E.S W-6/ I met Johnny Depp

Hey everyone, What’s up y’all?! I’m back with another bloooog…

Before I talk to you guys about this week let’s take it back to Sunday morning to the Seafood Festival, that took place at the Fish Pier. As you guys might know, that was my first Seafood Festival ever in my entire life. I  know, I’m literally new in most of the sites and events but ( I like it like that ♫). I was so excited and curious, a lot of things came to mind as I was heading to the event. Like seafood contests, games, activities etc.. My first impression when I got there was “Wow” my eyes were shining like a kid’s first bike. Everything was passing through my mind so fast I couldn’t keep still I just wanted to see everything that was going on and keep watching. It’s weird, but at the same time it’s an amazing feeling being able to get surprised by things the way kids are.

I was even trying to hide my excitement! ☹❤

Short Story: So, I was at our section doing fish printings on paper and shirts (yes, you read that correct.. we make shirts now!). I was doing my job and everything was flowing and vibing you know, very excited for everything that was going on. Then I see this group of pirates walk past us and I was like “WOOW” (It gets better guys just wait)! So, I heard one of my coworkers saying “Guys look it’s the REAL Johnny Depp!" I was in shock! I could feel my cheeks hurting and covering my eyes due to my huge smile. I spent 2-4 minutes running back and forth from our tent to where they were. I decided to finally ask for a picture, thinking inside my head (OMG I cannot believe I just asked the REAL Johnny Depp for a picture). A half an hour passed and I was still bragging about how I met the real Johnny Depp and was telling my coworkers that I got a picture with him. Until guess what… It turns out that he wasn’t the “Real” Johnny Depp! Painful and heartbroken much? I can’t explain how sad I was because I had been fooled like that.

Horseshoe Crab!

Now this week I was all over in different sites. I started off at Blacks Creek where the kids caught a horseshoe crab by the tail. One thing I must admit is that those kids are fearless because horseshoe crabs are scary to me. I was excited for them from afar since I didn't much care for the horseshoe crab.

Cutie Pie! ❤

On my last day at Blacks Creek, I got a little bit emotional on the inside because Mya, wasn't there. She was one of the most amazing people I met at this site and I was sad because I thought I would not be able to say goodbye. But when we were almost leaving, there she was. She came to say bye! I was speechless. I couldn't believe how fast it ended. I recalled every moment we spent together since the very first day we met, when she walked up to me and said "Hi, what's your name?" Besides the horseflies and there not being a lot of shade I can honestly say that I'll miss Blacks Creek and the amazing kids that joined the program this summer. They gave me reasons to smile everyday no matter the circumstances. And at the end of the day I'll go home and think of those wonderful moments.

Trying to keep the ball up!

On, Friday I was at the Beach Bash at Carson Beach where I was in charge of Sports and the Huge Beach Ball. My coworker decided to relocate the Sport site near the water because it was super hot and she thought more people would be intrested in "water sports". We were playing baseball with our new friend JayJay. It was a great day at the beach. When the kids started chasing the ball, our staff had to help chase the ball because the kids were very strong and the wind was in their favor as well. We started a new game with the ball which consisted of not letting the ball touch the floor. Now, one thing I'll say don't ever ever try to keep up a huge ball in the air by yourself. Trust me you'll feel ready and stronger than ever but if you're a skinny person like me, that ball will smash you to the ground like it did to me!

This week was full of emotions but I prefer to stay with the moments that made me feel happy and most important, with those moments that I know for sure that the kids had an amazing time. If they were happy then there was no way I couldn't be.

Have a great day and stay tuned for my next blog! 

~ Esther ❤

Festivals and Tidepools

Hello Boston!

Holding the bass at the Seafood Festival, no fish kisses mom!

This weekend was one I had been waiting for for a long time! On Sunday, August 13th, the Fish Pier served as the location for the Boston Seafood Festival. My mother was visiting from California and I knew this was an excellent opportunity for her to see Save the Harbor in action and enjoy some amazing seafood. Once we entered the festival, our first stop was the Save the Harbor tent. Our tent was filled with everything needed for fish printing! My coworkers were hard at work helping children paint a flounder as well as a large bass. Colorful prints hung from the top of the tent showing just how popular this activity had been throughout the day. My mother and I worked together on a print of the flounder as I explained to her all of the cool flounder fact I learned while working here. My mom was even able to meet Tony the pirate and here a few harrowing tales from the sea. Of course, we did not miss out on the delicious food at the festival. I enjoyed a sushi burrito while my mom ate a few shrimp tacos. This event superseded my expectations and I was proud to show off all the neat things Save the Harbor is a part of.

Lots of life living beneath this rock

On Monday, all of the staff at Save the Harbor enjoyed staff day on Lovell's Island. I had never been to this island before and was eager to cross another one of my list. Unlike Spectacle Island, Lovell's Island was thickly forested and the walking paths were lined with delicious blackberry bushes. As we walked across the island, we all plucked a few berries to snack on. We started our day by tidepooling; one of my favorite activities! As an avid tidepooler in California, I was very interested to see what I would find in these East Coast tidepools. Once we all scattered around the large rocky shore, we began to find interesting critters. Patrice flipped over a large rock and revealed a plethora of life beneath it. There were bryozoa, tunicates, crabs, barnacles, and sponges. We found crabs of all shapes, sizes, and stages of molting. At one point, I found a tube made of small pieces of sand and shells and I knew it must have belonged to some sort of sea worm. I referred to my guide book and discovered that it in fact belonged to an Ice Cream Cone Worm, one I have never encountered before.

After we completed our tidepool adventures, we learned about types of snails on the island and hypothesized about the fate of some snails that had been found under a tree. We scoured the island in search of possible tree snails and clues that would enlighten us on a snails life on the island.

Lovell's Island was interesting indeed was a great new experience to add to my time here in Boston.
Hopefully I will get to check out at least one more island while I am here.

Sea you out there,

Jennifer Leiendecker