Forrest Gump

"My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

Forrest Gump's momma must have been talking about life on Pigeon Key, because other than a 9am start to your work day, nothing else is really guaranteed. The power might be on when you want to take a shower, the water might be running when you try to flush the toilet, and there's a slim-to-none chance that the internet and power will be running simultaneously when you need to e-mail your landlord...(don't worry parents, I got that one squared away!)
Everything is in a mild state of disrepair, but life is simple. There are some constants, like sunshine, ocean breezes, and going to bed feeling fulfilled (read: exhausted) after a day of hard work. There is also a ferry that drops off boat loads of tourists  who come to the island for historical tours every 2 hours. They love to ask us questions about what a bunch of kids in their early 20's are doing on the island, and the facial expressions when we say that we'll be here for 6 months are priceless.

The sun setting over the PK Lounge after a long day

Intern duties range from raking leaves to clearing rocks from the solar panel area with incarcerated individuals. Yesterday intern duties meant deep cleaning one of the student cabins (thanks mom, for teaching me the appreciation of dust-free baseboards from a young age!). One down, four to go!
I had fun joking that we were using our college degrees to do jobs usually filled by people who didn't graduate high school...my intern friend with a vey very expensive college degree did not find me amusing.

This past weekend, intern duties found us "volunteering" at the Pigeon Key Art Festival, an annual fundraiser that gets the whole community involved in the welfare of the island. We ran from sun up to sun down (read: 9-5) working the Pigeon Key Gift Shop booth, helping the burger stand make change, and filling in wherever we were needed. I was exhausted by the time Sunday night rolled around, but we raised a ton of money for the island, so that's good news. Also we were allowed to take Monday off!

Monday night found all of us on the dock with our boss, Chris, chopping up fish heads. I can only imagine Elle's surprise when she called me from WI and I said "Hang on can I call you back? I'm about to go shark fishing!"

We finished chopping up the heads and threw them in the bay to chum up the waters. Chris baited a couple hooks with some fresh (read: bloody) fish, and we set them in the rod holders to wait. Within a few minutes we heard a loud whiiiirrrrrrr as a shark tried to snatch the bait off the line closest to me and take it out to sea.
"Grab it, grab it!" shouted Chris, "Don't let him take all my line!"
In the next adrenaline-fueled 20 minutes, I successfully reeled in the shark, let the shark get stuck on a buoy, watched as Chris kayaked out to said buoy and herded the shark into untangling itself, and finished bringing in my first lemon shark. Chris pulled her up on the dock, freed the hook from her mouth, and then let me wrangle her into a posing position for some proof--I mean photos! She was about 30lbs and I named her Lois. Then I tossed her back in to the water (nose first) and watched her streak away from the dock. It was magical...I think some fist pumps may have happened.

"Hey Lois, say cheese!"

Welcome to the PK Lounge

My coworkers are AWESOME.

They all are nature nerds to the max, so I'm never alone in geeking out over a new creature. They have incredible work ethics, so I know we all have each other's backs. They have each read all of the Harry Potter books. Everyone is always down to grab a drink and have a good time. They're all as incredulous as I am that this is our real life. And they are all ecstatic to be here.

One talks in abbrevs. One is more prepared for any situation than any Scout I've ever met (without ever having been a Scout!). One made a Redwall reference on day three (dude, do you guys know how rare it is to find someone else who was as obsessed with those books as me?!). One is always good for a G&T-fueled Tswift dance party. One is always down for a good arts 'n' crafts sesh. One taught me how to make a rue yesterday!

There's three girl interns, including myself, that live in a re-purposed shed with me, and the boy intern gets his own room. But before you start saying how unfair that sounds, let me explain. Although a year ago our "house" was a home for spare bed parts and random pieces of wood, it got a beautiful make over! With two windows (read: arrow slits), a little fresh paint, a "fire escape" and an air conditioner, it has become the PK Lounge. We have to walk across the island for bathrooms and showers, but the boy's room is attached to a building that will house students later this summer...and I'd take our little removed shack over hearing long nights of Truth or Dare and "Never have I ever" any day.


My only complaint? I am the only country music fan on this whole freaking island. So I will bide my time and enjoy the random radio stations of my coworkers...but later this summer when I'm on solo meal duty for a group of students? Yep, you can bet George Strait and friends will be cooking right along with me!