A Simpler Life

After Hershey, we made our way to Lancaster and the surrounding areas. I have been really into books by Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunsetter so this was a real treat for me. The weather was slightly rainy but after a 10 min severe thunderstorm the sun came out and it was beautiful. Our first stop was Bird in Hand for a smorgasbord lunch. A smorgasbord is just another name for a big buffet. This one was huge. They had lots of variety and it was delicious. After lunch we decided to take a self guided tour through the area. The land is beautiful and dotted with tall blue silos. Simplicity at its best. We drove past several farms with horses, milk cows, chickens, and children. Amish buggies drove along the side of the highway and were parked at several business with beautiful strong horses attached to them. I am slightly envious. I am not sure Dean was so intrigued but I could have drove around all day. I always wanted to be a farm girl with horses, cows, and chores. We also went to the town of Intercourse where there was a large English/Amish shopping area. There was a jam shop where they made all their jams, jellies, and pickles right there in the store. Unfortunately, they were finished for the day when we arrived. It was a really interesting experience. I also loved that fact that my books were now real. The towns were real and they scenes from in my books were coming to life. It was excellent. Maybe next time we will go for a buggy ride.....

I love Chocolate!

Can you guess where we went next? We couldn't visit Pennsylvania without stopping at the Hershey factory in Hershey, PA. It was a great stop for something sweet. You could pay to make your own candy bar or other chocolate creation or take a tour of the process for free. We chose the tour. It was really interesting learning how kisses are wrapped, the chocolate is made, and how it all gets packaged up. We even got free mini hershey's candy bars afterwards. Dean gave me his so I got two! I love Hershey's! It was a fun detour and delicious.

Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg was amazing. Dean was very excited for this part of our trip. We got there very early in the morning before the park even opened. Dean wanted to experience it just like they did in "Remember the Titans." It wasn't quite like that but it was still pretty cool. It is such a serene environment. You don't even want to make a sound. You can drive all around and look at the memorials and battlefields. It is very much like you are experiencing the history. The pictures are so much better than anything I can say about it. They also have a really great museum that shows the uniforms, guns, and other items used during that time. We stayed there for a few hours taking it all in. It was a great stop on our trip.

Miss Us?? Williamsburg, VA

I know I haven't posted for a LONG time but we have been busy. This is the first day that I haven't been writting tons and tons of special ed goals or preparing for Christmas at home. Since I have some extra time this afternoon I thought I would add another adventure.

June 2010 (not sure the exact date)
We got some great advice from Dean's uncle Richard while in West Virginia and headed out towards Williamsburg, VA. We made a few scenic stops and another one at Appomattox Court House. If you are not familiar the great surrender of the Civil War took place here. It was really cool. You could just feel the history around you. Looking at the battlefields, trenches, and replicas really made it come alive. It was GREAT!! We then headed toward Richmond to see the capital and to view a few other battlefields. After that it was on to Williamsburg.

Williamsburg was wonderful. We could have spent a few more days there but the two days we did spend were great. We spent most of our time in Revolutionary City. Everything in this area is just like it was in the Revolution. All the buildings, people, everything. Even everything made for the city or in the city is handmade. So its all authentic. During different parts of the day they would act out different parts of the revolution. We followed them around town while they were doing it. I LOVED IT!!! I think Dean liked it too. We really liked watching them make bricks, buckets, and wagons. We also got this cool mug that we could refill as much as we wanted. That was awesome. We drank so much lemonade and apple cider. I REALLY loved it!!
Hopefully I can post pictures soon too. Its really hard to describe how cool it was. You have to go there. It is a great family place and a great way to learn about US history.











The Governor's Mansion- Incredible!!

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

After all the excitement of The Appalachian Trail, we began our travel north toward the eastern seaboard. Our first stop was in Reedy, West Virginia. We planned an impromptu visit to see his Uncle Richard, Aunt Linda, Cousins Andrew, Neri, and girls, and Benji. We had a great time.

We arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday morning. Andrew, Neri, Dean, and I took our dirt bikes and Wesley's ATV exploring in the "hollers." We went over rocks, through creeks and overgrown grasses, and ended up quite a long way from the house. We even came across some horses that Dean HAD to ride bareback. When we finally made it out of all the brush and "hollers" Neri and I worked really hard to convince them to let us take the road home, so we wouldn't have to go back the way we came. The whole ride was really fun. I had one small injury to my already bruised knee and a couple of good, muddy wrecks but survived. Andrew rode my dirt bike for part of the journey. I really wish I had a picture of that. His legs were definitely too long for my bike.

After dinner that night we went into town to watch the guys play basketball in the park. Neri and I took their girls to the park while the guys played. It was fun watching the guys play. Thankfully, there were no injuries. Afterwards, we hit up Dairy Queen then headed back. It was a busy and fun Saturday.

Sunday, we were able to attend church and listen to Richard preach. It was a wonderful sermon. We also got to hear him preach at the evening service. We can thank Richard for introducing us to the Luke Bryan song, "Rain is a good thing." Every time we hear that song we think of the wonderful time we had with them.

Linda made us some wonderful food both Saturday and Sunday. It was a great contrast to granola bars, fruit snacks, and pb & j. We spent a lot of time just talking and listening to Richard tell stories. He gave us lots of great ideas for the rest of our travels. We were sad to leave early Monday morning but excited to begin exploring some of those places Richard and Linda told us about. Thanks so much McKenzies! We just may have to make another visit to West Virginia.

One of the many beautiful landscapes driving through W.V. thanks to Richard!

Appalachian Trail

June 16-17, 2010

We were so excited about this adventure. Dean had really wanted to spend a week or so hiking the Appalachian Trail. I wasn't quite so excited based on our other hiking adventures but was still excited to go. We didn't really know what to expect and we hadn't really trained or physically prepared for caring our backpacks. We had everything we needed and were ready to go.

We decided to start our hike at the very beginning. The actual Applachian Trail begins on top of a mountain so we started from Amicalola Falls State Park near Dahlonega, GA. The trail there is the gateway to the Appalachian Trail. The state park itself was great. It is home to the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River at 729 ft.

Once we arrived at the park we checked in at the Visitor's Center to get our permit and let them know how long we would be hiking. We planned to be gone no longer than TEN days. In Gaitlinburg, we saw a great map for the Appalachian Trail but decided to wait and get one in Georgia. Unfortunately for us, the Visitor's Center did not have any maps of the Appalachian Trail. We doubled checked our packs and headed out on the trail. It was about 5:30 pm when we began. The projected time to get to the trail head was 6 hrs. Uh-oh.... it would be very dark in six hours and we had NO map. Would it take us 6 hours to get there? Not with Dean in charge.

We hiked as fast as we could. Our packs were very heavy. The first mile of our hike began with 425 stairs up to the top of the waterfall. The view of the falls was great but after that 425 steps I was ready to head back to the car. We continued on, trying to make those 7.3 miles in less than 6 hours. As we kept hiking the weather started to change. For most of our hike it rained off and on. We could hear thunder but continued to pray that we would make it without getting soaked or having any other problems.

About 3/4 of the way there, as it was starting to reach dusk, Dean spotted a black bear. It was about 200 yards from us but seemed unfazed by our presence. Dean clapped his hands, made some noise, and the bear ran off. Thank goodness for Dean and pepper spray!!

As it got darker it got harder and harder to see. Thanks to my wonderful grandparents King we had a nice handheld GPS that could tell us how far we were going and our elevation. We knew we were getting closer but it never seemed like we were going to reach the shelter at the top of Springer Mountain. About 9:30 pm, we were really hoping to find a shelter or somewhere to sleep. Just a few minutes later we saw the sign, "Shelter". What a relief! We could finally rest. We hadn't reached Springer Mountain but this was good enough for us.

We didn't really know what to expect with the shelter. Would it be comfortable? Would there be other people staying there? Would there be bears? Our questions began to be answered as soon as we arrived at the shelter. The shelter had a wood floor, roof, and three sides with an open front. It was built off the ground to help keep animals out. There was a backpack hanging from the bearline wire and someone's belongings, including a hatchet, inside the shelter. However, there was no one there. Strange... We assumed maybe they were going to the bathroom or getting water..........

We started to get settled in and ready for sleep. The rain had started again along with lightning. We tried to huddle together in my sleeping bag with Dean's blanket. We used the tarp inside the shelter to cover our packs. It was very dark, expect for occasional flashes of lightning and thunder. Dean hid the person's hatchet so it would be harder for them to kill us, if they came back. A bit extreme, maybe, but when you are in the wilderness you think of all sorts of dangerous situations. Dean was ready for anything. He even slept with pepper spray in one hand and the flashlight in the other. I was scared.

We had been sleeping about a hour when Dean abruptly sat up. A mouse ran up his leg and across his stomach. We checked around the shelter and tried to get resettled to go back to sleep. The other hiker had still not returned. Just as we were falling back to sleep we heard a rustling in the tarp. It was that mouse trying to get in our packs! Dean shook the tarp and the noise stopped. So we tried to sleep again. This routine went on about every ten minutes for the rest of the night. Every flash of lightning we expected to see a person or bear standing right outside the shelter. We did not sleep well and were relieved when morning came. I knew that the night was when Dean asked me if I wanted to turn back. Turn back? Is my husband really interested in quitting now? In a way I was excited because the 4 hours of hiking and night of sleep were not what I had expected on this trip. However, we decided to continue on. The trip could only get better, right?

Early into our hike that second day, we reached Springer Mountain and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. The view was beautiful and it felt great to make it that far. We were ready for a great second day. We continued on and stopped every now and then for a snack or drink of kool-aid. Our goal was to hike 20 miles every day of our journey. How we were going to get back to the truck was still a mystery.

We hiked all morning and arrived at a nice cool stream for lunch. After soaking our feet for awhile we continued on. I was wearing new hiking boots and my feet were starting to ache.

We continued on. The scenery was forever the same. No animals, a few streams, and a hiker or two along the way. It was BORING and we were not interested in sleeping in another shelter. About 2 o'clock we decided that we weren't having much fun, our packs were heavy, and we wanted out. You may be shocked that we quit after only one day but we needed more fun and less solitude. So we turned around and hiked all the way back to Amicalola State Park. We hiked about 20 miles that second day and made it out just before dark.

We drove to the campgrounds, showered, and decided to spend the night at a hotel instead of camping. We called our parents to let them know we were safe and sound. My parents were quite excited considering my mom thought that Dean was taking me into the woods to kill me. Apparently, she has watched too many CSI and Criminal Minds episodes. What a ridiculous idea.

We were so happy to be back in civilization and in a nice comfy bed. What a wonderful way to end our adventure on the Appalachian Trail.