Sunday, July 28, 2019

Our Strawberry Getaway and The Fair (Llamas, Alpacas and Grands...Oh my!)..and the Cisco Kid...


What a WONDERFUL
Strawberry Getaway!


Started with Cracker Barrel 
and trying a 
new hideaway
The Baymont

Which was nice
except for the fact
you needed crampons and a grappling hook
and other assorted climbing equipment
to reach the impossibly high bed

(when did they start doing this???)

"No...Honey...Go on without me...I'll base camp here and make Summit tomorrow..."

Seriously

And an electric eye for the hall lighting
that was a bit like
a Stalag
going off with bright lighting
at the hint of movement

"Ja, vee haff unauthorized movement in sector 19, Mein Fuhrer "

(helpful hint...gum over the sensor will stop this...temporarily)

The strawberry candle, massage lotion
strawberry daiquiris
and fresh strawberries with whipped cream
good cheese and crackers
and US (of course) 
Were this room's saving grace.

Spent the next day at 
The County Fair

Which had Llamas





and Alpaca


( aren't they the cutest thing ever???)

and 
my
Grand-daughters Kaylee and Hannah
 (and their two sisters)


A complete, but amazing, surprise!!!

(Natalyn, Jasmine, Kaylee and Hannah)

We ate our way through the fair.

Lemon shake-ups, Steak Tip Sandwiches with Mushroom, Onions and Cheese and  Elephant Ears.


Checked out the exhibits.


And hobnobbed with the Chicken Mascot!

Came home to pick with
(and nap with)
Sofi

It was a such a great time!

Later turning
Giz 
on to FRESH catnip.


Seriously Stoned Gizzy

She loved the stuff.
Going to plant her
her own container 
of it next year!

Tried a few
new things this week
as well

Remember how excited Burger King was
when they said they were bringing
                                                          us tacos!

What they showed us.


Except these are what you actually get







                              A smear of a refried bean/meat (maybe)
and spicy sauce
with the amount of lettuce and cheese you might 
be able to pinch between
your finger and thumb

And the meat and shell are deep-fried together

Billed at only 1.00
they aren't even worth that.

BLEAH.

I also tried
Hershey and Reese's new Mashup

The Hershey-Reese's Pieces Bar






This was as good
as Burger King Tacos
were
bad

Perfect flavor combination
and evenly distributed 
throughout
the bar

The only way to improve on this
is if it were made in
Dark Chocolate.

(hint...hint)

This Week's Movie

The Lion King




The CGI is Incredible.

You'll have to keep
reminding yourself
that everything
you are seeing
is created
in a computer.

This is a 
Masterpiece
of CGI.

This Week's Book



Another take
on thru-hiking
the
Appalachian Trail.

This time by
a woman
attempting 
to set the
record
for
speed-hiking
the trail

(...40-50 miles per day...)

I can understand
the whole setting
records and endurance
thing
but to be honest
it seemed like it was
no fun 
for her
or any of her hiking companions
more of a 
Forced March.

By the end of the book
I found myself not feeling
particularly happy for her
and just glad it was over.

Your mileage may vary.


Chris took his written 
part
of the Cisco Exam and 
"blew the doors off"

at 100%





And now has only to
complete the hands on part
on Monday to be
Cisco Certified

"That is the easy part, Mom!"

Woo Hoo!!!

So proud of him.

Before we get into 
the shit-storm
that was
Trump
 this week

I have to touch lightly
on the one 
that
literally 
happened here
Friday and Saturday.

Friday Night
is usually
Pizza and a Movie
night here.


Yes.
This would be the culprit.

Since I love veggie
and Sofi
loves the meat
Supreme
seems the obvious choice.

Not this weekend.

I have bought many DiGiorno pizzas
without ill effect
and Sofi and I have
shared many
with no problem.

Not this time.

(...and who even knew cats could get food poisoning???)

Long story short
both the cat
and I
ended up
with it

And all that entails.

To say it was horrible
would really be 

The Understatement
of the Year

(...still cleaning things and trying to get the smell out of the house...)

In the midst of it all
James saved me
by bringing 
Saltines and Sprite

Needless to say
I'm off pizza
for the foreseeable
future.

And the other shit-show???




Yeah.

We KNEW it was
bound to happen.

Mueller testified
on Wednesday
                                             

                                                   and Trump has been
tweeting his tiny
brain out since
Tuesday.

During the Congressional Hearing
Mueller was asked
point blank
about whether or not Trump was 
EXONERATED

(...answering NO...)

Asked point blank if Russia interfered with our elections

(...answering YES...)

Asked point blank if the report
 or events leading up to the investigation
was a WITCH HUNT or HOAX

(...NO...)

And asking point blank
if he believed on 10 different occasions Trump
obstructed justice

(...YES...)

So what does our
                                                  Pretender in Chief                   
immediately tweet???

Yeah...you guessed it.

No Obstruction.
No Collusion. 
Completely Exonerated.
Witch Hunt.
Hoax.

Basically the complete opposite
of what happened during the
hearings.

And when Elijah Cummings
decided there is more
than enough to start
Impeachment

(...being head of the OVERSIGHT Committee and all of that...)

Trump started tweeting frantically  
attacking
him too...
and Baltimore
and her people.


Impeachment or not
November 2020
couldn't come soon 
enough!


Only
470 Days
15 Hours
7 Minutes
and 14 Seconds.

But who is counting???



 More Anon...









  






Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Virtual AT: Maryland


"Beans, again!"

Leaving Ed Garvey Memorial Shelter and back on the (virtual) trail again.

Have already met a few SOBO hikers...and I must admit my confidence is somewhat shaken at this point by their laughter and "YASNY" (You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet) comments. Then they regale us with tales of The Presidents (mountains) The Whites (also mountains) and, of course, Katahdin (Northern
Terminus and our final destination) itself.

They have made it...and so will we.

Today we have 40 miles of Maryland ahead.

In realtime...this section takes two to three days.

We will finish it today. (virtually)..not stopping until we reach the Pennsylvania State Line.






Comparatively...Maryland is one of the easiest states. Elevation does not exceed
1905 feet along our path.

A welcome respite from the 4000+ climbs we have done to this point. There are a few interesting sights along the way.

The first being the Potomac River View from Weverton Cliffs

Weverton Cliff Hike

https://youtu.be/FsTwUvu5sQI


and the C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio)P Canal Towpath

https://youtu.be/W52hBfXtBos







PawPaw Tunnel

https://youtu.be/XYbL-ggIfuQ 

https://youtu.be/6tK1xhKRY7o

The PawPaw Tunnel is said to be haunted by the old lock-keeper who was burned to death inside his lockhouse one night. Disembodied voices are said to be heard and unexplained shadows on the walls.




Inside






A product of Maryland's Rails to Trails Conservancy.

The Sandy Hook Iron Bridge





Gathland State Park

https://youtu.be/5FOXX7Vdp4g









 Black Rock on South Mountain

https://youtu.be/Uj4MZ5n5bXc







The trail to the Washington Monument in Maryland





And the Monument itself.

 https://youtu.be/Jf8_LBpipwg


(...okay...so DC did it better)

Pine Knob Shelter




 Where we will stop and catch our breath...and maybe indulge in a Snicker's Bar (official pick-me-up food of the Appalachian Trail)



Yeah...that's what I'm talking about!

Onward to Annapolis Rock

https://youtu.be/JMC3h6Y9aj4




Past Raven Rock Shelter

https://youtu.be/C0tWU3gVnfg

https://youtu.be/Qj4aZmihqYk










Taking the Trail to Highrock

https://youtu.be/WQlsgRQu2_0

A drone's eye view.

The stairs.

Where we encounter the first bit of graffiti...actually a LOT of graffiti...which makes me kind of sad.

Highrock



And a mother's voice internally lamenting silently

"This is WHY we can't have nice things."

 and wanting to move on quickly...not really caring if "Joe was here..." or who "April LOVES..."

FFS, people.

sigh

Until at last we reach the Mason-Dixon Line 


Where we will set up camp in a clear spot tonight, and start out again in Pennsylvania.

1060 miles from where we started in Georgia!

Thru hike with Chris Berry from Harper's Ferry to the Mason-Dixon Line

https://youtu.be/dWaKOR09OGs

Until then...
Love,
"Beans"






Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans







Monday, July 22, 2019

Virtual AT: West Virginia


(...nope...not leaving...I like it here....)

"Beans., here...back on the (virtual) trail after getting way too pampered and relaxed on my Zero Weekend"

At least the heat of last week (which was oppressive) has broken and it is a comfortable mid-70's now...dipping into the 60's tonight they say!

And, of course, the rain is back.

So there is that. 

One of the things they fail to tell you on the onset of this thru-hike I will share with you now...during the few months you CAN hike the trail...you can count on about 75% of the days...it will be raining.

I think that is a pretty important detail to have just left out, don't you?

Me too.

Anyway...after breakfast (waffles in town) and gathering a few supplies we are off, again...

 

 Only 17.5 miles to the Maryland State Line through this sliver of West Virginia.



The other sight to see along the trail in West Virginia besides Harpers Ferry seems to be in Monroe County

The Peters Mountain Fire Tower which is now the Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory. A favorite with birders.

Bird Photos taken from Hanging Rock











 

Hiking to the Tower and 360 degree view from the Top

https://youtu.be/w1Crm2cafdU




Monroe County





Indian Creek Covered Bridge





(the inside)


Cooks Mill (est. 1877)

https://youtu.be/n85re-YYblE



Located on Indian Creek





You can understand Denver's lyrics a bit better here


Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

All my memories gather round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads




Truly a short but beautiful section of the trail. 
The scent of Christmas all around. Easy hiking with the fir tree needles cushioning your step, here.

Soon we cross over into Maryland.

Where we will head to the Ed Garvey Shelter


The Shelter built to memorialize hiker Ed Garvey who through-hiked the AT in 1970  and died of heart failure in Virginia in September of 1999.


It has bear boxes available and a water source nearby.

Ed Garvey was the author of the 1971 book Appalachian Hiker which he wrote to raise awareness for thru-hiking The Trail.



Hike from Harpers Ferry WV to Ed Garvey Shelter MD

https://youtu.be/AQ-47pYdyEs


An easy day's hike, and now to fix pinto's to go with the chunk of cornbread I brought with me from my stay at Harper's Ferry & the last of my fresh peaches.

See...coffee and candy isn't the only reason for my trail name.

Later,

"Beans"