Mountain People

I haven't posted in forever...I usually only have one day off a week, and that is spent away from the apartment in order to feel like I have some kind of life. But I had some vacation time a month ago--Alvis and I wanted to get out of the city for a weekend, so we rented a car and headed to the Catskill Mountains. The beautiful bed and breakfast we stayed in seemed light years away from the city, but was a quick 2.5 hour car ride (including traffic). Ever since living in West Virginia, I have come to really love the outdoors (I didn't know this in Florida, because it was too hot to even walk to the mailbox without sweating profusely). We frequently went hiking, rock climbing, and many other tree hugging activities. So with a weekend off, getting back to the mountains sounded really refreshing. We went to pick up "our" car for the weekend, which of course wasn't ready for us when we got there. The cars were coming in from Jersey and were super late, so instead of getting out of the city at 2:30, we got out around 4:00--just in time for the Friday afternoon rush. But, no worries, we were headed for the boonies, where people aren't in such a hurry, and the car horns only blow when there is a cow obstructing the path. When we pulled up to the B&B, the fog was settling in, and there was peace and quiet. Ahh, at last...




After breakfast the next morning we hit the trails. We did a short morning hike through some waterfalls then had some lunch, which I almost lost on our next excursion. We took a skyride (a ski lift) up one of the mountains which was very steep...I'm a little afraid of heights...



After making it safely back on solid ground we headed out on another trail. It was about a 6 mile hike round trip with some decent climbing involved (ok, no ropes were necessary, but it was a good climb up). When we finally reached the top, we were greeted with great views and even more peace and quiet...we were the only ones up there, and it was a great feeling.



The next day we were going to go mountain biking, but opted for a long, winding drive through the mountains instead. We even made it to Woodstock, which just proves what tree huggers we were becoming. I think that's the wrong kind of hippie though...no free love or anything...
Alvis and I often ask ourselves (and lots of other people ask us too...like our parents...) where we see ourselves after residency. It always seems to come down to water or mountains. After this weekend, score one for the mountains...


this is my "please stop taking my picture" face...