Happy Holidays!

I've had a wonderful 2 days.  Yesterday the boys and I celebrated Christmas.  Our ritual is to open presents on Christmas Eve morning.  As usual, they woke me up early and advised the coffee was already brewing...smart children!   Santa was smarter though and wrapped the presents in their stockings this year :)  I know...kinda cruel, but it goes along with our unusually cruel and smart @ss relationship I have with my children.  I love them more than anything in the world!

After a fun day of opening presents and the children spending more of my money, we headed to my parents house for a fun-filled evening!  We had lots of laughs and even a few tears...only because we were laughing so hard.  Of course we were laughing with you Andrea!  I promise it wasn't at you!  ;)

Mary and Andrea photo bombing the roast picture.  I think there may have been some alcohol involved in this.

Eric and I had to fight over the rare piece in the middle.  I swear I won that arm wrestle fair and square!

Today I spent Christmas with my "other" family.  Most people probably wouldn't understand the joy of spending a holiday at work.  It's difficult to explain the camaraderie felt in emergency services.  Whether it's fire, EMS or law...it truly is a brotherhood.  Although we miss our families on these days, I can't imagine spending them elsewhere.  Being able to help someone in their time of need, comforting families during already stressful times and being able to have a holiday meal with people who know you so well is difficult to understand unless you are blessed to work in such a close knit community.  I'm thankful every day for my job, my co-workers and my friends who have my back while I'm out there serving the community.  I can't thank them enough for all they do for their communities and for each other.  

Peace, love and happiness!  

Lessons learned

I had another great hike with dad.   We went to the Cary side of Umstead.  I had never been there before.  The weather was perfect so there were quite a few people there for a weekday.  We hiked a little over 10 miles.  Our longest hike so far.  It's a beautiful park and I'm sure we'll be spending more time there.

We saw 3 deer while we were there.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures of them.  But I did get some other cool pics.  

And of course it wouldn't be "Hiking with Dad" without at least one picture of my Dad :)

We did learn a few things on this hike.  First, bring more food!!  I was starving by lunch (I had already eaten a Snickers by then) so I ate my sandwich and my afternoon snack.  Second, stop and sit/stretch more.  By the end we were both pretty worn out.  I think had we had an afternoon snack and stretched during the day we would have enjoyed those last 2 miles.  As it was, we were both ready for food and meds by the end.  Third, don't drink so much coffee before we leave.   Cary is not the place I want to be caught squatting in the woods!  Maybe if it were Spring I wouldn't have worried so much, but this time of year there is no hiding in this park.  I know, I know...there are "solutions" for women.  I just haven't worked up the courage to buy any of those *devices* yet.

Life is good....

Who needs to win the lotto!

Dad and I took a couple of weeks (ok, maybe more like a few weeks) off due to weather and crazy holiday schedules.  Last week we ventured out to Raven Rock for the first time.  Wow what a view!!

I've never hiked during cold weather like that.  I think the high that day was supposed to be 42.  I've read many posts on Trail Journals and couldn't understand how people could hike in shorts during the cooler days.  Now I understand!  I came prepared with a hat, scarf, gloves, baseball cap, and more!  I had my layers on and was ready.  It did start out pretty chilly.

By lunch time the coat was gone.  It actually felt....warm!  We stopped and had lunch at one of the campsites and the breeze combined with sitting down made it a little cool, but it was still not bad.  I look forward to exploring Raven Rock again.

Tomorrow we are going back to Umstead.  We haven't been there since taking my sisters and niece.  Our plan is a 9-10 mile hike with a lunch break and Snickers!  I'm starting to think I only hike for the food :)

As I sit here and think about tomorrow I can't help but think about how absolutely lucky I am.  Ok, so maybe I didn't get a single number last night with the big Mega Millions lotto, but how many people get the opportunity to spend so much time with their parents doing fun things and just hanging out?  I cherish every opportunity we have to get out together.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I look forward to our backpacking trips in 2014.  Maybe it's my job and the realization that life is very short and you never know what tomorrow or even next hour has in store for you.  Never forget to tell those close to you how much you love them and take advantage of every opportunity to spend time with friends and loved ones...

Peace and love to all my friends and family!

Another beautiful day at the Eno

Dad and I didn't get to hike together last week due to my mom's unexpected surgery (who need's all of their organs anyway)  I did still get to enjoy a nice day at the Eno with my sister, Mary, and brother-in-law, Tim.  We spent the morning at the hospital with mom and then headed out that afternoon.  

I think most of the leaves had fallen over the last week because I didn't even notice this old house before! It was pretty cool looking.  The best part was watching my sister make her husband walk thru the trees first to get back there.  Then she decided that we hadn't gone far enough and it looked less creepy so she headed in closer by herself.

One day I'm going to take her over to the suspension bridge just to see if she will cross it :)

Everything was going great until we had to ford the creek.  I really thought she was going to make it across dry.  Oh well, maybe next time.  This was just after her right foot went in.  I was impressed that she caught herself before she went all the way in!  

Hopefully Tim and Mary will join Dad and I on the trail soon.  I think Tim is still icing down his knee.  Considering all of the surgeries he has had and the fact that he has no knee cap, he still managed to finish the 4.4 miles.

Dad and I did get out on the trail again today.  I wasn't sure how cold it would be, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day and actually felt a little warm at 50 degrees!  We followed part of Cole Mill Trail and Bobbitt Hole Trail.  Bobbitt Hole is a pretty cool area.  The boys would probably have a great time swimming there during the summer.  I'll definitely have to find out more about that.  We may ford the river here during our backpacking trip (I'm still trying to convince dad :D)  

I love this park!!  It seems like every trail gives you a completely different view and type of trail.  Today had little elevation changes compared to some of the other trails.  It was about 50/50 with regards to walking in the woods and walking along the river.  The river has so many rocks that you don't walk far before you hear the water flowing over them again.  I could totally pitch a tent and sleep right there!

The thing that surprises me the most about this river is how clear it is.  With all of the clay in this area most rivers look murky and gross.  You can actually see the river bed at the Eno.  Most of it looks pretty shallow so far but there's a lot we haven't explored yet.  

Spring can't get here soon enough!!!

 I've been having so much fun hiking the trails of Central NC with my dad that I decided to start blogging about our adventures.  We were joined this weekend by two of my sisters and my niece.  The weather was perfect and the fall colors are starting to really show.  This days adventure was to Umstead Park in Raleigh.  It can be a bit repetitive (we did get to see a couple of deer!), but was a good place to start my sister out again since she is recovering from plantar fasciitis.  Thanks to Merrell trail shoes she didn't seem to have any serious problems!   This week we will venture back out to the Eno River.  I absolutely love this place!!  It seems like every trail is different terrain and a new beautiful view.  I've had a blast checking out the different trails with my dad!  The trails range from flat and pine covered to rocky with bridges or fording creeks.

 My mom thanked me the other day for going hiking with my dad.  If you think he looks happy on the trail you should have seen the smile on my face!  We are having such a great time not only getting out on the trails and finding new areas in Central NC, but also planning our backpacking trip this Spring!  I'm guessing my mom has already figured out that this probably won't be our only trip in the Spring :)  But seriously, I think we both are excited to be out of the house and in the great outdoors.  My parents started taking me camping at a very young age.  I'm not even sure if I was walking yet the first time they took me.  When I was young we would camp at Higgins Lake in Michigan.  After we moved to California we started camping in the Stanislaus Mountains.  The thing I miss the most about California are the mountains.  I'm glad that we have been exploring and finding so many beautiful places so close to home.