Geo Caching!

What do you get when you mix hiking, hide and seek and a gps? Geo Caching! Can I just say I love this somewhat frustrating activity. We've had a hand held gps for awhile but haven't used it much. We have a old etrex and it isn't great for Geo Caching but still fun to get outthere and see what we can find. Our first find was at First Landing State Park and Virginia Beach, the Long Creek trail Cache. Well hidden I might add. We even met the creator of this cache while we were on the trail(He tried to give us tips but the women He was with wouldn't let him!) It was in a camouflage tupperware container next to a tree and covered with pine needles and leaf, so not hard to find at all!! We added our contribution to the cache( a pouch of foreign coins). If you find this Cache we want you to keep the coins traveling and I enclosed my email so you can let us know were they are traveling too. We took our dogs and had a fun day on the trails and happy to have actually found a cache.

Cache #2 is only about 1.5 miles from our house here in Ocean View. The first night we walked to it we looked for about 20 minutes and couldn't find it. We finally figured it had been moved or something. Then today we were at Bass Pro Shops looking at handheld gps to see what the newer models have to offer when we met a super nice couple(the Caching crew) as they

are known gave us some tips and told us some caches will be mini's or micros and some are only the size of your finger tips. Armed with this knowledge we decided to go have another look. Nate found it about 5 minutes after looking. I can't believe how small it was! Take a look....So don't get discouraged if at first you cant find the cache you're looking for. We we're pretty proud of ourselves for this find especially with the gps we're using!

So if you like hiking and want the excitement of a grown up game of hide and seek you need to at least try geo caching and see how addicting it can be!

Chasing fall color.

Last weekend Nate found out He has columbus day off so we decided on a spur of the moment 3 day weekend trip. We just opened the atlas and picked a town to the north. Lewistown, PA. Sounds like a good starting destination. Ok, I admit we had no clue and thats kinda the best part! The only disadvantage to this non-planned destination was that “Matilda” ( Nate changed the setting on our gps to speak with an Australian accent and henceforth will be known as “Matilda”) much to our frustration took us on a route straight through D.C. and up towards Baltimore, MD. TRAFFIC would be an understatement! We left home around 2:30 on Friday and hit rush hour in one of the east coast most congested areas. To avoid wanting to blow up other cars or just get out, walk up and smack other drivers in the face I would suggest an alternate route. Thats really all I want to say on this subject. We drove past Gettysburg, I would of loved to stop but it was almost dark. We tried stopping for a hotel about 7pm but found that we chose the one town that was hosting a national craft festival. Ok, its just crafts. Let me just say that a huge population of this country must really enjoy crafts! We couldn’t find a single hotel room in a 70 mile radius. The first day was a bit long! We finally found a room in Harrisburg. Saturday we woke, loaded the truck and got back on the road towards the green areas on the map. We actually ended up passing Lewistown, Pa and stopped for breakfast in Reedsville at the “Honey Creek Inn” Best french toast I have ever eaten!! We had entered into an “Amish Paradise”

(Weird Al Yankovic theme music playing in the background “I churn butter once or twice, livin in an Amish Paradise”) Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I snapped a quick picture of an Amish Women tying up her buggy across the street from the restaurant. We kept driving north and with each mile the trees turned from green to red, yellow and orange. The air got cooler and the roads took us through smaller more charming towns.

Our next pick on the map: The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

from Reedsville we headed up 322 towards Tioga state park. Amazing scenery out every window! So many outdoor activities I lost count of the kayaking, mt. biking and rafting shops along the way. I could spend weeks in this area alone. One of the best spots was a little place called Cedar Run with a hotel, small store and much needed ice cream stop. This tells a little more www.pavisnet.com/cedarruninn/attractions.html This place was all about the bikers and there were a bunch. A 57 mile long bike path goes right past this place and makes for the perfect rest stop. I really want to do this sometime, heres the link if you want to check it out for yourself: http://visittiogapa.com/railtrailmap.pdf . After our pit stop we drove up and checked out the canyon itself. It was crazy crowded up there so we walked up to the over look and got a couple pictures, decided the hiking trails looked way

to packed and figured we’d see more on the road. Back in the truck we

pulled out the trusty atlas again and looked for the next big green patch.

Allegheny National Forest: Most of Saturday was spent driving winding

two lane roads with a few photo stops along the way. With a big breakfast,

snacks in the truck and a full tank of gas we just kept heading north and before we knew we had entered into New York. The sun was sinking lower and our

tummies were starting to growl. Hotel and some grub were definitely in order. We took a one lane bridge to a one lake town. Bemus Point, NY on lake Chautauqua. It was dark when we got there and we were famished. We pulled into the first open parking spot on what could only be the main street of town and walked to the first restaurant we saw. See-Zurh House it is, “lets eat!” The place was small but busy: Saturday night in a small town. The food was ok but the people watching was good! We ended up getting a small cabin on the lake. When I asked the owner at the office if they were non-smoking (we hate smelling smoke while trying to sleep, its the worst!) He replied “yep, but they probably smell fishy, we fry fish in there all the time!” It didn’t but I could see why He’d say that, everyone else staying there were fisherman and we were only steps from the lake. When we woke in the morning there was a layer of fog over the lake and all the small boats tied up at the dock- breathtaking! After a quick calculation by Matilda we had to go stick our toes in lake Erie since it was only a 25 minute drive. Breakfast by the great lake was our morning agenda. More winding roads brought us to the small town of Westfield, NY and we drove till the map turned blue, Wow! I know some of you have been to the great lakes but for the rest of you, when they tell you it looks like the ocean they aren’t kidding! Water as far as you can see, sea gulls and beach. This Lake was doing a pretty good job of disguising itself as an ocean. I have to say going to see the great lakes, any of them, should be a must do for everyone. After some fresh morning lake air it was time for some coffee! We found a cute and very small down home cafe “Mainstreet grill” yeah, guess were that was located. They had some bangin biscuits and gravy and I loved the 50’s motif. If you ever find yourself in Westfield you gotta check this place out. A quick look around town and we realized it was almost 11:00 so we checked with Matilda, 567 miles to home. Better start heading south or we’re gonna have on heck of a drive on Monday. We back tracked back to the Alleganys and then took a different route south hit 62 and followed it down to Tionesta and caught 36 to 66 to I-80 to I-99 down to 220 into Cumberland Maryland. Sheesh! Even saying it sounds like a long drive! We drove thru about 1/2 and inch of Maryland(according to the atlas) into West by God, or better known as W. Virginia and finally found back to Virginia. We stayed on small roads as much as we could. I think you see so much more when you get off the interstates and head thru the towns, yeah it takes longer but this was a road trip just for the sake of taking a road trip. We stopped whenever we wanted to check something out of take some pics. Sunday night found us in Strasburg, Va and close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We has some burritos at a local Mexican place and decided they didn’t really have any hotels except a historical Inn so we jumped on the highway and check into a Super 8. It was nice to veg out to some t.v. after a long drive. Monday we had a 3.5 hour drive home, beat tunnel traffic and even got home early enough to pick up the doggies from boarding.

Learning to use Skype

Ok, so newest best thing since sliced bread....Skype! Its free, and easy to use once you figure it out and whats better than a video chat with someone you've been missing? Other than actually being able to reach out and touch them,nothing, thats what! Nate is on a fly away team again and is in Scotland. We had planned on using calling card like we did when He was in Spain a few months ago, but the cards He had and the ones He also bought over there didn't seem to want to work, we still haven't figured out why. So we both downloaded Skype. I admit it frustrated the heck outta me at first. I couldn't figure out how to call Nate it kept trying to call his cell phone instead of his computer...UUGGHHH!!! Then my nephew (Beau) who uses Skype all the time since He's been deployed suggested to delete Nate then re-add Him as a contact, bingo! Thanks BoBo, I owe you one! It has been amazing and we're saving the calling card money too. I give it two big phone free thumbs up! Just had to give a shout out to Skype....

~ Care

Hang Gliding School

A spur of the moment weekend trip found us heading towards the outer Banks of N.C. We didn’t really have a plan, in-fact we didn’t have a plan at all, just blue skies and plenty of sunshine. The Ipod kept spitting out tunes and the wheels kept turning. We finally ended up in Nags Head and saw a sign for a hang gliding school at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Nate and I looked at each other, shrugged and said “why not?” “I’m game” lets check this place out. We drove in the park and followed the sings for Kitty Hawk Kites hang gliding school. Lucky for us there was only about 2 hours before the next class. We made a quick call to the neighbors to ask if they’d check in on our 2 dogs, a big thank you to our neighbors, you guys are the best! We signed up for the beginner dune lesson. Lessons are $99 per student(Nate did get an active duty military discount, so remember that all you solders and sailors!) and includes a training film, and yeah, some parts are very boring! ground school, all your equipment(harness and helmet, plus the glider you will be sharing with your class.) 5 students per instructor and glider. Each student gets 5 solo flights off the dune which is about 30-35ft tall. Your solo flights are 2 at a time and then one at the end. I think this works well because you can rest in between flights, and trust me you might want to chill and grab some water after a couple climbs back up that dune in the heat. Also gives you time to check out the others in your class and think about what you want to do/ask the instructor on your next go round. Oh, and super handy tip for ya: The sand can get HOT! I had on flip flops and took them off on the walk out to the site across the sand. Yep, I knew it was a bit toasty but didn’t realize I had burned the bottom of my feet till the walk back when me feet hurt. I ended up with a couple blisters that are still sore! I recommend keeping shoes on for the walk out or at least socks. I think they sell a thin black sock like sand shoe at the main office you can buy, but I’m sure regular socks would work just as well and probably cost less. Are instructor was Zach and yes that is spelled with an H. He was great, Zach has been doing this for years and is full of lots of tips and tricks. I didn’t feel uncomfortable or scared at all. Ok, maybe the harness was falling down my legs a bit and I did have to adjust it before each flight to avoid a hang glide harness wedgie. I wouldn’t of changed anything else except adding more flights! I was stoked after the first set of flights and hoping we could graduate to the bigger 60 ft dune. We couldn’t I later found out because it has a H-1 rating. Hills, dunes ect.. are given ratings of hang 1-5 depending on your experience. H-1 = beginner, H-2 = Novice, H-3 = Intermediate, H-4 = Advanced, H-5 = Master. The whole class last about 3 1/2 hours. A perfect way to spend a day with some amazing views of the coast line, great people, and the chance to sore like a bird, of only for a few minutes before you eat it at the bottom of the hill, don’t worry the sand is soft. I guess thats just another reason the Wright brothers picked this very spot to test their air craft over 100 years ago. You can however, land by “flaring out” when you are ready and land on your feet avoiding the ever popular “eat it” landing. Nate was able to pull this elusive maneuver off on his first landing. Way to go Babe!
This is a definite must do if you’re ever in the outer banks. Only about 2 1/2 hours from Norfolk, Va. We had a blast and just re-affirmed that we have to figure out a way to get air born more often. If you do head down don’t forget water, its way hot out there and the only shade your gonna get is when your under the glider wings. Sun block, some type of shoes, and a camera. We forgot our camera and ended up buying a cheap Rite Aid special. Our pics kinda suck because of that. We also wish we would of remembered our small video camera cuz that would of just been cool! One guy in another group had a small video camera mounted to his helmet....I’m sure there a lot of footage that includes a close up of sand! I’ve included a link to Kitty Hawk Kites if you want more info.
http://www.kittyhawk.com/info/contactus.cfm
Directions are also listed on Kitty Hawk kites website. The school we went to is located at Jockey’s Ridge State Park.
Hope you get out there and have some FUN!!
~Carolyn

Healthy Zucchini bread.....

Since we are trying to eat a more healthy diet I decided to try my hand at baking some healthy all organic/whole wheat zucchini bread. It turned out great except for one loaf kinda sticking to the pan. I'm wondering if thats because I used apple sauce instead of oil, but I did use pam and flour the pans. If anyone has a explanation please feel free to share it so I can keep this from happing next time.



I've included the recipe in this post incase anyone is interested. Enjoy! YUM!!!




"Healthy Zucchini Bread"

3 organic eggs
1/2 cup natural apple sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 cups organic zucchini
1 7/8 cup natural brown sugar
1 7/8 cup natural sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp natural vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
*you may add: walnuts or raisins. I did not.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour two loaf pans.
Beat eggs, sugars, apple sauce and butter together
Add flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla and nuts or raisins.
Add zucchini
Beat mixture(by hand or with mixer)
Pour into loaf pans
Bake 45 minute( or until inserted toothpick comes out clean)

Honduras Vacation.

We've been home almost a month now and I still miss being in the tropics. Nothing helps you relax like warm, clear, tropical blue water....even better being able to dive in it every day! One of our best trips to date.
We weren't sure how our flight would be since we've never flown "Taca" airlines before. We flew from Norfolk to DC, DC to El Salvador, El Salvador to San Pedro Sulu, to Roatan and Roatan to Le Ceiba. yeah, tell me about it!! Surprise though it all went smoothly and on time. The ferry from Le Ceiba to Utila was a bit rough and not quite what I expected, but it got the job done! Utila is a tiny Island with very few cars, most people drive golf carts or 4-wheelers. The streets are narrow, the building and shops small and close together, the vibe was very laid back, old beach town. Not much to do there other than diving, but the diving is superb!! We dove with Utila Dive Center and if you're ever diving in Utila its the who's who, and for good reason. Great prices, non-crowded boats, good guides and amazing dive sites!! We went during whale shark season and spent our surface intervals on the look out for these huge but elusive creatures with a big pay off....we saw 3!!! I can't even put into words what being in the water with a 40ft long animal is like the only thing that comes to mind is PRICELESS!! I actually jumped in on top of one and had to back paddle just to get the shot you see here....

Most of our time in Utila was spent under water. We did rent a golf cart one day and toured the Island. Not much to see once you got out of "town". When our week in Utila was up we took a 38ft catamaran to our 2nd destination: Roatan. The ride was better than a water park if you stayed up front in the nets. After about 30 minutes of getting soaked by breaking waves I moved to the mostly dry back of the boat. The trip took about 4 hours and is really the only way to travel directly between the 2 Islands.
Take Two: ROATAN.
Roatan is a much larger Island with jungle and elevation changes. Much prettier than Utila and alot more variety....
We did diving, but also ziplines, a dolphin encounter, lots of site seeing, exploring and time chilling at the beach, dock or pool. Its a hard knock life!

I did however get eatten alive by what I've been told are sand fleas....aka....undercover vicious little bitting machines! You don't notice you've been bit until you see the hundreds of round red bumps all over your body and let me tell you they definitely itch!! I was waking up at night due to itching and almost a month later I still have some red spots. Next time I decide to stroll down the beach I will rememeber bug spray...I can promise you that!!
I also will try to learn more Spanish before our next trip south of the boarder. Case and Point: Lucy(Nate's Mom) forgot one of her prescriptions and we went to numerous farmacias to try filling it. Hard to get the right medication when there is a language barrier, infact Lucy thought she had the right meds and accidently took something she shouldn't off....short of a few minor side effects nothing serious happened. One word: Rosetta Stone..ok, so its dos words. See its working already!
I would recommend Honduras, especially if you are a diver you can't go wrong.
An amazing vacation. The proof is in the pictures......

Head in the clouds!!!

This past weekend I flew a Cessna 172...It was amazing!!! When I first got the the airport I was a little on the nervous side, not really knowing what it would be like to have control of a plane. I met my instructor Bob and we did are pre-flight checks, a lot more to check then you might think. I climbed into the captains seat and stared at all the gauges only inches in front of my face...how was I going to keep all this straight? Lucky for me there isn't a test after the first flight! Some more pre-flight checks and explanations of the gauges and what they do and how to use them and I pulled on my head set for taxi-ing to the runway. Talk about strange, ever try steering your car with your feet? Well thats how you keep the plane going were you want...foot pedals that control like a steering wheel and double as your brakes. Gonna take a bit to get the feel for that, I kept reaching for the "yoke" which is what you call the steering wheel....I actually called it the steering wheel and was corrected "its called a yoke" Bob informed me. Bob cleared us with the tower and we made it to the runway. He turned the plane into the wind so we could do final engine checks before take off and He told me to steer us down the center of the runway and when we get to 55 knots pull back on the yoke to get us into the air....it all happend so fast and before I had time to think we were in the air and I was flying!!! I was floating on cloud nine, but realistically we have to stay 500ft below the celing...rules and all....I flew about 8 miles from the airport, did a couple turns and compass readings then took us back for final approach. Crazy how fast the airport comes up and how slow you can get a plane to go before the stall horns sound. Bob did the landing...I'm pretty sure you'd be reading this in the news paper had I tried landing...thats gonna take a lot more training! Once you fly you get addicted, its the feeling of pushing yourself to try something new and the exhilaration that comes with it. I can't wait to do it again!!!

Hubby's gone away....

The Mr. left today for Rota Spain. The Navy seems to think sending a bunch of guys across the Atlantic to fix a boat was a good Idea.....who am I go argue? So reluctantly I took the Hubs to the airport....said our goodbyes, a couple airport appropriate kisses, a hug and I was ready to head back home. One of the other guy's wife in the fly away team was also there, and crying....I don't think I'm jaded, or un- empathetic, but come on....the guys will be home on the 28th, they can call us or email. Maybe its the Navy wife in me coming out, the fact that we have to deal with our men being away for months on end with no calls, very few if any emails, and not really knowing where they are or when they will be home. But I have to say my first reaction was...."must be new to the whole military thing", or "come on, you have to be stronger than that" is this wrong of me? Maybe I am jaded, could it be? Part of me was "thats really sad". Dont get me wrong, I'm the first person to admit how much I miss the Mr. when Hes away, but this doesn't really feel like a deployment because I know where He is, when He'll be home and He can call me everyday....Wow, I'm almost spoiled! Any Navy wife will know what I'm talking about....Oh, and by the way isn't shore duty suppose to mean your Husband won't be sent over seas?????

Snow Daze

The hubs and I made a short film. Check it out.

Feb, Syriana, and snow!

So winter has come with a vengance! We had the worst snow storm in 10 years here in Hampton Roads, Va. I think the total inches we got last weekend was 7-8. It was exciting and beautiful! We didn't go anywhere except to take the dogs for a walk....snowed in. This weeekend we have gotten about an inch of snow so far....its fair to say I'm ready for spring!

On January 26th at 11:55 pm I became and Aunt again. My sister had an adorable perfect baby girl. Syriana Isabella Childers. 6lbs,6oz and 19 1/2" long. She and Andrea are doing well. I will be going for a visit in about 3 weeks and can't wait to hold my new little niece!

Are vacation plans have changed yet again. I think we've decided on Roatan and Utila. Maybe a jaunt over to the mainland of Honduras....nothing set in stone yet, but pretty close. I can't wait for warm sunshine and clear blue water!! ( =

Valentines day is next weekend and Nate and I are doing a couples massage at the spa.....aaahhh I can almost feel how relaxing it will be......then Nate's birthday is on the 12th. Hmmm...what to surprise him with this year?

Life has been good! talk to ya'all soon....

~Carolyn

January update.

January is quickly comig to an end.I have been making plans for our vacation in April/May. Still undecided about dates, but so excited to know there is warm weather and aqua blue water heading my way! I have a new niece scheduled to arrive on the 29th, I can't wait to meet her! Also I've been trying to fit my NYIP courses in and take as many pictures as I can.....I am learning so much and having fun with the photos....dogs at the beach make for great if not completely frustrating subjects! I tried panning shots of Roxy chasing her tennis ball and got a blue water, sandy beach, black blur! Hmmm....I think thats still a work in progress.....

Welll this is my quick end of month update on an early cold morning. Heres hoping for an early spring!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Time had been flying...Christmas is come and gone and we're almost half way through January. Nate and I spent a quiet Christmas at home, low key and relaxing. We rang in the new year with a few drinks and the ever magical *KISS* to start things off right! The new years has proven to be good so far....

Nate surprised me with the amature photography

course through the New York Institute of photography for Christmas. I've been wanting to enroll for awhile so I'm super excited to get started. I love photography.... lots of pictures will be on the way!

In the tradition of bringing in the new, my new baby niece will grace us with her birth in less than 3 weeks. I can't wait to meet little Syriana. I will be going to visit my sister Andrea and Syriana over my birthday weekend in February. As excited as I am for my trip it will be strange leaving Nate at home( I'm usually the one waiting for Him to come home from deployments and such.)

Nate and I have started planning our vacation to St. Lucia in April. Jim and Lucy(Nate's Parents) will be joining us, so much to look forward to in the next few months....Lets get this year started!!

~ Carolyn