So I messed up again and put off posting. I really do apologize for those that check it frequently (I don't imagine many of y'all fall into that category). Lets start from where I left off. **Lots of photos at the end, keep scrolling.**

February 14th-17th were all fairly normal. Normal days consist of eating meals, going to class, working out, sending emails, and watching the sunset.

The first time the plane tried to leave

The 18th was a long day. I had a flight to go home to spend the weekend with my friends back in Columbia at 5:30, but they said to get to the airport 3 hours early to have enough time to get through customs and security so I was there at 2:30. Not to mention I woke up at 7:00 to get everything done that I need to before I left. It ended up only taking me an hour and a half to get through customs and security, so I had a lot of time to kill. I have a Rubik's cube app on my phone that I played with till we boarded. Then trouble started. We taxied out to the runway and the pilot came on and said there was a light on that he needed someone to take a look at. So we returned to the gate and waited THREE HOURS for it to be fixed. I was very ill. I thought for sure they were going to put us in a hotel room for the night. Luckily the figured out a way for us to take of (notice how I didn't say fix the problem, just found a way to deal with it) and I made it to Charlotte safely around 11:45 and Columbia around 1ish.

The best friends anyone could ask for,
missing a few though

The weekend was incredible. I got to see a lot of my friends, even the ones from ECU that I don't get to see a lot. Friday night we all went to 5 Points and Saturday we had a party at my girlfriends house. It was great getting to see everyone again. St. Thomas is awesome, but it doesn't have them so it will never be perfect. Also during the weekend I went out to eat at the restaurants I had been missing. We even played basketball, I had been missing that as well.

The next week was normal until my dive class Wednesday. We got to go out on the boat for the first time to this reef near Flat Cay, about 10 minutes from the dock. It was spectacular. When I go in i looked at my feet and I swear it was so clear that it didn't look like there was any water between my eyes and my feet. It looked like air! It blew my mind. The dive was only 25 feet so we could stay down there a while. At the bottom we did our usual exercises, but this time we meditated for two minutes. It was so peaceful and relaxing. He told us to take deep breaths and breathe as slowly as possible and just lay on the bottom. It was amazing. The current was just rocking you side to side as
you stared off into nothingness.

Friday and Saturday I spend studying for and taking an online test that turned out to be pretty stinking hard. As a reward I went to St. John Sunday. Have you ever seen the picture in the tropical calendar at the mall of a tire swing hanging from a palm tree? Well I'm pretty sure I found that beach. Seriously. Google "tire swing palm tree" and I bet I've been there. Compare with the picture in this post. The was called Oppenheimer and there was this fundraiser happening there that we came for that had food, drinks, live music, party games, and even a massage table. We mostly sat in the sand or waded in the water and talked. There were rumors of a sunken sailboat somewhere in the bay but that turned out to be false. We checked. The party ended at 4 and we walked about 10 minutes to an old sugar mill ruin (I think, there wasn't really a sign). The land the mill was on was super flat and high above anything else around it, so you could see for ever. In the distance we saw Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon bay, and St. Thomas. It was beautiful. I wish we could have camped on that spot. From there we found this other hidden trail which took us to the very secluded beach. It was amazing. We sat in the sand for a while and just stared out at the view, and you'll never believe what we saw. A water spout. Or a cyclone, I don't know what it was but it looked like a skinny tornado on the water. It blew my mind. I kinda questioned that these thing existed, nor did I ever expect to see one in my lifetime. There wasn't even bad whether, just kinda cloudy where it was.

Inside the mill

Some of the beach activities
included flip cup

Only Nate Emily Rachel and
Donna went to St. John

Me and the famous tire swing

I wish I had taken this at a
prettier time

Just a really pretty pic of
Oppenheimer

Guy playing a funky guitar at
Oppenheimer

The sugar mill

Pano from the flat spot by the mill

Very faint water spout pic

Sunday was a great day, except for at night when I became very sick. I was achy, shivering, had a fever, and was super tired. I woke up to night sweats and in the morning I was congested and my throat hurt. The nurse told me it was a cold and gave me vitamin C and some congestion medicine, but I think she was wrong.  Monday through Wednesday I spent going to class, trying go feel batter, getting ready for my girlfriend to visit. Now (Thursday the 3rd) I feel almost back to 100%, which is good because SARAH IS HERE!!