A 45 Mile Week!

        It's been a week now and a very long one with tons of practices.  Two a day and many runs, drills, stretches, games, and cool downs.  The 45 miles is including warmup and cool downs, along with each run, and adding it up equals a lot.  The team is keeping a log to keep track of it, and the coaches want to make sure we don't do too much, anything over 45 a week, so we don't get injuries or completely kill ourselves.  Also my ankle stared bothering me on Wednesday during our running.  It started on the day we were running on hills.  <
       
        This week has been a great start and the team is nicely shaping up, and I'm getting to know more people slowly.  So far it seems like the team is probably 80-100 people, both boys and girls, but not everyone is there 100% of the time.  Tomorrow morning we are doing another run and we have to meet at some park near the school.  Also sometime next week there will be a cook off, after practice.  So that should be fun, we should also be getting uniforms in the up coming weeks, and many of the upperclassmen have been trying to talk the coaches into something special, so it might be interesting!

Cross Country is Official!

        Yesterday morning @ 7:30 was the official first practice for cross country at SHS.  Met the coaches and lots of people.  The coaches are very funny and really nice!  Ran Sherwood's XC course 3.1 miles is the standard course.  Didn't have to get my time done though so it was just for practice!  We did a long warm-up to get started and had to go over all the special drills for form and such.  So hopefully so much time doesn't have to be used for drills all the time!  Anyway a lot of fun!

Asticou Terraces -The Garden of Wonders

        Another day with on and off rain. So a car trip was more than perfect.  Near Seal Cove there was a short little hike to a lovely garden.  Great more nature photos!  It was good but raining, I still got pictures.  The Northeast Harbor was visible from above and it was a great nature walk.  Just one flower picture I took (right) and just one of the many great garden angles (below).  More photos in the NATURE page above!!!

The Jackson Laboratory - A Leading Genetics Research Laboratory

        Today was very rainy so we went to The Jackson Laboratory for a tour they offer to the public two days a week.  The lab is a world renowned genetics institution.  They have slightly more than 1,200 employees 1/3 being actually researchers.  The Laboratory's mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease.  They do this through mice... they have more than 1 million at any given time.  They are very careful at how they take care and research using the mice.  It is more complex than this but I can only write so much here!  They are also the world's largest distributer of mice to other scientists and labs using mice to do research.  Right here in Bar Harbor!  The Jackson Lab is also the home of the 4Pi microscope... And this microscope is the worlds most advanced optical microscope, and this microscope is capable of revealing the nanostructure of genetic material within a cell in three dimensions! 


        Some of the genetic diseases they research include cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Akzheimer's.  It was very impressive how hard working, creative and innovative those scientists are.  Who knows, maybe one day soon, the Jackson Laboratory will find the cure to some of these diseases!

Visit them online here!

The Bar Harbor Band & A NEW NATURE PHOTOS PAGE (above)

        While on an evening walk throughout Bar Harbor, we walked through the Village Green to find nice music live from the Bar Harbor Band!  Very nice music.

        Also check out the NATURE! page above for great photos of nature, wildlife and the views here in Bar Harbor that I've been taking during vacation!  And also don't forget to check the VACATION 2011 page to for more....!

Seal Cove Auto Museum & Dinner At Little Notch Cafe

        Went to an awesome Auto Museum that had all sorts of cars, in fact one of the world finest most expansive collections of antique cars.  From the first Mercedes, Fords and Cadillacs along with more.  After this we drove to Southwest Harbor and ate at the Little Notch Cafe.  This cafe was fabulous and we highly recommend it if you are ever in Southwest Harbor!

The Auto Museum in Seal Cove

Little Notch Cafe