Vacation Day #5: Valley Falls WV

We wanted to hike.  Keith suggested somewhere other than north of home, and I NEED to hike hills to boost my longevity, so… WV here we come!  Valley Falls State Park is just south of Morgantown.   We took the new GPS so we could cache along the way.

 

The drive was pretty.  Once you get off the main road you snake back into the foothills of West Virginia.  We happened upon a double-decker trailer, but were too wigged-out by the toothless wonders in front of it to stop for a photo.  Sorry!  It was very interesting to drive past though.  There was a confederate flag in the window of the door hanging wide-open exposing their mountainous pile of laundry.  On the other side was a clothes line and the lower level of the homestead.  I can’t truly even describe it.

 

The falls are so beautiful!  It makes you stop and appreciate the Creator! 

We hiked a couple of trails and could hear the roar of the falls most of the way.  The trail going out was an easy terrain.  The last was not so much.  It was pretty much straight up the mountainside and around enormous boulders the whole way to the top… and then back down the other side.  Some of them were like cliffs you could walk out to the edge and look WAY down!

We enjoyed the scenery and a little bit of wildlife.  There were several deer and some bunnies, squirrel, and chipmunks.  We photographed the Flinstones house…

 

 

I’m so proud to have completed it.  Anyone who hikes with me, knows I hate hills.  This was an exceptional hill.  The photos do not do it justice.  It’s steep enough that Keith doesn’t like to stop on the hill because the backpack pulls him back.  YIKES. It was a great hike!  I was really energized by it.  Day #5 really ROCKED!!!

Vacation Day #4 Fishing & Relaxing

On Wednesday, we slept in a little bit.  We had big plans to hike our hearts out, but as it goes we had a late start and then ended up making alternative plans to be lazy. 

1) we picked up my car, newly inspected, air-conditioning working.  (I hope it stays that way)

2) we shopped for a new GPS unit, a step up from the old one.  So anyone wanting to borrow the old one is welcome to do so.  I know several people who would like to borrow it, so don’t sit on it for long… share share share!

3) we hit a small fishing spot at Moraine near where we dropped our travel bug for geocaching.  Unfortunately, it is gone and nobody has claimed it.  Boo hoo!  Keith caught a blue-killer while I sat and read the manual for the new GPS.  Look how beautiful the day was!!!

4) we went to the barn and did the chores.  Drat!  We forgot long pants to go riding.  So bummed! 

5) we went fishing at the Oneida Valley Reservoir, along the back side.  I caught several blue-killers and a bass.  We saw some big ones jumping as the sun went down behind the trees.  Awesome!!!  Didn’t realize there were big fish in that pond!  We also spotted what we thought were an enormous line of tadpoles, but upon closer inspection, decided they were catfish-minnows!  Very cool!!! 

6) wrapped up the evening by planning a day-trip for Day #5.

Vacation Day #3: In Search of the Elusive Water Horse

I was reading in one of those cheesy brochures that you get at rest-stops about what fantastic attractions one might find in the area we were headed.  I found a HIPPOPATOMUS!!!!  About an hour from Sandusky is the Toledo Zoo.  Sign-me-up!!!  Both Amanda and I have a draw to such creatures… an awe for them!  The rest of the zoo was just a bonus.   I think it’s really cool that they have webcams set up for some of their exhibits.  I’m a little disappointed that the Hippoquarium is under construction.  We only got to see them inside… still really cool though. The Zom’s have much better photos than us.

Other favorite attractions was the polar bears, the aquarium, and having our caricature done.

 

Day #3 was a LONG hot day, but still very enjoyable!

Vacation Day #2 Waterpark

On Monday we packed up and headed out to Kalahari, in Sandusky, OH.  Oh WOW!  This place is overwhelming.  It’s enormous!  They have water rides, slides, rafting, wave pool, surf-pool, lazy river, regular pool, hot-tub, zip lines, mini-zoo, restaurants, bars, candy shop, boutiques, arcade, etc.  Our room (with a balcony) included waterpark access for Monday and Tuesday as well as a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolate covered cherries.  YUM!!!  It also included a buffet breakfast at one of the restaurants.  We were permitted to order room service, but chose the buffet. 

 

 

The slides were my favorite, the ones with the big rafts where Keith could ride along with me.  The Zom’s have a really cool camera that works under water, so they have some really fun pictures. The wave pool is what I thought I might like the best, but alas, I injured myself in the wave pool.  That stupid wave flipped me right over in less than 2 foot of water and I landed on my head.  I have an abrasion and a lump.  Ouchy!!!  Keith insisted on getting me an ice pack at the first aid station.  It was a good idea.  Thanks for taking care of me Keith.         

 

It was a really fun time!

Vacation: Day #1

Today started with devotions early in the morning.  Thanking the Lord for such a gorgeous day and for providing some respite from our jobs.

 

We arrived in downtown Pittsburgh late morning.  We enjoyed the weather, the waterfall, and the river view. 

I really need some SUN on those legs!!!

We saw the Pirates vs. Red Sox at PNC Park.  Great game, even if they lost.  Keith scored several autographs.  (not surprising) 

Keith had enough gift cards to almost pay for a Neil Walker jersey.  He had to pay $15 out of pocket.  SAWEET! 

This game and the jersey were on his list of “want really bad’s” this year so it made me feel really good to see it happen.  He also got to see one of his favorite Red Sox players hit a homer into the river… thankfully via the foul line. 

 

We rounded out the day enjoying dinner with the Zom’s.  Not bad for day #1 of our vacation. 

Short Hike but Very Enjoyable

Keith, Jill, Joelle and I hit Hartwood Acres this morning.  We let Joelle use our GPS to do some geocaching.  She caught on pretty quickly.  Then we followed the red and white dot trail for a while, followed by the #1 and #2 trails before finishing out the hike.  I’m so blessed to have people around me who want to hike alongside of me.  Yay!  I so enjoyed it!

I’ve concluded that I need to shop for some much more attractive hiking gear.  Hmmmm…

Saturday’s Savings & Meal Plan

Grabbed a few good deals this evening at Giant Eagle and Walmart.  Could have grabbed Colgate at Rite Aid and actually made a few bucks on it, but I chose to pass on Rite Aid this week. 

 

2 Boxes of Snuggle Fabric Softener Sheets: (40 count) $.50 each.  Not bad!

 

2 bottles of Xtra laundry detergent (28 load):  $.99 each.  This isn’t my favorite laundry detergent, but it’s good to have on hand.  I can use it as a back up in case I run out (not likely to happen any time soon) or to wash utility items such as rugs, rags, horse blankets, etc.

 

4 packs of Ballpark Beef Bun-length hotdogs: $1.34 each.  Not bad!

 

10 boxes of GE Pasta:  $.90 each + extra $.10 fuel perks which will add up to $3 savings bringing the price of the pasta down to a total of $.60 each.  Not bad! 

 

2 packs of gum:  $.28 each – sometimes I get it for free, but this is still a good deal. 

 

2 Three Musketeers bars:  $.25 each.  Not bad!  Keith will enjoy them!

 

14 Bags of Iams catfood (1.8 pounds): $1.67 each.  I usually pay $25 for one 14 pound bag.  My coupons were all worth $3 each, bringing this out to $23.38 for 25.2 pounds.  If you do the math, I usually pay $1.78/pound, but today I got it for $.93/pound a savings of $.85/pound.  Yee haw!!!

 

Meals

No big plans.  We are on vacation, though not actually at the tropical paradise.  We are home.  We hope to take a few day-trips and just enjoy being home and free from work.  So…  I’ll plan meals on the spur of the moment this week.  One things for sure… we definitely have PASTA and HOT DOGS if we need them.

Have a great week!

NCT–Revisited

Had an AWESOME hike last night with Tammi.  The North Country Trail should know us well by now; although, we rarely hit the same portion more than once.  I love this trail.  It’s very well kept and fairly easy to travel. 

We hoofed it for a flat 2 hours and covered a good 4.62 miles as per the GPS.  This was an evening hike, so it was a race against the clock.  Of course we always dilly-dally on the way.  We gawk at things in the woods and water.  There was a blue heron hunting his dinner.  I wonder if he caught anything.  We admired the dam and spillway and took note of fishermen along the way. 

The turn-around point at about 7:30PM was under the 422 Bridge, where the trail actually travels UNDER it.  That’s neat!  We saw some bats flitting around down there.  It’s always an adventure.  I cannot wait to go again!!!  Hiking makes me feel SO GOOD!  I cannot wait for vacation to start so I can hike some more. 

The Story Behind "I Refuse" by Josh Wilson

Sanctus Real - Lead Me

Sanctus Real - The Story Behind: Lead Me

Another Couple of Miles

Tammi and I hit the North Country Trail again this morning.  We went 1.8 miles out and then back-tracked.  We are up to 23.6 miles of our 200 mile challenge.  No worries… when the fall arrives, we will likely pound out much longer hikes.  The weather was superb.  It was sunny; but we were mostly under the cover of trees.   The first and last portion was well maintained, recently trimmed.  In between the grass was high, but we didn’t have any trouble following the blue-dots.  Some of the terrain was muddy.  Overall, it felt like a very easy hike today.  I’m already itching to get back out for another adventure. 

Next year I’m going to track my total miles for all hikes…

Harrison Hills Park

This park is located in Freeport.  Oh wow… a treasure that took entirely too long for us to find!  I can’t wait to go back!

There is a 5-mile trail that loops around the perimeter of the park.  There are voluminous trails that wind through and intertwine with one another all over the park.  The Boy Scouts have done a fantastic job with trail signs and marking. 

The park is also rich with geocaches.  We found 5 or 6 of the traditional ones.  We didn’t even have time to tackle the multi-caches.  One of them was not far off the Rachel Carson Trail, past a really cool waterfall, and in a small cave-like area. 

 

We walked the creek-bed down down down the hill until we found the tiny cave.  The picture above is Keith jumping from one side to the other across the creek.  Notice the ammo box… that’s the cache!  He’s going to put it back where we found it. 

A little ways further we happened upon the “look-out” area.  We spotted a couple of osprey hunting.  The coolest part was that we were looking down on them.  The river is WAY down there! 

We hiked for 4 1/2 hours up and down hills, over creeks, through the woods, all over the place.  It was grand!  What an awesome day of hiking! 

We started hiking about a year ago.  I’m so glad that it’s something we both enjoy and have stuck with.  It really is good for the mind, body, and soul. 

Just This and That

I feel like we are stuck in a time-warp.  Summer arrived, pretty much over-night it seems.  Where has time gone and where is it going?  Hmmm…

Work.  It’s necessary.  It takes up a lot of time, the majority of time I think.  It’s been taking more time than usual lately.  That’s what happens when I take a few days off… things pile up and then I have to work harder to get back on track.  Not to mention that this time of year is a busy time for my work.  A lot of practitioners complete their training in May or June and want to start work immediately.  I don’t blame them… they probably need the money for the mountains of student loans they must have.  So as they clamor to get in, my piles stack higher and higher, and occasionally I feel overwhelmed.  Nevertheless, I am blessed to have such gainful employment.

Play Ball!  We caught a ball-game not long ago with our neighbors across the street.  Keith pretty much lives and breathes baseball at the moment.  He talks about all the games he wants to go to.  I think this year we may go to more baseball games than I’ve been to in my entire life.  I cannot tell a lie… I actually enjoy it.  The Pirates are actually doing well this year.  I’m sure you are shocked to know that I have some favorite players…. Walker (of course – hometown boy), McCutcheon, and Jones. 

Play Softball!  Keith is playing with the church league.  They have at least a game every week, sometimes two.  It’s a great group of guys and the cheering section is pretty neat too.  Last week he couldn’t play because he had to work.  Hopefully he’ll get a game in this week though.  What a great opportunity it is for him. 

Gallivanting… Yes, that’s what I do with my horse.  I had one really bad ride and one really good ride in the past week.  Penny has a new fancy bridle with beautiful pink rhinestones on it.  (Thank you Mom-Hudson)  Oooooohhhh she looks soooooooo pretty.  She did not, however, like the short chinstrap I used.  That caused quite a bit of a fuss, more like a rodeo-type reaction.  I’ve rectified that with somewhat of a ghetto fix for the time being, but rest assured, I shall be heading to the tack shop in due time.  This last ride was absolutely lovely.  I need many many more like that.  I’m trying a lot of new things this year.  New feed.  New bridle.  New bit on that bridle.  New time to ride – AFTER she eats dinner.  It’s hard to say what’s been the best change for her, but so far so good. 

Horsing Around.  Well, that’s not always the same as riding, but yes it is taking up time.  I usually do the farm-chores at the stable 4 days each week.  There are times when I’m more flexible, but that’s my usual schedule.  I clean the stalls, sweep the floor, feed the ponies, treat the doggies, pet the kitties, and then decide if there is time to ride or not.  By the time I get out of work, over to the stable, finish my chores, and home again… several hours have passed.  I usually don’t even get home until about 7:30pm, later if we ride.  Soon there will be hay to bale too… yay!

Exercising.  I started my hiking binge last year about August-ish.  Sometimes with Tammi and other times with Keith, I’ve enjoyed many miles and look forward to more.  We hit Moraine a few times, McConnells Mills, North Park, Hartwood Acres, Deer Lakes Park, and other misc spots.  It’s been really good for me.  It’s great exercise, so soothing for the soul.  I’d like to try Zumba sometime too… if I can find someone to go with.  Not till winter tho.  Summer is just too full already.   

Gardening.  Oh I so wish I had a REAL garden.  Alas, Keith has aspired to plant some flowers in front of the house.  I hope they survive.  I hope it’s as beautiful as he plans.  I spent some time tilling some of the flower-bed by hand today.  I plan to add some better soil and plant more flowers there.  I usually have one tomato plant on the porch… haven’t decided about that for sure yet.  Some day I hope to have a REAL garden with vegetables and flowers.  I can dream can’t I?  In the past I have canned stewed tomatoes.  I really miss those.  I just do not have the space for gardening at this house. 

Planning.  Oh yes, planning takes time.  We’ve got all sorts of plans… we just don’t know what they all entail yet…  Kind of odd, yes I know.  We plan our meals.  We plan our activities each week.  We plan to do things that we sometimes do and sometimes don’t follow through with.  I PLAN to take my bike up to Paul’s to be fixed.  If anyone can fix it… he can.  I PLAN to ride that bike at some point this summer.  (my butt is gonna hurt – I need a big-butt seat!)  I plan to go fishing.  I plan to hike.  I plan to take some vacation time at some point.  I plan to get organized.  I plan to study.  I plan to pay off our debts.  I plan to clip coupons.  I plan to make jewelry and sometimes I THINK about selling it.  WE plan for our future… contemplating where we will live, settle, and prosper.  We plan for everything…  And just need the time to do it all.

North Country Trail

 

We guessed that we hiked 3 miles today, but after measuring on the map it seems that it was more like 4 1/2.  YAY!!!!  Girl-Power Rocks!!!

Good Morning Lake Arthur

We met the Zombeck’s at Lake Arthur this morning. 

We spotted this Osprey over the water.  Wish I could have captured a better shot of him.  He would occasionally hover, searching for his next meal.  Very neat!

The Zombecks enjoying the peace and CHILL of the morning.

I caught my very first catfish and it was a pretty NICE one!  They kitty was 25 inches long and weighed 8.4 pounds.  WOW!  That was FUN!!!!

Keith reeled in a catfish too…

Here it is… 19 inches long and 5.9 pounds.  Awesome!

Of course… John caught one too.  Amanda did NOT. 

 

When fishing was over we hit a geocache near the bike trails to drop off a travel bug we named Carpe Carp Diem.  (Sieze the Carp of the Day)  We cannot wait to see where it ends up! 

 

The horses are fed and spoiled taboot.  Laundry is washing.  The tv is on anticipating the Derby.  Keith is settling in for his nap.  I have coupons to clip and errands to run.  This day feels much too rushed, but I sure am enjoying it!   

Gettysburg Trip

Wow – comparing the truck to the statue, you can really get the size perspective.

 

I had a work-related conference held in Gettysburg this past week.  Keith took a couple vacation days and joined me.  He did all the historical touristy type stuff while I was in my sessions.  He joined us for dinner and Ghost-tour with the group.     

The last day Keith took me (and a friend of mine) to the tower, to Little Round Top, and to a memorial for his personal hero, Chamberlain.  WOW…  120 steps up and 120 steps down.  The tower is way up there and it was windy.  But the view was breathtaking.

Loved these really cool rocks. 

 

Loved these pictures my friend took of us! 

Here is Chamberlain’s Memorial….

And here’s a loose cannon! HA!

 

We stopped at a winery on our way back and bought several bottles to share.  It was a great time and I even learned some stuff!