Lauren Easom

After all the build-up, my Montana vacation was just as great as I had anticipated. I got into town on Friday night and headed to the Bodega with Brad. It was SO exciting to see everyone all at once! It was also nice to see that absolutely nothing had changed :) $1 beers and free beef tips and tater tots are such a nice change from SF prices.

Here's a picture of us at the Bodega:


We went to Yvette's wedding on Saturday and had a blast. But then, how can you not have a great time at a wedding? Free food, free drinks, and everyone is in a great mood. I watched Brad and one of the bridesmaids in a competitive dance-off, it was priceless. We decided to get a Mystic Tan the morning of, so we were sweating nasty brown oil all night. Gross.


After spending the entire day Sunday recovering from the wedding festivities, we headed to Glacier National Park on Monday to Brad's family's cabin on Lake McDonald. In the 3.5 years I lived in Montana, I never got the chance to go to Glacier. I had no idea what I was missing - it was amazing! We took the Going to the Sun Road to the Two Sisters Cafe for dinner, and then went back to the cabin for a friendly game of scrabble.

For the 4th of July we went to Kolleen's cabin on Flathead Lake. We stocked up on some discount pyrotechnic entertainment at the roadside tent, stopped at the gas station for some cheap beer, and headed to the cabin. A few trips around the lake on the jet skis, some intense flip-cup competition, and a lovely bbq dinner: the day started as a pretty normal 4th of July celebration.

But when it got dark, things got interesting. [Insert scary music here] Ten (slightly tipsy) twenty-somethings piled onto a 15 year old pontoon boat and set out across Flathead Lake to get a better view of the fireworks show in Polson. A good show with good friends and good enough beer...a good night in general. [Scary music is now getting louder and faster] But then, as the fireworks ended and the 250 other people on the lake decided to head for the dock, things took a turn for the worse. [Yes, the melodramatic tone is necessary to convey the intensity of this story] The mass exodus of speedboats turned the lake into a giant washing machine and our little boat started bouncing around like a kangaroo on a pogo stick. One particularly impressive wave came up over the bow of the boat and soaked us to our knees. Some quick thinking on the part of our captain (Kolleen's brother, Casey) propelled the situation from 'kind of funny' to 'potentially life threatening' and the water level from our knees to our waists. Just as the wave rose over the edge of the boat, Casey slammed the throttle forward and ran to the back of the boat to keep from getting wet. Luckily, Tim had more presence of mind than our fearless leader and killed the engine. [This is where the music dies and everything happens in slow motion] Meanwhile, the rest of our crew frantically searched for the cameras and cigarettes while I stood by asking for a life jacket (because as you know, I am not a swimmer). The bow of the boat remained submerged for what seemed like eternity, and it was almost a minute before we could determine whether it was going to sink or float. More than half of the boat was still under water, and I still had no life jacket. Moreover, boats are still screaming by and creating even more chaos. Luckily, Kolleen remembered that I am aquatically challenged and handed me a seat cushion - yes, a seat cushion. "Here," she explained, "this will float." Casey must have sensed my skepticism because he comforted me with the observation that "its better than drowning." [Now the slow but dramatic music starts quietly and builds slowly] Obviously, I lived. After the boat was finally above the water we made what was perhaps the first good decision that night : to wait until the water was calm before heading back to the dock.

I apologize for the anticlimactic story, but trust me it was scary. Maybe you had to be there...

Anyway, the trip was great overall. I got to drink Big Sky Summer Honey and eat sweet potato fries at the Iron Horse. I saw Glacier Park for the first time, and I didn't die. I'm already looking forward to going back in October for UM Homecoming!

Here are a few more pictures...

Brad, Me, Ryan, & Brieana on Brad's front porch:


Me, Ryan, & Brieana - He apparently thinks something is hilarious!


Brieana and I earlier in the night:


Funny faces picture in the car on the way home:

I made it back to Missoula again, this time for Griz Homecoming! The purpose of my trip was actually recruiting for KPMG so I was technically working while I was there - but I certainly found time to appreciate all that is Montana Football! (Did I mention I love my job? They let me conveniently schedule the trip around the game :)

Of course, the first thing that needed to be done was to re-connect with old friends and familiar places. These pictures are of my first night in town...

Here are some photos from the weekend trip I took to Manhattan with my friend and co-worker, Erika Lange. We had to be in Pittsburgh, PA for work during the week, and decided we were too close to NYC to not go! Since we we're both trying to stick to a budget, we stayed in a Youth Hostel and tried our best not to shop too much. Being January, the weather was freezing cold but we managed to make our way to Ground Zero, Central Park, Times Square, and we saw the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park. And despite our best efforts to stay away, we also ended up at Macys for a while. This was my first trip, and Erika had spent one weekend there before.

Our first night in town we checked into the hostel and got settled, then went out with a group from the hostel to a club called Crobar. They frisked us, thoroughly searched our bags, and scanned us with metal detectors when we arrived, so we weren't quite sure what to expect once inside. The club was divided into two rooms playing different music - one was Top 40 Dance/Hip-hop and the other was Techno/Trance. Beers were $8 and uninvited ass-grabs were free. We had a good time, but I don't think anyone was too disappointed when we left. We headed back toward the hostel, and stopped in a pub called Barcelona Bar for another drink. Bars in NYC don't close at 2am like here, so it took some adjusting to get used to the hours.

After some sight-seeing on Saturday, we decided to go out again with other guests at the hostel. We ended up losing track of time and not leaving until 12:15am but that was just about when the party was getting started! We went back to the Barcelona bar and had a fun time - most of these pictures are from that night.

This picture was taken right near Central Park. These people were walking camels on the sidewalk, getting ready for a show. We saw a few police officers lined up with pictures and pens, waiting for autographs from a man we did not recognize. When we got closer we asked and they reported, "He's from The Wiggles!" and showed off their autographed glossy photos of the children's entertainment group. All in all, it was quite bizzarre.

Barcelona Bar: Me, Daniel from Australia, (can't remember name) from Brazil, Marta from Spain, and Chris from South Korea.

And here is Erika, Me, and Daniel. I don't know where those bunny ears came from - must be a foreign thing?

We had so much fun in New York, and I can't wait to go back! Next time, though, I think I'll opt for summer :)

I'm leaving the morning for Mazatlan, Mexico to spend a week in the sun enjoying some relaxation and time with the family! I'm so excited, and will post photos here when I get back :)