adventure and travel to discover the unknown and uncommon…with kids
Last month, on a beautiful fall day, we decided to go on a hike. The day was perfect: bright blue skies to serve as the perfect backdrop to the reds and oranges and golds of the changing leaves. The day was unseasonably warm which was a good thing because we were headed to a corner of New Jersey known for its history of death and mystery.
Summer is flying by and we haven’t done anything particularly exciting this year. So, I decided that every Friday during the month of August is Fun Friday. We will have an adventure, big or small, on Friday!
So, today I got together with my sister and we did a 3 state whirlwind tour. New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania all in one day! Okay so I live within 15 minutes of those states, but it is very adventure-y sounding.
This time last week I was in San Antonio. I hear it’s a great vacation spot. But I wasn’t there on vacation, I was there for 8 days of meetings with my company. Eight long days of meetings and tests and certifications! On Saturday, though, we were free to do what we wanted. So my friend Amy came down from Austin and we were off to explore the city! Continue reading “adventure in san antonio: there’s more than the alamo”
The Jersey Shore! Home to sun, surf, sand, and elephants.
Elephants?!!
That’s what I thought when my sister asked me if we wanted to join them on a visit to Lucy the Elephant on our way down to Cape May. “It’s only the oldest example of Zoomorphic Architecture out there”, my brother-in-law said. I can’t resist anything old and unique so of course I said yes! Continue reading “an elephant on the jersey shore”
We were completely alone. I don’t even know how that was possible given how crowded the park was, but here we were alone. All was quiet except for the birds, wind in the pines, and of course, the river. The river,never quiet, just tirelessly moving forward.
Craving a day without crowds we had hiked back to a schoolhouse in the middle of the woods. The drive was a bit out of the way and then the hike required a climb up a steep road still closed off for the season, but it was worth it when we realized nothing was around.
Over Spring Break we took a trip to the Smoky Mountains. In order to break up our 12 hour drive, we stayed a night in Fayetteville West Virginia and spent the next day exploring the area. Fayetteville is a quirky little town that is home to the New River Gorge Bridge which is the longest arch bridge in the US and, at 876 feet above the New River, the 3rd tallest.
What is that one thing that you’ve always wanted to do? Always wanted to accomplish or be “when you grow up”? We all have something.
There is some dream that you think of every once in a while. You bring out the dream, maybe a long-lost childhood desire, and look at it. You turn that dream over and over in your mind, studying all sides of it, and you smile so tempted to bring it out in the open. But then you remember. You remember that you are now an adult with commitments, a family, a mortgage, and a job. So, once again, you shove that dream way back into the recesses of your mind, determined not to think about it again. Continue reading “how to break free from average (it might involve punching fear in the face)”
My name is Heather. My mom swears she had never heard the name before and named me after a song from Brigadoon, but everyone from my generation is named Heather. Either that or Jennifer, Michelle, or Melissa. My roommate in college one year was named Heather as well. People would call our room and ask for Heather! It drove us crazy so we would just start talking to whoever it was until they realized it was the wrong Heather (kind of awkward with the boyfriends!). Then, when I started working, my counterpart’s name was Heather. It got very confusing for the doctors that we called on!
So, when I started having kids, I wanted to name them names that not everyone had. I completely struck out with my first child. Continue reading “my big naming fail”
To anyone who has gone on a road trip or longs to do so:
It’s dark out as you pull your car onto your street. You pass by neighbor’s blackened windows wishing, for a second, that you too are still in bed fast asleep. But then you think of what lies ahead. You remember the road trip and all thoughts of sleep vanish. You reach for your coffee and punch the gas. Continue reading “road trip”
When are you happiest?
I am happy on a midwinter Sunday afternoon with the thought of a whole day of no commitments stretching out in front of me. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does I put on sweats, grab a book or magazine, and curl up on the couch under a blanket. It’s such a luxury!
I am happy on a warm summer day when I have a few minutes to pull a lawn chair out into the middle of my yard and lay there, eyes closed, soaking up the sun. (Yes, I know…skin cancer, but nothing feels as good as the sun shining down on you!)
Happy moments also come at a dinner with good friends, family parties, snuggling around a campfire with my kids, listening to what comes out of my 4 year old’s mouth, and racing in triathlons. Continue reading “when are you happiest? (it might not be when you think it is!)”
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