Crabbing...

Chris and I took advantage of the lack of humidity, but warmth of the sun by heading out to the dock and me learning all about one of Chris' favorite childhood activities...crabbing. Now this isn't crabbing for meat, it's crabbing to be able to experience crab!

The bait...raw, gone-off, chicken wings...yum!

I wasn't sure what to expect yet...

But I quickly caught my first crab...I yelped loudly when I thought it was going to pinch my toes!

This one was enjoying his lunch so much he wouldn't stop eating even after being caught...

Chris is "The Crab Whisperer"

Sittin by the dock on the bay...wastin time!

The Crab Whisperer...

Luray, VA...

Chris and decided to explore VA, as it is such a beautiful and charming state! We decided to head to Luray where they have the Luray Caverns and tubing in Shenandoah Nat'l Park.

We stayed at the charming Cardinal Inn...

It was actually somewhat cool and without humidity the evening of our arrival, so we played cards in from of our room!

Luray Caverns - Audio tour...

Chris and I headed for the caverns and man were they worth it. Such beauty that has taken thousands, if not millions, of years to form below the surface of the earth! They have maintained them well. Chris and I were impressed with how respectful the tourists have obviously been, as it is very easy to touch the stalactites and stalagmites, but visibly people have refrained.

I don't love audio tours, as they often, in my experience, drag on and aren't very interesting. This one, however, was just the right amount of intriguing information with the option to learn more about specific formations. Chris and I synced our audio up by pressing play at the same time for each section, which made it more fun too!

This is a good example of drapery. Apparently the surface was initially flawed and not smooth, which forced the water to take a round about root and ultimately formed the long, thin draping stalactites!

This is the best picture I could take with my camera of the dream pond. It was a large pond when it came to surface area, but only about 12 inches deep at the deepest part. It was a mirror image of the stalactites coming down from above. Chris and I could have sat there for hours being pleasantly awed by it's beauty.

You are witnessing a blind date cavern style! ;)

I do love those drapes!

This is a draping stalactite from the side. It's a good example of how this they are...and looks like a draping towel..yes?

This caught my sights as I rounded the corner! I call it the Buddha temple underground.

A great example of a stalactite (right) and stalagmite (left) union...they've been together for hundreds of thousands of years...

This is the organ that serenades many a wedding in the caverns...

The guy who created it wanted to make the rocks sing...and sing they do with the help of tuning forks attached to various stalactites around the organ, that is in turn attached to specific keys on the organ. It was beautiful and had wonderful acoustics!

This is most people's favorite part. They are called fried eggs...they were stalagmites that broke off and back in the day people would rub the nubs for good luck upon their exit from the caverns (which isn't allowed anymore) and that action over and over again caused the smoothness that resembles egg yolks frying!

Luray Caverns - Garden Maze...

With our pass to the caverns we got free admission to the Secret Garden Maze. Chris wasn't too excited about it in the beginning...

Then he found relief in the misters and I had a happy camper on my hands again!

And then there was Kate...

Oh Kate... One of the things I have truly loved about living in Poquoson, VA has been being closer to Beth and Kate, who both reside in Richmond now. It's a quick drive up for the weekend and I've always got a place to stay!

Kate found out about that South African Wine Festival going on at a local VA Winery, so we partook in the food, wine and festivities!

The parking lot was right next to the vines...

They love their meat!

La-a-a-a-a-amb

Enjoying all the overpriced delectables!

Only at a wine festival...or an O'Connor family reunion (he-he)

Our favorite part was the entertainment!

Carthage, MO...

So much happened in between Munising, MI and Carthage, MO...Here's a quick recap:

Carrie, Ian's wife, was kind enough to put me up for a night while I was en route. She showed me the great haunts of Duluth, MN! She is now living with Ian and working as a vet at an alternative therapy clinic for animals in Hong Kong...and from what I can tell, loving it!

I was also able to visit my Aunt Kat, Uncle Dan, cousin Devon, Great Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ellen and friends Chris and Kate while in Grand Forks, ND...great to be back there, always!

Next stop on the list was good old Dub-C! I always love heading back to my hometown, especially during the spring/summer. My dad was busy working hard as a park ranger at TRNP and giving Memorial Day addresses to honor our veterans. My mom and I played. We had people over for dinner. I watched the last of the kids I used to babysit graduate from HS; all of which impressed me with their levels of maturity! Yes, it was a lovely visit!

I had a stop over in Kansas City, MO to see my one and only. He introduced to "fine" KC cuisine (Backyard BBQ, Gates BBQ, Strands Fried Chicken where I introduced our waitress to the Arnegard Martini...), track ball and walks around the neighborhood!

That brings us to Carthage, MO where I had the privilege of having an extended with Krista, whom I hadn't seen in many years! Krista and I had many adventures and some pretty competitive games of ladder ball! We watched many great movies and cooked even greater meals! Oh, Krista...thank you for such a wonderful time!

Munising, MI...

The other memory that plays so fondly in my mind from that roadtrip was our stop over in Munising, MI. Now I really built this up in my head every since I was in 8th grade, so you can imagine how excited I was knowing I was finally fulfilling my dream of revisiting the area. As it were, it was much less exciting than the memories I had, however, as an adult and with much more time there I was able to explore and create new memories!

The first of which was on the falls trail!

And Sand Point Beach!

The first time I ever had fresh seafood was at this place...The Dogpatch restaurant! They had an all-you-can-eat fresh seafood buffet the day we passed through. I remember being grossed out by having to peel the shells and legs off the shrimp (what do you mean the are real live creatures before I eat them?) however I fell in love with crab legs!

Unfortunately I should have listened to my hotel front desk clerk when she encouraged me NOT to eat at the Dogpatch. It was greasy, bland and smoky...with no seafood buffet. But it was fun going back!

They have so many trails to waterfalls and along the cliffed coastline of Lake Superior, so I took advantage by taking a 4 hour hike!

Though you can never really go back, you can always visit and make new memories!