Mar 20, 2012

I left in the morning and took a few hours to get to Lancaster County to find the trail head for Kelly's Run and the Conestoga Trail. I had been on part of this one before, but today I was taking the longer looped route. I got my pack together and set off down the trail.

It was mainly wooded at first, but I soon descended on Kelly's Run, a flowing stream that gave my hike a pleasant, babbling soundtrack. There were a few places where I had to cross over small rock hops. The rocks were still a bit wet all over from early morning rains, so I had to take it easy and step carefully.

When I got to Pinnacle overlook I remembered the view quite well from the last time I was here. It's a nice view down the Susquehanna River. After this came the steep descent that I would curse on the way back.

Another mile or so down the trail I stopped and grabbed a seat on some rocks to have my lunch. I had picked up some trail mix at an Amish market on the way in and was enjoying that along the way, but my sandwich was delicious.

The rest of the hike took me along more streams and small waterfalls with crossings over several wider parts of the water that took a bit more planning to keep my feet dry. I managed to go back and forth with nothing more than some mud on my soles. The scenery was beautiful and I only saw a handful of people along the way. Nice and secluded.

The trail wrapped around and followed the same path back past Pinnacle overlook, taking me back up a very steep, very long section that left me huffing and puffing and leaning on trees. The payoff is always nice, but when you're halfway up and you can't see the top it feels endless. I took a different trail back to the car and munched on the rest of my trail mix as I headed back to Jersey.

To break up the drive I stopped at the disc golf course in Pennsville just over the bridge to play a round. There was another guy playing by himself so I joined him and played the nine holes. It was a fun round and I shot well. I went and took some shots over the water as the sun was setting then finished the drive back home. The rest of the night I spent lounging.

Mar 19, 2012

I spent the day covering meetings at Lakeside, wishing I could get outside into the beautiful weather. After work I went to the course and played half of the course by myself and then decided to go look for a place to take a bike ride.

I went over to Parvin and biked around the lake once and then took some road around the area. There are no shoulders and it was not the ideal place to be biking. I came back and took some shots as the sun set and then headed home for the night.

Mar 18, 2012

I went to the park with Ryan later in the morning and we did some interval runs and hill runs with exercises in between.

We carried logs on the hill runs and then did throws with them. All of this in preparation for our upcoming race. I don't know if it helps at all.

Chuck came out to the park and played a round with us after a while. It was a really nice day so I was trying to be outside as much as possible.

Continuing with that tradition, we went over to Kate's later to have a fire. We hung around and had some beers. The usual.

I'm always happy when I can spend the whole day outside. It makes me feel better in general.

Mar 17, 2012

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Kate, Chuck, and I took a day to visit a bunch of local breweries. We started with the Iron Hill in Phoenixville. We actually had to wait for them to open but not too long. We got samplers of all of their styles and some food. They had a Roggenbier that was fantastic and a chardonnay barrel-aged tripel that was phenomenal. I would like more of that, please.

Next up was Sly Fox. We went in with high hopes, but we did a couple of flights and weren't overly impressed with anything on their lineup. We went over to McKenzie Brew House next, which is a big restaurant and bar that seemed like it wouldn't have a great selection. They ended up having a bunch of great beers and even better bartenders. They talked to us the whole time; I talked to them about SLR cameras and at the end of our visit we asked for the check and they said, "oh, we can't find it. I guess it's free!" with a smirk. Slightly confused but very gracious, we left a big tip and thanked them.

We headed back to the city next to go to Yards. We hopped on their first tour, where we were given samples of the Pale Ale and shown around the whole facility. It was a little long but interesting. We went out to the bar after the tour for a couple of flights of their offerings, including variations on the Love Stout. So good.

We headed over to Nodding Head, where they were already packed for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, so we just got a beer each instead of trying to get a sampler in that mess. They have some really good beer. We finished out the day by going to the Abbaye for at least one more beer and a great dinner. Always a great way to end the day.

Mar 16, 2012

I worked a long day at the Senior High in a science class, came home to have something eat quickly, and then went to the gym with Ryan. After I got home and showered I got ready to go out to High Street for Third Friday. We went to Wildflower for food and then checked out some of the galleries.

We saw some decent art, but not too much held my interest for long. We went over to the Oar House for a couple of beers to finish out the night.

It was a nice relaxed night of strolling. There is not much to see so that's why I rarely go out for Third Friday. I might start going more often though to meet other artists.

Mar 15, 2012

I had a short day of work at Memorial for Child Study Team meetings. I only worked a couple and then I was done for the day. Full day pay. I met Ryan at the college for a few rounds of tennis after work. We were both hungry after playing so we went to Moe's.

I went over to the park and ran the baskets while playing and then called it a day and came home. I relaxed for the night and had my leftover Moe's.

Mar 14, 2012

I worked at the Senior High in an English class for the day. The early morning fog hanging over the fields looked pretty awesome. After work I met Alex at the park for some disc golf. She didn't do so badly.

I went down to Mays Landing for a bike ride down the Atlantic County Bike Path. It was about 12-13 miles round trip and it was a nice ride. I met Brenda at the CCC courts after I got back for a game of tennis. It was nice except not being able to hear each other because of the highway.

We went to Quizzo later and had a good time and some food, then I went over to Kate's for a while to have some drinks after.