Reunited

A parting shot before heading home...

We had a lovely mini break in The Hocking Hills over the weekend. All of our Duke Poli Sci buddies (well, not ALL, but a good chunk) gathered for our annual reunion weekend. (I say OUR like I'm part of the department - I wasn't, but they are all good friends of mine in addition to being from my husband's grad program) It was great to relive some of our Duke glory days together - if only for a brief time. I miss them all over again already.

Our awesome cabin for the weekend...

Family dinner...

On a hike at Old Man's Cave

The Hocking Hills

WOW.

I could actually end the blog post there. WOW really sums it up. The Hocking Hills of Ohio are positively absolutely gorgeous. I don't have access to my photos right now, but I will be sure to post some too. Overall just beautiful country.

Hubby and I made it out to our little cabin around 8pm on Friday. We headed into Logan to grab some dinner. As Logan seems to have a lack of vegetarian dining options, but tons of pizza joints - we opted for evidently what the locals love to eat...pizza. To carry on a Durham tradition, we hit Little Sleazers (aka "Little Caesars") and got one pepperoni, one cheese and some breadsticks. Yummo.

We headed back to the cabin, ate some pizza, drank some beers, and watched a movie (a continuation of Mike's current David Mamet kick). We zonked out and slept in. Saturday we went hiking in the Hocking Hills State Park. BEAUTIFUL. We took the Old Man Cave route down to the lower falls and ended up hiking three miles out to Cedar Falls. A wonderful and low stress hike.

Once we enjoyed snapping some photos of Cedar Falls and ingesting a cliff bar, we headed back. The skies opened up for a nice summer rain, and it felt and looked spectacular. By the time we made it back to the visitor's center, we had cleared about 6 miles. A nice hike. back to the cabin for a quick snooze, then it was drinkin time. A bottle of wine, some beers, some grillin, some cards, some hot tub. Just a great day and evening.

Sunday we enjoyed the awesomeness that is Hocking Hills Canopy Tours. Really fantastic. Evan and Luke were our guides, and they did a great job of making everyone feel comfortable and safe. The entire experience lasted about 2.5 hours and was well worth the cost and the time. I was actually really sad when the whole thing was over. I look forward to trying it again at a different time of the year - either the fall or early spring.

Because I loved the area so much, I think I am going to close up this summer's racing season with something other than a triathlon. The Hocking Hills Indian Run takes place on September 18. You can choose to do the 5K, 10K, 20K, 40K or 60K trail run. As I have never done a trail run, I think I will do a manageable distance - 10K to start with. You get to start whenever you want between 9 and 11am. They bus you out to the start, then you GO! I think it will be a beautiful and fun way to see new parts of the area in what should be a beautiful time of the year.

So, that's it folks - a great anniversary weekend and the discovery of an absolutely beautiful place. That means I am back on the training wagon, too - the Emerald Half of a Half and the Hocking Hills 10K. Time to strap on my running shoes :-)

I'll keep you posted - and will post pics soon!!!!

Florida 2009

Some highlights from our recent Florida trip - happy 60th birthday, MOM!

What should I do?

I leave for Chicago on Thursday morning with Mike. He is participating in the annual APSA meeting, and I am tagging along for vacation. This is not my first trip to Chicago, but it is one of the first times I will pretty much be in control of my schedule for the days I will be there (note that the evenings are pretty much all scheduled). While Mike is in session and being the great political scientist he is, what should I do? Give me your suggestions! Tours? Museums? Shopping? Any other cool places? Help me plan an itinerary!!

Trip details: We arrive in Chicago about 1:30 Thursday afternoon and depart on Sunday around 4pm.

Back from Vacation, Part II: Sunrise Pancake House

Mike knows I love pancakes - I will often crave them. And when I do, do not get in my way. Therefore, while tooling around the coastal area, we saw Sunrise Pancake House in Calabash, NC. Mike quickly suggested we go to breakfast there the next morning. Woo hoo!

And that we did - we went on Saturday morning about 10:00am, and the place was packed. We were seated very quickly though by a woman who was probably about 80+ years old - and so friendly! The menu was fantastic. We were there for breakfast, but the menu included great lunch items as well.

Mike settled on a country omelet, and I had the mushroom and cheese omelet. He had grits - I had homefries. Then, we split a pecan pancake that was oh so amazingly good. The pancake was the size of a whole plate itself. Filled with NC pecans and a bit of cinnamon, it was perfect. We were so full from all our food, we both didn't get close to finishing our meals.

For great service, great home-cookin', and a dining experience that you will cherish, when you are in Calabash, NC - go to Sunrise Pancake House!!!

Back from Vacation - Part I: Sea Trail

UPDATE: I mailed a letter to the resort on July 23 - when I came into work this morning, there was a message on my office phone from the property manager of Sea Trail - they got the letter! She is out of the office today, but I will leave here a message and probably talk to her next week.

ORIGINAL POST:
Today is DAY ONE back at work after a very brief vacation - Mike and I, as stated before, headed off to Sunset Beach, NC for a long weekend. We went out there on Friday and came back Sunday evening. I had a great time because I was with Mike, but I will rant on about some of the reasons it could have been better now - more of the "fun" stuff later (I need to get all my pics uploaded!).


The main disappointment was the Sea Trail Resort. Okay, so, it is primarily a golf resort, but the experience was lacking in one big area - customer service. First, we had problems checking in. We were told twice that our room wasn't ready, which is a big pain. Next, all the info we were given about the resort was a map at check in when the lady said, "Here is where you are now - here is where you need to go." Thanks. Evidently there were a couple of restaurants on site, but they weren't even mentioned to us. We were also not informed of a shuttle service which would take you to the beach or around the resort. There was no book of information in the room, so we couldn't even read about it later. The only reason I even know these services exist is because I saw one of the restaurants and heard someone talking about it at the pool, and I overheard another desk lady taking a shuttle reservation from a guest at the front desk.

We paid $107 a night for the room - which, yes, is pretty cheap, but it was merely a ROOM. Really tiny, only one pillow per person on the bed, and I think the cleaning people were using mildewy water to mop the floor in the very small bathroom. This place also operates on a time share system as well, and I can't even imagine someone owning one of these rooms.

The pool area was nice (but the water was a bit gunky). The proximity to the beach was only a few minutes, so that was rather handy. But, I think next time if we head out that way, we will look for something else. I don't really recommend Sea Trail unless you are a wealthy golfer - then, I expect you will get a very different level of customer service.

Next, the high points of the trip ......