"Oh The Places You'll Go!"- Dr. Suess

Whew! It has been quite an adventure over the past few years! I've recently felt drawn back to exploring the blogging world. I enjoy reading so many blogs and listening to podcasts, so why not try (again) at keeping a blog myself.

After reading my last few posts, I realized that life has DRAMATICALLY changed, especially over the last 3 years! Last time I updated on our life we had just moved into a rental house in North Garden, Virginia.

Since 2012, we have bought a house (Waynesboro, Virginia), found our forever sweetheart (Barley), got married, sold that house, moved to Tennessee, and got new jobs! Of course, there have been a lot of additional (smaller) changes throughout the last few years as well.

Currently, we are living in Tennessee and spending much of our time, working and exploring our new town. We have found that adapting to a new place can be quite challenging, but we are VERY excited about the future and as hard as it can be, staying positive about these ever-changing times ahead of us.

I hope you'll check in periodically to learn about how our journey to find our "niche" in this new community is coming along.

New House

Recently, we moved from our teeny little downtown apartment to a much larger house, just outside of town. Yes, it has been wonderful, great, spacious, and a lot of darn work. Luckily, I have a personal slave, *oops, I mean Chase. In all seriousness, Chase has been wonderful during these past weeks, and months during our big move. Now I don't want to give them impression that we have finished the whole house, we still have quite a bit to do (Can you say paint trim? UGH)

I am very excited to share the first photo of our new home!

As we finish projects, I hope to share the before/after shots with everyone! And as always, we will have an ever expanding list of to-do's around this place!

When It Rains, It Pours

I am happy to report that there has been some great news since my last post...a new job & we found a new house!

New Job

I am so pumped to announce I have a NEW JOB!!! I cannot explain how excited I am and how grateful I am to all my friends and family that have been so supportive throughout this long search. I am so lucky to have strong, positive-minded, and caring people to encourage and lift me up when I need it most. All the interviews, let downs, and breakdowns have all been worth it and I am excited to now officially part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

My first official day will be April 9th, and Chase was easily coerced into going to Annapolis with me for the first day (he missed out on the last trip, plus road trips are much more fun with a friend!). We are planning to leave early Sunday, explore Annapolis (hopefully go to Ikea), and camp that night! I'll have my meeting on Monday and Chase will have plenty of time to hang out and explore on his own!



New Nest

We finally found a new house and will be moving in mid-April! The house is a great little place in North Garden, VA, about 6 miles south of Charlottesville. It's an older house, but a great space. Two bedrooms, dining room, living room, a finished attic (I hope to use part of this for an office), and a huge finished basement! We are really excited about the space (our 500 sq ft apartment is just too little for Chase's hoarding issue, ha!). We have two small porches, a wood burning fireplace, and a wood stove (Chase is pumped about his access to free wood from work and being a little more self-sufficient than relying on electricity, as much). I hope to post some pictures and also some DIY projects that we are hoping to complete at the house (nothing major, we are still renters)

Projects:

• Paint Rooms


• Till Garden


• Landscape Side Yard


• Mulch Trees


• Start Beekeeping!


• Chickens!


• Build Pallet Furniture

Depending on how things go with life, we plan on staying in this house for a couple years. It's pretty exciting to be so close to town (and Whole Foods-Chase is OBSESSED) and still have a larger yard and enough room for projects!

I'll keep everyone posted on our new adventures and "hopefully" work on figuring out how to add pictures to the post (that would require I take pictures though...sheesh).

26 Things

When I chose to start a blog, the intention was to create a forum to share ideas and experiences with a few of my closest friends. Still, I haven't asked anyone to follow me or made a huge attempt to find followers. Sometimes I wish I was a successful blogger, but then I remember that it's not about being the most popular blogger-kid on the cyber street and no one really cares. Anyway, I really enjoy reading when other bloggers have lists of 21 things, 100 things, etc. and it could be because they always have interesting projects going on or basically a life in general and then I remembered a joke, story, or something of that nature that I heard, read, or made-up and it addresses that issue perfectly (in my opinion). The basis of the joke or story is that people use the facebook check-in function to "check-in" at places that they really aren't, to make the impression that they have a more active life than they actually do. Which I find to be hilarious and would do, if I could even figure out how to "check-in" anywhere. Mark my words, when I do figure out how to "check-in" I'll be places and you'll probably be jealous.

FOCUS. Back to the task at hand: 26 Things. I chose 26, because I originally chose 24 (my age) and I mis-numbered my entries...I suck. So here it goes...

1. I hate the word primitive. Don't get me wrong, I like metal stars (but ONLY one used at a time) and I like old wooden ladders (occasionally), and most other antique-like things, but I do not like garland and the overuse of dusty stuff. I can appreciate the use of antiques, but I'm not into clutter and for the lack of a better word: trinkets. Let me paint you a picture: a mantle with a metal star, wrapped in garland, hanging on an old window, with a teddy bear sitting on the corner, behind a candle, wrapped in garland, with a wooden letter, against 50 mason jars, blue mason jars, holding candles. I prefer a much more simple way...of everything.

2. We're searching for a house. Maybe to rent, maybe to buy. We'd like to start a small farm and homestead.

3. I should visit my friends and family more. I know, I'm horrible. Luckily, I have some very understanding friends and family, willing to visit me. I don't deserve them.

4. Finding a job is not my goal. I have a job. Finding the right job is my goal. I need to remember I have unique experiences and talents that will land me the right job...

5. Patience. I do not have it. Frustration. I am too easily overtaken by it. I must learn to be patient for what is worth waiting for and not to become easily frustrated over minuscule tasks. Job searching has been a source for so much of these feelings. I grow a little each and everyday and even though these small successes aren't always recognized, I must take time out to realize them. While my job now is not my career and not my ultimate goal, it has allowed me to meet some great people, hone my customer service skills, and access to an amazing gym and pool facility for free.

6. I love cooking. I have always enjoyed cooking and making wholesome meals for my friends and family. Chase and I have tried some great recipes and it is our goal to add more to our arsenal, making them healthy and nutritious. Sometimes that is the hard part.

7. Honey Tupelo in Asheville N.C. is my favorite restaurant ever. My parents gifted me their cookbook for my birthday this past year and it has proven itself time and time again. If you are looking for a great cookbook you can find this one on the restaurant's website.

8. I desperately want to break free of the chains of facebook. As sad as it sounds, I have succumbed to the pressures of comparisons that are so easy to inflict on yourself when looking through pictures of other's adventures, status changes, etc.

9. This past fall and winter I sold honey for a beekeeper at the farmer's market and fell in love with it. Yes, waking up early every Saturday is not the best, but being up and at the market when the sun comes up, having delicious coffee, and meeting so many nice people was totally worth it. Chase and I would love to have our own market spot and sell goods. We have been contemplating a lot of ideas and goods, many of which require us to have more than 500 sq feet of space that we currently have in our apartment. We're thinking rain barrels, small trees, honey, hand-painted cards, jewelry, vegetables, my mother's crocheted goods and sewing projects, etc. What do you all think?

10. I have always wanted a bountiful garden. This year I will realize that dream and hopefully learn a lot from the experience. I had a small, very small herb garden while in college and I neglected it very well. Despite not taking care of it, ignoring the trash after parties that littered it, and never watering it, it still flourished and gave me a lot of rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, and strawberries! (Yes, i didn't mention the strawberries, because no self-respecting gardener would plant strawberries in their "herb" garden).

11. Fitness. I really like being active, but I also really like hanging out. Recently, I started utilizing my free gym membership more often (Chase is a good motivator and wants to work on his running, so I'm lucky to always have a workout buddy). More specifically, I started swimming and thus far I really enjoy it. The first day I was so sore, but having never been a swimmer before, I am learning strokes and the basics and everyday is getting better. *I heard that swimming is a really good, low-impact workout that uses every muscle in your body.

12. I need to work on my running. I should sign-up for a race.

13. Homesteading: chickens, bees, fruit trees, gardens, canning, building furniture (pallet), cows, wood stoves, crafts...must do this.

14. I am very lucky to have such a good family. I think about moving away, sometimes far away and I don't know that I'd be good at it. I'd miss my family, but maybe that would make our time together even more cherished. Right now, I live only a few hours from my parents and two brothers and sadly do not see them as often as I should. I should visit more this year. I'd like to involve my family in my interest more. My dad would be a great gardener and I'd like to help him start a garden, he needs something to piddle around in on his days off.

15. Weddings, Babies, and Houses, OH MY! Many of my friends fall into two categories: those who are married, getting married, having babies, have babies, have a house, or are buying a house, etc. and those who are not interested in that stuff at all right now. I envy both. While getting married, having babies, and a beautiful house to decorate, paint and garden at sounds so wonderful, I also know a few things. Weddings are expensive and you should never rush into anything that intense too fast (why miss out on all the fun along the way...the "remember before we were married" phase). Babies are cute and cuddly, but until a few years ago, I didn't even know you fed babies more than 3 times a day (reason enough that I am not ready to have one), they poop (and it directly affects you), and can't talk for awhile (and let's just admit that even when they do start talking no one knows what they're talking about anyway). And last, but certainly not least, houses are a huge commitment. Decorating and refinishing are fun and look nice, but that costs money...and not pocket change. All in all, I want to do it up right and what's right for me right now is to enjoy the journey and be a little bit more like my adventurous friends who are off working in beautiful and fun places, working jobs they love, and enjoying their lives...not chained to these huge commitments, just yet anyway.

16. I have 10 more...24 is a lot!

17. Fashion is not my thing. I try, but I rarely succeed at creating a cute outfit. My goal is to slowly (very slowly) build a wardrobe that says "I'm a young interesting professional" and less "I clearly just graduated college and wear more yoga pants and sweatshirts than someone who actually does yoga and sweats".

18. Painting. I used to be an artist. I mean I was in a few art classes in High School, I won an award...a few times. I really enjoy painting and pastels, I just haven't kept up with it and hardly did anything artistic at all in college. This year, I painted all my Christmas cards and I loved doing it. Simple designs and something homemade for my friends and family. My goal for lent is to paint 40 cards and send them to different people. I want to connect or reconnect with friends and family that I have neglected through college and grad school (Yes, I was busy, but not that busy and now that I am done, I need to prioritize the people that are important to me).

19. Church: I recently included a posting about our mission to find a church, and we have found one that we both enjoy. The positive messages each week have proven to be good for me and reflecting on them throughout the week has been making a difference.

20. Improve my blog. I'd like to learn more about blogspot and how to add photos and hyperlinks. I know this should be second nature to me because 1. I spend a lot of time on a computer, and 2. These are supposedly simple tasks.

21. Kayaks: I love being outdoors. Kayaking is another opportunity for me to spend more time outside, and improve my tan. As we all know, while hiking is rewarding, beginning a hike never brings out the best in me and I need to change that. Hopefully, swimming and kayaking will reignite my love for the outdoors and change the sour mood I have towards long hikes.

22. I'd like to work on my bread baking skills. I found this no-knead recipe in Mother Earth News. I'm going to try it out this week. Crusty bread, here I come!!!

23. We want to get a labradoodle. No shedding, big, fluffy, cute dog. I want to name it Barley.

24. I got a hair straightener. I rarely use it. My hair looks like poo.

25. Travel: I'd like to visit a few places this year. Florida, to visit my friends and family. We have crazy schedules, but it's important that Chase goes with me. I really want him to meet my family. We will try this year. Asheville, I love it there. I'd like to go with my family too, they need us to be their tour guides. Washington D.C., we live too close not to visit! I'd love to do all the touristy things and see Heidi and Andrew. Virginia Beach, Dana visits so often. I owe her. I need to see her and Becky and Jon! ** Last, but not least I need to visit Jessica. Jessica is one of my dear friends. Someone who I can call or talk to anytime and it's still always the same. We have had the BEST times since we met 5 years ago. Capsizing a boat, going to Hawai'i together, surviving some of the best adventures. I need to see her. I WILL visit this year.**

26. My childhood best friend, Reva is having a baby! I am super excited for them and cannot wait to meet the new little "Erin" or "Aaron"! My friend, Katy is also preggers! I will get to see her all the time, and she's already threatened me that I'll have to tie her shoes when she's fat...

As of Lately...

**Before I begin, I would like to announce a disclaimer: I am a horrible editor. I swear I look over what I write, but can't seem to see my own mistakes. Please ignore all my misspellings and horrible grammar. **

Recently, I have been making more of an effort to be productive and positive. While I am still, and what seems like will forever be, on the job search, I'd really like to stay positive and just chug along. A few interesting positions have been posted and I guess we'll see how they turn out in the coming weeks. However, as stated earlier, being productive is important to me and I believe staying busy and not basically giving up on life will help me stay positive.

Church:

Joining/Finding a church that is the "right" fit for Chase and I has proven to be...annoying. Chase has some weird obsession with only enjoying contemporary services (a VERY small portion of the available services are of this kind) and frankly, the Catholic in me is totally weirded-out by rock bands at church. Anyway, being the kind, thoughtful, flexible person I am :) , I scouted out some churches this summer and to my dismay, did not find anything promising (except for the Episcopalian church, which was not contemporary). So having no leads whatsoever, Chase and I decided to try out a new church a couple of weeks ago, it's called Charlottesville Community Church. Despite being held in an elementary school gym, we both really like it and everyone seems so friendly. The sermon/message/homily (whatever these people call it) has been not only easy to understand, but also applicable to our lives. I've only seen a handful of people raise their hands, literally, in praise and one "crier", so all in all we're doing OK and if we can keep the numbers low in the "making Erin extremely uncomfortable, why-is-everyone-walking-up-to-the-alter-to-get-"saved" arena", I think we will be in business!

Side note: Last week's sermon was great and about becoming complacent with your relationship with God being the most dangerous thing in your life. I even took notes, and enjoyed it. :)

One last thought: I will NEVER forget going to play volleyball with two friends one weekend at some college and not realizing what I was getting into, until we all went into some huge tent. I immediately realized it was some Christian-based college ( I swear I had NO idea and there was NO indication that this was the plan prior to the tent experience). There was lots of crying, lots of hand raising, and a chant of "Heads are down, no one's looking" in reference to coming up to get "saved". This is the sole experience that has most affected my outlook on contemporary churches, and look at me now, back in the saddle!

Crafts/Projects:

I'll be the first to admit I was on, I mean full-on, the Pinterest wagon, but I have fallen off (most of which could be because they blocked it at work...ugh). Any who, I now read blogs, and by that I mean I mostly skim through them trying to steal ideas, which has proven to be extremely useful. I mostly like recipes, gardening ideas, crafts, photography, and pretty much everything else. I found a great recipe for laundry soap and actually made it a couple weeks ago. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested (make it, it's cheap and works well!)

Powdered Laundry Detergent:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer makes this)
1 bar of Fels Naptha, shredded.

Shred the Fels Naptha bar (a detergent bar, typically used for stains) and mix the borax and washing soda! It's that easy and you can use about 1/4 cup per load (big loads). It does not sud a lot, so it works well in High Efficiency washers and normal washers, as well. It is also eco-friendly!

*All the ingredients can be found in the laundry aisle (not ALL laundry aisles, but some stores do have all 3 ingredients for cheap cheap).

I have also found some great recipes. I will try to post some regularly that work out for us, and any modifications that we do to them, but here is one GREAT recipe (it sounds gross, but trust).

Crock Pot Chicken

1 whole chicken
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil/butter
1 tbs Italian seasoning (or any herbs you like: thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.)

Remove anything inside the chicken, the gross stuff. Rub all the ingredients all over the chicken. Put in a crock pot, turn on high, cook for 4 hours. This is a great recipe because it cooks the entire chicken without any work from you! You do NOT need to add any water. The chicken can be taken out of the broth and cooled before you serve it. We always reserve the broth in the crock pot, add some celery (no need to chop, just break it with your hands), carrots, and any bones or leftover chicken parts you have from dinner. Then add water to the crock pot until its full. Turn on low, cook over night. This makes tons of chicken broth (we store ours in mason jars and freeze them, so we can use them with other recipes).
**Chase was the one who found this, I thought it was going to be disgusting, but it's good!

I still trying to stay creative and have even began painting a little bit, i.e. cards and letters, but that's better than nothing and after reading about hobby farming, permaculture, and homesteading, I CANNOT wait until we find a perfect place to live! We just got a garden plot at a local park in Charlottesville and will begin the clearly process on President's Day. I am very excited to learn more about gardening and having an abundance of yummy produce this summer. Hopefully, this will lead to having animals one day and really getting to practice some permaculture on our own property.

Valentine's Day

I would not describe myself, or Chase as the "Valentine's Day-lovey-dovey-dinner-and-a-movie" type. However, this year we had LivingSocial deals for Legend Brewery in Richmond, and Chase twisted my arm and made me go! Just kidding, we decided to go and have dinner there, try some beers, and hang out. It was really fun, the brewery is pretty cool, and we will be going back before May 6, so we can spend our other LivingSocial voucher! I encourage anyone who would like to make plans to come with us (preferably when there's a concert on Brown's island), to contact my secretary, Chase. No, but really, let us know if you want to go!

Most of the reason I am writing about this trip is because we got on 195 (no, not I-95), but some weird expressway or something into/around Richmond, I'm not positive I know at all (and I was driving...ahhhhh), but point being it had TOLLS! And that would be great if 1.) I didn't totally freak out when merging, or "zippering" as Chase would call it (hahaha what a stupid word) and 2.) we had change. As we neared the toll we saw that it was 70 cents, an odd amount for a toll, but not outrageous. We pull up to this toll and we are rustling around looking for change, we threw all the change in my wallet (which had been their home for roughly two years) and assumed that the toll light automatically would turn green, having detected payment. No. it didn't. The toll not only slowly counted the change as is descended into the abyss of the change counter, but also prompted us to pay more. As Chase scrounged up coins lying under the car seats (the one time is had paid off for having a disgusting and messy car), I was growing increasingly frustrated that we were caught in the situation and that the person behind us might be upset. After the longest 45 seconds of my life, we were on our way, off to a "romantic" dinner at Legend Brewery :)

I'm planning on staying busy and the outlook is good for the next couple of months: new job (here's hoping), new house, new projects, gardening, KAYAKS, summer, warm weather, and seeing our friends and family.

Floyd, Va

Our Floyd trip has finally come and went and it was wonderful! Chase and I had been trying to get back to Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and all our wonderful friends that live there for awhile now, and luckily we are LivingSocial addicts so we found a great deal allowing a mid-winter trip! A little over a year ago Chase and I visited Floyd, Va for a day trip and fell in love (we could live there, but since that trip Chase has edited his "Must-Have List" for places we can live and added Whole Foods, or as he refers to it "HO FO"). Floyd is a great little hippie/country town, just outside of Roanoke and Blacksburg. There are great little shops full of local art, organic food stores, and virtually anything and everything you could want for a relaxing trip. During our trip we stumbled upon a new hotel, holding a spring music show/market. Hotel Floyd is a local, eco-friendly hotel, with themed rooms. We had the "Blue Ridge Parkway" room (how perfect is that?) Every room also offers king-sized beds (I cannot explain how wonderful this is, since we are used to our double at home) and a tub (we have a stand-up shower with a wild temperature gauge). To say the least we LOVE Hotel Floyd and will go back any time we have the chance! I almost forgot to include how we had the opportunity in the first place: Living Social. We check this site everyday and try to find good deals on fun getaways. We got the hotel for two nights for $119.00 and that including a tour and two wine tastings at Chateau Morrisette.

Now that I've gushed over my love for all things organic-granola-crunchy-hippie-lovey-dovey-eco-friendly, I can now share more about our trip. We spent Friday afternoon in-route to Floyd, stopping in Blacksburg to enjoy some wings at our favorite smoked-wings brewery, Bull & Bones. The wings were fantastic and overall a great little break from my trek (I drove, making it my trek and Chase's leisure roll). After a brief run-though of Blue Ridge Mountain Sports and wanting to indulge and buy patagonia fleece jackets and vibram five finger shoes, we hopped back in the stratus and headed off to hippie land. We had planned on enjoying the Floyd Country Store and seeing an old favorite band, the Black Twig Pickers. We were pleasantly surprised to see so many people out and about on a warm winter night.

Saturday was an adventure in itself: breakfast, wine tasting at Chateau Morrisette, and Shenandoah documentary at the Lyric Theatre, all before 3 o'clock. Being self-proclaimed Cellar Junkies we met our friends for a delicious dinner and then went out on the town for drinks, including $6 pitchers of fat tire at Sycamore Deli (yes, that is a good deal). After seeing all our great friends, walking up Main Street for a short visit with strangers, crushing chips all over some girls floor, and mooching alcohol we hit the pavement to head to the car. Of course, Andrew had more plans...pizza plans. Apparently, Andrew and all of his frat brothers go frequent this new pizza shop, a place with pizza the size of your torso...seriously big. But, everyone knows what a junk food-cheese-junkie Andrew is so I kindly obliged and went with him willingly. Oh how I love huge crowds of shithead drunk people, most of which pay for their friends, oops, I mean are in sororities and fraternities. To be honest, I cannot cope. I almost lost my shit in the pizza place, small quarters, dumb people, and it was not handling it the way that I want to look back on. Actually, i should apologize to Chase and Andrew (Andrew stole a 7-Up...to give me and make me feel better, I know it's sad). I definitely need to improve my coping skills and after such a blessed and wonderful weekend.

I guess the thing that sticks with me the most after such a great weekend is how lucky i am to have such wonderful friends, willing to visit with me and spend time with me. So here's a big shout out to everyone who saw us this weekend!

P.S. Chase has commented that he wishes to be better represented in my blog, basically wanting me to write about how wonderful he is all the time. Yes, it is true Chase is great, always helpful, keeps me in check about being an occasional psycho, but in all fairness i believe i bring the best out in him as well. HAH!

Old Rag

A change of plans can be exciting, but it can also be challenging. I don't know why but I am one of those people that doesn't take it well. Maybe I get too invested in what I'm gonna do. I mentally prepare myself.

This past weekend, a change of plans snowballed into something much more. With no more visitors coming to see us, we "decided" to go hiking (not that I don't love hiking, seeing beautiful vistas, and feeling o-so-healthy...I also loathe hiking and all that comes with that other significant group of feelings). I loathe the distance, I loathe the looming aches and pains, and I loathe the comparison of my heavy breathing to Chase's as a canters up the mountains.However, this weekend has allowed me to view my abilities, my breakdowns, and short-comings in a whole new light.

In Route:

Old Rag. First off, why the hell is Shenandoah National Park's most popular hiking spot called "Old Rag". It sounds dirty. I don't like it and based on the grandeur and beautiful vistas, it could have been named better. Clearly, whomever named it never made it to the top. A likely outcome, based on what the trail looks like today (and that's with thousands of feet trampling it throughout the years) and what i imagine it to have looked like at its conception. In route, I realized that the hike was not the 4 mile hike that I had thought, rather it was 8.8 miles (to be it lightly, I was upset). Why were we driving to hike 8.8 miles at noon on Saturday? Did I mention we stopped to get cake? So there we are, high on sugar, aching bellies, dealing with my pissy nature, on our way to hike 8.8 miles.

Hiking:
I'd like to start this section about how "pumped" we both were to be hiking and how much I love getting some fresh air. I wasn't. I was a little upset, I think through the whimpering (bitching), Chase caught my subtle hint that I was not a happy camper. I'd also like to say that this lasted on mere minutes and then we were off to enjoy our hike. It didn't. It lasted...awhile. My favorite lines: "8.8 miles....WTF!!!", "Fu**ing 1 o'clock and were beginning a hike", and my personal favorite of the first portion of our hike, "We're gonna being hiking in the dark!!!" ( We packed headlamps, as if I had forgotten about this at some point).

The good news is that we made it through my crybaby antics, and luckily Chase decided he would hold out on killing me until another hike. Chase used a tactic that is frowned upon, but necessary: lying. He told me, as I walked away, up the trail, that the hike was only 5 miles. My mood immediately changed and I was feeling a skip in my step. We might not be hiking in the dark...with our headlamps.

Changing Times:

Over the years, I have mentioned, rather questioned my friends about an interesting occurrence in my life. Even at the most enjoyable moments and fun activities that I am fortunate to experience frequently, I choose to be in a foul mood. At times, it is brought on by some other incident, and yet sometimes I realize that I am being a total bitch for no reason, I just can't snap out of it. I listen to what I'm saying, how I'm saying it, and thinking "who is this bitch?". Luckily, on this particular day, I successfully snapped out of it.

The hike started to become fun. The scenery was beautiful and I was really enjoying myself. We had the opportunity to just chat, talk about stuff that mattered, mostly stuff that didn't matter at all, and generally enjoy each others company. The trail was changing and the rock scramble began. Now while some of you, who are not as "outdoorsy" as me, may not understand this rock scramble concept, allow me to explain. Rock scrambles are big-ass rocks, you must climb over, using all the techniques you learned from hours of watching Bear Grylls (three points of contact, AT ALL TIMES). While challenging at times, the rock scramble was so much fun and really rewarding. The vistas were getting better and better (as the sun got lower and lower).

Dusk:

Reaching the top, and realizing that we actually reached the top (despite assuming I already had, roughly 5 times already) was so rewarding. We spent approximately 4 minutes enjoying this beautiful vista, before we started our trek down the mountain, but not before we were met with some ultra-mountain-runner freaks, oh I mean athletes. A couple ran up on us, and passed us as they sprinted down the mountain. I started thinking about how great it would be to be in that great of shape to even be able to think about doing that, maybe one day...

The trek down the mountain was, dare I say, enjoyable. While I felt a significant amount of pressure to quickly get down to a fire road before it was completely dark, I did enjoy knowing that we were past the point of no return and when we were officially done, sitting in the car, we would have completed a hike that I had made impossible in my own naive mind. We reached the fire road just about the time old man moon peaked his head. Luckily, we had HEADLAMPS! Which, despite my earlier thoughts, provide light, allowing hikes to occur at night. The road back was easy enough and we reached the car after about 2.5 miles of wishing we were done and eating dinner. Chase's thoughts of food led us to a conversation about dinner locations for the last 4 miles and was reminiscent of the snickers commercials of men acting like divas when they're hungry.

Mellow:

We were now destroying our healthy-eating commitment for the second time in one day (cake eating fiasco, from earlier) at Mellow Mushroom pizza. We unabashedly dove into a pizza covered in toppings and my-oh-my did it hit the spot! We had finished an 8.8 mile hike. We deserved it.