Blackwater Falls West Virginia

Since we had a 3 day weekend due to Veterans Day, John and I headed to West Virginia for one last hiking trip before winter. Of course that doesn't mean we won't hike again, but just in case, this trip was made. We decided to stay in a hotel though. Even with nice sleeping bags, sometimes cold weather camping sucks.

We had a beautiful drive out west. A lot of the trees in Shenandoah were still colorful. But then the country music took over the radio, the trees lost their leaves, the temp dropped...and there was snow on the ground.

Our hotel was about 20 mins from the park, so after we checked in we went to do a quick look around before the sun set. The wind was pretty brutal seeing as we were still in fall mode, but I was pretty sure the weekend was supposed to be a bit warmer so I didn't cry.

That night we reverted to our college days and had PB&J, ramen, and various other random foods that were possible to cook in a hotel room. Actually oddly fun. We also watched way too many episodes of House-hunters International and pondered moving to Australia some more.

Our hike was not that long, maybe 6 miles. Hard to say since we did a combination of many trails. The park's longest trail was 1.5 mile so we just kept taking different pieces of them to make a loop. A lot of the time was spent in the woods. One trail seriously should have been about .2 miles, but was a full mile because it just zig-zagged around the trees.

Balanced Rock - milestone 1

We ran into these deer on the trail and they would not budge. No matter how much noise we made, they just looked at us with these "Dude, it's my grass, go away" looks. We would have just walked around them, but there was a baby so we didn't want the mom to flip out. So it took a few minutes, but eventually made it.

Lame stream crossing

Made it to the falls overlook! Realized there was another, better overlook on the otherside. So we hiked back to the car and drove there (No trail from where we were, across the river, to the other side)

On the way back to the car, we came across a rock in our way. So we had to do a little rock scramble.

View from the lodge, where we parked our car.

Good views of Blackwater Falls

Ohiopyle, PA

Labor Day weekend seemed to sneak up on me this year and I was suddenly faced with a long weekend and no plans. So I quickly pulled something together and the boy just went along with it.

Then, while at work on Friday I pulled something in my neck and couldn't move my head without pain. I went to the doctor and got some muscle relaxants and rested until Saturday morning when we were set to leave. So, the trip was a little more subdued, but I was well enough to hike at least.

We drove out to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, a big spot for white water rafting. I thought we would probably get out on the water, but with a sore neck it just didn't sound like a good idea.

When we arrived set set up camp, and made friends with a hillbilly that we named Zeek.

There was a festival going on, so John and I did some wandering and looked at pretty scares, scary confederate flag dream catchers, and ate a lot of food. We dipped our feet in the water and just hung out by the falls.

We saw a guy cooking a whole pig!!

On Sunday we did a simple hike, but it was incredibly humid and we felt like just being lazy by the water. We saw the Cascades and a lot of different colored mushrooms.

On the hike we were able to do some recon work and discovered some good climbing routes for a future trip.

After a short break we found a pretty lame waterfall, which was overrun with children. But climbing down into the little cavern and scrambling over the rocks was really fun.

Then we went back to the main falls where we watched some people white water kayaking. Only one person managed to go over the falls without flipping upside down. Luckily they all flipped themselves upright quite quickly. Having just done the white water kayak class, I know how hard it is to flip yourself back up. I can't really do it fully, so this was impressive. I will stick to flat water.

Of course around 4 it started raining so we spent a lot of time in the tent. It was still raining Monday morning so we just packed up and headed home.

Vancouver, BC - Part 3 - 27th Birthday!

I don't know how I could have asked for a better birthday. John and I checked in to our Bed & Breakfast early and basically just dropped our stuff off. We decided not to spend money staying at a nice place the entire time, but for my birthday night, we splurged. We had the Shangri-La Suite - the entire top floor of the B&B.

From there, we went down to English Bay for kayaking! There was only one other couple on the trip, so it was nice and intimate. We had a double kayak which meant John and I actually had to work together to get where we were going. Our foot peddles kept sticking so John had to steer since I couldn't get the right peddle to move. That meant I should have been in the "powerhouse" position, but, well, I am not that strong. So it was interesting. I'd much rather be in just a regular kayak with no foot peddles.

Anyway, the trip was still great. We paddled along the seawall to Siwash Rock and then back. We saw a seal swimming next to us! There were some waves and rocks that we had to avoid, so it was a little more interesting than our usual flat water paddling. Loved being on the water.

The other couple on the trip were from Vancouver so we got a lot of inside scoop on places to go. Of course, we didn't have much time left in our trip, so it all got filed away for next time. But! They did take us to a great fish and chips place after the kayak trip. So John and I got fish and chips for lunch and sat out on a grassy area overlooking the water.

The rest of the day was filled with a nap and and John's attempt at romance. Ok, "attempt" makes it sound bad. It wasn't. But I don't want to get too sappy on the blog! Anyway, we then had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant, followed up by Birthday Gelato. I had Baileys Irish Cream, John had Green Tea. So good! Then we strolled around the city, to another patch of coastline we hadn't been to yet, and watched the sun set over the water. Awww.

Again, awesome birthday. Did not want it to end.

Vancouver, you make me consider being Canadian.

Vancouver, BC - Part 2

Not much to say about Day 2. We went back to Stanley Park for more frolicking. There ended up being so much of the city we did not see (excuse to go back!) because we kept within walking distance of where we were staying. There was plenty to see and we enjoyed just wandering around in the beautiful weather. We'll go back some day to explore the area near the university and up into the mountains.

So, back to Stanley Park. Only we went the other direction so we could see the totem poles. Of course, these are fake totems, just recreations. Still, pretty neat.

Walking to the totem poles...

One day we'll be back to hike in these mountains.

That evening we decided to check out what a Canadian casino was like. The craps table failed us, but we ended up winning about $100 at the slot machines - which never happens. We planed one game that had alien cows, which was pretty great. But the best was this insane penguin game. It was like a slot machine on crack. You wouldn't win on the spin but then some penguins would dance out and switch the reels and suddenly you won sometime! I can't describe how crazy it was. But it played "ice, ice baby" at one point. Everyone should experience this game. Except maybe old people who may have a stroke because of it. Or those prone to seizures. So. Much. Fun.