Hermitage Cabin

This past weekend Jeanette and I were joined by Bob, Mary and Joe us in Michaux State forrest.  We stayed in the Hermitage cabin which is a rustic cabin maintained by the PATC.  It sits a little more the 0.2 miles from a parking area at the base of a neat rock climbing area called Schaffer's Rock.  Additionally it sits ~1 mile down a side trail from the AT.  The cabin was much more then we expected, beautiful and fully stocked with your standard camping gear - sleeping mats, cookwear.  All you really need bring is food and clothing.  We ate well and enjoyed the climbing at the rocks as well as a hike up to Chimney Rocks on the AT with beautiful views of an unspoiled valley below.

The cabin entrance

The cabin

Panorama shot of the cliffs

Joe on a pretty nice route

Joe and Bob at the campfire

Getting darker

Shiloh's new best friend Buster - Mary's dog

Young forrest on the way to Chimney Rocks

Beautiful wild butterfly bush

Old logging trail path on way to Chimney Rocks

Joe on the "summit" of Chimney Rocks

Mitch's 8th Birthday

Saturday we also celebrated Mitch's 8th birthday - dragon theme.  Lot's of cute little people running around with swords and shields - pretty funny.  Food was great - meatballs and ravioli and lots of side salads.  After dinner Mitch opened presents, smashed a dragon pinata and ate a really delicious cake.  It was fun as always visiting with the family.

Dragon Party - Look out!

Uncle Kevin, being a good sport playing the part

Aunt Jeanette and Ellie

 Opening presents - the envy of all the guys

Dragon slaying time

Bringing in the heavy hitting princess to finish the job

Time to sing

Trail Triple Crown

Jeanette before the race

The crew bouncing to keep warm pre-racce

And their off (Jeanette's is in the right 3rd of pic)

Finishing strong up the tough final hill

Saturday morning Jeanette, me and Jim ran the Trail Triple Crown at White Clay Creek State Park in DE which consists of a half marathon, 10K and 5K.  We competed in the team division and each ran a leg, but the real hardmen / women do the whole thing on their own.  It was a perfect day for running.  We did quite well coming in 2nd place in the team division.  Also racing were team Merrick and Wendy who ran the 10K solo.

Easter Weekend in Flagstaff

Jeanette and I went out to visit Joey and Kaylan for Easter this year.  Jeanette and I flew into Phoenix on Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon we met up in Sedona.  We had a great lunch and then went out on a hike to Chicken Point.  It was a windy afternoon but a really beautiful hike.

The four of us

The view down the valley from chicken point

The next morning we woke up early to breakfast sandwichs made by Joey and headed up to the Grand Canyon.  We arrived around 9ish and hit the trail.  We took the Kaibab trail on the South Rim.  This was a trail Jeanette and I had never been on before.  The views were amazing and the weather perfect.  We took the trail all the way to the Tip Off, the last stop before heading down the the river.  We ate lunch here with great views of the Colorado.  That evening we were tired so we had Chinese takeout for dinner and Joe and Kaylan introduced us to one of their favorite shows - Top Gear - a hillarious British Car show. 

Pictures don't do it justice

Heading in to the canyon

Our first view of the Colorado

The 4 of us

The next morning for our "rest" day (8 miles)we hit the Kachina Trail which hikes the base of Humphery and Agasi peaks right outside of town.  This hike was completely different then the day before in the Grand Canyon.  Snow was still on the ground in many places and the area is full of ponderosa pines and aspens.  The hike was beautiful and we had some interesting freezing rain / sleet weather while we hiked.

Joey and Kaylan on the log

Jeanette finding "Lip Log"

Flagstaff Sasquatch

Beautiful Aspens

The 4 of us

Our last day we went back down to Sedona and did a short dayhike up Doe Mountain with really expansive views of the valley.  It was a great way to end the trip.  Afterwards Joey and I hit the mountainbike trails in Sedona for a quick ride while the ladies shopped.  We finished up with dinner and beers at the Oak Creek Canyon Brewery.  We had a great trip visiting with Joey and Kaylan and only wish they lived closer so we could spend more time with them.

Jeanette at the Overlook

The Valley

Me Joey and Kaylan

Philly Union Soccer

On Saturday night we went up to Chester PA, the home of Philly's MLS team the Union.  Mike and Amber organized and we were joined by Amber's sister and brother and Will and Ed.  We tailgated a bit before the game in the parking lot with neat views of the Delaware River and an old electric power plant.   The PPL stadium is quite a beautiful facility, not a bad seat in the house.  The Union played their rivals the NY Red Bulls and ended up winning the game 1 - 0.  It was a really fun time.

Pregame Tailgating

Headed to the stadium with the Commodore Barry Bridge in the background

Game time

The crew 

World Cafe Live - Wilmington

Several years ago now the doors to local live music were opened to Jeanette and I via the World Cafe Live up in Philly.  We came to know of this venue through the University of Pennsylvania's music station WXPN and have come to know and love the artists we get to see here.  Recently a new location has been added to the World Cafe brand in Wilmington DE in the old Queen Theatre.  The project has been a multi-million dollar rennovation and it brings a place to see really great bands closer to home.  On Saturday we attended the first public event at the Queen seeing Ingrid Michaelson with Timm, Rachel, Mike and Amber.  The theatre was really beautiful and while they're still working out some of the bugs in the sound system, it was a fun night and its exciting to have such a great concert venue so close to home now.

Where's the Beef

Last winter Jeanette and I watched the documentary Food Inc. which depicts the food industry in a not too appealing light.  Since then we've been trying to think a bit more about where our food comes from.  Last winter we experimented with purchasing local grass fed beef and it worked out so well that this year we are doing it again.  Saturday I picked up our quarter cow, some 125 lbs of beef.  Can't wait for summer to grill some steaks outside.

Philly Home and Garden Show and Ambers Birthday

This weekend we went up to the Philly Home and Garden Show at the Expo Center in Oaks.  Had a great time looking at various home improvement and lawn and garden vendors.  Ran into Jeanette's cousin Chrissy there.  The event was highlighted by a lecture by WHYY personality Mike McGrath of "You Bet Your Garden" on growing tomatoes.  It was awesome to hear him speak - super entertaining and informative at the same time.

Mike McGrath of "You Bet Your Garden"

In the evening we met up with friends at the White Dog Cafe for Ambers Birthday.  The food and company were excellent.

Amber and Mike

Amber and Rach

Chris and Somnang 

Bob and Mary

 Timm, Ian and Henna

 Me and Jeanette

Sunday we met up with Wendy and John and had lunch at Woody's in Northeast before heading out on a hike out at Elk Neck State Park to the lighthouse on Turkey Point.

Location : 1252-1298 Appleton Rd, Elkton, MD 21921,