Sunday, February 16, 2014

Morris Cabin (Virginia)



This past weekend was the most enjoyable PATC cabin trip I can remember for one simple reason - fewer people!

Rebecca and I headed to the cabin on Saturday afternoon. The drive in was grueling - with one serious slide into a ditch and the need for a new strategy. We aired down the tires and managed to work our way out of the ditch. After that, the rest of the uphill road was taken with as much speed as possible, while I steered directly into the oncoming corners and snowbanks. It was fun, definitely.



As the sun began to set, we exited the Jeep and began our hike in. It was a short jaunt to the cabin - about half a mile, but the deep snow made it challenging. When we neared the cabin, the smell of a wood fire welcomed us. Inside were Elmer and three of his friends. Along with our two dogs, it made for a cozy, but non-cramped stay.



That night we drank wine, stoked the fire, and got to know our new friends, Rachel, Mya, and Robert. The wood stove warmed the little cabin well, further aided by Elmer's restless nature through the night - resulting in several wood stocking missions. On Sunday morning Elmer and I hiked back to the Jeep to grab more supplies for our breakfast. I decided to bring the chainsaw for this trip, which made our restocking of wood a quick task.



Rebecca and I headed out midday on Sunday and the rest of the group stuck around for one more day of vacation on President's Day.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Bike Polo (San Juan, Puerto Rico)



Wow! What an excellent excuse to fly to Puerto Rico...in February!



Ever since Evan moved to Puerto Rico a couple years ago, I've been meaning to plan a visit. This event helped set the timeline for that visit and the timing could not have been better! The winter was beginning to drag on and the recent snow storms had really cemented that feeling of "when will winter end?" To say the least, this vacation was a breath of fresh air!



Although polo brought us to the island, the beach was where we spent the majority of our time. Our team merged with another, so court time was scarce. Luckily, however, the beach was just a few yards from the court.



After playing polo on Saturday, we decided to go surfing with Evan on Sunday. We spent the majority of our day at Pine Grove and finished the day with drinks and fried chicken at Evan's house.



Rebecca and I couldn't spare much time away from school and work, so we squeezed this mini vacation into a four-day weekend. On Monday we packed, took one more dip in the ocean, and headed for the airport. All in all, it was a perfect glimpse into a trip I'd like to revisit annually.