Saturday, November 24, 2012
Backpacking in the French Alps
Friday, September 9, 2011
an uninhabited island, an episode with a raccoon, and sand fleas
What better way to pass your summer vacation than by spending a night on a beachfront campsite on an uninhabited island? Right? Well, yeah, that's what I thought as I boarded the small passenger-only ferry that transports people from the mainland across the sound to Bare Island, NC.
The island is part of a state park called Hammocks Beach State Park. While no one lives on the island, anyone can pay $5, and ride the 15 minute ferry to this beautiful piece of land located south of Emerald Isle. For a few extra bucks, you can camp at one of the 12 campsites on the island, and that's exactly what my family decided to do.
As I disembarked the ferry, I looked at the sand tail in front of us that wound through a maritime forest for a mile. The searing summer sun beat down on me and made my 20 pound backpack feel much heavier than it actually was.
The trek across the island (from the sound side to the ocean side) wasn't too hard- it was just flat and sandy. As I crested the last dune, I was in awe of the natural unspoiled beach the stretched for miles! I squinted in the sunlight that reflected off the water and watched the waves lick the shoreline.
Our campsite was another half mile hike down the beach. Between my parents and me, we had all our camping gear on our backs: our tent, all the drinking water and food we would need, clothes, sunscreen, and towels.
We pitched our tent as fast as we possibly could in the scorching heat, threw on our swimsuits and ran down to cool off in the ocean. Boy, did the water feel refreshing!
The waves were amazing! A die-hard surfer who had carried his surfboard across the island was out shredding the gnarly waves. I was jealous that I hadn't brought a board with me. But oh well, I had had enough stuff to carry across the island.
For dinner that night we just ate meal replacement bars and drank our warmed-by-the-Carolina-sun water.
We took a stroll down the beach as the sun set and did some shelling. The sea shells were some of the biggest I’d even seen!
When night came, I was astonished by the amount of starts that were visible. We made our way back to our campsite by the moonlight that illuminated the beach.
There was a nice breeze that was blowing off the ocean that made the air cool down some. We climbed into our tent, thinking what a good night sleep we would get.
Never- I repeat- NEVER underestimate a raccoon’s sense of smell! And- Never store your food in your tent (which was exactly what we did).
In the middle of the night we heard a small scratching noise our side our tent. This strange sound kept persisting. Then my mom, who was sleeping near the side of the tent, felt something outside the tent brush up against her back. She hit the side of the tent, and whatever it was scampered away only to return a few minutes later. We dealt with the scratching and sniffing outside our tent all night long.
When we awoke the next morning to a quarter sized hole chewed into the bottom of our tent by very hungry raccoon.
Because of the problems with the raccoon and the other problem with I had with being eaten alive with sand fleas, or no-see-ems,(I’m not sure which one) we decided not to spend another night there!
It was a fun experience, but next time we won’t store our food inside our tent!
The island is part of a state park called Hammocks Beach State Park. While no one lives on the island, anyone can pay $5, and ride the 15 minute ferry to this beautiful piece of land located south of Emerald Isle. For a few extra bucks, you can camp at one of the 12 campsites on the island, and that's exactly what my family decided to do.
As I disembarked the ferry, I looked at the sand tail in front of us that wound through a maritime forest for a mile. The searing summer sun beat down on me and made my 20 pound backpack feel much heavier than it actually was.
The trek across the island (from the sound side to the ocean side) wasn't too hard- it was just flat and sandy. As I crested the last dune, I was in awe of the natural unspoiled beach the stretched for miles! I squinted in the sunlight that reflected off the water and watched the waves lick the shoreline.
Our campsite was another half mile hike down the beach. Between my parents and me, we had all our camping gear on our backs: our tent, all the drinking water and food we would need, clothes, sunscreen, and towels.
We pitched our tent as fast as we possibly could in the scorching heat, threw on our swimsuits and ran down to cool off in the ocean. Boy, did the water feel refreshing!
The waves were amazing! A die-hard surfer who had carried his surfboard across the island was out shredding the gnarly waves. I was jealous that I hadn't brought a board with me. But oh well, I had had enough stuff to carry across the island.
For dinner that night we just ate meal replacement bars and drank our warmed-by-the-Carolina-sun water.
We took a stroll down the beach as the sun set and did some shelling. The sea shells were some of the biggest I’d even seen!
When night came, I was astonished by the amount of starts that were visible. We made our way back to our campsite by the moonlight that illuminated the beach.
There was a nice breeze that was blowing off the ocean that made the air cool down some. We climbed into our tent, thinking what a good night sleep we would get.
Never- I repeat- NEVER underestimate a raccoon’s sense of smell! And- Never store your food in your tent (which was exactly what we did).
In the middle of the night we heard a small scratching noise our side our tent. This strange sound kept persisting. Then my mom, who was sleeping near the side of the tent, felt something outside the tent brush up against her back. She hit the side of the tent, and whatever it was scampered away only to return a few minutes later. We dealt with the scratching and sniffing outside our tent all night long.
When we awoke the next morning to a quarter sized hole chewed into the bottom of our tent by very hungry raccoon.
Because of the problems with the raccoon and the other problem with I had with being eaten alive with sand fleas, or no-see-ems,(I’m not sure which one) we decided not to spend another night there!
It was a fun experience, but next time we won’t store our food inside our tent!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
the magic of summer
There is a magical sensation about the season of summer. Fireflies glittering in the night sky, baseball games and hot dogs, grilled corn on the cob, Independence Day fireworks and cookouts, sleepover pool parties where you swim into the night. Those are just a few things I love.
One of my favorite books Summer: a User's Guide (by Suzanne Brown) has this to say about summer:
"I'm madly in love with summer and the feelings it evokes- the carefree spirit of freedom and adventure that fall, winter, and spring simply don't provide. Summer entices us to lose our inhibitions, to have fun, to be curious, and to seek adventure."
Every summer there is always an unforgettable adventure that happens. Last summer it was our sailing adventure that my Uncle Jeff took us on to an uninhabited island
where we got lost during a thunderstorm. Summer before that it was a side trip to the coast of Italy that included sleeping on the floor of a train station to get there.
Whatever you do in these next two months, try to make this summer one big unforgettable adventure!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Horrible Headaches
Well, I'm pretty much over my minor concussion. I'm still not up to going for 3 mile runs, but I hope to be able to do that by the end of this week.
Unfortunately, I don't have an awesome story to go with the concussion. It's not like my sister's story of her rock climbing accident that ended in the emergency room and two staples in her head holding it together. I had just finished mowing half of my backyard and was pulling the lawn mower up hill. I was walking up hill facing forward with both hand behind me pulling the lawn mower. I slipped, and since my hands were behind me on the mower, I had nothing to brace myself with. I smacked my head on the ground really really hard. I didn't pass out, but it was so painful, and my head immediately started aching with a horrible headache. I had an instant knot on the top left side of my forehead along with a scrape, a bloody cut under my eye, and a swollen jaw. I felt unusually tired, so I just went back inside and worked on homework. A few hours after the headache subsided, a horrible throbbing set in. I went to sleep, thinking I would feel better in the morning. The next day I was still extremely tired (which for anyone who knows me well knows I am rarely, if ever, out of energy). I was also extremely emotional, bursting into tears for no reason and crying for half an hour or so at a time. At school, I felt very disoriented, and it was hard for me to have a normal conversation because I felt like I was in a fog. When I got home, I went to bed to sleep since I was to tired to do anything else. My mom, noticing how I was acting different, called a friend of our who is a doctor and explained everything that had happened and how I was acting weird. He said I definitely had a concussion, and I should go to the ER. I hate emergency rooms, so I waited another day and just went to my regular doctor. It ended up that I did have a minor concussion. I had to have a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding on my brain. Thank God everything came back ok. I was told to get lots of rest, which I did! I would take a 2 hour nap during the day and then sleep for over 9 hours at night. That is totally abnormal for me since I'm normally a bundle of energy with just 6 to 7 hours of sleep.
A few days after the accident, my dad informed me that he bought accident insurance for me since I'm so accident-pron... This wasn't the first time I've racked up thousands as dollars worth of medical bills. Maybe I should just live in a bubble, but even then I'm sure I would find someway to hurt myself.
Unfortunately, I don't have an awesome story to go with the concussion. It's not like my sister's story of her rock climbing accident that ended in the emergency room and two staples in her head holding it together. I had just finished mowing half of my backyard and was pulling the lawn mower up hill. I was walking up hill facing forward with both hand behind me pulling the lawn mower. I slipped, and since my hands were behind me on the mower, I had nothing to brace myself with. I smacked my head on the ground really really hard. I didn't pass out, but it was so painful, and my head immediately started aching with a horrible headache. I had an instant knot on the top left side of my forehead along with a scrape, a bloody cut under my eye, and a swollen jaw. I felt unusually tired, so I just went back inside and worked on homework. A few hours after the headache subsided, a horrible throbbing set in. I went to sleep, thinking I would feel better in the morning. The next day I was still extremely tired (which for anyone who knows me well knows I am rarely, if ever, out of energy). I was also extremely emotional, bursting into tears for no reason and crying for half an hour or so at a time. At school, I felt very disoriented, and it was hard for me to have a normal conversation because I felt like I was in a fog. When I got home, I went to bed to sleep since I was to tired to do anything else. My mom, noticing how I was acting different, called a friend of our who is a doctor and explained everything that had happened and how I was acting weird. He said I definitely had a concussion, and I should go to the ER. I hate emergency rooms, so I waited another day and just went to my regular doctor. It ended up that I did have a minor concussion. I had to have a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding on my brain. Thank God everything came back ok. I was told to get lots of rest, which I did! I would take a 2 hour nap during the day and then sleep for over 9 hours at night. That is totally abnormal for me since I'm normally a bundle of energy with just 6 to 7 hours of sleep.
A few days after the accident, my dad informed me that he bought accident insurance for me since I'm so accident-pron... This wasn't the first time I've racked up thousands as dollars worth of medical bills. Maybe I should just live in a bubble, but even then I'm sure I would find someway to hurt myself.
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Exploration
Sometimes it's nice to explore things that you probably shouldn't, like the abandoned house, the cave in the rocks, or even the bend around the corner. Never forfeit the chance to see something new.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Lead Me
I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and have loved it ever since. It was written to challege men to be the spiritual leader of their home. Mark Hamitt, who wrote "Lead Me", said this about the song, "This song is the cry of a wife to be led by her husband, the cry of children to be led by their Father, and ends with the prayer of a husband and father to be led by God in the great responsibility of building a home on the solid foundation of Christ."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Favorite Coffee Cafes
Growing up, neither of my parents drank coffee. (When I was about 9, we got a coffee maker, but one day my mom left the coffee grounds in the pot for a few weeks. Sadly, it got all moldy and nasty so she threw it in the rubbish.) However, my granny would drink about eight cups of coffee a day. When we'd go to Granny's house, she would make us kids little cups of coffee that consisted mostly of cream with about a tablespoon of coffee. I was never crazy about that stuff until the summer I went to camp when I was 17. Over that summer, I got addicted to coffee! Now I have an amazing coffee maker (thanks to my neighbor) and bags of freshly ground coffee (compliments of my sister and brother-in-law's roasting company.) Unlike most people, I drink my coffee black- no cream, no sugar. Cream and sugar just ruin the real flavor of the coffee.
Here is a list of some great places where I've gotten coffee, mochas, & cappuccino:
Harmony House (Dayton, TN) Small town coffee house with a comfy atmosphere. Has amazing iced coffees and chocolate covered coffee beans. The owner is really friendly. Every time I've been in there, he's always working. He seems to know everyone in town.
http://www.harmonyhousecoffee.com/
Croissants de France (Key West, FL)This small cafe is located on Duval Street in Key West and has reasonably priced coffee and mouth watering pastries. I got a cup of coffee and a raspberry pastry. Absolutely delicious! The pastry chef is French and one of the workers was Mexican, so we enjoyed speaking French and Spanish with them!
http://www.croissantsdefrance.com/
Ocracoke Coffee Co. (Ocracoke Island, NC) The coffee is strong and is some of the best I've ever had! They also sell healthy smoothies, teas, espresso and pastries here. This is a great place to meet the locals.
http://www.ocracokeisland.com/ocracoke_coffee.htm
The Bar (Riomaggiore, Italy) Little cafe in Italy with outside setting. Best cappuccino in the world - they're very bitter! They also sell fresh pastries which are great for breakfast or a snack. In the evenings when football (soccer) games where on, a tv was set up where the outdoor seating was. The locals and tourists alike would gather around, blocking the street, intently watching the games.
Here is a list of some great places where I've gotten coffee, mochas, & cappuccino:
Harmony House (Dayton, TN) Small town coffee house with a comfy atmosphere. Has amazing iced coffees and chocolate covered coffee beans. The owner is really friendly. Every time I've been in there, he's always working. He seems to know everyone in town.
http://www.harmonyhousecoffee.com/
Croissants de France (Key West, FL)This small cafe is located on Duval Street in Key West and has reasonably priced coffee and mouth watering pastries. I got a cup of coffee and a raspberry pastry. Absolutely delicious! The pastry chef is French and one of the workers was Mexican, so we enjoyed speaking French and Spanish with them!
http://www.croissantsdefrance.com/
Ocracoke Coffee Co. (Ocracoke Island, NC) The coffee is strong and is some of the best I've ever had! They also sell healthy smoothies, teas, espresso and pastries here. This is a great place to meet the locals.
http://www.ocracokeisland.com/ocracoke_coffee.htm
The Bar (Riomaggiore, Italy) Little cafe in Italy with outside setting. Best cappuccino in the world - they're very bitter! They also sell fresh pastries which are great for breakfast or a snack. In the evenings when football (soccer) games where on, a tv was set up where the outdoor seating was. The locals and tourists alike would gather around, blocking the street, intently watching the games.
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