Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Resting our climbing muscles a bit:)

While in Kansas, Zach and I got some much needed time to hang out with my sister, Megan, my parents, and my cousin, Michelle! Megan soundly beat us in tennis on a few beautiful fall days in Wichita. My dad took us flying with him one morning for work and Michelle explored the Flint Hills with us on a 7 mile hike past Bison, cows, and lots of dog poop:) She also made us our own apple pie! It was fabulous! 
Dinner in Megan's apartment:)

Flying with my Dad:)
Our Kansas hike through the Flint Hills.

Zach walking past the Bison. Michelle and I took the long way around:)

Sneaking past the bison:)

The pie and its creator!!
Our Halloween was filled with fun in Chicago with friends, Rod and Emily, who dressed as the Bearded Lady and Beetlejuice respectively:) Zach and I went as Facebook and Peter Pan. They also took us on a touristy jaunt of the city where we got to see the iconic Bean and Zach experienced public transportation for the first time. Wonderful time with friends in a city that is pretty awesome if you have a free parking space:)
"Just think of a wonderful thought!"

My book face;)

Walking in the neighborhood!

The bean!

Action shot!

Great friends in a great city:)

With the skyline.

We walked a little extra for this view, but it was worth it:)
A morning drive out of the city brought us to Dayton, OH and dinner with Zach's Aunt and Uncle, Mary and Gary Brown. It was fun fiesta with cousins, Heidi and her kids Destiny and Cameron. Zach and Mary are encouraging each other to keep writing. Apparently, writing is a Wahrer gene:)
Up near Fryburg, we settled in with Nan and Joe for a few days. Nan took us on a tour of Wapakoneta and we found some fun stuff at the thrift shops. I also received news I had been accepted for a travel position in Las Vegas! So, I had to do some errands to get my fingerprinting done. Luckily, there is a little Mayberry nearby called Botkins. I showed up at the Police Department and Chief Glass was kind enough to do my fingerprints for free. This was after his deputy had rescued him from locking his keys in the patrol car while he was voting against the legalization of Marijuana in Ohio:) I enjoyed my episode of The Andy Griffith Show very much!
Nan organized a great dinner with all of the aunts and uncles that live nearby. We had a lot of fun catching up and just hanging out. Its a great place! Thanks for the hospitality and fun while we were there!!!
Zach's brother, Rock, and his family live a few towns over and we stopped in to say hi! Adrianna is almost 13 and we got to go to her middle school choir concert with everybody. It was a lot of fun to see her singing and dancing up on stage:) Rock took us all out to ice cream after and I really enjoyed getting to spend time where Zach grew up and lived. Rock, Krista, and Adrianna, thanks for a fun few days and can't wait til next time!!
Our niece, Adrianna, before her big concert debut!
Enjoying awesome ice cream with Rock, Krista, and Adrianna:)
After being away from climbing for a few weeks, we were anxious to get back to it. The weather looked tolerable for the New River Gorge in West Virginia and we hadn't been there yet, so we set our course for Summersville. It was a really pretty drive and we found free camping at the end! It rained the next day so we just enjoyed our van and hung out at the campground. The Summersville Dam was originally supposed to be named after a town called Gaud, near the site. But in the 1930's, they decided Gaud Dam wasn't a very appealing name and after they built the dam, Guad was flooded and doesn't exist today. So Summersville Dam works:) 
Above our campsite on the Summersville Dam. The rain was moving in and we were moving out:)
We got to climb a few days near Summersville Lake and it was great climbing!! Zach worked on a climb in a steep cave. My favorite part included the echos of the noises Zach made while climbing:) It was a lot of fun and we would have loved to stay longer, but rain moved in and was forecasted to stay around for a few days. We called our friend Becca in North Carolina and made plans to visit her.
Zach striking a pose as he's being lowered off his climbing project:)

At the top of the climb!

Love this guy!
We are currently in Chaple Hill, NC relaxing at Becca's house. When she gets done with school today, we will explore around here a bit before heading to the Obed in Tennessee. 
We are taking what good weather we can get and enjoying our time left on this leg of the vanventure!