The Birthday Hike

For my birthday, all I wanted to do was get out of the city for a while and go for a hike in one of the local state parks. That was five weekends ago. Unfortunately, the weather has not been on our side: first it was 90 degrees (no thank you), then rain, then more rain, then even more rain. We did get beautiful weather on Mother's Day weekend, but my father-in-law was in town for a visit, so that weekend was also a no-go.

Yesterday was a perfect 75 degrees--and the perfect day for a hike. We drove about an hour away to French Creek State Park, where there are not only 35 miles of hiking trails, but also two beautiful lakes. Dan and I are novice hikers, but we did trek six miles on some pretty steep trails, climbing up to 950 feet.

For the occasion, I decided to pull out the old dew rag (which I don't think has seen any real action since college).

Dan being silly by the lake

taking a break for a photo opp

cutie pie Dan

It was so beautifully green!

the obligatory self-portrait

It was such a lovely morning/early afternoon, and I'm so happy that we finally had a chance to go! I'm hoping that we'll make it out for more of these hikes more often (though, next time, I'd prefer to leave without a tick attached to my leg, thank you very much).