Be Inspired.

I've been in a writing rut that I haven't been able to shake in two weeks. I'm attempting to articulate my frustration but instead come out with heavy words.

Rather than hear me attempt to let my thoughts out, let Lily's spoken word stir something.
Hopefully I'll be back soon. :)

Lily Myers- "Shrinking women"

New River Gorge Bridge

In honour of the continued American Government shutdown, let me tell you about the National Park I visited the day before it was closed.

(And let me just say that I'm very thankful to be Canadian today on Thanksgiving Day. Miss you Canada!)

The New River Gorge Bridge is located in West Virginia and is the world's longest single-arch steel span bridge. I've driven over this bridge multiple times on our journeys up and down the East Coast but never stopped to explore until Justin's dad suggested it.

The bridge is huge. It's 924m (3,030 ft) long and is 267m (876 ft) above the Kanawha (New) River (making it the third highest bridge in the US, preceded by the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge spanning between Arizona and Nevada...in case you wanted to know). The arch alone is 518m (1,700 ft). Beside its sheer size, the bridge is beautifully situated among a tree-filled gorge and a lovely river. I've heard the river is great for whitewater rafting...perhaps an adventure for next summer?

A few leaves had turned colour but the trees were still green. I imagined what the place must look like in a few weeks...then decided to let google image search show me.

The park had a trail leading partway down the gorge to give a better scale view. A few designated viewing spots along the trail included placards complete with fun facts, drawings, and history of the bridge. (Two Statues of Liberty and one Washington Memorial could fit underneath the arch!)

Photo via http://www.sasha-digiulian.com/blog/page/6

Happy Thanksgiving!

Zoey meets a Pony

I'm working on an actual post, really. However, THIS happened. 

We were driving along in the countryside when we met up with the tiniest pony I have ever seen. I seized the opportunity to pull over and mingle with the locals for a few minutes. 

This video is 48 seconds worth wasting. They're just so darn cute!

The Gob and my week

I haven't been doing much lately. Job hunting, job hunting, and entertaining Zoey as best I can. I have a few more interesting blog posts in the works but have been consumed with trying to build a new life in Pennsylvania. 

During one of the last warm days of Autumn, Justin and I broke the monotony of online applications and found ourselves walking to our engagement spot. It's a beautiful lake surrounded by stretching lengths of green grass and blue sky.

The last of the summer veggies were harvested, another festival was attended (more to come), and a horse-drawn cart was spotted down the road from our house (!). My mother-in-law says she thinks the horses were being sold to one of the men in the cart. I'd like to believe they were on their way to pick up children for a fun country ride.

Among the more interesting happenings, I sampled a Pennsylvania treat: the Gob. In all honesty, not my favourite; it's basically a giant oreo-looking twinkie. and it's HUGE. However, we were at an ethic festival so I dove right into the culture.

What have you been up to this week? Leave your comments below!

P.S. I'm working on my Instagram malfunction. Hopefully my photos will be entertaining you again soon.

Great Allegheny Passage & Crawford's Cabin

Northeast America is beautiful in the fall. I'm beginning to understand why so many people hype up this season. (I still don't understand the obsession with pumpkin spice lattes and fall wreaths... some things can't be understood.)

Pennsylvania seems to be holding onto summer. The temperatures have been in the high 20s for the last few days. I'm told the weather will cool down tonight though I'm not holding my breath. I hope it stays warm. I love summer.

Because the weather has been so nice, Justin wanted me to visit an amazing bike trail in a town nearby. I'm not much of a biker but agreed to come along. The afternoon was warm but a light breeze kept the air fresh and breathable.

The Great Allegheny Passage is part of a series of bike paths connecting Washington D.C. with Pittsburgh. The GAP trail is 150 miles of the 334 mile trail that travels from Pennsylvania, partially into West Virginia, through Maryland into Washington D.C. The Allegheny Passage portion of trail used to be a railroad track but has since been repurposed into a multi-use public trail. The advantage of its history is that the ground is fairly level, flat, and clean, making it an easy trail to ride. I was thankful for history that day.

Rather than tackling the beast of a path, we took a casual ride a few miles down the path, took photos, and enjoyed the views.

Some cool murals lined the path, presumably painted by local artists. The bright, cheery colours beautified an otherwise nondescript section of pathway.

While on our ride, we passed the little cottage belonging to Col. Crawford. After a bit of digging, I found out that William Crawford was a land surveyor during the late 1700s for Gen. George Washington and fought in the French and Indian War as well as the American Revolutionary war. This cabin is a reconstructed version of Crawfords and is the site of a battle reenactment of the Major General Edward Braddock's crossing of the Youghiogheny River in 1755 (you're welcome, history people).
A beautiful bridge spans the river next to the cabin, geese hang out at an amazing historical site, and all the while the bike path continues on north to Pittsburgh.

Photo from connellsvillehistoricalsociety.com

I'm not much of a history person but walking around places that have such historical significance is pretty cool. It reminds me that so much has happened in the past, lots will happen in the future, but all I can control is today.

You can read more about the Great Allegheny Passage here, Col. Crawford's Cabin here, and General Braddock here.

Internet-free week.

This week I'm be in an Internet-free zone (Grandpa's house) so I'm stealing Internet to show you my week thus far. 

Details later.  

Without the distraction of the world-wide-web, I'm attempting to do what I should have been doing all along...clean, rummage through mothball-filled boxes, watching The Voice, and hugging family. Maybe I'll try to knit a scarf during my six hour drive back to Pennsylvania. 

What do you do when you don't have Internet?