Year: 2015

Survivor – Lycoming County

danaelizabethx Camping , , ,

I am a HUGE Survivor fan so when a friend (Sara) invited me up to her cabin to have a survivor weekend I didn’t hesitate to say yes.  Her family was also really into Survivor and believe me they went ALL OUT for this weekend.  She told me that her parents set up actual homemade games inspired by the show with tribes, immunity idols, eliminations and all.

I drove up with Sara and a few other friends.  Let me tell you, her lovely parents spent so much time and energy into making this weekend as authentic as possible for us – her mom even carved the immunity idol herself – making a bear out of a log with a CHAINSAW!!  It was awesome!  Oh and Sara made fake immunity idols for us before we got up there – we never did get to play them – LOL!

SHH! we made fake hidden immunity idols!!

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Food Allergies and the Backcountry

danaelizabethx Backpacking , , , , , , ,

I have some pretty weird food allergies – carrots and watermelon (actually I’m pretty sure all melons – I don’t really care for them anyway, but I do have a reaction whenever they are mixed into fruit salad.)  I just avoid these foods at all costs, especially carrots as they make my throat swell up if I eat enough of them.  You never realize how much a particular ingredient is used until you become allergic and have to check EVERYTHING.  Carrots are used as a filler in A LOT of different foods – so I just check the ingredients of anything new I try.  Try being a vegetarian and going to salad bars, then seeing they use pre packaged mixes that already have carrots in them.  They are in a lot of vegetarian foods, some drinks listed as FRUIT juice, and they even use carrots in some energy gels – I’m telling you they show up in the weirdest places!

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MS 150 – City to Shore (part 1)

danaelizabethx Bike MS, Cycling , , , , , ,

Well I did it!  I signed up again for the MS 150 City to Shore.  I have done this ride twice before – well let me rephrase that, I have attempted this ride twice before and completed it once.  The MS 150 is an epic charity bike ride which benefits Multiple Sclerosis – it starts in Cherry Hill, NJ and goes all the way to Ocean City, NJ.  There are literally THOUSANDS of people that come to ride this event of all different abilities – it is quite overwhelming to see!  Of course, you don’t have to ride the whole 150 (if you do, that’s split up into a 2 day event.).  There is also the 100 mile century ride, the 75 mile ride which is the ride I sign up for (which is listed as 80 miles this year), a 45 mile and a 25 mile – so there is something for everyone!  There are also MS cycling events a lot of different states across the US.

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Biking to Work – it’s WORTH IT!

danaelizabethx Cycling , , , , ,

I LOVE riding my bike so I’ll take any excuse I can to sneak in a ride!  If you have been reading my blog for a while you know I started biking to the grocery store.  I have been biking to work for a few years now – not every day, sometimes I wake up too late or the weather is bad, or I’m feeling lazy 🙂 but the days where it works out just seems to start my day off right!

you don't get to enjoy views like this when you drive!
you don’t get to enjoy views like this when you drive!

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Assateague Island

danaelizabethx Hiking, Interesting Places , , , , , , , ,

Chances are when you were younger you had to read Misty of Chincoteague in school.  This is the story about a wild pony from Assateague Island that was bought on Pony Penning day – a yearly roundup of the horses on Assateague by the Saltwater Cowboys where the horses swim across the bay onto Chincoteague Island and sold at auction.  When I found out Assateague and Chincoteague were real places, the childhood girl inside me would not be happy until I visited!  🙂

It wasn’t until a few years ago I actually got to go to Assateague Island, which is split up into sections.  Assateague is one long skinny island – Assateague State Park and Assateague National Seashore are on the Maryland side and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is on the southern Virginia part of the island.  There is no road that goes the length of the entire island, but you can access both sides by bridges.  I have only ever been to the Maryland side which offers various forms of camping, kayak and canoe rentals, hiking and biking trails, beaches, bays and WILD PONIES!!  What’s not to love?  Well if you go in the summer, be prepared for a TON of bugs – all of the biting variety for one.  I’m not kidding, the first time I was there I hiked the “Life of the Forest Trail” and literally RAN through it because if I would stop I was immediately swarmed by mosquitos and horse flies – it was unreal!  But NOTHING was gonna stop me from seeing those wild ponies!  🙂

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Color Run – Allentown

danaelizabethx Running , , , ,

The Color Run is advertised as the happiest 5k on the planet – but this morning it seemed like it was also the coldest.  It was a chilly 35 degrees when we arrived to sign in.  There was hardly ANYONE there, which really surprised me because when I did the Color Run in Hershey earlier this year it was so packed they had to have 2 dates.  As the time went on though, more people came, but it still wasn’t near the amount of people as the prior run.

We got our packets, put our crisp new white t-shirts on, and got in line.  We were pretty close to the front so we were one of the 1st waves to go.

IMG_1241 IMG_1242

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Maize Quest Corn Maze

danaelizabethx Hiking

Friday night we decided to check out Maize Quest Corn Maze (cute play on words, don’t you think?) which is in New Park, PA.  I had never done a corn maze before – by the time we got out there, it was dark.  We brought flashlights because Friday and Saturday they have Flashlight Night so you can do the maze in the dark.  The maze is 10 acres and the theme changes every year – this year the theme was Amazon Adventure.  You can download an app that tracks where you are so you don’t get completely lost – and yes we did refer to it several times!  🙂  They give you a flag when you start so if you are really lost and need help getting out you just wave it overhead and they will come and get you.

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St Peter’s Village

danaelizabethx Hiking , ,

JoJo and I decided to check out St Peter’s Village today.  Every time I think of St Peter’s Village I think of the time my best friend, Jen, took me there YEARS ago (it was actually the only other time I had been there).  We were hiking around and I kept feeling like there was something on my head.  I had the front part of my hair pulled back in a clip and I just kept feeling a lump where the clip was.  I kept asking Jen if she saw anything and every time she would say no.  When we were done hiking and got back in the car I looked in the rearview mirror and I see these tiny arms and legs frantically moving around and peaking out from my hair – tiny little buggy legs.  LOL!  It was like it was saying, “HELP ME!!!”  Of course I did the only rational thing I could think of – jump out of the car and start screaming.  haha.  I may like nature, but NO ONE said I have to like bugs!  So Jen comes running over and helps me get the bug, which turned out to be some kind of beetle, untangled from my hair.  Poor little guy!  I will NEVER forget seeing those little legs waving for help!

ANYWAY, we drove over and I couldn’t remember where you park – I saw a lot of parking areas but I didn’t see any trails so we kept driving around.  Finally, I decided to check out the lot that had big boulders sort of framing it.  I got out and saw a trail next to a sign that said the lot closes at dark.  Jo and I set off for some exploring!

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Ridley Creek State Park

danaelizabethx Hiking , ,

It was a beautiful day so I decide to go hiking – JoJo and I headed over to Ridley Creek State Park in south eastern PA.  I have only hiked there one other time YEARS ago.  There is a beautiful mansion that has been converted into the park office.  I figured today was a perfect day to check out the mansion and the trails again.

We got there a lot later than expected due to a TON of construction on some of the roads to the park.  I was trying to listen to my audiobook (The Martian) but couldn’t really hear it because the GPS would cut it off to tell me directions – so sadly I couldn’t finish my book – oh well!

We stopped to check out the mansion/park office first.  It was as lovely as I remembered it!  The stone walls around the yard which contained formal gardens and fountains were amazing to look at!  I can’t even imagine that people used to live in such a lovely place!

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Just beautiful!

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Backpacking Blunders (part 3)

danaelizabethx Backpacking , , , , ,

When you are taking someone backpacking for the first time, you want their experience to be pleasant so that they will want to go again.  When I took my friend Laura on her first backpacking trip, it was ANYTHING but pleasant….

I used my Backpacking Pennsylvania book to pick out an easy trail – I decided on the Pinchot Trail in Lackawana State Forest.  In the book it was listed as a 24 mile loop hike that is typically done in 2 days.  The loop also has a section of trail that goes through the middle in case you need/want to cut your trip short.

We set out in September of 2010 with my trusty side kick at the time Kira.  Kira was an adorable dog I adopted from the pound in 2001, she had a few emotional issues as she was abused before I got her, but as long as you played by her rules, she was perfectly fine – more about this later.

signing the trail register

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