Skyline Camping Trip: 10/14-10/15

They say that autumns in New England
are the greatest of them all,
But give me sweet Virginia
for the fireworks of fall!
The prettiest October in all the fifty states,
Just drive up to the Skyline,
and park your car and wait.
-"Old Dominion" by Eddie from Ohio




I love Virginia. And I love the fall. I also love camping and hiking. And I really really love being with friends. This past weekend I experienced a lot of what I love all at once!

John, Dimitar, Sarah, Bethany, and I went camping at the Big Meadows Campground on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.
Daniel, my brother, spent the day with us on Saturday. Our first hike was White Oak Canyon, on which we saw many waterfalls and gorgeous trees. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the trees were at their leaf-changing peak. Being surrounded by such natural beauty reminded me of the quote, "All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (thanks, Mom :)



Here are some photos from Saturday's hike:











Saturday evening we enjoyed chili-dogs, s'mores, beautiful stars in a clear sky, and quality conversation around the campfire. Then we loaded on layers of clothing and blankets and cocooned ourselves in our sleeping bags. :)



On Sunday we enjoyed a pancake breakfast and Bible study around the fire before packing up. Around noon we hiked in the northern part of the park, up to a summit called "Mary's Rock." It was a strenuous hike, but the amazing panoramic view of the Shenandoah Valley was well-worth the trip!

Group Pic: Sarah, Me, Bethany, John, and Dimitar








Dimitar and I climbed to the highest point at Mary's Rock. The 360-degree view was BREATHTAKING.



Things we learned on this trip:

1. The Shenandoah National Park's definition of "strenuous" really isn't that bad.
2. The Mary's Rock hike is uphill both ways (not really...just felt like it).
3. When it's 50 degrees outside and you're driving 70mph for two hours straight, it might not be a good idea to ride with the convertible top down.
4. Some people have impeccable hearing and you should be careful what you say when hiking on a public trail (see story for more details).

5. Before choosing where to place your sleeping bag, always lay down to check for uncomfortable roots or rocks (or slants) under the tent floor.
6. There are only four words in the English language that end with -dous: stupendous, horrendous, tremendous, and...see if you can think of the last one (hint: it's somewhere in this list). And no, rotundous isn't a word...
7. Bethany hates spiders.
8. Banana peels don't burn.
9. John can rip entire dead-limbs off of a tree to provide free firewood for the campfire.
10. Sarah learned the entire Bulgarian alphabet on one hike (thanks to Dimitar).
11. People have funny reactions when John greets them with "Happy Birthday!"
12. Dimitar loves to listen/dance to anything by Usher.
13. Pouring coccoa onto a fire causes a cool "poof" of flame.
14. The stars are AMAZING on a clear night atop Skyline Drive.
15. Dimitar's sandwich preference: grape jelly, turkey, and a piece of Hershey's chocolate bar on white bread.
16. Not to disrespect Dimitar's sandwiches.
17. John snores really loud.
18. Dropping butter onto a super-hot skillet over an open fire causes high flames and isn't such a good idea...you might even call it hazardous.













Funny Story: Did I Say That Out Loud?

Sometimes I forget to turn on my "filter" and words come out of my mouth before I think. This happened on Sunday afternoon. We were sitting atop Mary's Rock, eating a picnic lunch and enjoying the view. There were several other hikers up there doing the same. One married couple had their super-cute baby girl with them. The husband was carrying her in one of those back-carrier thingys...As they approached us, John, being the gregarious gentleman that he is, called to them, "Hey, baby." The couple smiled, held the baby's hand up toward us, and then turned to walk away. Then I said, "He was talking to your daughter, not you." (Ever have one of those moments where you think something's said quieter than it actually is? Well, that was one of those moments...) The man turned back toward us and said, "Yeah, thanks." Then everyone started laughing. I was so embarrassed! :)



There are many more photos to see! Just
click here and select the "fall 06" album.

Shrine Mont: 10/6 - 10/8

This past weekend was Shrine Mont, our church's annual retreat. Sarah and I signed up together and really enjoyed the weekend in the small town of Orkney Springs (close to Mt. Jackson), nestled in Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah mountains.

The Virginia House, where we had our meetings and small group sessions. As Sarah said, it looks like it should be on the cover of a Southern Living magazine.

About 580 people from our church were there--including my dad (my mom couldn't come because she had to work)--so there were plenty of new friends to make. In spite of the rainy weather, it was a wonderful weekend of fellowshipping, relaxing, fire-side chatting, hiking, apple-eating, cider-drinking, and merriment-making. Most important, it was a weekend of reflecting on the truth that I am completely known and completely loved by the God who made me. What a freeing truth!

The Scott House, where Sarah and I stayed.

Sarah and I are roommates wherever we go. :)

A funny story: Hiking with Olivia

My friends, Jon and George, and I decided to go hiking on Saturday afternoon. We caught up with another friend, Aaron, and two of his children, Caleb (4) and Olivia (6). One the way down the mountain, Olivia was holding my hand. Now, this is an important detail: Olivia is a very small and petite little girl; her legs are about 1/4 the length of mine. Just keep that in mind.

So, we're walking and talking about leaves and moss and how God created everything...Then we come to a sloped embankment of wet leaves. Here's what happened in my head: "La-dee-la-dee-da...I'll just take one big step over this slope of wet leaves here...no problem...wait. I shouldn't do that. I have a small child attached to me."

But before I could tell my body to stop, it was too late; I'd already started to take the big step/leap over the leaves and inertia took its course. Poor Olivia's little legs couldn't keep up. My hand pulled hers, and she landed face first in the wet leaves.

I immediately picked her up and said, "Oh, Olivia, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" With a look of bewilderment, she replied, "Yeah. I'm okay. But I think I'm gonna go hold my Daddy's hand now."

Of course, I understood. I probably gave her some serious trust issues. As I walked all alone, I thought to myself, Man, I can't believe I just did that! I feel like such a jerk! How can I call myself a child-friendly former schoolteacher?

We continued down the mountain. Olivia held Aaron's hand, Caleb held Jon's hand, and I held no one's hand.
"You know, those are just the consequences," said little six-year-old voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked, amazed that a young kid would even know the word consequences.
"Well, you have to walk by yourself; you can't hold anyone's hand. That's the consequence for what you did."
Wow. How profound. I tried not to laugh too hard, but just nodded in agreement and then said to Aaron, "Well, looks like someone's parents are doing a great job explaining discipline to their children!"

Some time later, I was still walking alone and I decided it was time to try and reconcile with Olivia.
"Olivia, do you think that maybe I could hold your hand again?"
"Nope. Those are the consequences!"
"Well, but remember how I said I was sorry? Do you think you could forgive me?"
She paused for a little while, smiled, then extended her hand and said, "Okay. You can hold my hand now!" And we finished the hike together. What a happy ending. :)

~The End~

Saturday night there was a squaredancing party. We totally busted a move! I saw my dad dance in ways I've never seen him dance before! It was awesome.

Jon providing the snacks for our night of playing Guesstures.


Another story: My First Flat Tire

As were we packing up to leave on Sunday afternoon, we noticed my car had a flat tire. Thankfully, there were a couple generous and capable men around who jumped at the opportunity to help us out. Which is a great thing, because I hate dealing with car stuff. By the way, did you know that you're supposed to regularly check your spare tire to make sure it's pumped up? I didn't know that...and my spare tire was also flat. But somehow the guys found an electric air pump and fixed it.



An hour or so later, Sarah, Michelle, and I pulled out of Orkney Springs with the spare tire on my Cabrio and the damaged tire crammed in the trunk along with all our bags. It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day, and we enjoyed the drive through the winding mountain roads with the top down and music playing.

Michelle enjoys the backseat of the convertible.

About half an hour later, we stopped at the only auto place in Mt. Jackson and the guy there found the leak. It was in the side so he couldn't patch it. The following is a transcript of the dialogue that occured between us and the two older gentlemen at the auto place (keep in mind the location: a very small town in rural Virginia).

Us: "Do you know of a place where we can buy a new tire?"
Guy #1 (chewing slowly): "Hmm...Les-see...Isn't thar a place over thar in Winchester?"
Guy #2: "Yeah...I reckon so. Not sure if it'll be open now, though. Sunday afternoon an' all." (he squints up at the sunny sky)
Us: "Well, we're heading toward DC, so we're not going to drive through Winchester...
Guy #2: "The one in Winchester should be open, I do believe so...Try the one in Winchester."
Us: "Right. But we're heading to DC, so we won't drive through Winchester. How about in Woodstock, do you think there's anything there?"
Them: "Nope. Prolly won't find much there."
Us: "Okay...Umm..."
Silence.
Us: "Well, can you think of any place we could call to find out where a tire place is?"
Guy #2: "I don't have any phone numbers for Woodstock."
Us: "Do you have a phone book?"
Guy #2: "Nope."
Silence.
Us: "All right. Well, thanks so much for your help."

We left that one-horse-town and got on highway 81. I had to drive 50mph with my flashers on and the zooming traffic didn't really appreciate that (we got a lot of mean looks and angry gesticulations). Thanks to Michelle and her AAA service, we finally found a Goodyear place in Gainsville where within 40 minutes, I had a new tire, and we back on the road. Granted, the trip took an extra two hours, but we were so thankful to make it home safely and without much stress. Thanks be to God!


Those are candy cigarettes in our mouths...a little "blast from the past" while we waited for the new tire. As Sarah said, "Oh yeah, candy cigs. Because we're too cool for the real thing."

~The End~

Disclaimer: All photos in this blog post are property of Sarah Pullen and used with her permission. My camera spent the weekend in Arlington on our kitchen table.

do you know US geography?

click here to test your skills!

(thanks for this link, Stacie! :)

Jac at the Dumb & Dumber bar

My friend, Jac Bennington, sent me this photo a couple of days ago. It's from the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Do you recognize the place? If you're a "Dumb&Dumber" fan like I am, then you'll remember the scene where Lloyd is sitting in the hotel bar waiting for Mary Swanson. It's also the place where he sees the newspaper article on the wall and exclaims, "That's great...We've landed on the moon!" :)



A couple days later, Jac sent me this email: "Since you liked the other photo, (and no, I don't mind that you put it up on your blog) here is the front of the hotel. All I need are some furry boots and a lamborghini and I'd be like Lloyd tipping the bell hops with $100 bills. This is my re-enactment of the scene, except I was using $1 bills, I think. Oh, by the way, I did shout "we landed on the moon" after walking out of the bar that day. I'm sure that the people there for the wedding reception were surprised to hear me say that, but I had to do it."

Thanks, Jac! :) Hope you're having fun out there in Colorado..."where the beer flows like wine and the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano."

Visit with Laura in Wooster, OHIO: 9/30-10/1

Laura in the Pumpkins (yay for fall!)

This past weekend I made an eight-hour road trip to visit one of my best friends, Laura Gibson, in her home town of Wooster, Ohio. (It's pronounced "Wuh-ster," not "Woo-ster.") It's about 1.5 hours from Cleveland and an hour from Columbus, smack-dab in the middle of Amish-Country and dozens of cornfields. It's a beautiful and quaint town, and I really enjoyed my visit with her and her parents!

Here's Laura in front of her family's home. It's about 80-100 years old, and she's lived there since she was born. I can't even imagine what it's like to grow up in the same place and in the same house...how cool!

On Saturday we ventured into downtown Wooster to participate in the town's annual fall event: WOOSTERFEST. There was music (lots of country, of course), food (kettle corn!), and several shopping tents/booths. We had so much fun walking around, checking out the handmade jewelry, pottery, candles, etc.

We did see a couple odd sights. Take a look at this photo, for example.
This woman makes these "plant holders" using children's clothing and shoes. I don't know about you, but I find this somewhat disturbing. Laura and I felt like we were looking at kids cut in half, and it just weirded us out. Would you buy one of these? Feel free to post a comment and let me know what you think.

I also saw the longest mullet I've ever seen. Laura had warned me about the mullets and rat-tails that abound in Wooster, but I wasn't really prepared for something like this.
This guy has a serious party in the back...Looks like he's been partying for about ten years. Even though I tried to be sneaky, I think his son knew I was taking a picture of him. Whoops.

Laura and I asked to get our photo taken with a pony.
I'm trying to lift the pony's head out of her feedbag, but she wouldn't budge.

Laura, Rebecca, and Amy the pony.

Wooster is surrounded by cornfields, so we had to get some shots with the stalks.


Here I am "eating" the corn (I'm so weird).

We were feeling inspired by Daniel's beach photo (see 9-19 post), so Laura and I tried to duplicate the "shameless model pose." You might find us on the 2007 Wooster calendar. :) (Dan, what do you think?)



I don't think I'm meant to model. :)

What a great trip! (Thanks again, Laura!)

By the way, on my drive out of Wooster, I passed six Amish "buggies," two Mennonites on bicycles, and an Amish family walking with their kids holding onto a rope. Yay for the rural Midwest! :)

View more photos from the trip in the "fall 06" album here.