And onto the next one

We had to say goodbye to Healdsburg and The Bishop's Ranch last week. The last half of the project was even better than the first and it was so hard to leave the place that had so quickly felt like home to me and my team.

Our sponsor had a special event at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco so we were able to spend the day there enjoying ourselves and worked the event for them that night. It was nice to be in a city for the day and we got to explore the beautiful cathedral.

Silver 3 takes on San Fran!

I was incredibly lucky to have Ashkon visit for a weekend. We enjoyed some time at the coast and spent a night in Bogeda Bay.

Ashkon enjoying the coast

 We also went wine tasting with some of my teammates

Wine tasting

The next weekend my mom and brother John came for a visit. We spent some nice time in the town of Healdsburg (which I actually hadn't been able to explore much before) and drove to the coast for sunset one night, stopping in several towns and Armstrong Redwood Forest on our way. John and I  took advantage of the bike rentals offered by the hotel and rode around town and the surrounding areas. We also got the chance to do some wine tasting and check out Lake Sonoma before they left.

Me and Mama at the ranch

Biking through the vineyards

Taking the scenic route to the coast

Leaving The Bishop's Ranch was difficult, mostly because of how kind and caring all the staff had been. They truly made us feel like family and made sure we were getting the most out of our time there. I'll never forget Jack, Doug, Travis, Rick, Cass, and the rest of the staff and am so grateful for everything they did for us. They looked out for us, led hikes, made us dinner, told us jokes, and taught us SO much.

Our final projects included working on a suspension bridge, building new trails, finishing building the fence and painting the house, burning the rest of the brush that was left behind, sanding outdoor furniture, and working with compost. The variety was amazing and it meant I was rarely bored or frustrated with what I was doing. We also got the chance to learn from our supervisor Doug about blacksmithing and worked several afternoons in the forge doing metal work. It's something I would never just try on my own but it was a lot of fun and I made a wall hook to keep as well as some support bars for our suspension bridge.

Oh yeah... we also pulled giant logs with ropes. Hardcore.

Now I'm back in Sacramento for transition. It's been a nice week of wrapping up the last project and getting ready for the next. The week has included doing our midyear PT baseline (my 1.5 mile time and push-ups have improved!), checking in with the staff, and having a Life After AmeriCorps day. Life After AmeriCorps day included some workshops that were pretty helpful as I think about next year. I've already applied to grad school for two MSW programs and am now waiting to hear back in order to make further plans. Thinking about the future after NCCC is strange but I know it will soon be a reality since we're more than halfway done.

On Tuesday we're heading to Salem, Oregon to work for Oregon State Parks. We'll be doing lots of trail work and invasive species removal and traveling to several parks in the area. Our main home will be a historic farmhouse in Salem but when we travel to parks during the week we will be staying in cabins or camping. I'm excited to get some camping experience but I know it will also be a challenge to live in tents and not have the best amenities. Doing things like camping that I would never do otherwise is part of the reason I joined this program so I'm looking forward to make the most of it. The work itself should also be challenging since we'll be doing physical labor outside all day in such a rainy climate. I'm ready with rain gear and a positive attitude so hopefully my spirits won't be dampened (literally). There was a team there last round and when we met with them it sounded like they had a great experience so hopefully we will too!

Thanks for reading!
Laura