Shenandoah

At the beginning of the year I made a few goals of things I'd like to see and do in 2013. One of those things was to visit an East Coast National Park. When I looked up a list of the parks I was amazed that there are only 3 within a day's drive of New Jersey. I'm used to spoiled Utah, with their 5 parks in one state!

When we found out BYU was going to be playing in Virginia we made plans to visit Shenandoah National Park.We also asked Kurt and Julie if we could stay at their new place on DC on the way down. They are the best and so is their new townhome.

Friday morning we woke up real early to go get some insect legs from the Smithsoanian that Paul needs for a big research collaboration project he's on. I finally got to meet the man, the legend, Ollie Flint. He was so nice and welcoming and showed us all his favorite collections and invited us to breakfast with his colleauges. It was so worth the early alarm clark to see the behind-the-scenes of the National History Museum, meet Ollie, and see Paul do-his-thang.

 

 

We only got to hang out a bit longer with Kurt and Julie before we had to go get our campsite (first-come, first serve and it was a holiday weekend!). They are doing such a great job making their new home theirs, and I loved the bit of time we got to spend with them. Then we had a 10:30 lunch at Cafe Rio, bought some groceries and headed for the mountains.

 

Shenandoah is a long and skinny guy (only a few miles wide in most spots), up in the tree-covered mountains (I even dare call them that, 4,000+ feet!). One of it's features is Skyline Drive (I can't decide if I'm happy that a road is a main feature or not), but it has some beautiful views and was neat to drive on (we got an extra 46 miles on it since the campground we originally planned on was Full by the time we got there!). Hi parenthesis party.

After a bit of finagling (my specialty!) we got the BEST campsite. Beautiful view, a bit more secluded and 100 ft from the AT. Much much better than the lawn strip they assigned us to at first.

Paul and I read, hiked and even took an afternoon nap. The Harts arrived just in time for a beautiful misty mountain sunset.

On Saturday we woke up to BEARS! It was the most exciting part of the trip for me. A mamma and two cubs (black bears) just eating in an apple tree in the campsite.

I've never been more thrilled to have my telephoto lens in hand.

First a cub crawled down, quickly followed by the mama. They ran away and left the second club stranded. He bolted for the trees too once he got down.

Sorry for the slow shutter speed, I wasn't ready for them to run!!

After the morning's excitement we headed to the BYU vs Virginia game. It was BLAZING hot, especially compared to the mountain air we'd been in enjoying, so we stopped for some Southern BBQ (the brisket was SO good) then hulled up in a student center and ate crappy pre-made Jamba Juices before heading to the Stadium. We couldn't stop gawking at the "Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls" tradition.

We were so excited to meet up with these friends at the game - Kurt (right) is Paul's best friend from growing up, and Daniel (left)  he has been friends with since BYU Freshman year - in fact Dan and Mandy moved into our favorite attic apartment in Provo after we moved to NJ.We adopted Benson for this tri-family picture.

After some major rain delays and some sad football losing, we stayed at the Red Carpet Inn (real classy joint) in Charlottesville. Paul and Kate had a fun game of soccer in the parking lot.

We drove back up to our campsite the next morning and happily found that nothing was ruined by the massive amounts of rain. We packed up then enjoyed some nice viewpoints on Skyline Drive and found a nice part of the Appalachian Trail to hike.

 

I was so sad to leave and I hope we can get back to Shenandoah real soon.

August via iPhone Photos

I found the cutest turtle on a bike ride. 

I went on a nice and early Saturday morning temple trip with the Relief Society. 

We returned to Duke Farms with Drew, Kerri and Kate. We ate at Manville Pizza after (thanks to a recommendation from 3 years ago). 

Our car looks best with accessories.

I went on a ride with a women's cycling team and was amazed at their athleticism (aka it was HARD)!

Paul took me on a Saturday afternoon date to Brick Farm Market, a mid-way point in his 80 mile loop where he sometimes stops for a Daniash. Their meatloaf was delicious. Paul had the best Philly Cheesesteak he's ever tasted. 

I've been helping Paul in the lab with some extractions lately. I like being involved and helping. Science is cool. 

Duke Farms, etc.

We have had some nice outdoor time this summer, just the way summers should be spent.

We finally made it to Duke Farms, a large old estate that is open to the public and has lots of walking trails and ponds. They also have the foundation from a house that was never built and it looks like a jungle dream.

There is also a lovely greenhouse with all sorts of beautiful plants.

And old men who get in my way of a picture.

 

We headed to Washington Rock on the way home for a nice view of our New Jersey land.

 And we ate our favorite Panda Express meal. 3 Entrees (Surf and Turf, Beijing Beef, Sweet Fire Chicken and Orange Chicken are our usuals), plus a side of potstickers. Cheap, yummy meal for two.

In other news....

Driving on New Jersey roads to lacrosse practice each Monday night had it's nice moments. Green lined streets and pretty clouds (just ignore the million power lines).

Swimming night at the Rec Center with the Wilson fam before they moved to Utah a week later. Lockers+kids =fun.

Going on bike rides without Paul around. I signed up for a cross race and am scared our of my mind.

Becoming my mom at work and loving whole natural almonds.

Helping the entomology club sort bugs and finding this note from a students insect collection (sorry I don't feel like rotating it).

Another solo-bike ride (at least the second half was solo, the first half was my first group ride). But I found this nice turtle on the path and made a nice family that was walking by take a picture of me with the little cutie.