Camping!!!

Brett and I celebrated our three year anniversary!! This is quite the moment for both of us. Three years of putting up with one another. Three years of "figuring it out." Three years of happiness!

We went camping last year, and decided to give it another go this year. So, we looked up the Metro North lines, and found a campsite near the Cold Spring stop. We packed up our bikes with the necessary supplies (tent, sleeping bags, box o wine) and rode up to Grand Central to catch the train.


We opted to stay at the campsite eight miles away from the train station believing there would be less traffic. What we didn't look at was the terrain, and upon arrival realized that it was eight miles straight up. Well, I'll be gosh darned if we were going to be deterred. After all, we had some amazing veggie burgers to eat for dinner, plus the box o wine. So up we went. And up. And up some more. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done physically. We would bike until we couldn't pedal anymore because of the steepness of the hill and push our loads up. Brett took some pictures of this, so hopefully I can share those later.

We biked. We pushed. We biked. We sat. We drank water. We biked. We pushed. Continue on repeat. It was one of those moments where I was truly grateful. He knew how to support me, and more importantly, I was able to let him be my support. My type-A personality pushed me on, but I really needed his help mentally. His words of encouragement made me know that I could get to the top, even if it took all day and night.

But 3 1/2 hours later...


WE ARRIVED!!!! After endless up, we got a downhill, and it let out into a beautiful view of a lake. We made it! We had camp set up before the sunset. And those veggie burgers were incredible!

The next day we picnicked at a nearby pond:


Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was only of my induglences for the food on our trip, and I thought it was rather perfect to have the "natural" chips in the truly natural setting.


The pond was created by the damming an old mine shaft.


It was so beautiful, and peaceful. We hiked around the pond. This picture reminds me of puzzles where you have the added challenge of two juxtaposed images:


Brett is quite the outdoors man, and walked around barefoot. Were it up to him, we would have hiked for miles and miles, but I really wanted a nice relaxing vacation.



However, the next day, we went on an eight mile hike up to Beaver Pond. There was no one at the pond when we arrived. Unfortunately, all I could think about was Piranha 3D, which I had seen the night before we left and imagined us as the opening couple that gets eaten by piranhas.


Brett loves fire. Not as much as I love fire. So together, we are fire lovers. On our final night, after Brett cooked our pasta on the campfire, we made it ginormous. A wonderfully perfect end to a relaxing, hike-filled weekend.


What was great throughout our climbing of the mountain, was that we would have the opportunity to ride down it. Now, the last time I rode down a mountain, on my 11th birthday, I broke my hip. So, I was not a big fan of the whole riding down the mountain very fast with a bike filled with gear. But.... it was fun!

I'm glad we went on this journey. I surprised myself with my ability to ride a bike up a mountain, and more importantly, to ride it down. I think the true feat is that I rode up the mountain without complaining. This is why I'm head over heels for this guy. He pushes me, and helps me, and loves me.