Summer in SoCal: Week 4

OK, y’all should know the drill by now. If not, here are my thoughts and/or Instagrams of week four:

6/25: I mailed two letters. I found out which awesome journalists (such as Nick Kristof) are likely to visit Mizzou this fall for the Missouri Honor Metal banquet, aka which ones I might get to show around campus as an ambassador. And that night, I was glued to Twitter as the chaos surrounding the Texas Legislature’s decision on the abortion bill unfolded.

6/27: I Skyped with one of my friends who’s interning in London this summer through an MU study abroad program.

6/29: My roommate Marie and I got Chick-fil-A, and then Sally joined us at our apartment’s pool before I went to work. A bunch of interns hung out at our apartment that night.

6/30: Marie, Hannah (one of my other roommates) and I went to Long Beach. We explored downtown Long Beach and ate at a good Asian food restaurant, but we spent most of our time at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Prepare yourself for a picture blast.

I just love how vibrant some fish are, such as these ones:

Fishies.

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

We could even touch some fish. Here, in one of the outdoor tanks, I could touch a real-life Dory:

Real-life Dory.

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

We saw some penguins. I love penguins:

PENGUINS

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

But the best part was when Hannah and I touched starfish and sea anemones. The sea anemones were sticky — when they “stuck” to our skin, that was their attempt to sting us!

I touched starfish and sea anemones today, so it's going to be hard to beat that. @hlpotes

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

Or maybe it was when I persuaded Hannah to wait in line with me so we could take a picture with someone in a giant penguin costume (and we found out just how talented Marie was at taking iPhone photos). The best of five:

Best of five photos taken by Missouri School of Journalism convergence student @mre545.

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

(This next one was taken by Hannah, the resident photojournalist.)

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

And then I went to Trader Joe’s after we got back to Irvine and bought some sweet tea, so I had a pretty swell Sunday:

As if I needed another reason to love Trader Joe's. But this totally made my night. #southern

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

7/1: Hannah and I went to Newport Beach, as usual. But the part of the beach we were at was … different. Exhibit A:

Only in Newport Beach would there be a blacktop with basketball hoops in the middle of the beach.

A photo posted by Katie (@keyaeger) on

Turns out we were near an elementary school that’s literally next to the beach. How awesome would it be to have recess in a place that’s literally a giant sandbox (with monkey bars, of course)?

I then persuaded Hannah to stop by Balboa Island, home of Sugar N Spice, which served as the inspiration for the Bluths’ banana stand on “Arrested Development.” It’s also home to the Balboa bar, which was mentioned several times on “The O.C.” (Next time, I’m trying a Balboa bar.)

Then my friend who’s interning in Minneapolis and I caught up, which was nice (as always).

7/2: I Skyped with one of my friends who stayed in Columbia this summer, which was nice (as always). (Yes, I did intentionally use that phrase again. It’s late here.)

7/3: I talked with my dad (it’s his birthday!) and Skyped with one of my friends from GHP (the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program — 2010 will probably forever be my favorite summer). She’s a journalism major at the University of Georgia, so I talked her through creating a domain name and a WordPress account. She did the rest herself, and it looks great.

Tomorrow’s the Fourth of July, and boy, am I excited.

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