Hiking, Hinton, and Health

There has been so much happening in the past few weeks that I don't know where to start. After leaving Ohio, I headed to WV to visit with the family for awhile. I had a blast visiting my greatly-missed family members. Mom, Jim, and I made an impromptu trip to Hinton to see my great-uncle Talmadge. He is the last living member of my grandmother's siblings and is doing remarkably well to be turning 90. The trip was as enjoyable for us as for Talmadge, and we have promised to make another trip before the New Year. (Hold us to it, family) Afterward, we headed to one of Beckley's best kept secrets -- the Char House. The steak was quite possibly the best I have ever had. Judging from the final total, we all felt the same way about the food. The three of us had so much fun together and laughed the entire day. That is not hard to do when Jim is around. I am so glad we made the trip and am looking forward to the next one.

The Reeds

We were impressed

Exploring WV is a favorite pastime of mine so I try and take advantage of it whenever I can. New River Gorge was my most recent exploration, and Travis accompanied me. Before the activities started, we hit the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. I must admit I was not too excited about the visit, but it turned out to be very interesting. We had a blast hiking the gorge. It was absolutely beautiful; although, the trails we took were quite easy. It is a good thing neither of us are afraid of heights because we found the rock climber trails and decided to try them. We came to some rather steep cliffs with ladders attached, and the only option was to climb down so we did. I was a bit afraid but glad I did it after reaching the bottom. Travis, on the other hand, seemed to love the descent.

Underground in the coal mine. Our guide was terrific.

Living on the edge!

No fear.

We also hit a great waterfall near Hawk's Nest and did some swimming. The water was a little low and very cold, but it was fun.

I was freezing!

The trip was great, and I think Travis fell in love with the Mountain State. How could anyone not? As far as health goes, I have now hit 10 miles! Watch out, Becky and Mike. Three more miles, and I am ready for the half in Louisville!

Hocking Hills, Ohio

Yes, we are the small dots in the space between the rocks!
Aaahhh, nature!
I do love waterfalls.

David left for Saudi Arabia last week. He is teaching at a school there for two years, and judging from his emails, he is adjusting quite well. Before he left we decided to take a quick adventure trip, seeing that he wouldn't be able to hike much in Saudi. We decided to hike, zipline, and rockclimb in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Who knew there were mountains in Ohio? I must say we had an absolute blast; although, we were exhausted after the short two days. We started our trip with a 6 mile hike. It was short but gorgeous and had a few steep climbs. The waterfalls were small, but they added to the already beautiful scenery. We hiked until dark, literally. The next morning we headed out to do a little ziplining. It was a nice course and lots of fun. David claims he is afraid of heights, but I strongly disagree after that day. He loved it and ziplined like a pro - almost as well as my mom :)

Just hangin' out.

David on the long line.

David wasn't a huge fan of the bridge.

Ziplining was a great way to get our day started, but we needed a bit more of a challenge. After a Bob Evans lunch, we headed out for some rock climbing. This has to be one of the most frustrating yet rewarding sports out there. The day after I always feel muscles I didn't know I had. David had never climbed so he was a bit nervous. He was much better than I and loved the challenge. We also repelled which was fun. I don't think someone afraid of heights would repel , or at least wouldn't volunteer to go first :)

This route was almost impossible!

The repel route down. A funny way to climb up -- backwards.

It was a great trip, and I'm so glad we went. David, I hope you have a great time, make lots of friends, and travel as often as you can. You will be missed here in WV, and the next time I see you, I hope it's on Kilimanjaro!

*Thanks to my long-time critic, I need to note the grammatical error on the title of the last posting. The apostrophes are not needed. Thank you for noting something worth acknowledging.

Homecoming's and Farewell's

I spent Friday evening with my cousins Lori, JR, and TJ. I hadn't seen them in forever so it was a happy homecoming. As always, the evening was filled with fun. TJ and I jumped on the trampoline. Lori made some great green beans which I inhaled, and we took a family trip to the Dairy Queen. I have missed my family so much in the last year. I hope to get some quality time with them now that I will be close again.


I left Ohio last week and was sad to say goodbye to some special people in my life. Some I know I will see soon, and some I hope to meet up with again later. Change is something I am well acquainted with and often look forward to. This past year was quite possibly the hardest year I have encountered thus far , but also one of the best growing, healing, and learning years of my entire life. My move to Ohio brought peace, contentment, and a personal growth that was long needed. God has brought freedom and contentment in a way that can only be learned through being alone and completely dependent on Him. I came to Ohio broken, insecure, and bitter. I am leaving thankful for my current life and content with who I am. (Rhea, I think that is called "Stage Five" in the recovery process) :) It has been a long, insightful, and interesting journey. I have always loved the verses in Jeremiah "For I know the plans I have for you... plans to give you hope and a future." In the past, I was under the assumption this would mean I would be blessed as we often view success -- money, travel, job success, love, etc. Currently, I am understanding this to mean peace. He has brought me hope and a future not through the ways I predicted but through experiencing peace -- the peace that only God can bring. I am so thankful for my past year in Ohio and pray God blesses all those who blessed me so much there.

Wizard of Oz Reunion

The old Dorothy and the future Dorothy :)
I think this was Maggie's favorite part of the night -- holding Toto.
Owen didn't make it all the way through the show.
They're not Munchkins anymore. I love these kids!
I knew Jasmine when she was 14. Now, she is the sweetest Wicked Witch I know :)

Mom, Meg, and I decided to meet at Jenny Wiley this weekend to see The Wizard of Oz. We knew the kids would like it, and we were excited about being together. I must say it is quite entertaining and enjoyable to watch it with kids. Maggie sat on my lap the entire time and sang or recited lines when she felt led. Owen asked many questions aloud for surrounding audience members to hear. Josie was perfectly pleasant as always. The kids loved it and had fun meeting the cast afterwards.

I was excited because I was able to see so many Jenny Wiley friends. I was surprised to see how grown up the kids I know are. They were so little when I first met them and now they are teenagers and great little actors. Ah, I felt really old but was so glad to see them. I look forward to being back in Kentucky and having some get-togethers with them.

Owen had to get glasses, and I must say he looks really cute in them. He says he looks like Peter Parker. I think he is too cute in them. I had so much fun seeing them and playing. Let's not make the next time so long, ok, sis?

Owen (a.k.a. Peter Parker) and his new glasses. I love having a nephew. The crazy ride home from the show.

Never too old

Dad and I ready to compete!

I have slacked majorly in blogging! Life has been a whirlwind since I left Ohio so I am going to start with this morning and post backwards. Dad and I did our first 5k today. Dad walked, and I ran. We hadn't registered so we arrived about 20 minutes early. The first thing we saw was people running and power walking everywhere. We had no clue it was that serious. Oops. We did have matching shirts though! (Yes, DJ, please notice the Greg White attire. Thanks) I am planning on running a half-marathon in Louisville in October so I really wanted to participate in running with a crowd. I also wanted to see if I could up my normal 3 mile time with the help of adrenaline. It was interesting running with so many people; although, listening to other's breathing bugged me! I finished and waited for dad. When I finally saw him he was alone, and I thought he must have been left behind. It turns out, he came in 4th place overall, and he hasn't walked 3 miles in a year or so. Afterwards, dad and I were listening to award announcements, and they called my name! I ended up getting 3rd place in my age bracket. It was rather comical since we were in no way prepared. It was a great dad/daughter event, and we ended up seeing a few people we knew. One being my favorite WV principal George Aulembacher who completely smoked me with a time right under 19 minutes. I could blame it on being a girl, but he is quite a bit older than I so I'm not sure that is fair :) It was a great day, and dad and I hope to do another one soon. Hopefully, mom will join us next time.


WV's best principal, George.