I traveled west last month to go hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains with my friend Krista and her pal Mandy. This was no insignificant trip, as I usually avoid Virginia like the ebola virus. (Exceptions: National and Dulles airports, Pentagon City mall and rare visits to Clarendon.) This is what happens when you A) live in D.C., B) don't have a car and C) are lazy.
We trekked six miles round trip to Mary's Rock -- fun and not too strenuous. Part of it was along the Appalachian Trail (ran into a guy who was 10 days into a 10-week hike). The views were nice, although they couldn't quite stack up to Big Bend. Above is a shot from Mary's Rock. Notice the rain coming in! It actually never reached us, but we did get precipitation of another kind: teeny, tiny hail.
It was crazy! On our way down, we heard this rustling in the leaves, and all of a sudden, white stuff was falling on us -- something between snow and ice. The air wasn't even cold! And it stopped after about two minutes. I started taking pictures but realized video was the only way to truly capture it. So below, my first blog video (hope it works)!
Next month, we're going back to hike Old Rag Mountain, an eight-mile trek. There will be rock scrambling (yay!) but also a 2,500-foot elevation gain (gulp).
Neil came home with me to Indianapolis for the first time two weekends ago. Here we are in good ol' Meridian Woods Park, a great neighborhood to grow up in: a pool, ponds stocked with bluegill and catfish, and sidewalks that wind behind houses for leisurely strolls. Oh, and swings!
The standard visiting-the-Wus photo. Mom put together several tasty meals, and Ba made sure we always had wine. Notice the sashimi, served tataki style. Yum!
Ducked into the new visitor center downtown by the canal to escape the cold. This cat (who was even chunkier than she looks) is named V.C. Guess what it stands for? Yuk, yuk, groan.
This shot shows you what a miserable day it was. Not the greatest first impression on Neil. Brr!
Hmm, this picture would be better if I was giving Neil bunny ears. Oh well. That's one of Robert Indiana's sculptures at the Indiana Museum of Art. Lovely grounds, if you ever get a chance to visit.
