fingers. The rest of the night was filled with bad pho jokes and a
craving for Insomnia cookies.
Although there were not
fireworks involved this year, I had a great Fourth of July.
No comments:
Post a Comment