Memorial Day on Assateague

So far in 2015, we have made great use of our three-day-weekends and this Memorial Day was no exception. About halfway through May, Scott asked me if we were going to make it to the beach this year since we hadn't done so last year. I said I'd love to go to the beach at any time. Let's remember I spent 13 years of my life either in Florida or an island in the south Pacific so I love the beach, the ocean, the sun! you get the idea. With this in mind, Scott looked into beach camping, combining two things we enjoy and soon enough we had the idea to go to Assateague Island, Maryland. Even though it was semi-short notice we decided to make the trip for Memorial Day weekend. Luckily, our favorite outdoors store (REI) was having a MASSIVE sale for their 30th Anniversary so we were to finish outfitting ourselves. We already had a backpacking tent, sleeping bags, and a few other trinkets. We just needed a back packing pack for me since Scott had one from his Scouting days. And some cooking implements. And food... which we got at the grocery store, mostly. We like REI ok?!

All week leading up to the trip, we prepped. Scott made several more trips to REI to get said cooking gear and on Thursday night he packed everything. What a guy! Friday we dashed out of the city a little after 1pm and hit minimal traffic. Assateague is about 3 hours away and we arrived at 5:30 and registered at the Ranger Station. Even though we were doing back country hiking and camping (meaning camping in tents, not campers or RVs) we still needed to tell the Rangers. There are a set number of camp sites at the back country camp grounds so we needed to make sure there was room for us (no previous reservations were required). We were in luck. Three spots left! We also informed them we would hike the next day down to the furthest point of Assateague to camp there. They said we'd be the only ones. Cool!

We parked the car, changed, put on our packs and set out 4 miles down the beach to Little Levels camp site (see map above). It was a cool evening with nice tidal breezes and the hike only took us about an hour and a half. The camp ground was pretty crowded with a boy scout group on one side and about five other groups one the other side. After settling on a place to set up our tent we got to work quickly while the sun was still up. Just as we were about to unload our sleeping bags and arrange our things in the tent, we hear a rumbling. At first I thought Scott was drumming his fingers on the top of the tent and as I looked up to say something, a herd of 8-9 wild horses ran past us about 50 yards away! It was stunning and too quick to pull out a camera. Assateague is known for it's wild horses and these horses are known to bite and kick visitors so we didn't really want to draw attention to ourselves but it was incredible. They were a little shorter than domestic horses and their hair was more rough looking indicating their wild nature. Sorry, we didn't get any pictures and it was also the only time we saw any up close the whole trip.

Taken either right before or just after the horses galloped past the distant dune

Before settling down for the night, we went to the shore to look up at the stars. It was breezy which made me cold so we didn't stay for long and we were getting tired.

Our camp site at sun set

In the morning we made pancakes for breakfast and then broke down camp. By 8:55 we were hiking down to State Line. The packs were pretty heavy and the sand was soft in a lot of places so it was slow going. In total the 8 mile hike took about 4.5 hours. It was a relief to get the packs off our backs. It's interesting to remember when backpacking in the country, you need ALL the water you'll need for the whole trip which is about 4 liters or 1 gallon a day per person. That means we had 5 gallons of water between the two of us. Now a gallon is roughly 8-9 pounds. Scott had 3 gallons (28lbs) and I had 2 gallons (18lbs) plus our full camelbaks... it was a lot of water and a lot of weight.

Making pancakes in our tent

Not bad for roughing it!

We found this skeleton during our lunch break. At first I thought
it was a horse but when we got closer... we think it's a dolphin.

We relaxed for about 45 minutes before getting back the energy to pick a camp site which we did indeed have the whole place to ourselves. We picked a spot that was a little way off the beaten path and slightly hidden. Two things about Assateague I didn't know. One, if you have a permit, you are allowed to drive your vehicle onto the beach and park for most of the day, no over night on the beach however. Two, there are ticks! We mostly found them on the underside of picnic tables and benches and in the grass past the dunes near the camp sites. Luckily these ticks were pretty big so they were easy to spot but it didn't diminish our paranoia. I'd say these were the two low points of the trip; having obnoxious trucks drive by (and not offer us a ride! How rude!), park and set up on average 4 fishing poles on the beach in the hopes of catching fish causing us to have to change our trajectory and walk up to the softer sand to avoid the lines. It got really annoying really fast. And in all our hiking on the three days, we didn't see a single person catch a fish. And then watching for ticks. But other than that, it was really fun!

Once our tent was set up we took a leisurely stroll down to the real State line, dividing Assateague from Chincoteague on the Virginia side. There are big wooden poles with fencing dividing the states and it even goes out into the water about 15 yards. It's purpose is to keep the Assateague and Chincoteague horse herds separate although some mustangs have swum around the poles to get to the other side. On the Chincoteague side there are no vehicles or camping allowed in order to preserve the island's natural habitat. 

I'm in both states at once!

Ocean view from Chincoteague with no one and nothing in sight.

We busied ourselves by tracing our shadows! Scott is Superman.
(Look really close, it's there)

The tired travelers

By around 5 o'clock we started to get hungry so we headed back to camp for dinner which was Velveeta shells mac and cheese! Yes, it's sad that I got so excited about it. When we had eaten, we were pretty tired and it was getting colder so we didn't really want to go out exploring anymore. Plus, our sleeping rolls and bags were really comfy. We turned in early that night and got the best nights sleep camping either of us can remember! There is definitely something to be said for beach camping. If the sand underneath is lumpy, you can easily smooth it out, unlike a root or a rock in the woods. Plus, it's soft.

The next morning (Sunday, for those keeping score at home), we ate precooked, vacuum sealed scrambled eggs and bacon which actually wasn't too bad. I've had worse food camping. We packed up camp and headed back up the beach for Little Levels. Our packs were lighter and we decided to walk barefoot on the beach and it was great. The waves cooled our sore feet and the sand was harder which made the walking easier and faster. We hiked the 8 miles back to Little Levels in about 3 hours giving us time to contemplate our next move. Having rested for about an hour and we both decided while it was fun, we were ready to go home. It seemed like a really good idea at the time and what's another 4 miles? It was a tough journey even with really light packs but now our feet were aching pretty badly but we eventually made it back to our car, safe and sound by around 3:30.

Lunch break watching the waves.

Scott, the loyal Captain of our beloved Jolly Roger kite.

As we drove home with sore legs, aching feet and backs, tired bodies and slightly sun burnt necks and arms, we rejoiced in the knowledge that Monday was a holiday and we could take that day to recuperate from our vacation. We hope to go back again this summer and do more beachy things this time. I couldn't ask for a better hiking, camping or life partner than my adorable husband.

Bike to Work Week of Epic Proportions

Did you know that May is National Bike Month? If you work in the fitness industry you probably didn't. Well I'm here to tell you that May is National Bike Month. Now you know. In honor of National Bike Month, most major cities in the United States holds a Bike to Work Week and a even more well known Bike to Work Day. This year it was Friday, May 15 but the week started on Monday, May 11.

For months now I've been prepping myself for this week by riding my bike for long stretches and getting supplies for the ride such as helmet, bike shorts, tire repair kit and so on. Now remember, my commute is about 24 miles and I was about to do this on a bike so I wanted to be ready. On Tuesday, I took my first ride from work to home. It was a little dicey getting out of the city with tourist season being in full swing, then I got a little lost in Arlington but thanks to my phone I made it to the trail in about 40 minutes. From there on it was smooth sailing, well with the wind sailing in my face that is. It was a windy, uphill battle but I made it home in about 2 hours 40 minutes, with the actual cycling time around 2 hours 18 minutes (getting lost and stopping for traffic when the trail crossed at intersections slowed me down). After getting home, we went to the movies for half off tickets to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron which was much better (I thought) than the first.

Wednesday morning I got back on the bike to ride to work, it being Bike to Work Week and all. With the wind at my back and the road going mostly downhill, I got to work in just about 2 hours. I was tired after putting in 48 miles on my bike in less than 24 hours but I made it through the day.

Taking a break from biking on Thursday, we celebrated four years of marriage. It's hard to believe we've been married for four years but it's been wonderful. We celebrated at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Chuy's which is originally from Texas and honestly some of the best Mexican food I've ever had apart from the food on our honeymoon in Mexico (which is why we always eat Mexican food for our Anniversary). We exchanged gifts when we got home and I stuck to the traditional gift theme of fruit for the fourth year and I bought Scott a new Apple iPad. He was thrilled! and I was happy he liked it. Scott got me a 13.1 charm because I'm a weird runner crazy girl who enjoys running half marathons. It was a great day and a happy anniversary for both of us. We will be adding our succession of anniversary pictures shortly (click here to see last year's).

The traditional gift of fruits (mango scented candle) and flowers
My 13.1 necklace and tickets to see the NSO perform Frank Sinatra.

Finally, the day had arrived. I awoke with some anticipation on Friday morning and prepared for the long ride to work. It had been a rough week, learning the trails and being exhausted for my effort but I was committed. I had registered for Bike to Work Day back in March and there was a shirt at my Reston pit stop with my name on it (not literally but it was mine). I went and picked up my bright orange shirt and hit the trail along with several hundred other bikers, not all at once mind you but I saw them along the trail and got passed by many, I guess light road bikes and skinny tires make a huge difference. However this did not deter me. I had fun! and I learned a few things too like acknowledging other riders and users of the trail and phrases for crossing intersections. It's a fun community to be a part of. This ride only took about an hour and a half due to so many cyclists crossing intersections at once helping to slow down the car traffic and stoppage time. I finished the day by playing a soccer game that night for my adult women's league and amazingly enough, I wasn't tired!

Saturday was another epic day. For the past 16 months, my mom has been the creative director for the 2015 Northern Virginia Mormon Prom. If you've never heard of Mormon Prom you might not be from the East Coast. It's a big deal out here and a terrific alternative to regular prom for most Mormon kids. It's exclusively for Juniors and Seniors and non-Mormon kids are invited to attend as well. It's essentially a formal Stake Dance with 9 Stakes involved and a different Stake gets selected to host each year and this year it was my home Stake. Well after months of planning and preparing, the big day finally arrived. Almost every room in the Stake Center was decked out to reflect Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland and parts of this spilled outside as well.

Mushroom tables under black lights greeted the Juniors and Seniors

Without the black light

Mad Hatter Cafe, just off the kitchen for snacks

Chandelier made from plastic bottles and chicken wire!

It was incredible! There was a strict budget for prom so most of the material was either recycled, donated, found by dumpster diving or Craigslist freebies. My mom worked countless hours along with many volunteers to get this operational and it paid off. The kids were astounded at the magnitude of the event and didn't want to leave the dance when it was over.

Alice's shrinking room (Nursery)

The Jabberwocky above the Queen of Heart's throne in the Ball Room

Two Cheshire Cats used in different rooms

At the end of the dance, Scott and I helped in the clean up which started at 11pm and went until about 1:30 in the morning. To see more pictures and details about the dance, click on this link.

It was a fantastic week and a great Anniversary!