manila moon

It seems that I have woken up earlier than necessary on this cloudy Sunday morning. What better time to write than at 8:00am? I've found that sometimes my written expression improves by leaps and bounds whenever I'm slightly foggy from sleep. This morning, I am the human embodiment of foggy!

So, I went camping with my father and two strapping brother-in-laws for a night in Jones Gap this weekend. Jones Gap is a beautiful little nook in the Blue Ridge Mountain system. Whether or not "system" is the correct term in this situation, it is no matter to me. 

Here are the highlights of the expedition:

• Upon our arrival and set-up of camp, the heavens opened up and released two hours of rain. Luckily, we came prepared. The four of us sat beneath our blue 8x10 tarp, cooking dinner, playing guitar and singing, and talkin' smack. 
• After the rain subsided, I took a mini-hike with Justin (one of the two aforementioned strapping fellows) in search of the fabled "Jones Gap Falls". We never made it to the falls. Instead, we found a bridge. I insisted on stripping down to my undies and taking a dip. I am certain that if I stayed in the water for any amount of time longer than the .95 seconds that I was submerged, my heart would have failed me. I put a poncho on over my wet, freezing, nearly naked body, and we trudged back to camp along the winding mountain trail.
• We had intriguing theological discussion round the campfire before bed, whilst munching on Pop-Tarts and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
• I awoke the next morning to discover my right eye swollen closed. It is still swollen, 24 hours later. I am convinced that a furry caterpillar had his way with me. 
• After packing up our campsite, it began to pour! However, the rain took a break after about an hour, giving us a perfect window of time to hike for a couple of hours. We made it to the falls, at long last, and spent some time hunting the river for creatures, to no avail.
• We ended our journey at Zaxby's.  I can't think of any better way to conclude an outdoor extravaganza.

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In other, not so interesting news, I turn twenty-one on Tuesday! What does this mean? Nothing especially different, besides the fact that I can now legally buy alcohol and legally consume it in bars with the rest of the trashy bar-going demographic in Nashville, TN (Nothing personal, to any honky-tonk bar goers that may be reading my blog......)

It seems that my stomach has woken up as well, and it longs to be appeased by Breakfast. So here is where I shall end my useless narrative. I'm going to make some peanut butter toast.