Whirlwind week

Well, a lot has happened over the past week. I went on two amazing road trips with friends through Eastern PA, had a blast around State College, and, oh yeah, I GRADUATED! We had a blast during our senior week festivities, with highlights including Gettysburg, Philly, Yuengling, Meteo Bar Tour, and a big family visit for the big day. Seven of us headed down to Gettysburg last Sunday and managed to joke our way through the entire day -- no surprise :-D Lots of fun was had by all as we toured all around the historic Civil War field:

Playing dead at Devil's Den

Chilling in Devil's Den

Kaitlin got lost in the rocks!

After a quick return home Monday, we left for Philly on Tuesday morning. First, a stop was in order at Shady Maple, a delicious dutch smorgasbord, for breakfast. After stuffing our faces, we headed onward to Philly and the historical district, followed by a trip to Pat's Steaks. We capped the night off with a Phillies game, and everyone had a blast. The following morning, we stopped by the Yuengling Factory for a tour and samples (yum!). That night we continued with our enjoyment of beverages as the meteo '09 bar tour commenced, with lots of fun times had all around.

Thursday brought the family into town for Graduation Friday, and everyone had a blast as we ate and celebrated our way through the weekend. It was certainly bittersweet because everyone knew that it meant goodbyes were in store, but there was a certain glee throughout as we made that momentous walk across the stage.

Fun Picture from Old Main

At the Lion -- A Must!

Family dinner Thursday Night at Rotelli

Group shot with a guest appearance by Dr. Nese

Four years as roommates -- and friends forever no doubt!

Family Fun!

:-) Too Many Memories

So, that's it, right. Nope. Chris and I drove 1200 miles over the past two days from PA to Oklahoma City to start Vortex2! It was a pretty epic drive, with heavy rain in PA, two great sunsets, a really big arch, and some good fun.

Saturday Sunset

St. Louis Arch

Sunday Sunset

So, after an emotionally exhausting week, it's time to storm chase. Stay in tune for updates and pictures, and wish us luck!

Updates Updates Updates

Well, I've once again lacked in updating my blog...but for good reason! I had to finish college! A pretty good amount has happened between my last update and now, and I'll try to summarize as best as possible.

The Nittany Lion Basketball Team made a good post-season push despite missing out on the NCAA tournament, and went on to win the NIT Championship! Several of us made the road trip to the Big Apple to watch the game at Madison Square Garden, and it was outstanding to watch the team finish the season on a high!


The other exciting PSU sports event of the spring was the Blue & White game, which is the spring scrimmage for the football team. It was a gorgeous day in terms of weather, and another great tailgate was enjoyed by all.

In mid-April Jared and I ventured down to D.C. to see the Sabres-Capitals game, visit with family and friends, and go to the Cherry Blossom festival. The game was a blast, and the Sabres won, which made it all the better. The cherry blossom festival was outstanding too, with a great day to explore the National Mall.


I was also able to venture down to Annapolis a few weeks later to take part in the Navy Keel boat regatta. We finished in 9th out of 10th, but had a blast in the process. The weekend after that, I sailed in the PSU alumni regatta, where our boat finished 5th out of 14!


Now it is time for farewells at Penn State. I've had some of the best times of my life here, and I will be very sad to leave. A few goodbyes have been said thus far, and many more will occur this upcoming week. Jared, Andrea, and I stopped by our old home, Irvin Hall, to say goodbye to Carol, our 'house mom' of a sort while living there.

I'll certainly miss campus, but at the same time, I'm very excited to head up to McGill and explore the city of Montreal. However, before that, I'll be off to the Great Plains to chase Tornadoes around as part of VORTEX2, which is the largest tornado field research project in history. I'll be driving around a mobile mesonet, and will be entering the storm to document a variety of weather variables. Keep an eye out for updates through the blog! Until then, onward to graduation, and congrats to all my fellow graduates!

Spring Break makes decisions much easier!

Well, lots of excitement over the past few weeks! The half-way point in the semester came and went, and spring break was a blast. Oh, and I decided where I'm going to attend grad school!

After much deliberation, with a tough decision to be made between McGill University and the University of Wyoming, I decided to attend McGill for my graduate studies in meteorology. I'm very excited about the prospect of living in Montreal in the coming years, and come visit (once I've moved in of course!). Also, I was accepted to work on the VORTEX2 project, which means I'll be chasing tornadoes for the first half of the summer!


So, that was the big academic/research news...now on to the fun stuff: Spring Break! Six of my friends and myself went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon last week for spring break, and it was a blast. We stayed a block of the strip, and explored it throughout the week. A favorite of all of ours was the Bellagio fountains, which were attended almost every night. A few other highlights from our time on the strip:

• Sunday night shows/dinner and The Palms Ghostbar (50 floors above the strip!)
• Crazy buffets
• The ups and downs of gambling (not me though of course)
• Stretch Hummer Taxi ride
• Stratosphere Rides
• Super-fancy dinner at the Venetian
• Wild car ride through the desert

The other big highlight of the trip was of course our trip to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. It was a two-day adventure, with a good bit of driving in between. We left Tuesday morning and visited the Dam on our way out, and managed to find Penn Staters driving across as we visited. After a good 'We are...Penn State', we continued on our way to the Canyon. We had gorgeous weather while out there, with clear skies and 'somewhat' warm temperatures. Sunset was great, and later that night the canyon was illuminated by a full moon (very cool!). The next morning, we watched a brilliant sunrise, and then proceeded on a 13 mile hike roughly half-way down the canyon. The hike was rigorous but great, and everyone had a blast doing it.






It was a bit of a shock returning back to Vegas and then back home after such a fantastic adventure, but it certainly made for some of my best memories of my college experience! Check out the rest of my pictures here.

Oops I still have a blog!

Okay, so I didn't really forget about my blog -- I just haven't gotten around to making an update. A TON has happened since winter break (naturally given spring break is just a few days away!). The AMS conference in Phoenix, two visits to grad schools, THON, half a semester of courses, and plenty of fun memories. I'll try to work though it all in a semi-logical order :-D

Phoenix was a blast to say the least. It was my first time to the city, and going there with many of my closer friends at PSU made for a good time. The conference was very interesting; I was able to attend this year with a better focus and knowledge, which helped in finding talks that were quite good. Exploring the city was a lot of fun as well -- both downtown and Tempe provided plenty of good times throughout:

The Convention Center

Presenting my poster

Amy, Alex, Chris, and I looking over the town at Sunset

Sunset over Phoenix

Alex and Chris enjoying the town

Grad School Visits!

Well, in the great grad school escapade, I have officially gotten two offers, and have visited both schools (all in the same weekend mind you!). A few weekends ago, I made a whirlwind trip to both the University of Wyoming and McGill University. Both schools made a compelling case for attending them in the coming years, and a tough decision is inevitable. I didn't get a chance to bring my camera up to Montreal, but I did have it for the journey up to Laramie (through Denver):

The sign (of course)

The Mascot

The Atmospheric Science Building

Hoar Frost on a Tree

Hoar Frost on long grass

I'll certainly be keeping everyone up-to-date on any decisions made on this front :-D

THON was an incredible success this year -- just a shade under $7.5 million was raised For The Kids, and it was a very emotional weekend without a doubt. The event brings back fond memories of the year I danced, and of course those closest to me who have fought the valiant fight:

Dream Forward FTK

The Stage

The Sign

Always remember - Alex Kowick & Katie Harris

Below, just a few more random pictures from basketball games -- also, I should have some fun updates either during or after my Vegas adventure over spring break!