2013 Bucket List ReCap

One of the New Year's Day Dub traditions is to recap the items we checked off of our bucket list for the closing year and to create a new list for the upcoming year.  So here's my 2013 checked-off-bucket-list......

Attend the Inauguration Ceremony and Parade

Visit the Postal Museum in Washington D.C.

Visit Great Falls National Park

White Water Raft

Eat Maryland Crab Cake (I hate seafood)

Visit Church on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg (and see a Russian ballet)

See the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Visit the Keys

Kiss Hemingway

Air Boat Ride in the Florida Everglades

Watch Butler Basketball Game at The George Washington University

Lay Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery

Visit a New Orleans Plantation

Eat Fish in Finland (did I mention, I hate seafood)

Drink Real Bubbly in the Champagne Area of France

See the Cherry Blossoms

Boat Tour of D.C.

Watch a Professional Hockey Game

Take Batting Practice at Nationals Ballpark

See the Best Musical of the Year in NYC

Visit the Hershey Factory

Meet some MLB Managers

I'd say I had a pretty decent year.....somehow, I'm guessing 2014 will top 2013.  Bring it!

Our Anniversary

     With the sun warming my skin, the breeze cooling my nerves, and the mariachi band sounding my arrival, I took my first steps into a whole new journey.  

Four years ago today, I married my best friend beneath the blue skies of Mexico and in front of 38 of our closest friends and family.  

 Like any other wedding, we committed to love each other through the ups and downs of life.

.....and especially to share in every adventure together, whether it be the sleep walking at night or the bear confrontations at day.

Here's to many more years of making happily ever after come true!

Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery

A father watched his son place a wreath on one of the tombstones.  As the boy ran to place another, his father called him back to read the name and pay respect to that fallen soldier....and also to fix the bow.

     In the United States, where we can spout healthcare negativities on Facebook, call our President horrible names over dinner, and christianly judge those Islamic women who wear burqas in public, we sometimes forget those freedoms (which we exercise so well) come with a a price.  From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism, men (and even women) have been giving their lives for this country, and this fact is oftentimes left out of our happy homes.

     On Saturday, this was not the case, as I witnessed thousands of individuals join together on a random day, not Veteran's or Memorial Day, to respect, honor, and teach by placing more than 100,000 wreaths (sadly, this fell short of the ~400,000 needed) on headstones.  With people taking great care in honoring the individual by placing the wreath properly, paying respect to that fallen individual, and teaching their children to do the same, it was a day that will forever be etched into my memories.

Entrance to the cemetery.

One of the stages where the opening ceremony took place.

These semis, filled with wreaths, were scattered throughout the grounds.

A portion of our group who attended.

Wreaths!  They smelled sooooo good!

The individuals I paid respect to....

Albert Ray Brownfield, Jr. served in WWII and the Vietnam War and commanded units in Japan, Alaska, and North Carolina.

Reynolds Condon served in WWII.

Alfred D. Starbird served in WWII.

Leverett M. Kelley served in the Civil War (Illinois infantry).

Charles Johnston Badger served in the Spanish-American War and WWI.

Williams Noble Williams

And then the photo shoot.....

Christmas at da Dubs

     It's official, folks, Christmas has arrived in full force at our tiny apartment.  Instead of the super-size tree we had in Texas, I have put up my parents' first tree, circa 1970.  As my mom has informed me, the tree is actually a coffee table tree.  BUT our apartment is too small to be graced with a coffee table (plus, we don't drink coffee), so the pitiful thing is sitting on the floor.  Needless to say, I'm sure Charlie Brown had a better tree, but I am pretty proud of it even if I did use the same star-on-top from our everything's-bigger-in-Texas tree (hyphens should be used more often).  Of course, we are also lacking in a fireplace/hearth, so our stockings hang over a television....I simply pull up a fire image and place our space heater in front; it's basically the same.  Merry Christmas!!

Why yes, I would love to super-size that.

After 4 treats we finally captured this.....now for a Maya workout.

We never really needed a fire in Texas, so I filled the fireplace with starfish and candles.

Did I mention the Xmas music?

     In addition to the Christmas decor, the apartment could be reported as a hazard, for I am almost positive an explosion occurred.  With Mary Kay products, crafts for my ugly Christmas sweater, and baking supplies for potluck cookies and brownies everywhere, I can't seem to find a thing (somehow PDub still gets around).  I definitely need some elves, or at least minions, to help me clean the place up.  Oh well, a messy life is a happy life.

I've always wanted an ugly Christmas sweater, so I finally sat down this season and made one.  Yes, I taught myself how to sew on this baby.

So here's to tiny Christmas's and messy apartments.....

Little Devil's Stairs Hike

     This past Sunday, PDub and I drove back to Shenandoah National Park for our second hike: Little Devil's Stairs (5.5 miles with a 1,480ft elevation change).  The parking lot was creepily tiny, surrounded by gated drives with "Keep Out" signs, and only contained two other vehicles.  This hike had a "next time" theme, starting off with "next time we should let our parents know where we are hiking before losing phone service," and ending with "next time we will be better prepared when stumbling upon a black bear."

Confession: This was after the hike.  I had found the walking (spirit.....bear-beating....whatever name you prefer) stick on the hike.  

     We began our trek with a fairly thick fog and one eye over our shoulder hoping we weren't the target for a serial killer or just some crazy with a gun.  PDub considered us as the beginning of a Rizzoli and Isles episode where we would be attacked, and I saw us as the beginning of a Bones episode where we stumble across a body.  However, as we went deeper in, our full attention turned to the steep stairs and searching for the blue trail markings (our visibility was about 30ft and the trail, covered in freshly fallen leaves, was hard to distinguish).  I found my stamina not withholding this hike compared to the last, stopping more often and disturbing the peace with my heavy breathing.  It could have been due to the free buffet for lunch and our first Thanksgiving dinner the previous day.  Or, it could have been just because it was more difficult.

We asked a squirrel to capture this moment, but the poor thing couldn't hold up the camera.  It turned into a selfie.

PDub always looks for the simplest crossing.....Me, I like a challenge.

     After 2 miles of stairs, crossing the stream in the gorge several times, and going up several switchbacks, we reached the final portion of our hike, 3 miles on a fire road, which returned us to our vehicle.  Thankfully it was all downhill from there.  My heart dropped when we approached the Bolen Cemetery.  Through the trees, I saw a person hanging spread out crucifix-style with a white sheet draped behind him (Bones episode?).  As we got closer, we saw that it was simply a man perched on a tree reading.  After we passed by, PDub told me he saw the same scene before getting closer....creepy!  Anyway, the trail was highly desolate, with this the only human we saw.
     The final mile had even steeper hills to go down, some even required jogging.  With PDub and I chit chatting about life, we rounded a bend where a decently sized black bear darted across our pathway about 100ft ahead.  By decently sized, I mean he wasn't the biggest bear I had seen (at the zoo), but he was small enough for us to fear for an extra-large, fists-beating-the-chest mamma bear nearby.  We backed up slowly, and I held my stick in baseball position while PDub picked up two big rocks.  As we heard the bear fade away in the distance, PDub suggested we head back.  We were so close to finishing, and I wasn't about to go back.....up hill!  I think I'd fight a bear over that suggestion any day!  We stood there for some time cautious of our surroundings, me making noise, and PDub throwing rocks.  We discussed how this shouldn't have happened and how we weren't prepared.  Why was he not hibernating?  Do you run or play territorial with black bears?  Why didn't we even at least bring a knife?  How about that bear spray?  Is it worth carrying a gun potentially to be caught and given a felony?  Do we team up or fastest man lives?  Needless to say, we escaped, made it back to our car, and headed for a nice juicy steak.....we definitely deserved it!

Lessons learned!

Food for thought:

American Black Bears enter winter dens in October and November; HOWEVER, some may continue to roam when the weather is mild.

Black Bears have non-retractable claws.

Male black bears weigh 100-300lbs while female black bears weigh 100-175lbs.  (We probably saw a female.)

Black Bears' diets vary and are often opportunistic, sometimes feeding on small mammals (would that be me?).

In the 1900's, Black Bear populations were basically eliminated; however, today they predict there are several hundred living in the park.