Fact

Birdsboro, PA Round 2

Since we got rained out the first time went went climbing in Birdsboro, we decided to try again. Guess what. It rained! We all arrived on Friday, built a nice fire, at some food. Got up Sat morning and had to rally everyone to hit the grocery store and then the rocks. Of course John was sick - what started out as a tickle in the throat got worse all day, and I was starting to feel sick myself by the afternoon. So after he took a small fall and twisted his ankle (all better now), John didn't really climb. And I could tell he wasn't feeling well. But I could not convince him to go back to the campground and let the others climb on until dark. So I gave him hugs and let him be all sick. The next morning I was sick and he was doing better. For some reason everyone wanted to just stand around a crappy campfire and do nothing. So I went back into my sleeping bag where it was warm. At noon I finally just started packing up to go home. And yes, they were still around the campfire. I love my some fire time when camping, but when I'm sick, cold, and wet, not so much. Since it was too wet to climb I didn't know what we were waiting around for.

So, we did get a few hours of disease-free, dry climbing in, but we're pretty much never going back to Pennsylvania.

Yes, 5 Years!

5 years ago John and I had our first date. And look at us now! Sure, there were "the Dark Ages" but I am sure our 2006 selves would be pretty impressed. And the way we've been talking, the next 5 years should be just as entertaining/interesting.

Now you get to sit through the cute, the sappy, and the funny.

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.

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.