Bull Run Mtn Hike!

Last Saturday Andrea and I decided we didn't care it was raining, hopped in the car, and drove to Bull Run Mountain for some hiking!

 Mountain might be a generous term as the summit was only 1300 feet, but it still felt wonderful to be out in the forest. And what a view from the top! Because it was raining, when we emerged on the granite cliffs overlooking the valley, it felt like we had fallen into the primordial world! I kept expecting to see dinosaurs pop out of the trees :)

A random collage of some pictures from the summit. Love the one in the middle of Andrea staring off into the distance :)

I may not be your typical tree hugger, but I love me my forests and hiking always makes any day a thousand times better!

Kayaking with Krista!

Last Friday I had a chance to go kayaking with my friend, Krista. First time going, and I must admit I'm hooked!!

 Here we are all vested up and ready to hit the water. We went in the Chesapeake Bay, near Piney Point.

 Here we paddled amidst the local wildlife. I'd never seen a jellyfish in real life before!

 And when we beached on a sandbar for lunch, we ran into this little guy. He's so cute! I have this thing for turtles :)

 We managed to spend some time swimming around, whilst avoiding the jellyfish. Although our friend Erin did have a little minnow swim down her...well you can guess :)

 Piney Point lighthouse. I love lighthouses!! This one was so picturesque too.

And of course, I had to ring the bell. How could I not when they put that mallet so temptingly close to it?? It was a beautiful day on the water, with great company, and great memories. Thank you Krista!!

Dawsha Days and Fourth of July

The end of June and the beginning of July brought a visit from Dawsha!! The first day she was here we went to King's Dominion, which was awesome, and then the power went out that night. Little did we know, it would be off for 3 very long, hot days!!

 But Dawsha was a good sport about it and we made the best of things by escaping from the hot house to the hot outdoors :) At least here, at Swains Lock, we had the lovely Potomac River and part of the old C&O canal to keep us entertained!

 Fortunately, by the fourth of July, the power was restored and we journey downtown to enjoy the fireworks...along with the rest of the city it seemed :) Quite crowded, but we still had fun. This is Betsy, Seth, and Dawsha.

 I felt very patriotic watching the fireworks light up the sky from my view at the Jefferson Memorial. Amazing to see those lights along side all the monuments on the Mall.

 Me, Betsy, and Dawsha in front of the Jefferson memorial before the start of the show. I had such fun times with these ladies!!

 Sadly, Dawsha lef the next day, but Eve and I went on Saturday the 7th up to Antietam. They do an annual patriotic concert and fireworks display. They even shoot off live cannon during the Overture of 1812 performance. It was quite hot that day walking around the battlefield, but luckly we had a friend, Heston, who lived nearby and rescued us from the worst of the days heat. Very fun day!!!

I love history and I'm learning so much more about the Civil War being out here. I'm loving seeing all these places I've only read about. Minus the whole humidity thing, I'm really enjoying my time out east!!

Happy Week Happenings

Happiness for this week was:

A visit from Dad!! He was in the area for a work conference and we were able to have dinner Tuesday night and lunch on Friday. So glad I was able to have him here for awhile :) Love you Dad!

Going to the temple with Jenn for her first time. Always a special experience and glad I could be there and a part of it.

 Eve, Me, Jenn, and Zach. The temple is always a good place to be :)

 Visiting Great Falls, VA! This was wandering nature trails through beautiful forest and since it wasn't hard core working out, I decided it was okay for Sunday :)

 So I spent Sunday afternoon wandering up and down the VA side of the Potomac viewing the waterfalls...

 chilling with my feet in the Potomac's current...

 and exploring the locks that were part of the C&O canal system. Love the random historical things that are everywhere around here :)

 Just a sampling of the trails I was walking along.

 And some of the wildlife!

Overall, a good Sunday walk and a great end of one week and beginning of another. So excited for my hike later this week to Harper's Ferry. Sometimes I just really love life :)

Mud Butt the turtle

Once upon a time we were driving on the back roads of Maryland...

 We happened upon a turtle crossing the road and decided to name him Mud Butt.

 Mud Butt was quite shy at first and didn't want to come out of his shell.

But with a little coaxing, he emerged and gave us a smile.

We eventually bade good bye to our little friend and he quickly escaped into the bushes on the road side. Live long and prosper my turtle friend :)

National Zoo and random wanderings

Once upon a time, Christian and I decided to go to the Zoo. We saw lions, and tigers, and bears- oh my!

 Christian's favorites were the elephant and the turtles.

 Meanwhile, I took a shining to this big guy. Isn't he adorable?!!

 After the zoo, we started wandering around downtown. Christian loved the architecture of the Old Post Office building and Ben Franklin's statue in front.

 We decided we needed to take a bunch of pics with the Washington monument too. We wanted to touch it, but it's roped off. Lame. But still good photo moments!

 Christian's patriotic moment :)

 My goofy moment :P

And one of the two of us. A wonderful day to wander through the city, see new things, and go a little crazy with the camera. Good times!!

Dinner at Violette Lock

Friday evening Christian and I went for a picnic dinner at Violette Lock! It was once part of the C&O canal system just off the Potomac River.

We saw lots of wildlife including turtles, birds, and flying fish! Or at least fish that jumped out of the water for their insect dinners :)



We walked around before we found our river side seating arrangements. This is me near the edge of the Potomac.



 It's a pretty historic civil war era site too, so Christian has now conquered this strech of river for the Union side- good thing he's one of the good guys :)

 Christian and I by the Potomac- a dirty river, but some great views!

 On our drive back, we witnessed the most amazing sunset I've seen in months! The camera doesn't capture just how awesome it was but just believe me when I say I was dazzled!

Wonderful dinner, beautiful sunset over horses feeding in their fields, and excellent company. I'd say it was a pretty perfect evening for this girl!!