Summer Blog Series: Jacqui Katz
Jul 21, 2015 | Women's Tennis
Hi Tulane fans,
Given the limited amount of time we have together during the school year, I have recently spent some fun quality time with my family. The Katz family never sits still. We love to be adventurous, outdoorsy, and active; therefore, we went to Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York, about an hour drive from the city. Storm King Art Center is an open-air museum, spread across 500 acres of land. The vast green fields made me feel as though I was transported to another world, like the Sound of Music. We walked on dirt roads and grassy hills, climbing to see enormous and colorful sculptures. After covering about half of the museum, we stopped to refuel, eating at their outdoor café. We rented bikes after lunch, and explored the other half of Storm King. Having not ridden a bike in quite some time, it took some getting used to; however, I had so much fun. It made me even more excited for our family trip to Arizona at the end of the month, where we will be going mountain biking!
This past Sunday, July 19th, was my father's birthday. Wanting to make his birthday extra special, my family and I hiked to the top of Bear Mountain. Being the hottest day of the summer so far, the hike was extremely strenuous. We hiked the Major Welch Trail to the peak, which included climbing on steep rocks and walking through narrow trails. I led the way, sometimes losing track of the trail markers and ending up on the wrong trails! Thankfully, someone in my family always caught my mistake. After making it to the top of Bear Mountain, we climbed the small lookout tower, giving us an even better view. There were various maps at the top of the tower, identifying the surrounding peaks. We hiked the Appalachian Trail back down to keep it interesting. This trail included many stairs, which were very challenging given how fatigued my legs were from the hike up. However, we made it back to the bottom and celebrated with an ice cream and my dad's favorite, a root beer float. We ended his birthday with opening presents and eating dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Soccarat.
In addition to all of the time I have spent with my family, I went to Six Flags with one of my best friends, Alanna. Having not been on a rollercoaster in a few years, I wanted to start on a warm-up rollercoaster and try to ease into it. Well, that didn't happen! The first rollercoaster we went on, Batman, was completely backwards. It may have been the most terrifying minute and a half of my entire life. Not being able to see the twists and turns and upside downs coming was petrifying. After coming out of shock from Batman, we rode The Dark Knight, a completely indoor coaster, and Green Lantern, where the riders are standing up. We finished the day riding Superman, where the ride is as if you are flying, face down and head first, and then Nitro, which includes a 215-foot drop. Nitro did not have an upside down parts and was definitely my favorite ride.
On a side note, every time I wear a Tulane shirt on the street, someone makes a comment. One day, within two blocks, one man said "Go Green Wave!" and another man said "Roll Wave!" And, the other day when I was at the train station, a man said "Tulane! Great city. Have you graduated yet?" Clearly, everyone loves Tulane as much as I do!
-Jacqui
