Steps 1-3: Dream big, live your passions and don’t ever stop believing. I am here to report that the wanderinglavignes will be wandering once again. We are leaving BD and have a new adventure awaiting, an adventure we could only dream about until recently. And I swear I am not trying to play an early…
We’ve had a very busy week here with back-to-back-to-back personal visitors (3 sets to be exact), mixed in with some spring break hikers. These days, the one common theme with visitors is introducing them to our game of choice, Bohnanza, or the Bean Game where you get to impersonate a bean farmer. Our friends introduced…
One of our favorite things about living in NH was the SNOW!!! Our first year living there, we had record amounts of snow (somewhere around 120 inches). NoVa may not have the cumulative amount of snow all winter long like NH, but it has surprised us with its random snow events! Like today, when we…
It feels like it’s been forever since I blogged, but it’s only been 10 days. Still, let me tell you what we’ve been up to! BD hosted a hiker ruck last weekend. We had no idea what a ruck was, but when we looked it up, it said this: the undistinguished crowd or ordinary run…
Our kindred spirits visited us. Yes, we have our very own kindred spirits, another couple who spends as much time outdoors and reuses foil & saran wrap just like we do. Unfortunately, they live all the way up in NH, so we don’t see each other very often. Any visit with Paul/Second Nature and Kristen/Gr8ful…
In the dead of winter, I would like to talk about gardening. Fitting, right? This was my first year I tried my hand at a garden and I am proud to say my thumb was a little greener by the end of the season. Even Deal was impressed with my skills. Luckily, BD has a…
Deal and I spent Thanksgiving apart this year. Don’t gasp. We live and work together everyday, so we should probably take breaks like this more often!! What this means is you get 2 tales instead of one! We had very different Thanksgivings, and I will let you be the judge of which was better (not…
I used to joke that when Deal worked in parks and recreation, he went to all sorts of cool conferences. I mean, they played wiffle ball and Minute To Win It. Where was all the learning in that? In his new role here at BD, though, he attended something that tops the cake: a chainsaw…
What I love about BD is that no two days/nights are the same. Thursday night, we had 3 very quiet hikers who hibernated in the hostel. So we carved pumpkins while “working”!!!!!!! I believe Deal was an artist in his former life. He is so meticulous and creative. He carved a hiker in one pumpkin,…
I love my new life. It’s funny how things never turn out as planned. I should know this by now, yet I am still surprised by it. The thing is, Deal took a huge pay cut in this position as caretaker, which is why it was so important for me to find a full-time job.…
We have been getting out and doing more and more hiking these days. Novel concept, you know, since we live ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. We are trying to re-hike the miles north and south of here so we are experts in our field. We get very specific questions about the trail in the area and…
The other day Deal stepped outside our front door and something caught his eye. Deal is deathly afraid of snakes. While we were on the trail, our little trio (us and Fire Marshall) took a poll. Which creature of the night often found in the shelter is your least favorite? Mine was the spiders (in…
Okay, not really, but a local TV station did a piece on the lodge/hostel for their Backyard Adventures Series. A 2-minute segment on the news is enough fame for me! Here’s the link to watch the video (it’s only active for the next 2 weeks): http://www.tv3winchester.com/home/headlines/Backyard_Adventure__Bears_Den_Trail_Center_161436975.html
Well, so much for my “bonus post,” as it’s been almost 2 weeks! My “bonus post” was going to be pictures of where we live!!! It is so hard to explain in words and pictures don’t even really do it justice, but they should give you a better idea. You can enter the lodge through…
Hi there. Has it been 2 weeks? Oh, 3? Really? Oh boy. That means I missed my deadline for my biweekly blog post! I am sure y’all will be much more forgiving than my job is about missing deadlines … Overall, we had a pretty good 3 weeks, if you consider we had no car…
Friday the 13th, an ominous day known for bad luck. Instead of just one day, though, how about we’ve had several “Fridays the 13th” in a row. First, Deal was driving our new car and got a ticket. Not just any ticket. His first EVAH. Then, a few days later, Deal was driving our brand-new,…
Two weeks between my blog posts … not bad! But, I thought I better get another one on the books before you all disown me. So for 14 days of missed blogging, I give you 14 pieces of information (and 3 pictures). In the last 2 weeks …1) we are almost completely moved in. I…
Exhale. So, it turns out that starting two new jobs, moving into a new place and doing some home renovation projects at the same time is never a good idea. Just in case you were wondering. In an effort to try not to babble, oh wait, who am I kidding. Prepare for some babble. 1)…