Enjoying the sites!

One of the great things about joining an REU program is that the majority of programs have special activities planned for you to do outside of the lab. This weekend we went on a five mile canoeing trip down the Duck River. It was gorgeous! The river is surrounded by trees and the water is cool, but not freezing. My roommate Austin and I rode in a boat together. We enjoyed all the sights, but we also plotted some fun of our own. We spent a large portion of the trip splashing our fellow program members and attempting to tip their canoes. As a result, we fell victim to being tipped twice ourselves. Unfortunately we did loose a thing or two to the 'river gods', but the laughs were worth it. Our group also enjoyed the opportunity to eat lunch on the beach, swim around in the water, and play on a rope swing.

Although the trip was tons of fun, all the splashing and boat flipping left me feeling rather exhausted. When we got back I took a nice long nap and woke up just in time to enjoy the night life of Nashville. A few of the girls and I went down to 2nd Avenue and saw all the sights. There were tons of bars with live music, various street performers, and lots of shops that are named after country icons. One woman we saw was playing spoons. I had always heard of such a talent when I was a child and was banging my spoon on the kitchen table, but I had never seen the act in real life. I can say without a doubt that this woman's spoon antics brought much more musical joy than my attempts as a child.

Even though we enjoyed the sites and getting a better feel for Nashville, we went to 2nd Avenue for a particular purpose: buying cowgirl boots! The CMA music festival is next weekend and a couple of us girls think it would be fun to have a pair of boots to wear. Unfortunately, we did not realize that authentic cowgirl boots cost about $100 dollars and that's only if they are on a really good sale. We have decided to refine our boot search and settle for boot knock offs. We are going to go to a nearby mall this afternoon to see what we can find. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the mission. Oh, and I'll try to let you know about the research some as well. I am going to a three day chirality workshop this week. I am really excited to learn all about the instruments and meet people from various colleges, labs, and industries.