The rest of Geek Camp

The rest of Geek Camp was great, a ton of work, long hours, but great. I got to play with learn how to use high quality microscopes, all kinds of brands, learn new techniques, and spend time with some amazing people. The equipment was so cool, Nikon, Ziess, and Olympus microscopes, all kinds of software to do reconstruction, lectures on microscopy techniques, sample preparations, and explanations of why things work (or don't work) for this Of course the beautiful setting of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory campus is amazing. Taking a minute each day in hopes of seeing a sunset was always a bonus.

Most days were completely cloudy, but we did manage a few sunny, cold nights. Walking back we would always see our breath (this was in May folks....) but it was worth it to see the beautiful views off the bay, walking down by the water was always awesome, along the dock and along the beach was always a well deserved break, even on the cloudy days! By the end of the course, we had learned a ton, probably more than I'll remember, had a few great days of sun (very few), and ended it on a high note at an evening out at a local state park with a lobster bake. Pretty cool! Poor lobsters... I felt sorry for them for about a minute... And then it was time to eat them with veggies while resisting the cold.

The class was over, but I didn't leave Bar Harbor. It was Memorial Day weekend, why leave when your significant other is a lobster junkie and you are in the heart of Lobsterville, USA? Yes, He comes to you... So after learning lots of science, playing with learning how to use advanced microscopes, I packed up my little dorm room, put away my huge 3-ring binder of materials, packed away my laptop, and waited for my taxi to take me to the bed and breakfast down the road where I'd spend the next few days relaxing, eating more lobster and visiting more of Bar Harbor, Maine. Yay!