Summer of Fun

So, after David and Liang's encouragement I am going to try once again to keep up with this blog. Buckle up! Earlier this year Sara and I decided that since we couldn't go away for a vacation that we would try to do several day trips instead. Then I thought it'd be nice to put up all the interesting things that we saw and did!

We kicked off the summer by first going to The Wilds. This is an animal conservation park in Cumberland, Ohio. They offer several safari's you can go on to view the parks animals. We decided the most worthy adventure for the kick-off for our summer would be to go on the horseback safari. Unfortunately, we had an hour to kill before our tour would leave. So, in true adventurer style we went up to the overlook and bought some wine and sipped on it while viewing the breathtaking view of the landscape.

When our tour finally left we had a grand time viewing the park and its animals from a distance. It was an interesting and we got to see all kinds of things.

We also tried something out of character for ourselves - we went spelunking! There are some great caverns in Hopwood, Pennsylvania called Laurel Caverns. There were some pretty impressive views from the mountain top.

There wasn't really any way to get pictures in the caves, but let me tell you - we were brave and went to the very bottom of the cave, even taking the hard routes! We got wet, sandy, chilly, and were completely blind and for the most part stuck in small holes while we wriggled our way through. But it was a blast and we got through it.

We did some hiking at different state parks. Some were more interesting than others, but all were great fun. We picnicked at West Branch State Park after some hiking at a different park and then enjoyed some kayaking on the lake. Unfortunately, they only had doubles kayaks and it is NOT the same as a single. We paddled for 30 minutes and made it about 100 yards from where we started. Turns out we needed to work together and have rhythm. We had neither. Oh well. We still enjoyed the kayaking and later tried out our luck on the Cuyahoga River. We had a lot better odds with this trip, mostly due to the little (but present) current in the river.

One particular trip we did that I enjoyed a great deal was our picnic at Stan Hywet before watching the Merchant of Venice play in the park. It was quite the experience to watch a Shakespeare play in true style. We picked up some sushi from Wasabi and went on our way to Stan Hywet and enjoyed some tasty wine and food before sitting through a wonderfully delivered play. We couldn't take pictures during the play of course, but it was a pretty awesome performance. Stan Hywet is a gorgeous place to go visit even if you just want to walk some pretty grounds - I definitely recommend it.

 Too soon I realized summer was over! Looking back it was a pretty wild and interesting ride that we enjoyed. The only downside was that while I was enjoying the summer months, David had to continue his clinical rotations so he couldn't join us on these trips. Maybe next year. :) Actually, Maine sounds pretty neat ...