Hurrican Irene

At the end of August the East Coast was hit by Hurricane Irene. For many this sucked. John and his friends had to be evacuated from the Outer Banks for the 2nd year in a row. (I luckily had my long weekend there before the bad weather). Others got flooded, damaged, ect. And while I'm sad for them, my weekend was awesome!

A very sad John came home Thursday night and I tried to be sad for him, but I was mostly just glad he was safe from harm. We did a lot of nothing after work Friday, but Saturday morning we headed to his parents' house before the weather got bad.

The whole family came together and we ate a boatload of crabs. Love crabs! The power did go off for a bit while we were eating, but it came back within an hour. Then, as it continued to pour down rain and blow tree branches all over the yard, we just had good family time. Caroline proved herself adorable. John and I stayed up late with his sister and her boyfriend playing Cranium and cards, part of the time by flashlight. The weather was crazy, but really nothing more than a 14 hour thunderstorm. Sure we lost power on and off, but we had an amazing time being trapped indoors.

The next day was beautiful. I started the day with a 2 year old yelling "Lissa! Apple Jack!" (her favorite My Little Pony) which was followed promptly by coffee. Then we wandered around to see what kind of damage there was. There were leaves/branches everywhere...a very green yard. A few bigger trees feel behind Uncle Glen's house, and some minor trees were across the road. Luckily everyone has tractors so the road was quickly cleared. Some leaf raking happened later in the day.


John and I decided to go fishing at the pond behind his grandparents' house. Caroline ended up there with us. She was pretty excited. Until the first fish John caught flapped around wildly when she tried to pet it. Scared the life out of her! She ran away screaming. I'm yelling at John (who had wandered to get more worms) because I think the fish actually jumped out of the bucket and was flapping on the ground (it was safe in the bucket). It was a mess. Caroline was terrified of fish from then on and hide behind me every time we caught one. Of course, she was thrilled when Mom came home with a kiddie fishing pool...which she then pretend fished with in her kiddie pool all night long.

And somewhere in there Caroline bashed her face in by jumping off a pile of couch cushions. I'm pretty sure John and I will be allowed to babysit again, but seriously, I would be worried if I came home and my kid was afraid of fish and had a gash on her forehead. I think Shannan forgave us.

So, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I love John's family, they're happy I'm back in the picture, and there's nothing more amazing watching John with Caroline. Well, except maybe for crabs. They're really good. There was an insane amount of love in that house that weekend and I felt amazing for days afterwards. Who knew a hurricane could be some calming and feel so great.

Apple picking - Hartland Orchard

Today John and I went apple picking on a complete whim. It was a beautiful day to be outside and it was something different. We found 2 places near one another, and thank goodness we did because the first place was closed when we got there. So we drove 10 minutes down the road to orchard #2. So glad it worked out this way!

This orchard had every kind of apple you could possibly want. And the price was excellent. Free admission and I paid $10 for a TON of apples. We just wandered around, filling our bag with all different kinds of apples, taste-tested a few, and genuinely enjoyed just being outside together. It was kind of ridiculously cheesy. Especially talking about bringing our kids there someday...if we're living in Virginia still.

Also, these same people have pumpkins in October, Christmas trees in December, and peaches/cherries/and more throughout the year. So I'm sure we'll be back.

Birdsboro, PA Rock Climbing

Back in August we drove up to Pennsylvania to meet 2 of John's friends for some rock climbing. I was designated trip planner, chef, and photographer.

John and I made drove up to the campsite at French Creek State Park and set up our tent. Kevin and Lorna for a bit behind us so we decided to meet at the rocks, at an old quarry about 10-15 minutes away. We had a bit of trouble finding the path because we were going off weird directions, but we made it! We wandered down the road a ways and found a real quarry - probably not the place you should rock climb.

It started to drizzle while we were waiting on Kevin and Lorna, but it stopped after a few minutes. Kevin, Lorna, and John climbed 2 really easy climbs so that Lorna could have some good practice at lead climbing. Then we hiked to a different area to try some harder stuff.

And then there was thunder. And the sky started to darken. And it was clear it was going to start pouring. But someone had to finish a climb.

And really, it was a good hike back to the car so at some point we realized we were going to get wet no matter what. So John climbed until the rain started. And when it did, we were instantly wet. We hiked back up some rock stairs to the main path, and took the long wet trudge to the cars. Everyone was soaked to the bone. So much rain!

When we got back to the campsite we somehow managed to get a fire going. We burned one of John's old computer science books, 10 years outdated, with little twigs. That burned enough to dry out some bigger logs. I was quite proud of that fire.

Also, John did an anti-rain dance while wearing the world's cheapest poncho. This is why I love him.

We manged to have enough of a break in the rain to eat, but soon we all ended up in the tents. It kept raining so there was no climbing, hiking, or canoeing (the park had nice lakes) the next day, as we had wanted.

But we're going back next weekend to try again!

Friends Come and Go

So, awhile ago I realized I had lost a friend. I think I know why, but I'm not 100%. There wasn't a fight or even a small falling out. One day we were talking about getting together. The next day, we weren't. Maybe something else happened on her end that I don't know about. But I think I know. And then there was the moment when her actions let me know she'd let my friendship go. And at first I was mad. Offended. Betrayed. All that good stuff.

But now, I've moved on. I don't need that kind of friend.

So why can't I remove that "friend" from Facebook?

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.