Being Noticed

I think that most New Yorkers haven't heard of Roanoke if I had to guess.  Most of my friends and family are familiar with NoVA and the I-95 corridor and not interior, mountainous SW VA.  So, it was a happy surprise to find that The New York Times wrote about our town in today's issue.  Here's the link if you are curious: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/us/in-virginia-developer-is-on-a-mission-to-revive-his-town.html?ref=us

Why Do I Have To Work?

I had last week off from work and it's soooooooooooooooooo hard to get back into the grind after having that many days off in a row, don't you think?!  I'd much rather be doing something like:

• reading a book or magazine on a comfy recliner - preferably on a deck or by a pool
• being outside on a nice day instead of in front of a computer
• shopping and having a nice lunch with buddies

Well, I guess that's why I work.  So, I can enjoy the vacations when they come.  I need another one...

It's Better Than Riding A Camel

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to ride a horse.  My grade school friend, Loren, and I used to pretend to ride horses, unicorns, and pegasus (pegasi for plural?) during recess.  Our Catholic school playground was really just a concrete church parking lot but that didn't stop us from galloping all around the place at breakneck speed.  We used to read every book we could find in our library about horses and memorize all their different body parts, from the hoof up.

I never got a chance to ride a horse or a pony as a kid but I did "ride" a camel and an elephant at the Bronx Zoo during an elementary school class trip.  Basically, that involved the zoo employees jamming 4 tiny kids on top of a very smelly and miserable camel/elephant for a couple of turns around a poop-filled sandy lot.  Since I was so short, I remember getting to sit in front but it was hard to breathe since my abdomen was pressed up against a metal bar.  It was a neat and memorable experience but not very romantic or comfy.  Plus, I really just wanted to ride a horse.

Thanks to the Best Boyfriend Ever (a.k.a. BBFE), I got to ride a horse FOR REAL yesterday.  Talk about a big day for me!  BBFE, his step-dad, and I went to Carvin's Cove and rode for 6 miles on a gorgeous, woody trail.  The weather was perfect and I had the best time.  I was worried before the ride that I'd be intimidated by the horse's height or anxious about falling off or doing something wrong.  But no worry or anxiety surfaced after I got up on the saddle.  It was just pure happiness at finally getting to enjoy something I had wanted to do for so long.

Yes, my butt and thighs are sore from riding for two hours but that's not a big deal because I had so much fun.  I think the awesome horse I was traveling with had a good time too.  Whenever we'd stop he'd snack and fart.  Plus, he got some apples out of the deal.  Lucky for me he's the most calm, relaxed horse alive so he made the experience easy for me.  They call him a Wonder Horse.  He is ~ and he's a lot more fun to hang out with than a camel or an elephant.  :-)

You can tell I'm super happy.

The Search for Boots

Apparently, it is next to impossible to find comfortable hiking boots.  I've been to four different shoe stores and they have had 8 million styles for men and either one or two for women.  That's it.  Ummm, crazy...  Does that mean women don't do outdoorsy things?!  This is super frustrating.  Ugh!

Disclaimer: I'm not much of an outdoorsy person but I'm attempting to try new things since SW VA is known for its numerous places to go hiking, pretty views of the mountains, and walking trails.  Wish me luck!

Rainbow Connection

Rainbow on my way into work

I used to see rainbows a lot as a kid on Long Island but I hardly saw them as an adult when I was living there.  I wonder if that is due to air pollution or just bad timing on my part.  Since moving back to VA I see them on a regular basis.  Just makes you think you're going to have a good day when you glimpse one in the car on your way somewhere, don't you think?!

The other thing I used to see a lot as a child on Long Island that seemed to disappear were tiny frogs after a rainstorm.  That definitely has to be due to pollution.  Luckily, they thrive down here along with turtles.  I happened to run over a turtle in the road today by accident.  Whoops!  :-/

My Parents Miss the Beach

My parents moved away from NY about a year after I did and I really didn't realize how much they missed the ocean until today.  They told me how they saw a segment on beaches this AM on 'CBS Sunday Morning' and how they wished they were younger so that they could take a trip back to the beaches they were familiar with growing up.  They both really miss the ocean.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that 'longing to see the ocean feeling' since it's hard to spend the summer away from the beach when I had the opportunity to go for years and now a decent beach is seven hours away.

My favorite Long Island beach of all was Robert Moses State Park's field # 5 beach.  The South Shore beaches have much finer sand and hardly any shells/rocks to contend with.  Plus, you gotta love the roar of the Atlantic Ocean.  Here's a view from a hot and hazy morning a couple of years ago.

North Shore beaches are rocky and difficult to walk on.  There aren't any impressive waves since the beaches face either the placid Long Island Sound or an inlet of some sort.  On super hot days when there isn't a breeze around you feel like you are in an oven.  But - they do have something the South Shore beaches don't: extra character.  The cliffs and boulders and wildlife on the North Shore are pretty impressive and the pictures you get are a heck of a lot more interesting.  If you can stand the heat and the pebbles in order to get them.  ;-)

So pretty!  North Shore of Suffolk Cty

Waiting and waiting and ...

Hey!  So, once a month the local Parks & Rec folks host a night out on the Blue Ridge Parkway where you can view outer space through a powerful telescope and learn about what you are looking at from an expert.  I've been so pysched to try this that I've registered for the past two months!  Unfortunately, my outer space adventures have been foiled by cloud cover both times.  So, I'll just have to try again next month.  Until then, I'll just have to stare at this picture from the National Geographic website:

What I ended up doing last night instead of the star gazing was going to see Smith Mountain Lake (finally).  I've lived here two years and never traveled to check it out.  Pretty neat!  The area I saw, near Hales Ford Road/Bridge, was a lot more built up than I expected.  I bet it would be nice to sit out on a back deck of a home right on the water and gaze out over it.  Although, I think it might be a bit too crowded for my taste in the summertime...  At least that's what I hear.  :-)

From http://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com/index.php?option=com_igallery&view=igcategory&id=1&Itemid=117