Hawk Mountain

On Saturday, Scott and I announced to the kids that we were going hiking. Groans ensued. Grumpiness abounded. Whines surrounded me. Too bad, it was my birthday weekend, and I was picking the afternoon's activity. Off we went.

We packed into the car around noon and traveled north to a spot just east of Allentown, Hawk Mountain. Scott and I were there once before, and we knew the kids would love it. Love it they did. Within 10 minutes of being on the trails, Alex was exclaiming he could not believe he didn't want to come. Tyler reassured us that we could return any time. I was ecstatic. We hiked to both the South and North Lookouts, and along the way the boys were enthralled with the varieties of mushrooms and insects they found. At the lookouts, I was pleased to spot a kestrel and lots of turkey vultures. Sharing memories of my days working at environmental education centers handling owls, hawks and eagles was fun. The impatience of little boys precluded me from seeing too many raptors, but three hours in the woods on the mountain after living in a desert for almost a year, was spectacular.

Kids on the lookout.


The view.


The trail.


Mushrooms everywhere! Green ones...



Black ones...


Tan ones...


Orange ones...


Brown ones...


Red ones...


Purple ones?!? My favorite color in a mushroom! Who knew mushrooms could be purple?


Mushroom eating fruit flies? Maybe they should be fungus flies...


Alex's find of the day, a walking stick bug. Very cool!

We are all looking forward to returning to Hawk Mountain during the Fall to witness the peak of the raptor migration and the changing leaves. If you are in the vicinity, we highly recommend it!

38... No Way!

In two hours, I was supposed to be on a flight back to Dubai. I should be at the airport, right now, but I'm not. Plans have changed. I'm grateful for the experience I had abroad and for the friends I made. I am disappointed not to be working at ASD one more year. I'm feeling a little lost, but I know I'll find my way. Friends and family have been more than generous and wonderfully supportive. Being welcomed home again feels great.


Yesterday was my birthday, and I turned 38. In the words of my friend David... "38, no way!" I don't feel 38, but somehow I am. To celebrate, I did what makes me happiest. I went for a really long run. I ran with my best friend of 25 years, Monika. By 7:30am we were in the parking lot, gearing up, and by 8am we were off. Our run lasted about an hour and fifty minutes and wound along the river in the shade of the trees. We spent almost 11 glorious miles on the trails of Valley Forge. By the time we wrapped up, I couldn't stop smiling. It really was the perfect way for me to spend the morning.

The rest of the day was just as lovely. Mon and I cleaned up, then grabbed breakfast at a great little spot near her house. When I got home, I took Tyler to the pool for a few hours and basked in the sun of a nearly perfect August day. At 5pm, my parents showed up to watch the kids while Scott and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. While we were at dinner, I managed to extract information about my birthday present from Scott. He attempted to purchase something the night before my birthday to no avail. At the restaurant, I was raving about Monika's Garmin Forerunner 305, a GPS training device for running. Much to my surprise, I discovered that my Garmin will be arriving this week. I'll be strapping it to my wrist just in time to train for the two half marathons I'll be running this fall, the ING Philadelphia Distance Run and the Philadelphia Half Marathon. For dessert, my parents provided the obligatory ice cream cake, from Freddy Hill, no less. All in all, I can say that 38 feels just fine.