Adventures |

Ocean City NJ

I headed to Ocean City NJ this weekend with my Y girlfriends. It was SO nice to get together because we’ve all found ourselves in different towns and parts of life now…to have a ladies weekend away with a few of them was wonderful. Some of us ran the half marathon, some ran the 5k and some just went for a long weekend away :)

Friday night we walked around the boardwalk and went out to dinner for seafood.

Saturday morning we walked around town and explored some shops. We all got pedicures too, anything to improve race times ;-)

I forgot to grab a picture of the house we rented, but it was very similar to these. We had the second floor with a super cute balcony. 4 bedroom, 2 bath with a big kitchen and livingroom, it was really nice. Bonus that it was off season and fairly cheap split 5 ways.

Saturday was quite a bit colder and gloomier but we still headed to the beach. We had such a fun time just strolling and checking out the sights.

Saturday night Sue was our tour guide and led us to the bridge for the island. We got to see a beautiful sunset over the bay.

We just chilled at our rental house Saturday night. I actually read a little bit of a book too :) This picture was hanging on one of the walls and reminded me of Ben and Cassidy. I missed the little ones but it was so nice to not have to answer questions every 3 seconds.

Sunday morning Julie and I woke up early and headed to the beach to watch the sunrise. Our house was only two blocks from shore, it was perfect.

Race day begins!

The half marathon lining up.

After they headed out, Julie and I started our 5k race. I’d originally signed up for the half marathon but got halfway through training and my knees were killing me (even with new sneakers). I was so thankful Beth took my spot in the half and I decided to just do 3 miles instead of 13. Our 5k was right on the boardwalk, it was really pretty.

Beth finishing up her half marathon!

Sue coming in too!

It was such a beautiful day for a race!

Wish we’d gotten more time away, but the 3 days were so much fun. We headed to the beach for an hour after the race to just chill and got to see a really neat airshow too. Even the ride home (although long because we got stuck outside of Philly) was fun, talking and rockin’ out to Jill’s mixed CD of 80s and 90s songs. Good times ladies, love you guys!

Indian Lake Adventure

by Heather | 3 Comments

Andy and I made our annual trip to Indian Lake Islands in the Adirondacks. My parents watched the kids for two days and his parents had them for two days, so it was just us for the adventure.

We stopped at a cute cafe in town before heading to our campsite.

There are 51 campsites (only accessible by boat) on Indian Lake. They’re run and maintained by the DEC.

We piled all our equipment in the canoe and headed out. Andy got a small outboard motor for it a few years ago so we didn’t have to paddle as much on long trips. Except…this year…The water level of the lake was pretty low and we were trying to stay out of the middle of the lake (avoiding the larger boats) and the motor hit a rock. It made the worst “Cuh-chink” sound, I turned around and saw Andy grabbing the motor as it broke off its mount and started to fall into the lake. Ahhhhhhh! Luckily he saved it from falling in but as much as he tried he couldn’t get it to work again while we were in the water. So we paddled, the 2+ hours down the lake to our campsite. Call it a bonding experience…

At least it was pretty and a seriously beautiful day!

We finally arrived at our site and started unloading the canoe.

We set up the tent, our equipment, got a fire going for dinner and explored a little.

It was too late and we were too tired to do anything about the motor that night, so inspection waited until the following day. After taking the entire thing apart on the picnic table Andy realized that when it hit the rock it sucked in water which created a ton of pressure, blowing the head gasket. He was thankful it wasn’t something else and that it wasn’t permanently damaged. Anyone who knows Andy, pretty much knows he’s MacGyver…so after a few trial and errors he fixed the broken motor with electrical tape and tinfoil. Seriously. We apprehensively took it out on the water and were completely amazed that after a few stuttering pulls it actually started and worked!

The rest of the day Saturday we just lounged around at our site. Andy fished and I read some books. We sat on the beach and went swimming. We watched a variety of wildlife (toads, frogs, snakes, newts, a cute baby mouse, ducks and lots of deer tracks). No bears :) Ben was concerned that there might be bears and said we’d better take daddy’s hunting gun with us.

We made my favorite camping dinner (chopped veggies with sausage), had smores and enjoyed the campfire. The toads were SO loud down on the beach at night (Andy got a few go pro videos I’ll have to share later). He had to put earplugs in to sleep but I was fine.

Sunday morning we made breakfast (campfire bacon and eggs are awesome) and got things together for a day hike.

Since we didn’t quite trust the motor (and wanted to save all that it would give us for the trip home) we paddled a mile further down the lake to a picnic area and trail. Water levels were really low so we could walk along the stream bed and actually over a few waterfalls, they were so pretty.

(Don’t worry mom, there was a ton of support behind me, I’m not going to fall to my doom)

We had lunch on the trail, the only time I eat ramen noodles is while camping. Andy was even kind enough to pack some extra veggies to make it somewhat resemble a bowl of soup ;-)

So thankful we could head back to the DEC headquarters, with a working motor!

Overall we had a fantastic weekend! The weather was perfect, other than a surprise passing shower the first night (nothing like an “oh crap, quick find the rain cover for the tent”), it was beautiful. A fun, relaxing adventure with my best friend! Until next year :)

Check out our first year camping with friends and second year island camping. It’s neat how every year has been a little different and there’s still so much more to explore.

Maple Weekend 2016

by Heather | 0 comments

Our friends Chris and Melinda run a local maple farm and were a part of NYS’s Maple Weekend.

We visited their open house on Sunday and enjoyed the all you can eat pancake breakfast. Andy also enjoyed the sausages ;-)

The kids got to drill and tap a tree and learn how the process starts out in the woods.

Ben was convinced the syrup itself was coming out of the tree, not the sap.

We also toured the sap shed where everything is boiled down into the usable product. It’s a 40 to 1 ratio, 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.

Chris built and welded the evaporator in the sugarhouse.

There were some history, equipment and of course tasting stations inside as well.

Before we left we visited the monster truck and tractor.

The kids also loved the animals that were outside.

Thanks Chris and Melinda for sharing your farm and a part of your life with us. You guys are passionate, hard working and have a pretty awesome production going on! I’m proud to know you!

And just because I get a chuckle out of it, this is OUR maple syrup production. We tap two maple trees in our side yard. They’re not even the right kind of tree (silver maples instead of sugar maple) but it’s fun!

Indian Lake Camping

by Heather | 1 Comment

Andy and I went island camping in the Adirondacks again this year. We arrived early Friday morning to hike Snowy Mountain. It.was.tough. We kind of knew what we were getting into, but it took us 3 hours to hike up and 2.5 hours to treacherously make it down.

Up, up and up!

Stopping for a little rest.

It was incredibly steep, but had beautiful views up top.

We could even see “our island.”

At the top of the mountain was an old fire tower you could climb for even higher views.

Andy pointing the hat cam out of the fire tower. He has some awesome videos I’ll have to share in another post.

Coming down was pretty tricky because of the high slope. Luckily the only damage done was to my shoes. Easily washed off in the creek.

Worth it, yes! Would we do it again, probably not :)

After surviving Snowy Mountain we headed down to the boat launch at Indian Lake.

Thankfully Andy had a little 2hp motor attached to the side of our canoe so we didn’t have to paddle all the way out to our island. The views on the way out were beautiful from down here as well!

Our island was beautiful and we were the only campsite on it!

Saturday morning I actually woke up to see sunrise, grab a few pics, then head back to bed. We were beat!

The rest of Saturday we hung out around our island, went swimming and fishing.

I caught this little guy and we were going to put him back but the hook was so stuck we couldn’t get it out without doing some damage. So we took him back and cooked him with our lunch, sorry little guy.

We actually ate really well! A friend teasingly asked if we’d have to forage for our food but Andy had all the yummy meals planned, I didn’t have to do a thing (except wash dishes after).

We did find some huckleberries (blueberries) on our island too and included them in our morning pancakes.

Andy assures me they’re not poisonous…lol, no we didn’t eat them ;-)

Andy with his water filter pump contraption.

A little friend on our island.

Sunday we paddled to the other end of the lake (about 45 minutes by canoe) to Baldface Mountain. It was neat that the only way you could get to the trail was by boat. This one wasn’t nearly as bad as the first one we’d climbed, but still pretty steep.

We found a geocache on the way up.

The view was great!

We even brought our little camp stove and boiled water for soup and had lunch up top. Andy knows I’m not terribly fond of ramen noodles so he stocked mine with extra veggies to make up for it, that’s love.

Monday we packed up camp and explored the lake a little bit before heading home to pick up the kids. Someday we’d like to bring them, but we’ll have to figure out logistics as our canoe was full with the cooler, tent, backpacks and other gear. Although it certainly was a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. Until next year!

Cottage Life

by Heather | 0 comments

We visited my mom and Paul’s cottage this weekend! My grandparents were actually up from Florida for the week too and it was SO nice to visit with them. They met Cassidy and my brother’s daughter, Brielle, for the first time. We’d been together two years ago at my brother’s wedding and I was 7 months pregnant with Miss Cassidy then. Ben didn’t quite make the connection that they were MY grandma and grandpa, but we all had fun!

4 Generations: My grandpa, mom, brother and niece :)

Cassidy was NOT thrilled she had to share spotlight time with Brielle ;-)

Saturday weather was beautiful, 70s and sunny!

The kids played on the playground behind the cottage and enjoyed making some new friends.

The kids also got to meet my mom and Paul’s new rescue doggie, Jackson. He is such a sweetheart and was very good with the little ones the whole weekend.

The weather may have been nice, but the lake was still freezing! I think in the low 50s! That didn’t stop Andy from suiting up and heading out on his jetski. He bought it on craigslist a few months back and has pretty much gutted and rebuilt all the innards. I’m SO proud of him (and maybe slightly jealous of all the attention he gives her…) He even convinced Paul to head out on the lake too, even though everyone else on the cottage lane thought they were crazy. Ben went for a little ride too but said it was too cold and windy and asked to turn around. I’m proud of him for trying!

All the kiddos enjoyed snuggles with Nonna. My kids were exhausted from all the activity and slept really well for naps and night time (woo hoo!)

Saturday night, Paul’s brother Dan was at a neighboring cottage and popped over to visit and show us his drone. Andy wished he’d brought his, but there just wasn’t room as we’d taken my car. Andy said he didn’t have the guts to fly it over the water like Dan did anyway ;-)

Andy and Paul watching the sunset.

It was a gorgeous sunset that night. We don’t always get to see a spectacular one every time we’re there (in truth it’s usually just twice over the summer we visit) but there were lots of clouds to reflect light and lots of interesting colors and hues. I took so many pictures and it was so hard to pick my favorites.

Even Jackson was out on the deck enjoying the evening with us.

Sunday was a bit gloomy, grey and rainy so we stayed inside most of the day. The kids enjoyed lounging in their jammies and playing on the tablet together.

A cuter shot from Paul. This picture almost makes you think they get along ;-) They are pretty good buddies :)

We had such a nice time with you mom and Paul, thank you for having us! (I know, you’re saying “duh, of course!”)

I know it’s regular life for you, but cottage life is a special treat!

Pittsburgh #3: The Race

by Heather | 0 comments

We got new team shirts for the race this year.

We didn’t plan on it being in the 80s on race day though, all of our training had been over the winter and in freezing temps. We ended up wearing our tank tops.

We totally lucked out, the windows on our hotel room floor had an awesome view of the start line. While the half marathon ladies headed out early, because I was the last leg of the relay I got to sit and watch the elite runners, bikers, half and full marathons start.

I didn’t get any pictures of us during the race, but this is our team afterwards! Jill, Jacquie, Rachel, Heidi and I were on the relay team. We split the full marathon into 5 legs. Cheryl, Jodi, Beth, Patty, Sue and Lexi all ran a half marathon.

We each wore a “Runner girl” jamberry for our races too.

You ladies are awesome and I’m so honored to run with you. I’ve learned so much about myself as we’ve tackled hills, blizzards, blisters, injuries, heat and miles in between together. Laughing and solving the world’s problems with you is just awesome, it makes the running part worth it ;-)

Scribble and Scrabble

Category Archives: Adventures

Ocean City NJ

Indian Lake Adventure

Maple Weekend 2016

Indian Lake Camping

Cottage Life

Pittsburgh #3: The Race