The hookah bar is a place full of mellow vibes, chill music, and deep deep conversation. I'm so happy I can finally go with all my friends.

-RAY

My 18th birthday party last Friday was pretty impromptu which made it all the more enchanting. At sunset Erika and I made the most triumphant campfire, a bunch of my friends showed up at dusk, and we ordered a crap ton of pizza. People stayed till 2 or 3 in the morning and I'm not exactly sure what we did to fill that time but it was beautiful. We shared stories and laughed till it hurt around the fire listening to An Awesome Wave and Oracular Spectacular while above us the stars burned clear and bright through the trees. My sister bought an 80 pack of birthday candles and it took about seven of us to get them lit, but once lit we turned off the lights and the glow of the candlelight was on everyone's gorgeous faces.
I felt like one special 18 year old kid that night.

-RAY

It felt like summer that day.

Everyone was out running, walking, biking, boarding, living and breathing that soul-reviving air.
There were still no leaves on the trees but somehow with the great, gleaming sun bursting across the surface of the water, I could almost hear the breeze whispering in the leaves.
Cruising on our longboards down the middle of the road like we owned that street, we saw the lake shining, moving and magical beside us and the breeze was cool and warm all at once and everything felt right.
Pointing toward the blinding sunset, I yelled out, "Just look at that!"
Laughing, Hannah yelled over her shoulder as serious as can be, "Let's go get it!"

-RAY

With the ringing of the crickets and cicadas rising out of the suburbs and through the trees, we listened to the first sounds of summer. The air was chilly at first as the purple sky faded into the deepest blue, but as we glided on our longboards across the asphalt, my face turned warm.
Arms outstretched, the sound of my friends on the ramps across the tree shadowed grass while the lights from the highway burned red in the distance, I screamed, to no one but the infinite night - I FEEL FREE.

-RAY

[All photos by me]

We drove fast and straight out of the city to see the stars

My head and my hand were hanging out of the open window

feeling the world on my face and between my fingers

while all of us were tangled in the moon, the music, the stars,

and the feeling of sharing that with each other.

Surely our headlights must have contributed to the many cars

flying down that country road, but no one can ever guess 

how magically infinite we all felt within that car as the stars burned

brighter the further we drove.

- poem by me, Saturday, April 7th 

Fill these warming days with the people, the places and the songs you love most in this world.

-RAY

 

Everything inside of me is euphoric that the air is growing warmer and it's time to longboard non stop. But bits of March were quite extraordinary. Being with my friends filled me up even when it was below freezing outside and I could hardly ask for anything else.

-RAY

[All photos by me]

The golden hour is back. 

-RAY

[all photos by me]