Mint Chocolate Chick

Hello Tuesday! Monday was a much needed recovery day after a long weekend of extreme sports, good food, and good company.

My first time white water rafting was such a success!

We only purchased one picture (for a standard price of one leg $20) because shortly after this glamour shot our raft spun out and the rest of the photos are of flailing backs.

Highlight of this trip: After lunch we were given the option to dock our rafts and climb up a mini hill to jump (maybe 25 ft) back into the river. It was one of those moments where I was nervous but knew I would be kicking myself later if I let the opportunity go. Even on my climb up the hill I was still hesitating and thinking I could just climb back down. But the last stretch of climb was literally a steep monkey walk on two muddy wooden planks over a huge drop. That was it, I couldn’t imagine safely climbing back down that makeshift ladder, so I took the plunge-

Into some super cold river water and victory doggie paddled back to my raft. Exhilarating! So worth it!

On our way back home we had dinner at Cracker Barrel in Hagerstown, MD.

Lemon pepper rainbow trout, green beans, wedge fries, and spiced apples for dessert. Decaf coffee to warm me up.

Sunday we started at Eggspectations for fuel.

California scramble: Eggs, veggies, goat cheese, potatoes, and of course coffee.

After lunch we headed down to Great Falls, MD to the Billy Goats Trail. If I worked my upper body exclusively while rowing on Saturday, Sunday’s activities flipped the script and I mostly tortured worked on my lower body.

We set out to hike trail A, which is considered ‘strenuous.’ You know a hike is strenuous when you need all four limbs and your a$$ to get by.

The views were gorgeous, my hiking partners were very entertaining, and I got an accidental quad workout from hell. (It’s Tuesday and I still can’t sit without dropping into my seat.)

After the hike we were thirsty, tired, and hungry.

Famous Dave’s came to the rescue.

Barbecue chicken, corn bread, mac n cheese, and broccoli (unpictured because it was still steaming in the kitchen). Mmm…barbecue sauce…

This weekend seemed never ending and it still wasn’t over. After dinner we caught a late showing of Pixar’s Brave. It was surprisingly original and awesome. I had no prior knowledge about its plot and I could have never imagined the loop it threw us in the beginning. Even though it has a female protagonist my male company seemed to enjoy it a lot.

Focus for the rest of the week:

Eat at home and eat more veggies to balance out my restaurant heavy weekend.

Get outside and enjoy the 80 degree weather before it hits 100 again on Friday.

Let the good times continue to roll.

Tags: awesomeness, hiking, nature, outdoors, restaurants, water sports