Land of the Mid-Day Sun

Almost done with our 7 hour drive back to Charleston. As soon as I'm done writing this I'm going to call and order chicken wings to pick up on the road to my apartment. Adam made an amazing chili that was in the crockpot all day Saturday, and I sneakily put some in a Tupperware to bring home before it was all gone, so we'll have that to eat too.

This weekend was awesome.

Friday at 3:15, just before the bell rang, I was already packed and ready to go. I heard the bell and literally was elbowing kids out of the way down the hallway to get outside where I knew Adam was waiting in my car. We booked it out of downtown and had to make a quick stop to get me a new headlight before picking up the highway. 6 hours later, after 2 stops to pee and 1 to fuel up, we finally made it to the dirt road that the cabin was on. There was a few towns on the way that had gas for 2.99, but of course when we swore to stop at the next one it was 3.49, and didn't go down after that. The dirt road the cabin was off of was the skinniest road I have ever been on with absolutely no shoulder and tons of potholes. But, after a mile in the dark we made it safe and man was it a beautiful sight. The moon was perfectly glistening off the lake. It was amazing.
We woke up at 6 the next day and made some awesome coffee in the French press, took some killer photos, and then went out in the canoe for a relaxing trip on the lake. There was an awesome echo when you would talk louder than a whisper once you got in the middle. So cool.
The whole group went on a hike up to a fire tower about a mile and a half on the Appalachian trail. I had found the hike and the whole time we were just trecking through the woods I was very nervous that it was going to be lame at the top. We were with a few people who had never hiked before and were a bit out of shape, so I needed it to be worth their while. Three didn't make it and turned around about three quarters of the way. I got more than lucky because at the top you were able to climb the fire tower and it was the most amazing view of the mountains that I have ever had. A little bit better than Overlook mountain, and similar to being on top of Ola Mana. It helped that we had perfect weather. Perfect clear skies.
Today Adam and I left early so we could start heading back and make some stops on the way. We found a pull off for the dry falls which is a waterfall that you can walk under and not get wet. Then a bit farther up the road we found an excellent hike up a mountain called white side mountain. Unbelievable at the top. Those photos should be great when I get them off my camera. It was super windy up there so I was in heaven. It reminded me a lot of Ku'li'ou'ou.
I miss my sister a lot. I've been thinking maybe this summer I should go back to Hawaii for a week. I think that would be good for my soul.
Almost back in Charleston. Just graded a bunch of tests. 9 out of 11 kids passed. Not bad. Or I'm just an easy grader:)
One full week of school and then my brother will be here with Emily. Then I'll be going back to NY with them. Crazy how fast time goes when you're happy.