Hey it's good to be back home again

South Carolina-North Carolina-Virginia-West Virginia-Maryland-Pennsylvania (then do it again in reverse).  That's a total of 1300 miles, 21 hours and 5 minutes of driving, and three bathroom stops (we were aiming for two).  Oh, and we had rain and snow (!!) on the way home.  We had a fantastic time, but it's nice to be back home.

This was the sky as the first rain ended as were were near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia today.  The clouds were really pretty.

Christmas cookies

 

We baked and decorated dozens of Christmas cookies today. Then we helped eat them!  Natalie and Margaret are very creative decorators.  Steve's pretty good too - his cookies were thick with frosting and he called them '3D' cookies.

Relaxing in Pennsylvania

We're in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, enjoying a visit with Steve's family.  It's been more than two years since we've seen everyone and we're having a great time.  We've spent time reading, playing outside, fishing and exploring a local stream, having fun with their new puppy (Chloe the Yorkie) and cooking good food.

Both girls are big readers.  Nat is reading Encyclopedia Brown (one of my favorites as a kid).

Steve downloaded a game on his phone and the girls were TOTALLY into playing it.

Mark with his huge catch at the trout stream.

Natalie was scouting for rocks to paint with their new painting kit. That water is really cold!  I don't know how she could stand it.

A good family photo on the first try!!

Chloe.  So cute.

Margaret checking out the water at the trout stream. 

better than a restaurant

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We're celebrating tonight with friends, then driving to Pennsylvania tomorrow to spend a couple of days with Steve's family.  I'm really looking forward seeing everyone, it's been more than two years since we've seen Mark and Susan and the girls! 

I wasn't going to write about the dinner I made the other night, because it was just a weeknight dinner, nothing special.  But, it turned out so good - far, far better than the same meal I've ever gotten at a restaurant, that I have to say something.  It's the orange chicken recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  I'm obsessed with America's Test Kitchen recipes because they've always turned out great and they're easy to follow.  Some recipes are quite involved (this one was a bit of work) but they're worth it when you have time.  If you're looking for a good cookbook, any of the ones they put out are good choices.  I usually get them from the library, but I did actually buy this one.  I'm also making their sweet potato casserole recipe to bring tonight.

Wildlife!

Sunday before we left the park we went back to the beach and were just in time to see some dolphins swimming really close to shore.  Someone on the beach said that five minutes earlier they were leaping out of the water!  I'm totally bummed we missed that.

We also saw a bald eagle that was diving at something (fish?) in the water.  This is pretty unusual since they're usually scavengers.  We don't see them much around here.

We also saw this wild beast.  Isn't she cute?

Beaches!

Saturday we walked from the campsite to the beach and did some exploring with the dogs.  Panda is so low to the ground that she was a muddy, salty mess by the time we were done. 

Our exploring was cut short by a tidal creek that was draining, but slowly, and most of us didn't want to jump it.  Of course, Steve did and I got a funny picture of him mid-leap.

 

 There weren't a lot of people on the beach, but a few were fishing.  Nobody we talked to had caught anything though.  I guess that's why it's called 'fishing' and not 'catching'.

Steve and Seca posing on the beach.  

Camping!

As I mentioned, we went camping at Hunting Island State Park.  It was the coldest weather we've had since last winter - lows were predicted to be 38 F.  We don't think it actually got that cold although we were prepared with an electric blanket and a nice campfire. 

Julie and Fred with their dessert hobo pies.

We introduced Julie and Fred to hobo pies and roasted peeps and they were both a big hit.  We split the cooking duties - with each couple being responsible for one breakfast and one dinner and it was really nice to not have to cook every meal.  Their dog Panda is a corgi who likes to play in the dirt at the campsite...we nicknamed her 'pig pen' for the weekend because she was followed by a dirt cloud wherever she went!  She was pretty cute and she and Seca got along pretty well.

Old Sheldon Church

This weekend we went camping at Hunting Island State Park with my coworker Julie and her husband Fred (and their dog Panda).  Hunting Island is on the ocean, just south of Beaufort, SC.  I'll fill in more about the camping trip later.

On the way to the park we stopped at Old Sheldon Church.  It's a frequently photographed site because it's beautiful and quintessentially southern - the grounds are full of live oaks and Spanish moss.  It was a bit too sunny for good pictures, but you can get a good idea of what it looks like.  I'll leave the details of the history to the interpretive sign:

Opposites attract

This weekend Steve and I were invited to the wedding of a friend from our gym.  Even though we didn't know the couple well, in fact, we only met the groom for the first time two days before the wedding, it was really fun.  It was a small wedding, full of personal touches.  A cousin of the bride led the ceremony, the brother of the bride told the story of how the groom proposed, the whole wedding party danced down the aisle before the ceremony then danced their way back out at the end (to the tune "another one bites the dust").  Then there was a casual BBQ dinner and lots of dancing.  Throughout the wedding you got a sense of how the bride and groom were complete opposites, but somehow very complementary.  Katy is chaotic and spontaneous and late for everything.  Rob is an engineer and mellow and perfectly organized.  It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so happy we were able to go!


Katy and her mom getting their groove on as they proceed down the aisle.  That's Rob just above their hands.

Little surfers

It was a beautiful night so we loaded up the dog and went to Folly Beach for a walk.  Seca got a sand spur stuck in her paw, wedged right between her toes.  I've stepped on them before and they HURT...Those spines are really stiff and will cut you instead of breaking off (I've even had them stick in the soles of my shoes!)  I picked it out and she wasn't bleeding so we finished the walk.  She was a happy dog.


Just as we were leaving the beach these three were headed in for some surfing. I'm a bad judge of age but they were probably 8-10 years old (the one on the left was probably the youngest and closer to 8).  They were so serious - totally engrossed in their conversation about surfing.  I couldn't resist taking a quick picture.  I wasn't surprised that they were going by themselves, Folly is pretty laid back this time of year and they definitely seemed like they knew what they were doing.