Retreat Part 1

On Nov. 1, 2008, we were scheduled to go to Goshen, New York to go on our retreat. And it was AWESOME!!!! Here's the rundown:

I met Julie outside of Kellenburg at 9:30 and we took off immeditately. We got a little lost, but her GPS was doing it's job and we were able to get back on the correct route. (We also went through a town called, no joke, Ho-Ho-Kus. I swear. I took a picture of the sign).

We got there about 11:30. Except for Don, we were the first to arrive. A few minutes later, Sam, Brittany, Melani, and Jessica showed up. We were all taken into the beautiful house that reminded me of the house from Pride and Prejudice (the Bennet's house).

Immediately we were taken into the kitchen, then into the dinning area. We were then showed our bedrooms. The four girls took one room, and Julie and I jumped for the other one. We had a loft in the bedroom. A LOFT!!! Julie and I grabbed that. There were two other beds up there, and five more on the ground. We didn't care who we roomed with; we just wanted to sleep up there.

By this time Bryan showed up and Julie and I decided to shoot some hoops and go by the lake. All the while everyone was thinking "Where's Mike?"

After spending some time at the lake, we walked around a little bit, and evesdropping on the situation with Mike. It was now 12:30, a half-an-hour after he told us to arrive. Where was he? Apparently, he got off at exit 123, even though the paper (and from what I heard, Damian and Jill, among others) said "Get off at exit 126!"

He missed the exit.

Many times.

Jill told me that everytime they passed the cows, Damian said, "Look, there are cows! Again!"

About 1, it was decided that we should eat. About 1:30, they finally arrived. Once they were all settled - Jill, Aisha, and Krissie in our room - we went into upstairs to the sitting area. We talked about different things and the theme for the retreat, which was "Click on the icon" We also had to give up our cell phones, so we don't get distracted.

The we took a walk in the woods, took pictures (of course), and gathered wood for the bonfire we would be having that night. Plus little sticks for the marshmallow we would be roasting.

Jill, Julie, and I basically hung out until it was time for dinner. We talked about all kinds of things and watched the sunset. It was so beautiful. The whole area was amazing.

After dinner we then did a mediation. It was kind of hard, since we had to sit a certain way, on very hard pillows, and not move. We had to sit like that for 15-20 minutes, and focus on our breathing. It's harder then it sounds.

Then we had our bonfire.

Oh, and we got locked outside of the house. For about 10 minutes. Finally Bryan climbed through the window and opened the door. So, YAY for Bryan, or else we would have had to sleep outside - where it was so cold - with the coyotes we could hear. So, once again, thank you Bryan!

We roasted our marshmallows and made smores. Yum. And then, when Mike was trying to get a picture of God-knows-what, he fell backwards on the crackers and the chocolate. Unfortunately, no one had a camera out. But it was very funny.

After that we basically all went and got changed. Most of the girls were gathered upstairs, doing something. All I know is that the music was loud and they were doing make-up. Otherwise, I have no idea what was going on.

While sleeping on the loft was cool, it was very uncomfortable up there. It was either hot or cold, depending on who you asked. I woke up a couple of times before finally waking up fully around 6:30. I took some pictures of outside from my bed before getting up. Around 7, I decided to go outside and get some more pictures.

It.

Was.

FREEZING!!!!!!

I was so cold, and I was wearing a heavy sweater, gloves, and a hat. Plus sneakers. And Mike said it wasn't that cold. HA! But I did get some wonderful pics.

A little while later, Jill, Julie, and I went up a hill to see the lake Sister Diane told us was up there. Mike decided to come along to get some great pictures (big shocker). I have no idea how far up we were when Mike got distracted by some big flowers (I don't know what they were). He went into the tick infested area and took I don't know how many photos. Finally we were just like "There are having breakfast, so see you later Mike!" By the time I had finished my breakfast, Mike had returned.

We had to meet at 10, and around 9, Jill, Julie, and I were hanging out in the sitting room. I fell asleep for a little bit. I was just so tired.

We then met outside and talked about nature again. It was very nice. We had to write a letter to ourselves, which they took back. The sister's said that they will mail it back to us when they feel like it. So it might not be for a while.

About 11:30, it was over, and Julie and I headed home.

God, what a fun trip.