michelle rivers - my adventure blog

This summer my friend Jennifer, her husband Keith, and I went to Florida for five weeks. We tried, for the first time, Couchsurfing , which is a great way to meet fellow travelers and get to know the area like a local. Basically, people open up their houses to you for a night or more and you stay (sometimes on their couch) for free! Each couch host is different, but through the site you are able to find people who match your wishes. We were very fortunate to find the most wonderful people to stay with! All of them were very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this form of traveling if you're into it. I'd be happy to help you set up a profile to host or surf. We left only a few days after I got back from school, and started off by snorkeling with manatees in Crystal River (about an hour North of Tampa.) Manatees are HUGE animals ("sea cows") and do not mind being touched. Unfortunately for them, they get hit by many boaters who aren't careful to obey th

Relaxing under a huge tree in Santa Cruz. These past 7 months have been crazy, but that shouldn't be any surprise if you know me well. I just got back from a month vacation in Florida with a couple friends. You're going to have to wait to hear about that one though, since I'm still weeding through all the pictures - it was a great trip! Santa Cruz has been treating me well. I love living so close to a multitude of hiking areas, most near rivers or streams. The trees keep me sane throughout long bouts of studying. There's nothing like walking to class under a green canvas that's so alive.  Winter quarter was pretty tough for me - I was in and out of the health center trying to figure out why I was so tired all of the time. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I'm slowly getting better. Somehow I still managed to do well in all of my classes and hike every now and then, thanks to the support of friends and family. My Mom came up and visited me to chee