Summer of '15

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.” 
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams 


As this summer comes to an end, we're checking off the last of our summer bucket list items.

I posted a list on the refrigerator back in early June, hoping to get Rob excited about some fun activities this summer. He was quickly on board and planning how we could make each adventure happen.

Here's how we spent the Summer of '15!

1. Swim with Silas. We went to the neighborhood pool twice and even took a dip in Lake Bistineau while in Shreveport.

2. Visit Shreveport. Where Silas met dogs for the first time, went to the Farmer's Market, celebrated Luke's birthday, and had fun hanging out with family.

3. See grandparents... Grandma Theresa, Lovey and Papaw, Great-Grandpa Tom, and Mimi

4. ...and aunts and cousins. Aunt Stephanie and the Bunch boys as well as Callie and Luke.

5. See fireworks. At Barnet Park for Fourth of July.

6. Dine al fresco. Many times at Chipotle, Sonic, and Chick-Fil-A.

7. Visit Dottie's Toffee. Yummy toffee ice cream made right here in Spartanburg.

8. Take a hike. A Sunday morning hike to Little Bradley Falls was life-giving in so many ways.

9. Celebrate our 31st birthdays. Mine and then Rob's a few days later.

10. Celebrate Silas' half-birthday. First solid foods!!

11. See a movie at the drive-in theater. Spontaneous trip down to Greenwood, SC.

12. Roadtrip!! Up to Columbus, Ohio for a long weekend.

13. Party it up at Mike and Amy's wedding. Well, if you count sleeping through it...

The only thing on our original list that we didn't do was "grill out." Rob is scared of fire, and after an unfortunate incident with a mouse living in our grill a few years back, I am scared of opening our grill. We just weren't willing to face our fears this summer.

Now we have to decide what to put on our bucket list for fall...

Art in Public Places...

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

-Michelangelo

Silas and I had some time to kill in Dublin, Ohio this past weekend while Rob performed his groomsman duties for the wedding of our best college friend, Mike. After a quick internet search of "things to do in Dublin," I was intrigued with the Art in Public Places Cell Phone Tour sponsored by the Dublin Arts Council.

I had hopes of hitting some of the highlights, but with a few hours to spare in the morning and then again in the afternoon, we made it to quite a few of the sculptures. At each location, there is a phone number to call to hear more about the piece, usually told by the sculptor himself.

Although Silas slept through the first few stops at Coffman Park, he was a willing photography subject at most of the sites. I used the GPS for directions to some of the stops, but I wasn't afraid to make a u-turn and pull over on the side of the road if we drove by one unexpectedly.

One Scene by Daisuke Shintani

Injection by David Middlebrook

Narrow #5 by Shawn Morrin

Ascension by Brian Russell

Watch House by Todd Slaughter

Leatherlips by Ralph Helmick

Sanguine Standing Stone by Joseph Wheelwright

Tree of Life, Future Tense by Mary Jo Bole

Jaunty Hornbeam by Joseph Wheelwright

Field of Corn (with Osage Oranges) by Malcolm Cochran

The Simulation of George M. Karrer's Workshop by Brower Hatcher

Dancing Hares by Sophie Ryder (not really on the official Dublin Arts tour)

So thankful for this little guy who goes along with my "harebrained" ideas. I hope that he will always be up for adventures like this with me.

Silas meets his cousins... a photoessay

"I may argue with my brother, but I fight beside my brother against my cousin, and with my cousin against a stranger."
-Old Arab adage

"Photoessay" may or may not be an excuse to avoid writing a boring "this is how we spent the weekend" post about a not-so-boring weekend.

Silas met his Aunt Stephanie and cousins when they came to visit last weekend. He loved playing with Chase and T.J., even if we were all exhausted and needed a break by the time they headed home on Sunday afternoon.

Southern Utah 2013... Adventure on!!

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
-John Muir

We just returned from one of our bucket list trips! A week of adventures through Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We braved the triple-digit temperatures, totaling over 65 miles of hiking and just under 20 miles cycling.

A quick recap:
Day 1 | Saturday: Flew into LAS. Drove to Zion National Park. Hiked the Watchman Trail.
Day 2 | Sunday: Hiked to Observation Point, Hidden Canyon, and Weeping Rock. Rode the Zion Shuttle to the viewpoints.
Day 3 | Monday: Hiked the Zion Narrows.
Day 4 | Tuesday: Hiked to Angels Landing and Emerald Pools.
Day 5 | Wednesday: Rode bikes through Zion Canyon and Springdale. Hiked to Canyon Overlook. Drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. Stopped at the overlooks on the auto tour.
Day 6 | Thursday: Hiked the Navajo/Queen's Garden/Peekaboo Loops and the Fairyland Trail.
Day 7 | Friday: Hiked to Lower Calf Creek Falls and through Willis Creek Slot Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Day 8 | Saturday: Drove through Cedar Breaks National Monument. Drove around St. George, UT. Flew home from LAS.

Favorite hike in Zion National Park:
J: 8-mile round-trip hike to Observation Point
R: Also, Observation Point

Favorite hike in Bryce Canyon National Park:
J: Peekaboo Loop
R: Navajo/Peekaboo Loops

Least favorite hike of the week:
J: Fairyland Loop
R: Zion Narrows

Favorite non-hiking activity of the week:
J: Flying down Zion Canyon Road on the bike
R: Riding roadbikes in Zion

Favorite meal of the week:
J: Carnitas flautas at Bit and Spur Restaurant and Saloon in Springdale, UT
R: Burger and sweet potato Smashfries from SmashBurger in St. George, UT... he planned our last vacation day around this meal

Best after-hike snack:
J: Coke and Pringles
R: Diet Coke and a nectarine

Favorite hiking gear:
J: The rented canyon shoes, neoprene socks, and hiking stick... don't know how we would have made it through the Narrows without them
R: A bandana filled with ice or drenched in water and wrapped around his neck

Most extreme temperatures:
J: The hot hot heat reflecting off the sand on the Fairyland Trail
R: The cold cold water of Lower Calf Creek Falls

Scariest moment of the trip:
J: Tripping and falling over rocks in the Zion Narrows, especially knowing that I had the dSLR camera in my daypack. I panicked while in the water, unable to get myself upright. Rob says I cried, but I don't remember that. But I did bring home nasty bruises and scrapes on my right calf as a souvenir.
R: The 2.5 minutes [sic] I was on Angels Landing... as well as trying to beat the storm on the unpaved Skutumpah road back from Willis Creek.

Biggest disappointment of the trip:
J: Realizing that we had only climbed half of Angels Landing... and knowing there was no way I would get Rob back out on that ledge 
R: Realizing that we could have biked further into the canyon because it was such a quick descent  

Proudest moment of the trip:
J: Every time Rob congratulated me on how well I was holding up to the hiking challenge... I think he was impressed.
R: Just knowing how many miles [upwards of 90!!] we did this week... in our multi-sport adventures

You can see more photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janaandrob/collections/72157634415451857/