gBlog - How we see it …

We finally dd it! We rented a Harley and rode down to Shenandoah Valley last weekend I love the feeling of actually following through on my “talk”…

*Disclaimer: Although this was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime thrill, this does NOT make me a biker chick so don’t expect me to buy my own Harley and strut around campus in a beatdown leather jacket and boots. Thank you very much.

So- we went to Chantilly, Virginia, and rented a nice classic Harley…

… that I of course didn’t drive My bf has a motocycle license and knowledge of driving a shift (the knowledge that I sadly still don’t possess).

Needless to say, he was quite content after we hopped on and rode to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Valley. It’s such a gorgeous place and apparently really popular with other bikers too. We saw so many bikers in Front Royal when we stopped for lunch before entering Skyline Drive. I felt like such a rookie when we were riding past all the bikers in leather jackets while we were wearing simple jeans and t-shirt/tank top. Stupid of us to wear those, by the way. See below why it’s quite essential to ride a bike in protective clothing (like, say… leather?):

Oooo-weeee. It’s quite a thrill but my hands also got a workout from firmly gripping onto my bf’s belt for dear life. After we entered Skyline Drive, I just didn’t want to stop. I’ve been so eager to get out of DC and go camping for quite some time. By car or bike, Shenandoah is beautiful and it gives you the thrill that you never want to end. When my bf pulled over to one of the many overlooks (I kept referring it to “outlook” until he exasperately told me it’s “OVERlook”), it was nice though. After a few minutes, I was ready to hop back on

Here’s evidence of the thrill- this is just a few of the MANY pictures I took while riding:

We pulled over to the first campground within the Skyline Drive area- Mathew Arms Campground. I wouldn’t say it’s the best if you want a primitive camping experience- the bathrooms have paper towels and soap dispensers… and that’s unheard of for primitive camping! Also, we tried to find the most “woodsy” campsite- many of the other sites were so close to each other and to the road, without really being in the woods. The site we got ended up having rocks all over the ground where we slept… the price we paid for “woodsy” camping. I was happy to stay near the campfire (allowing my bf to tend to the fire- the fire did NOT like me that night. I couldn’t keep it going!) and reading while my bf went on his daily run and later chatting by fire that night after making our hobo-pie pizza dinners. Mmmmm.

Some friends can’t understand why I like camping so much. I don’t do it enough so I wonder if I did it more often, would I get sick of it? I doubt it. That’s one of the topics we discussed by fire: why people often feel “healed” when they venture into nature and get past their discomfort of being away from our society’s constant stimulation. I feel humans have an innate connection with nature as much as animals do- our society just represses that with our addiction to technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some study out there that says humans with depression feel better after being in nature for a period of time.

After waking up complaining because we stupidly didn’t bring a sleeping pad to protect us from the rocky floor, we packed up and after eating a diner breakfast in Front Royal, returned to the Chantilly rental place. Back in the safe dome of our van, we decided to stop by Great Falls in Maryland for a final dose of nature before returning to Gallaudet. My bf wanted to kayak and I didn’t bring one for myself, so I decided to swim and scamper like a monkey on the rocks. It resulted in a mean scratch on my arm from a slip down a small cliff- but hey, even that was fun! I’m  crazy.

This weekend, I’m going “home” in Michigan. It’s weird to call my parents’ home my “home” after living in DC for 5 years. I’ll be helping out with the Miss Deaf Michigan and Teen Miss Deaf Michigan pageants all next week and then spending time with family in Michigan and West Virginia. Thennnn it’ll be back to DC in the middle of August to cut short my summer vacation and begin school again. I feel like my summer began last weekend *sigh* It’ll be good to see my Michigan friends next week and to see my precious dog at home

And of course, pics will be coming your way!