Waterfalls and Themed food nights

Well hey there followers! I am sorry it has taken me so long to post. we have been all over doing many fun things. Right now I am sitting next to josh on the back porch of the Breaks Interstate National Park Visitor center in Virginia. yesterday after a long hike we came out on a road that led us by this place. We noticed a sign that said "FREE INTERNET HOT SPOT HERE" so here we are. Although, the internet is excruciatingly slow.. so I'm not sure if i have the patience to upload pictures. I'm anxious to get down to the art walk they are having in the park.

I love it here. Families upon families with small children stay here and run around screaming and yelling all day. The only reason I'm not complaining is because Josh and i have a campsite as far away from the commotion as possible. When we checked in, and the ranger asked us where we were from, he told us we could pick any site we wanted that was free. he even let us drive around and look at them. Just because we are Mainers! he calls me darlin'. southern accents make me giggle.. most of the chatter we hear from our neighbors we can't even understand.

We have themed food nights. tonight it's going to be Asian, last night it was Mexican (we ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant because of the rain,) and the night before that it was Italian night. we like to eat well. its the best feeling, being able to eat really good food while camping.

I never wrote about our adventures in Ithaca, or Plattsburgh, or any of my Vermont fun, (other than the pictures) and i don't want to make this entry too long.

In short:

Plattsburgh was interesting, but much needed for me. it was hotter than hell and we had a hard time finding my grandmother's cemetery. once we found it, i spent an hour and a half running around it, crawling through it, and practically rolling in it until i finally found her, and her sister. I hugged and kissed their stones like i had just found water in a desert. I realized later that i probably shouldn't have gone rolling in all the plants at the cemetery, because i broke out in a rash all over my body. it only lasted through the night, and it was gone the next day. thank god!!

In Ithaca we stayed on the Ithaca college campus with Fred Kennedy. Among all the great things we did and saw there, I just want to talk about one part that really stuck with me.

The Water Fall.

After I slipped into my new and favorite one piece bathing suit, and jumped into my dress and flip flops, i went into the living room where Josh was waiting with Fred and one of Fred's friends. I asked him if there were any more awesome waterfalls like the one we had seen the day before, (see facebook pictures) and he told me i'd have to wait and see.

after parking on a street next to a path that went down a steep hill, and around a bend where kids were learning to rock climb, there was a loud wispering sound in the near distance that i knew was a waterfall. I began to see a pool carved out of a huge gorge with a good handful of people swimming around in it, and sun bathing on the rocks. a small spray of water was falling down the side of the green plants on the gorge wall creating a rainbow.then a few more steps, and a huge leveled water fall was to our right. i heard screams and noticed people were jumping off the levels into the waterfall below.

there was no way i was jumping off those slippery rocks, but i climbed sheepishly up the side, where Fred led us, into the middle layer of the water fall. the water was flowing around my ankles as i looked behind me and saw the pool of water below and the rainbow. I was so shocked at it's natural beauty. I looked over at Fred, who was handing out beers, and pointed to a bowl carved out of the rock in the middle of the fall. we inched are way over and sat in it, facing the water fall and the pool below. the water flowing around us, the long hairy green moss between my toes.

that moment has been my favorite of this trip so far. I will never forget it!
thanks to Fred for such an awesome time in Ithaca!!

okay that wasn't very short..

Happy Father's Day!!

me at Au Sable Point New york on Lake Champlain!

Day 3

Shelburne Vermont!

This is day one of Bruce the Moose and the gnome in the back seat of our stuffed car!



And a beautiful sunset in Shelburne Vermont on Josh's aunt Lisa's porch. <3 love to everyone at home!

1 day before take off!

Josh and I are officially done packing. (kind of) I still have a pile of random miss fits on my bed that don't seem to belong in any of our organized bags. (but they are necessary!) though i question how necessary tissue boxes shaped like lemon and watermelon wedges are. Mom gave them to Josh today saying "Just shove them in between the windshield and the dashboard!! aren't they cute?!" who knows when those allergies will kick in.. usually, in the long run, I end up being very thankful for all of my mother's little gifts.

earlier Josh seemed very concerned with the randomness of the pile and the lack of room in his tiny Mazda 3. He scrunched his face at it. we can do it! Packing light is a science and I have it down fo sho. Its half the fun anyway..!

I feel my butt flattening on this seat and my brain hurts due to the length of the time it has taken me to create this blog. I may be the most indecisive person on the planet. "pretty birds flying away? or a road leading to the horizon? Buddha? flower?" I can't just pick a RANDOM background.. it needs to be perfect.

sigh.

So as an intro to all of you (if any) that will be interested in reading this blog, I am planning on writing in it at least once a week with pictures, thoughts, stories, my progression with yoga, and a whole mess of stuff about my trip across the united states that i have no idea about yet! isn't that exciting?! i hope you think so. I am looking forward to getting feedback :)