Unlike the past few weeks, we only spent one day this week to work on our boats. YAY!
We had a long weekend due to the Independence Day holiday. Accompanying the celebrations were the Fourth of July sales, and of course, we did not miss that out. Some of us (including myself :P) started off the week by going to CambridgeSide Galleria and shop till our hands were full thanks to the massive discounts. Others also went hiking at the Middlesex Fells Reserve during the day.
To end off the day, we had planned to attend the Boston Pops concert rehearsal to get a glimpse of the performances. Nevertheless, we had underestimated the crowd, and decided to go to Killian Court in MIT for a picnic instead, where we could still hear the music from the concert.
For many, Fourth of July celebrations often entails having a barbeque and watching the fireworks. As the saying goes: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, and that was exactly what we did. We had our own barbeque, and then ended it off by watching fireworks at one of the tallest buildings in MIT, the MacGregor House. As the fireworks were shot from the Charles River, MIT was a prime location to watch the fireworks since it is right by the river. We had a clear view of the fireworks, and it was simply amazing.
Sadly, the long weekend came to an end. After working on our boats for a day, it was time for our wilderness trip to Maine. Apart from building boats, this was probably the next highlight planned in the programme. We started off by splitting into two teams, and canoeing from Chewonki to Castle Island where our campsite is. With the strong winds and poor steering, it took us almost 7 hours to reach, and the sun was already setting. After we set up our tents (with much trouble), it was finally dinner time! We were so hungry by then, only to find out that we had to cook with the stoves that were made by the other team :O
with eggs, sausages and grits~
On the second day, our teams canoed and met up at Beal Island. We took a hike around the island, and took many photos with the beautiful scenery.
More importantly, we got to have 2 nights of SMORES! They were so good~We had to make our own smore sticks using fallen branches to hold our marshmallows over the campfire.
Also, on the third day, we had to make a desalination system of seawater using given materials for the design challenge. We tried various variations of systems, but ultimately, we only managed to get some water which was still salty.
On the last day, it was time to go back to Chewonki. This time, with better weather conditions, and improved steering skills, we made it back in 2 hours instead of the initial 7 hours :O
This marked the end of our trip, and it was time to head back to Boston. Here are some other photos of us during the remaining free time we had during the trip:
That’s all~
