From LA

I landed in LA Thursday at around noon.
It was kind of weird though; not the blue sky, 98 degree, everybody-looks-like-a-supermodel, arrival that I had expected. The temperature was comparable to Stowe’s when I left, only Stowe had blue-bird skies and green trees.
It wasn’t until I got to the campus of Whittier College (where my brother, Gus, graduated from today!!) that I saw some stunning scenery. Despite the fact that it was raining (apparently the first rain LA had seen since Christmas!), my mother walked Gus and I around his campus, pointing out the enormous Magnolia trees and other sorts of flowers that her floral-embodied mind couldn’t get enough of. However, as soon as we left the campus we were greeted with the type of California that you only see on the television show COPS.
As nervous as I was that I’d be the victim of a drive-by, I couldn’t have been more excited to finally indulge my taste buds on the most anticipated meal of my life; an In-N-Out burger (and yes, it was absolutely awesome!).
After the most memorable food that my mouth has ever encountered, we left to meet up with some family and friends. But regardless of my five-hour nap during the plane ride, I was still exhausted from the full day of traffic, hearing stories of my folks life here back in the 80’s, and laughing the evening away with my family, including my cousin and two close friends.
Actually, I’m still exhausted. I’m going to take a nap.
I’ll keep Stowe posted on my adventures in the one, the only, Los Angeles!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!
Everybody be nice to your mom; she deserves it!

Keenan during a handstand session in town. The photo was taken by Laura Austin.

Big Blue

I came to school with Ben Rauch (in one car - he picked me up) on Thursday morning to find a very frightening spectacle.
The front row of the parking lot was full. So was the back row and the middle island-type row, the grass next to the parking spaces was also taken as were the majority of spots that curve around the back of building. THIS WAS RIDICULOUS! It seemed like every senior, junior, and sophomore had decided to take their own car to school. It also seemed like every freshman had decided to skip the bus and have their parents drive. What was really crazy was I saw siblings riding in different cars! I was pretty astonished and I wasn’t even the one trying to find a parking spot.
After discussing how absurd this was, we decided that, although recognizing the problem is the first step, it wouldn’t do us any good unless we acted upon it. So act we did!
When Friday morning came, I rode to school on Big Blue, my 1970, sky-blue, basketed, 5-speed, Suburban, along side Ben on a pretty serious mountain bike (sorry I don’t know as much about that one!). We threw our lunches in the baskets and 10 minutes later we were at school...just like that!
I’m not some tree-hugging, pro-active, “determined-to-get-my-point-across” kind of guy. I just think that sometimes people should think about their effect on things. I understand that some kids live in Wolcott. I also understand there are a lot of kids who live there, so why not carpool? I understand some people don’t want to bike if they live very far away. I also understand that you could use the car you drive everyday to drive to a spot that’s a little more doable or human. Anything and everything will help!
Sorry about this eco-rant but I love snowboarding too much to start saying goodbye to it forever because of Global Warming. All it took was a full parking lot for me to realize that something is wrong. I hope you all can start noticing these signs that can easily be fixed. The sooner the better!
Thank you!

Evaporation of a daunting cloud

Keenan takes a rock ride in the Notch. Shot by the marvelous Aaron Blatt.

I have finalized my college decision and that extremely large check is now on its way to Sierra Nevada College…I’m pretty pumped. Not just because I really want to continue my life there, but because so much pressure has just been alleviated. This cloud has been daunting over my head for a little over a year now, getting progressively thicker and more intimidating and I feel like it’s been worth that effort, for real. It’s nice to no longer answer every parent when they ask “Where are you going next year?” with a “Well…uh…I think I would possibly like to…attend…ummm…So-and-So College, maybe, kind of, I guess.” I’m really glad that this is all done with, but I can’t thank Pat Von Trapp and my parents enough for making this all go smoothly!

But enough with school!

It was all rainy this week (until the snow today!?? COOL!) but I took full advantage of this by taking a break from being outside all day to check out some of the stores in town. My Monday afternoon adventure began at the Coffee House…
I was with a nice little gathering of people, sipping girly lattes and mocha-chino-espresso-infused-whatevers, trying to wait out the rain. Well the wait went a little longer than expected and the House was closing, so I went with a few close friends and we walked through some of the art galleries in town. I was in a trance, walking from room to room with my jaw falling open, amazed at the pieces in all of the galleries. We pretended to be sophisticated home-owners and proceeded to pick and choose the displays that we would like to have as wall candy. It was a rainy afternoon well spent!
So I think that people should take a 30 minute break from their busy, active, lives and check out the inside of town. I think you’ll be surprised that this town has more to offer than incredible scenery and a plethora of outside activities. It’s wicked.

*This just in! Check out the Alpaca store next to the Memorial Building…It is super cool!

Another rock ride. Also shot by the marvelous Aaron Blatt.