Spring Break

After I finished my midterms and my Junior Year of High School has almost come to a close, a much wanted break and vacation was in need.  Luckily,  Spring Break was this past week, and my fairy-godmother granted my wish for paradise...

The first part of my break started in New York City on the East Coast (very different from my usual weather at home in the beautiful 70 degrees Palos Verdes, CA).  Conner, my 21 year-old brother will be graduating from The University of San Diego in May, so my mom, him and I traveled to NYC to go look at Graduate Programs for him next year in the fall.  He is planning on attending the College of Insurance at St. Johns University, but wanted to go check out New York before he applies. He fell in love with the city as much as I did the first time I saw it.  The ruckus and the millions of people on the subways are what I think makes NYC so unique and exciting.  In addition to looking at St. Johns University, my mother and I traveled up to Columbia University to go check it out.  It is a beautiful campus, and I am hopefully going to apply there, but am not sure yet (still making my list for next fall). We also had fun during the night.  We went to see the amazing play on Broadway called Beautiful. In addition, we went to the Bubble Lounge in TriBeCa. After 20 years in New York, we caught the very last night there to celebrate our family friend's 23rd Birthday!  It was a night to remember and so was NYC in its totality.

After coming home on Tuesday night from an exciting time in the city, we quickly repacked our bags and we (mom, dad, and I) departed off to Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Here, we spent the days in our bikinis and surfing/stand-up paddle boarding off of Waikiki Beach.  The sun was amazing and I got a really nice tan.  We stayed at the Halekulani right on Waikiki and it didn't disappoint.  The amazing and personable staff there made the Hawaiian experience very blissful.  In addition, we celebrated my 17th birthday there on April 3, so their hospitable gestures such as bringing their signature Coconut Cake and a bottle of Martenelli's to my room in the early AM and later that day surprising me by the poolside with more goodies, was a treat.  In addition to the amazing water activities Hawaii has to offer, my family decided to hike Koko Head Crater on Saturday to catch the Sunrise over Hawaii. The steep railroad tracks, now acting as long steps, were decommissioned after WWII when they originally were made to transport guns and other weapons up to the top of the mountain to have an advantage point against future attacks. Totaling 2098 steps up and 2098 steps down, this hike was not only a killer workout but a view that the locals enjoy seeing to cherish the Hawaiian beauty.  Overall, my time in Hawaii was very fun and relaxing.  It was truly a trip I will remember.

Now that today is Easter Sunday, and school starts back up tomorrow, I am counting down the days to the AP exams and then to the last day of school and off to new adventures.  I am in the long-stretch with school and soon to be college admissions (I am taking my final/2nd ACT later this month) and then I will be ready for what ever comes my way with the rest of Junior Year and the beginning of Senior Year.  Have a wonderful Easter Sunday and a wonderful week!

XOXO

Megan Elizabeth Moore

Thanks for reading!

Santa Barbara: El Gaucho Regatta

For those of you who live in Southern California, you can certainly attest that this past weekend was blatantly hot and humid. It's March people!  It should not be 100•F+ on a weekend. Even though I disagree with Mother Nature's temperature in winter and soon to be spring, I certainly took full advantage of the hot weekend. 

I was up in Santa Barbara this past weekend for my final high school PCISA sailing regatta of my junior year before the PCC's finals in April at my home yacht club, CBYC!  On Saturday there was absolutely no wind and it was scorching hot.  We had to stay around at the beach all day in case the wind picked up and we needed to be sent out, but it didn't pick up at all!  Sunday was much better, and although it was still very hot, there was enought wind to get several races in, one of which I placed 14th (not that good, but considering that I only started competing this year, I am very happy with it)!!!  Our team, Palos Verdes High School, finished 25th overall, which is terrible and technically doesn't qualify us for finals, but since we are hosting, we automatically qualify. Thank God!!  Definately by April our team needs to improve and work on our technique. Other than that, wish us the best of luck. 

Here are a few photos from this past weekend!

This was definately a hot weekend and thankfully it has cooled down a bit at home and in time to return to school on Monday!  I am counting down the days to spring break and to my birthday (April 3rd) which coincidently occurs over the break. My family will be traveling to New York City and Honolulu, so check back in then for photos and updates about those travels!

Until next time,

XOXOXO 

Megan Moore

Suns out, Buns out!

This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the magical and beautiful Del Mar, California with my National Charity League Group.  It was one of the best weekends this year because it was girl's only and was with my best friends.  

This past weekend was filled with giggles and laughter because of the amazing times we shared.  My favorite memory was when the life guard boat had to come to rescue us due to the fact we had drifted out so far in a riptide and the waves kept crashing on us.  It was definitely very scary at the moment, but afterwards we realized that this is something we will laugh at in the near future. I am now laughing at it... HAHA!  I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend and a nice Monday off for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday. I will close with something he said, "The time is always right to do what is right."  So go out into the world and make a change! 

Here are a few photos from this past weekend in Del Mar, CA 

XOXO - Megan Elizabeth Moore

Living in the outdoors

My fall semester is finally coming to an end, and I could say my grades are where I want them to be, but in reality, one of my classes I am very upset with myself.  Other than that, all my other classes are beyond my expectation from my entering the class in August. This week will officially be the end/beginning of semesters and I have had to endure the painfulness of studying 10hrs+ for every class for finals. (It paid off though, so it was worth it!)

As I have been trying to get my focus off from school and more into my life in general, I have been spending the majority of my time with my best friend Hannah.  You could say we are inseparable.  We have recently been going on hikes and exploring places in our beautiful town of Palos Verdes (for those of you who has no idea where that is, it is a small suburb of Los Angeles).  In addition, we are both on our school's sailing team, so we are out on the water 3x a week.  Our coach thinks the two of us are crazy because almost every practice we fall in, but that is the fun part in which no one else understands (the water is freezing too).

Besides sailing and hiking, I have not been traveling that much due to school, except the almost every weekend to Park City, UT which doesn't really count.  I am really looking forward to this upcoming weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend... so I have Monday off!!!) because my National Charity League group had rented a home in San Diego, and it should be a blast.  The sleep overs always are due to the constant laughter and fun we all share on our trips.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful rest of their week and that your weekend will be amazing, because I know mine will!

Here are a few photos of mine from these past few weeks:

This was from the Rosebowl Regatta at Alimetos Bay in Long Beach

This was one day at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club.  A nice old man donated his 35ft sail boat to the club and so our team was able to take it out for an afternoon cruise!  It was so much fun.

Hannah and I love taking selfies while we are sailing.  This easy distraction must explain why we fall in so much!  If only it was that reason.

Alex (left), Hannah (right), Captain (the cute little dog) and I went for this beautiful sunrise hike on this trail I had never been on before in Palos Verdes.

This was from this fun hike we did today.

This was at the moment I realized that my new running shoes I got for Christmas had been covered in mud.  My mom was not too happy about that. :o

The field was just so beautiful.

And then we came home to this absolutely beautiful sunset and took a Jacuzzi.  The view is just so breathtaking and it never gets old!

I hope you enjoyed these photos.  Have a wonderful rest of your week and thanks for reading!

XOXO

 - Megan Elizabeth Moore