Post from last week

Things have been going great! Partly the reason for the delay in this post! I finally feel settled in, comfortable at work, and continue to learn new things every day. 

Two weekends ago, my friend Alex Wood from UConn came out and we checked out a couple of state parks- including Fort Wetherill and Beavertail. Beavertail is by far the prettiest state park I’ve ever been to- it’s the southern tip of Jamestown island, so it’s like jagged rocks that everybody picnics on and you can watch huge shipping barges go by, take a free tour of the lighthouse, and spend the day soaking in some sun. I also took him over to the Point Judith lighthouse- in the future I’d love to fish off the beach there because it looks like it would be a productive spot. 

Last weekend, Danielle came down from Vermont. She lives up there with her boyfriend, and she came down to Connecticut to spend some time with her family and drove over to visit me as well. Saturday we went over to the Narragansett town beach after scoring some free parking (man I need to practice parallel parking!). Boogie boarding up to the beach on huge waves for hours was definitely one of the most fun things I’ve done out here- I can’t believe such an amazing beach is about a ten minute drive away! The waves were absolutely huge- there were surfers just a little ways down the beach and very attentive lifeguards. Overall it was awesome! We got cleaned up and headed over to Crazy Burger, which is within walking distance from the beach. Crazy Burger always has a wait, no matter the meal time, because the food there is absolutely amazing. We ordered the same thing (although Danielle got the gluten free options for hers) which was essentially just a cheeseburger. But let me tell you- this cheeseburger wasn’t like anything I’ve ever had before. So we got the Whassupy Burgers. The beef is mixed with horseradish, garlic, and worchestershire sauce so it’s super flavorful. Then, it’s topped with brie cheese, onion rings, (we had them add avocado), served on a delicious wheaty bun and with a side of wasabi-chipotle mayonnaise. I got it with sweet potato fries. SO GOOD! We tried some locally made ice cream on the way home and she taught me how to make greeting cards with a die cutter and all this cool stationary and stamping stuff that night. I love Danielle! 

This week I got to go tuna fishing for the first time with Dr. Bradley (my advisor), Peter (the financial backing for the tuna project and captain of the boat), and Taylor (a student I work with). We went out Tuesday at 4 am and trolled all day. It wasn’t until 4:30 pm that we hooked up. We caught a bluefin tuna (which is what we’re trying to get to spawn in the tank) and got him to the boat, into the tuna sling, and into the tank on the boat (which takes up most of the cockpit which increases the difficulty to fish), but then he died because he was just a bit too big and couldn’t swim properly around the circular tank. I was SO impressed by how well everything was executed- I jumped right in and was helping pull the fish in with the tuna sling and get the oxygen hooked up and everything. It’s so different fishing with barbless hooks with the intention of bringing fish back alive- everything is focused around the health of the fish. 

Seeing the process of having fish in the tank (when we had mahi mahi) and then seeing how they’re caught is truly incredible. I’m so happy to be a part of this project!