Preparing

Well I'm getting ready for our annual camping trip with my parents.....every summer we meet at Pymatuming State Park and camp together for a week.  Since my parents live in South Western NY and we live in Wheeling WV it is about the middle.  So all this week I will be busy preparing.  Last week Randy took the camper (an oldie but goodie 1984 motor home) to get inspected.  Guess what, it didn't pass.  The back lights didn't work.  We tried to tell the inspectors at the inspection station that we don't drive at night so really the lights weren't necessary but they didn't buy it.  We had to make a trip to the local camping supply store for new bulbs and covers.  (the covers came off during a horrendous wind storm we had over the winter)  So hubby worked for awhile on the lights but couldn't get them working....then all of a sudden the camping Gods looked down on us and the lights came on.  Randy hurry up and drove it back down to the inspection station without turning it off in case it was a fluke. 

WE PASSED!  So we are legal again....Yeah!

I am a list maker, and I'm sorry to say that this is a part of me that my family does not enjoy.....but with so many other things going on in my head I have to make list so that nothing is forgotten.  I make list for shopping, list of things to put in the camper, things that will need finished up this week at work, things to do around the house before we leave...the "list" goes on and on.  So today we are off to Wally World (Walmart) to pick up some supplies for the trip, but I will still need to go to the store one more time, probably on Thursday to pick up the last minute items like bread and milk so they won't get gross.  I would also like to get the lawn mowed today and finish up the weekly laundry but this will all have to get squeezed in between breakfast for Randy for Father's Day and a movie with him and Sierra.

Wish me luck!

Hocking Hills, Ohio

The life changing event that I spoke of was the death of my son, which happened November of '08.  So we, as a family were dreading the upcoming holiday season and didn't know exactly what we wanted to do but after doing alot of reading and talking to counselors it was suggested that we start some new traditions.

So Hocking Hills was recommended to me by a friend.  I did a little bit of research about it and decided that was were we were going to go.  It is in Central Ohio a little south of Columbus.  We went for a long weekend and the weather that year was actually very cooperative.  It was a little bit soggy but pretty warm and were able to do some hiking and see the majority of the sites.

We rented a cabin called The Two Trees Inn. hockinghills.com/twotrees/ A great place with tons of charm. The owners have included unique touches throughout the cabin, the dinning room table was a long slab from tree that had been varnished to a high gloss, there was a loft w/ a beautiful private bath, some of the supporting beams and ladder were branches, one of the bedrooms had a little nook where a bunk was placed, they had a library of book, a pool table, ping pong, a wonderful deck with a view of the woods and the pond and a fire ring.  We loved it there and would love to go back. 

There are alot of hiking opportunities in the area but most of them had shorter options if you had elderly or disabled parties in your group they can still enjoy the wonderful scenery of the rock formations and the falls.  Most of the trails are in a central location and easy to get to, off of main roads or state parks.  Some of the sites to see are Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, Conkles Hollow, Cantwell Cliffs, and Cedar Falls.

There are also some great shops in the area.....they have some unique things with local flavor, some antique shops as well. 

We had a wonderful time and I highly recommend Hocking Hills for a get away for friends, families, girls or guys weekend anything and of course it is puppie friendly.  At the time we went we only had Tucker.  He was soo funny running around the cabin taking in all the smells.

Well I finished my first post....wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.  I'm kind of proud of how it turned out.  Yea Me!