Ultra Awesome.

Get me some aloe vera.  Anyone wanting to do a study on the effects of ozone depletion can start with my sunburn.  Apparently the same application procedure I'm used to using doesn't fly here.  On a cool, windy day with clouds overhead, the ultra violet rays got me when I least expected it at St. Claire Beach.  Despite my current pain, the day was a good one.  Throughout the duration of our 30 minute wait for our unfashionably late bus, what seemed initially like a lovely summer day turned cold, dreary, and amazingly windy.  Even still, the beach was much more beautiful than I had anticipated.  The wind caught the tops of the breaking waves and sprayed a cloud of mist against the sky with huge hills and dark brown cliffs in the background.   Ghostly trails of fine white sand shifted across the beach and stung our legs as we walked.  It was one of the many moments that I'm sure I will have that I wish I could keep coming back to.  Oh wait, for the next four months it is!  You can bet I will be using this Ocean to its full potential since we don't see too much in the way of oceans back in Nebraska.  The wave pool at Fun Plex is about as close as it gets.  After exploring the beach a little bit and running down it like bay watch we decided to jump into the water, which was take your breath away cold.  The only getting used to this water is when you start to lose feeling in your body.  But we went in anyway.   How many times do you get to jump into freezing cold water on a cool, windy day in New Zealand?  Exactly. Not many.  And how many times can you get hypothermia after jumping into cold water in New Zealand?? Just kidding.  It ended up being everyone's favorite part of the day I'm pretty sure also.  I should mention that we had 4 countries represented in our little gang today and 4 different states.  France, Germany, Sweden and the U.S. (NE, WI, NY, GA) all had delegation.  I love me some diversity.  And with that it's time to apply some sunscreen and go for a morning run.  Au revoir.