Tag Archives: athens

Berries and Bicycles

3rd May 2015

This month I’ll celebrate five years since graduating college, I was reminded of that distant past as my baby sister crams for finals and texts asking if we have ramen noodles she can “borrow.” While finals week may be a thing of the past, I’m glad the trusty procrastination events my college roommate and I put together years ago are still going strong: strawberry picking and Twilight weekend.

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Athens Twilight weekend has long been one of my favorite weekend of the year in the Classic City. While there’s no experience quite like a game day Saturday in Athens, Twilight brings an entirely different crowd, vibe and call for celebration to the city that can’t be missed.

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Alongside the bike race, we’ve made it somewhat of a spring tradition to make our way out to Washington Farms for rows and rows of fresh strawberries. Strawberry season is in full swing here in Georgia and I’m 100% on board for Spring’s cheesy cousin to fall apple picking.

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Thanks to Pick Your Own, you can consult this handy dandy calendar to determine harvest dates in your state for any number of fruits and vegetables. We’ve frozen the majority of our berries (smoothies for days), but I did manage to bake a little Strawberry Cobbler and may even try my hand at a jam thanks to this book, a gift from friends a few years ago.

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Here are a few other recipes I have an eye on:

As for the bike race, those guys never cease to amaze me. With a shorter course this year due to construction, we saw a bit more lapping from the riders, making the outcome that much more exciting. Thankfully the rain held off meaning fewer disastrous crashes, which was fine by me.

IMG_5065In the spirit of inspiration, Patrick and I took off on Sunday for my second ride out on my very own mountain bike. If you sped the GoPro footage up about 10X, maybe I’d look like I was going the speed of the Twilight road racers. I have quite a bit more to learn on that end, but hopefully I’ll be back soon with more to share than really muddy tires.

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Finding Home

20th March 2013

Today I had the excuse opportunity to head to Athens, GA (home of my alma mater) for the day to speak on a panel regarding using social media to get a job, which was wonderful. There are few things I love more than sharing even a fraction of the advice, guidance and hope that was shared with me during my days in college.

It’s amazing to look back and see how many things have changed – from campus (Mexicali on Lumpkin closed??), to the community (fun fact: my baby sister is closer in age to students than I am, which is just plain awkward) and to life after Athens.

There is no possible way that if current me had the ability to teleport back to junior or senior me and shared where I am today and what I have had the opportunity to see and do in just three years that I would believe a word of it. Yet, I drive down Broad Street and I’m taken right back as if a day had never gone by.

Athens was my first home. It led me to find out who I am (and that I was more than the little quiet one).   I fell in love with leaves (and a sudden hatred for that machine that vacuumed them all up from the streets), with football and with a rather adorable someone in Athens. I met some of my best friends and learned where passion and drive can take you through the story of a little boy with HIV. I discovered running. I made silly decisions that lead to fantastic stories. Four years goes by far too quickly, but the best part is certainly seeing all of the amazing that can unfold after it ends.

In sum, today I was humbled and reminded how awesome this path can really be. #awesome.

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