Here comes trouble.

Can you believe it?  He is three.  Happy Birthday to my best-est little buddy!   
Peter these days:
*fun loving
*sooo sweet to his little sister.  He gives her hugs and kisses at random.
*Still a big chicken.  He refuses to go on the swings at the park.
*Still LOVES Thomas and trains, in addtion to anything else on wheels.
*Knows all the sounds that the alphabet makesand can even sound out simple words.
*He LOVES reading and wants me to find him "good words to read" every day.
*Is 100% potty trained (since February)
*Still a frikin punk at the dinner table, though his array of acceptable foods is slowly growing. (at a snail's pace)
*Weighed in at 33lbs at his 3 year check and 37 inches tall. (39% for height and 56% for weight)
  I love this kid! For his birthday he wanted a fire truck cake.  (He was adamant about this.  I had other ideas for his cake, but he ONLY wanted the fire truck cake.) So he got "Red", the engine from the Disney movie "Cars".  I am happy to say that he loved it and it made all the time I put into it worth it.  When he saw it his face just lit up and he couldn't stop talking about his cake. 

 During the morning went to the fire station down the street from us and he got the grand tour with a couple of his buddies.

 Then we had a little party with his friends.  (It was supposed to be at the park, but it got rained out so he settled for bowling and pizza.)

 And of course, Peter's birthday wouldn't be complete without an ice cream outing with Daddy!

She Walks!

May I present Ms. Brookie, who might possibly the slowest walking baby ever... But she does try to catch Peter.  (But I think he laps her about 7x times to her 1/2 lap!)
*Please ignore the mess in the kitchen.  That is what happens to my house while they are awake.

The Un-Baby Shower

I feel like life has been incredibly busy since we came home from our trip to DC.  We got home on a Sunday and I was planning a baby shower for a really good friend on Tuesday.  I had a fun idea planned for it eons ago, and like always, I procrastinated actually putting everything in motion until I got home.  Monday and Tuesday were rediculous.  I really should learn not to put things off.  I had a ton of shopping to do as well as 'crafting' and decorating.  Luckily, I was co-hosting with my friend, Kelly, so we managed to pull it off.  But barely. 

  I wanted to do the theme "Alice in Wonderland" and have the scene from the Mad Hatter's "un-birthday tea party".  It was so much fun to plan.  We went to Good Will and found tons of really ugly tea pots and cups and we made little tags for the beverages "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" for the food.  I really hate shower games, (my apologies to everyone that loves them) so we played 'un' shower games.  We painted white roses red like the movie, and also attempted to play Croquet.  I had no idea it was so hard to play.  I suck at it (no surprise here. Have you seen me with any other sport that required a ball???).  I wish I had a ton of money to spend on this party.  I really could have gone crazy for it... (you know, life size playing cards, nice white chairs with big bows on them, 20 strings of paper lanterns hung...I could go on...)

(Another note when planning: Do the cake the night before.  It always takes longer than you think!)

(I had to get yard flamingos too! What kind of "mad hatter" party would be complete without them?)

  I am so happy so many people came to support Jessica and her soon to be baby girl.  She is going to be great with a girl! (She is already super-mom to her boys!)  Oh, and I had to add a picture of the super popular dress...

I think she got five of these cute little things!

Day 5- The Big Finish!

I thought I would throw in an elevation chart for the fun of it.  The first 2 days were tough, and the last 3 were pretty much flat:

We decided to wake up early(er) today and get going so we could try to be at the Capitol by 1:30 pm.  We got up early and were at breakfast by 7:15 am and on the road by 7:30.  It was a beautiful (crisp) morning.  I love the atmosphere at daybreak.  It is just amazing to me.  Everything always seems so new and hopeful.  We stopped to take a couple pictures of the 'downtown' area at Harper's Ferry.  Even though it seems deserted, the streets were PACKED with people the night before.  

We hauled our bikes back over the bridge onto the towpath and started peddling towards Tannon's campsite (which, again, was 5-10 miles further down the trail).  I don't know why the boys were feeling so generous, but they let me lead again today.  We really wanted to be done at this point.  It wasn't that we weren't enjoying it, but you could taste victory, or the end of our trip.  It was SO close and we were just shy of hitting 300 miles on our bikes. 

 The trail today was a challenge.  It was a muddy mess for the first 40 miles.  I felt like we were navigating through a swamp.  We were mud bogging on bikes.  I was still a little skeptical of the sloshy, muddy parts due to my 'stunt' the previous day.  I kept a decent pace only because I would go really fast in the good parts so I could go really slow in the bad ones.  Today was also 'buggy'.  The bugs really liked Bryan.  They kept trying to set up a permanent residence on his arms and head as we were biking...

(looking back at Harper's Ferry, you can't tell, but the whole village is on a point where 2 rivers merge.)

I didn't want the boys to feel like I was slowing them down so I pushed and peddled at a 'brisk' pace.  I found out when we took a break (3 hours later) that I was going about 14-15 mph.  Yes.  Finally!  I wasn't being a slow wimpy girl!  It really felt great to go that speed.  Until we stopped for a break.  Then my body was trying to tell me to get in a car or something.... We stopped for a very quick lunch on a very touristy part of the path where there were plenty of idiots out and about who didn't have any etiquette or courtesy.  You can see the annoyance on Bryan's face at this (old) lady who practically pushed us out of the way to take a picture of the river.  And there was a huge tree blocking her view when she took it.  If she would have moved to one of the sides of us, she would have had a great shot.  Dummy. 

Anyway.  We ate inhaled our lunch (jerky, dried fruit and nuts and the remnants of our bagels) and off we went. (again)  The tow path was changing here and the scenery was breathtaking.  Unfortunately, we were on this wild drive to be done so we didn't take pictures like we should have.  We were too focused on finishing and avoiding the millions of people walking/standing/taking up room on the path.  Its like the closer we got to DC, the more I would have to ring my little bike bell to politely ask pedestrians to get the heck out of the way.   Okay, i am exaggerating slightly (I tend to do that from time to time).  About 75%  of the walkers were great and would just make sure to stay on the right side of the path.  The other 25% wouldn't have a clue what the bell was for and moved further into the middle of the bike path so we would have to dodge them + the bikers/walkers coming the other direction. 

The canal at this point was not a murky mess.  It was almost sparkling clear (not that I would drink it- I had seen it in its entirety) and deep enough to support kayakers  and fishermen as well as birds and tons of other wild life.

(see how nice the canal water is?!)

  This part of the path was not what I expected.  I did expect the people.  But what I didn't expect was the absence of 'city'.  If I didn't know from the map that I was 15 miles out of DC, I would have never known!  The forest of trees was so dense and the undergrowth was crazy.  You couldn't hear cars or see any houses or big buildings.  It was nuts!  
The path at this point was very well maintained. (As expected)  We were able to get up to 16 mph at times.  We followed the C&O until 6 miles or so until the end.  Bryan saw a paved path and the rest was history.  We hit that sucker and flew on it until we hit Georgetown.  We manuevered through traffic and Bryan was our navigator to the finish.  We could see the Washington Monument!  And....
it was sort of anti-climatic.  We got there.  Yay...  That was it. 

We were pleased that we finished. And really hungry.  And tired.  We hung out ant took a couple more pictures.  Then Tannon's wife, McCall came to pick us up and drive us home. (Thanks McCall ;) )    The 1/6 of the mile I had to ride to get to her car from the monument was the most unpleasant time on a bike I have ever had.  I'm not even joking.  I was pretty stiff.  We had been enjoying a good long sit on the national mall for about 45 min.  It was amazing.  

In summary- Day 5.  We were just ready to be finished.  The scenery was the possibly the best of the entire trip.  If I had a do-over of this day I would not have put a time limit on myself.  I would have taken WAY more pictures, and taken the time to enjoy this last leg.  And I would strongly recommend a bell on your bike in this part of the trail.  
Looking back, my feelings about Day 5 changed.  I am so incredibly proud of what we accomplished.  We went 346 miles on a bike.  I actually hauled my crap stuff on the back of it.  We road in mud, sticks, rocks, pavement, dirt and everything in between.  I think we chose a great time of year to go.  It wasn't too hot and humid and there were minimal insects to deal with.  We really lucked out and didn't get rained on (with the exception of Day 1).  I felt like I trained enough to actually enjoy the ride and not spend every night in pain.  (though I was definitely sore every night)  It was an unforgettable experience that I wouldn't trade.  I would even ride it again.

 

Day 4- Accident Prone. Who me?!

Hancock, MD to Harper's Ferry, WV. (65 Miles)
Today we didn't sleep in as long as the previous days.  I wonder if the condition of the hotel had anything to do with it?  Maybe.  And maybe not.  
 We also took the least amount of pictures today.  But the ones I have are priceless.  I could see a habit forming starting the day.  We got up, packed, and got back on the bike for a trip down the road to meet Tannon at his campsite.  He (again) camped quite a ways down the trail.  We learned the night before that there was a paved bike trail that ran parallel to the C&O for 10 miles or so outside of Hancock.  We couldn't WAIT to get on it.  (In case you aren't familiar with bikes, it is SO much easier to ride on a paved road than a dirt trail.)  We decided the 11 miles we had to ride to get to Tannon was a good warm-up.  (Also, it is interesting how my perspective changed during the duration of the trip.  It is amazing when I am viewing 11 miles as a warm-up and 20 miles of riding a 'short distance')  The paved road was as wonderful as I thought it was going to be.  It was even uphill.  But it was paved.  Bryan and I averaged 14+ mph on this small stretch.  And we were 'warming up'.  Nice job us.  
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  It did and we found ourselves back on the award winning towpath full of fun obstacles from every direction.  Once we picked up Tannon, I somehow became the front man (or girl).  I set the pace for a while.  It was nice to be in the lead.  I felt much relief being able to see all that was in front of me and not the back of Bryan's head.  I wanted to stay in the lead and not let the boys pass me so I decided to push myself and see how fast (within reason) I could go.  I didn't know until later that I was cruising at 15 mph.  Anyway.  We passed a bunch of locks and some breathtaking views of the Potomac river.

I could feel us nearing 'civilazation' because we were meeting more people (mostly hikers) along the trail.  I was enjoying my IPod and my lead when I saw a dude on a 'four wheeler' headed towards me.  Last time I checked, motorized vehicles weren't allowed.  I guess if you are a park ranger you can do whatever you want.  He didn't even slow down.  Or move over to the side.  Rude.  I had to be the one to dodge him.  But in doing so, I found myself trying to go to the far right of the path and there was a huge pothole/mud puddle.  My bike didn't like whatever I did and I ended up doing some world class gymnastics over the front of my handle bars.  Yup.  Lucky for me I escaped unscathed.  Lucky for me the sides of the path were wider in this area and I didn't hit a tree.  Or fall off a cliff.  Or into a canal.  Or worse, the Potomac.  
And the park ranger dude/jerk didn't even apologize.  He witnessed my front flip and didn't even have the decency to compliment my skills.  
After that I was much more aware of every pothole and puddle for the rest of the day.  I felt bad for the boys because they wanted me in front in case I pulled another stunt like that they could keep an eye on me.   I was not hurt at all, but a bit shaken and I kept slowing down to a turtle's speed on every muddy area. (which was about every 5 minutes)  I am sure I drove them bonkers.  
  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, with the exception of the 'detour'.  Part of the path was under construction so we were routed into the countryside for about 7 miles.  It was a nice change.  It was extremely hilly and we maxed out at 40 mph down one of the hills (and hit about 2 mph going up a couple of them).  We got to see some pretty elaborate estates.  The houses were just plain awesome.  I could totally live in the country in uh, where ever it was...West Virginia?  Maryland?  Not sure.  
  I felt like the ride today was not too hard at all.  We seemed to be adapting nicely to our bikes and new transportation.  Each day we 'saddled up' it felt better than the one before, which was a huge surprise.  Harper's Ferry came into view around 4:00 PM.  We felt so good that we actually wanted to ditch this stop and try to get as close as we could to DC.  We were hoping to get another 25 miles in before dark.  We stopped to check the map for somewhere to stay.  When we found NOTHING for 50 miles, we accepted the fact that we would not be riding any further today.  
  The only way to get to Harper's Ferry was by crossing this huge bridge.  There was a pedestrian path right next to the rail road tracks.  The hardest part was carrying your bike up the 3 flights of stairs to get to the bridge.

  Harper's Ferry turned out to be wicked cool.  I am so glad we stayed here and toured around.  And NOTHING beats getting served dinner by this guy:

  We had pulled pork in an old caboose.  So cool.  And there were 4 ice cream parlors on the same street.  This was my kind of town.  The only con of the whole night was that the hotel we were staying in was on the top of a really really big hill.  

  The lessons learned today were huge for me:  
A) Helmets are not as dorky as they seem.  Our little group were the only idiots I saw on the entire trail that did not have them on.  What were we thinking???  I am so glad God was watching out for me today and I didn't get seriously injured.  Helmets = really cool. (I had even bought one just for the trip.  But when the boys showed up with out them, I didn't want to be the nerd so I left mine at home too.   
B) The coolest mullet on earth resides in Harper's Ferry, WV.

Day 3 Starting the 'C&O'

Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD (62 miles)
Today we woke up refreshed and excited to check out the new part of the trail.  We would be riding along the 'Chesapeake and Ohio Tow Path' which stretches from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC.  It was built a LONG time ago when the main way to haul freight was by boat.  The dream was to tow them up the canal using a series of locks. Unfortunately, it took way longer to build than planned and by that time the railroad had taken root in America, which had proven to be a more effective way of transportation.  The tow path was forgotten by time for a while.  Then it was 'rediscovered' and set apart as a national park to be used by bikers and hikers. 

  We hit the trail around 9:30 and pedaled away to find Tannon's campsite.  We found him (probably board and wondering why it was almost 10:00 by the time we got to him- but we just couldn't resist a nights rest without having to wake up to a child needing to be taken care of. :) )  The towpath was quite primative compared to the GAP trail.  It definately looked like it had been 'lost' in time.  It was narrow with big ruts and huge puddles* and tall wild green things (also known as plants) growing in the median.  It was pretty awesome because the Potomic River was on our left side and the canal was on the right.  So it felt like we were on this little plateau/island path.  It was incredible scenery.  I should have taken better pictures of the crappy parts of the trail.  I think we all became very focused in these areas because it was so rough and we just wanted to get though it.  So the pictures you will see are when the trail had brief periods of 'niceness'. 

*About the puddles-  We ended up aquiring fenders on our bikes the day before the trip.  I can't tell you how many times they saved us!  I have no idea what they cost.  (Bryan told me I was better off not knowing)  All I know is that they proved to be a great investment and a must have for anyone else planning on doing this trip.

Hanging out on one of the locks

  We rode in single file, riding in the ruts and unsuccessfully trying to avoid the huge puddles of water for about the first 20 miles.  My goal was not be behind Tannon.  His rear fender wasn't too affective.  Anytime I got too near him I found myself eating dirt.  The path may have been a little rough, but boy was it flat.   I love flat.  We stopped for pictures alot today as well because it was just gorgeous.  And the weather was warm.  I found myself wanting to ditch my long pants and jacket by lunchtime.  
  The locks were pretty cool.  The waterway on the canal was shallow and extremely murky and nasty looking.  I have never seen more turtles in my life.  Or ones that looked like this:

  We were thinking about stopping in one of the little towns we would find on the way for lunch.  We didn't realize that there really were no little towns.  There was a whole lot of nothing.  I didn't realize that you could really be in 'the middle of nowhere' on the east coast.  I learned otherwise today. 

The most anticipated event of today was 'The Paw Paw Tunnel'.  I had been talking this bad boy up since day 1.  It is a 900 foot tunnel with a narrow path on one side and a drop to the canal that takes up 3/4 of the volume of the tunnel.  With no lights.  Flashlights are necessary. The tunnel lived up to the hype.  It was dark, wet and not maintained well.  At all.  It was like riding on a roller coaster.  I was disoriented, slightly dizzy and enjoying every second.  My little flash light couldn't take all the bumps in the tunnel and kept flickering off, which made me want to fall off the bike or crash into the stone wall.  It was freakishly cool.  As usual, the boys were in front of me.  (I am happy to say this changed during the afternoon today)

  We peddled on.  It was a beautiful day out and the miles were going by quite quickly.  We could fully appreciate the non-inclined surface as well as the fabulousness of the GAP trail we had left behind the day before.  We took very short breaks to eat our Cliff bars and fruit.  We arrived in Hancock around 4:30 and made a quick stop at the bike repair shop.  Bryan's pedals had been grinding for about 40 miles.  Some tephlon tape and 15.00 dollars later we were good to go.  
  About Hancock... It is not much.  It was the ONLY place on the map we could stop on the trail without going on about 35 more miles.  There was a bike repair shop, a Shop and Save, two hotels and a pizza hut.  That was about it.  We checked into our local roach motel and after an internal debate with myself I decided I was in fact dirty enough to consent to get in the shower.  But after getting in I decided it was a mistake and the shower was dirtier than I was.  (I did shower, but very quickly)  The boys were unaffected by the state of the hotel.  I guess I am just high maintenance.  
  We headed to dinner at Pizza Hut.  I should have taken a picture.  We ate alot of food.  Then we hobbled over the the Shop and Save to find some ice cream.  (Did you know there aren't many options at this grocery store???)  We found some drumstick wanna be cones for 2 bucks and Bryan downed the majority of the package.  We also stocked up on some bagels and lunch meat for the next couple days.  
  Bryan and I headed back to the hotel at dusk.  I have no idea why Tannon wanted to camp instead of sleep in our cool hotel.  He found himself a nice place to camp (is there such a thing?) about 11 miles up the road.  I am amazed that he found the energy to put in another 11 miles after 3 days of hard riding! 
  To sum up day 3, it was another really great day on the trail.  We were a little more beat up from the terrain, but it was worth the scenery.  And if anyone decides to to this trip I have 2 pieces of advice. 
    A) Buy fenders for your bike.  Nice fenders that cover the majority of your wheels.
    B) Don't stay in this hotel.  Go with the other option.  I assume that the Super 8 would have been the better choice.