Liberty To SoHo NYC

Braving the masses, we took in the sights at Liberty Island and then made our way over to Castle Garden in the Financial district of NYC. Making our way through Wall Street, we stopped and explored the history at Trinity Church. This is by far one of my favorite destinations in NYC. The history of these hallowed grounds is unbelievable. Taking a stroll through the grounds, you’ll quickly understand why. Leaving Trinity, we made our way to Chinatown in search of Hello Kitty memorabilia for Bailey. Dinner was had in a tiny little alleyway next to a row of small restaurants and it was absolutely amazing! After dinner we made our way toward Hook & Ladder #8 and stumbled upon The Bean, which Bailey was ecstatic about as she still hasn’t stopped talking about the Bean we visited in Chicago on a previous trip. With the sun setting, we finally made it to Hook & Ladder #8 to see the home of, you guessed it, The Ghostbusters. While we were there we did get to meet some of the awesome people of FDNY too. With the sun fully set we made one final stop for the evening at the 9/11 Memorial Pools. I have visited these both in the day and at night and it hits in a completely different way at night. It truly is a spectacle to behold and a fitting memorial to all of those who lost their lives that day and in the years to come….

Creating Family Memories

That’s a trip for the memory books! We started our trip by exploring the abandoned town of Union Level, Va for Jennifer’s & my 20th wedding anniversary. Since we were in the area, we made a stop at Lovers Leap & Mabry Mill where we happened to run into some old friends & spent some time catching up. The next day we celebrated Bailey’s 13th birthday while dispersed camping & then visited Brights Zoo near Johnson City, Tn so she could see their newest addition, a rare spotless baby Giraffe. After that, we spent the rest of the week showing Papa & Nana (from South Dakota) some of our favorite places in Virginia. To top the week off, they treated all of us to a wonderful horseback ride at Skyline Stables just outside of Radford, Va. What a great week it has been and we’re definitely exhausted. But there’s no rest for the wicked. On to the next adventure!

The Ghost Town of Union Level

Union Level, Va “The Most Visited Ghost Town in Virginia”, or so the sign on the building across the street would have you believe. We’re not entirely sure how true that statement is as there were only a few passerby’s when we visited. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting place to visit and if you’re willing  to make the journey we’d say that it’s worth it.

I grew up in a small town much like this one, in the Midwest, and I’ve always been fascinated and yet disheartened by what events led to the demise of these small communities. Researching, you’ll find that a lot of them were merely blips on the countryside where others were economic epicenters. Each one of them with their own unique story to tell. If you want to discover more about this one in particular, we highly recommend checking out the BLOG we found on the “Forgotten South” webpage.

Here’s a web link if you’d like to visit it.

https://theforgottensouth.com/union-level-virginia-ghost-town-history/

Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills, SD

The Black Hills of South Dakota are truly magnificent. Beautiful canyons, streams, lakes and waterfalls, there are so many things to discover there outside of the usual tourist hotspots. Spearfish Canyon is a great example of what make the hills so amazing. The canyon can be explored via HWY 14A or the myriad of back country roads that run all through the area. Either way you choose, I guarantee that you’ll discover a landscape that is unmatched by any other. Have you ever been to the Black Hills? What did you love most about it?

Conquering Personal Boundaries

Bailey here, was pushed slightly out of her comfort zone on the way into camp. Nothing dangerous, but it pressed firmly past her preconceived limitations in her mind and did not make for a happy ride. After arriving at camp, it was like a whole new Bailey emerged. She was running around exploring everything with Fiona, happy as could be. Sure, I know what you’re thinking. The poor thing was probably scared and of course she was happy to get out of that truck.  You’re exactly right and wrong. She was scared because she had already decided the outcome of the event before she/we had even tried. We’ve all done that, haven’t we? But her happiness was not to because she got out of the truck. It was because she was pushed past her comfort zone and discovered the world didn’t end because she thought it would. She discovered life. So happiness can be directly related to life. Who would’ve thought. Sometimes we need to push our boundaries to see what lies on the other side. To grow into better, stronger versions of ourselves.