Monthly Archives:

June 2017

Backpacking, Hiking

Backpacking to Harpers Ferry on the Maryland Appalachian Trail

I wasn’t kidding when I said we are hooked on backpacking! This weekend, we did 17.5 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT) backpacking to Harpers Ferry from Reno Monument Road. We’d hoped to start from the I-70 AT trailhead but we didn’t have enough daylight to do the extra 6 miles.

My sister, Hanna, joined us for her first backpacking adventure. We left late because we decided to wait for an Amazon delivery containing a hammock, tarp, and two more squeeze bags for our water filter. (Check out this backpacking packing list).

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Disney World, Vacation

Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom and an evening at Magic Kingdom!

Tuesday at Disney World was full of animals and Disney magic! We were at Animal Kingdom before rope drop which was pretty easy since our hotel was less than a 5 minute drive away! While we were waiting to be let in, I was complimented a few times on my dress and tiara which made me feel pretty princess-like. Pro tip: you can get away with things like tiaras at Disney World so make the most of your princess days!

The only park opening we missed was on Thursday at the Magic Kingdom (stupid monorail) but of all the other parks, the opening at Animal Kingdom was the most spectacular. We were told that the Macaws were going to fly over our heads and not to duck or they’ll just fly lower. It was a really cool thing to see and experience – you can get an idea of what happens here.

 

They allowed us to go free into the parks at the stroke of 9 and we headed directly for Expedition Everest in Asia by going through Discovery Island instead of Dino Land. We were able to walk straight onto the ride twice in a row which was great since it’s one of my top two favorite rides in the park (Pandora wasn’t open yet)! However, since we did it twice in a row, it gave Brady a bit of motion sickness so I did some shopping in Africa while he took a break. We were also trying to kill time before the 10 am train left for Rafiki’s Planet Watch because I was hoping to catch an animal surgery.

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Backpacking, Hiking

Backpacking to Annapolis Rock on the Appalachian Trail

We finally did it! We went backpacking to Annapolis Rock for our first backpacking trip and now we’re hooked. We hiked 8+ miles out and back on the Appalachian Trail and saw vista views from Annapolis Rock and Black Rock. We enjoyed this trip so much that we’re already planning to go out again this weekend. 

Our first outing was a test to see how our gear worked for us. We began collecting gear in April but we haven’t had a good weekend to go until now. ย I spent the Friday gathering our stuff and we left as soon as Brady arrived home from work.

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