Who Knew?

Grinning on the outside
Dad, I will pay you to try this one.
Put on a happy face, Doug!
Kelley was definitely the professional camper out of all of us
The Brothers

Who knew the Dayton, Ohio area has quite a bit of activity to offer? Last weekend I headed off to Dayton to meet Doug, Brian, and Kelley for a little adventure. The trip started out at a place called Urban Krag which I found on the internet. It is an old church that has been converted into a climbing gym. Talk about a blast! It was a little scary at first because they give you your beginner's session and then leave you to go for it. Luckily, Doug was a great partner and quite confident so I wasn't too afraid of falling. I cannot say the same. He was pretty brave to entrust his life to me because I wasn't sure I knew exactly what I was doing. Fortunately, our teacher stayed with me a little longer while Doug climbed so I felt confident after a bit of time had passed. I'm sure that teacher hated me. After 4 hours of climbing and with sore muscles, we headed to John Bryan State Park for some camping. The park was full, but we lucked out and some people left so we got their site! Woohoo. Kelley was the expert fire starter. That was pretty impressive, I must say. We had s'mores and hotdogs. Doug pulled out the guitar and played for us (and the rest of the park) which was fun. Here is the downfall of John Bryan, for you tent campers, there is NO running water. Let me repeat that, NO RUNNING WATER! Even in the worst of Greece's campgrounds, I had not encountered that primitive of camping. I'm glad I carry water jugs with me as a habit. :) The next day we headed to Yellow Springs for breakfast. Yellow Springs is a really cool, hippy town so the breakfast menu was totally organic and right up my alley. Meg, you would have hated it -- no Kellogs or Post cereals offered. I wanted to hike that day, but we didn't get to which was a little disappointing. I was also too full to try the homemade ice cream at a dairy farm there. That will just have to be another trip.

Now I am back to work and wishing I were taking another trip. Tomorrow is my day off so I am up late tonight. I have been practicing my guitar since around 9 p.m. tonight. It is 2 a.m., and I just finished! Dad, Mike, and Wes, I can play pretty much all the major chords continuously without pausing. F kills me, and B needs some work. I can at least play some songs and sing along though. Strumming patterns are what I need help with. If you have suggestions, please call or email! I included a picture of my guitar because it brings me much joy. I know a fifth grader and ninth grader around here that take lessons and are pretty good. I am considering calling them and asking if they want to hang out and teach me some guitar stuff. That is pretty sad, huh? Wow, life is quite exciting here in Ohio :) I think it is time for another trip!