Sister #7093

When you look at the number 7093 in terms of joining an organization, your first thought is "wow, that's a lot of people, I will get lost in the fray . . ."

WRONG!

After wishing, dreaming and drooling from afar at the adventurous souls that have joined the ranks of "Sister's on the Fly" . . I lept . . with both feet and eyes open into membership.

For a mere $60 a year, I gained entrance to a girl's only club.  A "sisterhood" in the true sense of the word.  “Offering empowerment and sisterhood through exceptional outdoor adventures.”    Created by women, for women, and for the adventurous wanderer.  Their rules are simple.  "No Men, No Kids, Be Nice, Have Fun!" 

Their motto is "We have more fun than anyone" . . . (I thought that was MY motto . . how marvelous to learn that sentiment is shared by MANY!)

When I joined, paid my $60, I was sent an email that said my local state "sister" would be contacting me.  And yesterday, she did!  I received a request for friendship on my FaceBook page wanting to add me to the private SOTF (see how I'm catching on already?) pages.

I immediately posted "Helloooo new Sisters!" . . and the even more IMMEDIATE response of about 40+ ladies just bowled me over ... many with ties to my hometown, and one included an open invite to her ranch.  (I think I'm going to like these gals . . . )

I don't have a camper (yet).
I just learned how to fly fish (I'm pretty sure I'm still in the "hazardous" stage)

But, the fun part is?  NONE of that matters.  I find that as I age, I become even MORE adventurous and fear less. What a wonderful gift that is. 

So nothing ventured, nothing gained . . . Sistahs!  HERE I COME!

http://www.sistersonthefly.com/home/sisters-on-the-fly

Gettin' Plum Jammy!

This is rapidly turning into a food blog . . I need to travel more.  But even then, I'm rating eateries LOL


My friend, Sherry Elias posted on FaceBook that she had a tree full of plums . . . come get some!  So, I loaded up a box and the dog and headed out for a plum picking adventure.

It doesn't take long to pick a box of plums (this is a paper ream box . . so it was a pretty good haul).  We did not even make a DENT in the amount of plums on her tree.

I drove home with visions of plum jam in my future all winter long.  I dumped them in the sink and started sorting.  Throwing away anything that was green and hard and anything that was mushy which was surprisingly few. Of course, my lips were purple from taste testing!

Now, I'm a lazy jam maker.  I could have spent the time cutting these little babies in half and removing the stones . . . but I was blessed with a mom who canned EVERYTHING and believed in not working any harder than you have to.  So, as I've seen my mother do . . . I just tossed them in a pot, with a handful of sugar to get the action started, mashing them with a potato masher until they were cooked down.  I had to cook several batches to get them all.  (smelled soooo good)

After cooling, I strained the mix through a wire strainer . . squeezing all the pulp off the stones.  This left me with a thick slurry of juice and plum pulp.  Since I brilliantly pick so many . . I had no one pot to cook them down in.  Necessity being the mother of invention . . . I hauled out the roaster pot!  What a perfect solution!   At the ratio of 1 cup of slurry to about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar, I let it bubble slowly over the course of the day until thickened.  Because I did not use proper jam/jelly ratios of fruit to sugar (usually 1 to 1 . . I didn't want as much sugar in mine) . . it will not "set" or "jell" properly.  This can be fixed by dissolving approximately 1 Tablespoon of unflavored Gelatin per pint of fruit.  It will NOT set when room temp . . but when each jar is refrigerated, the texture is PERFECT for spreading . . mmmmm MMMMMM

All that was left now was to ladle into warm jars and water bath can at 7 minutes per batch.  Oh how I love the sound of "plinking" jar tops as they seal.  It is a sound reminiscent of my childhood.  The satisfying sound of all those cans sealing one by one.

As a kid, I HATED having to can produce.  My parents were organic and self sufficient before it was a fad to do so.  As and adult . . . I am very thankful that I learned how to cook and can and grow a garden.  Thank you Mom & Dad! 

One box of plums made 19 pints of jam!  Jim is busy calculating just how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that will make over the winter LOL.   We are already down TWO jars (oink) and I've already made arrangements for trading one on one for jars of peach jelly.

Never worry about canning too much of one item . . . the horse trading value is PRICELESS. 

Happy Jamming!

When life gives you lemons . . .

So . . . you have a pile of lemons, some great fresh organic eggs, butter . . . what do you do?

I know!  Fresh Lemon Curd!

Silky, creamy, sweet but tart.  Perfect on bread, scones, English muffins, shortbread  . . . spoons LOL

Easier to make than it sounds . . you don't need the double boiler method or need to use just the yolks. I use entire eggs and make it my Welsh granny's way . . . mmmmmm GOOD.


Fresh Lemon Curd

1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 5 large Meyer lemons)
1 cup of sugar
6 eggs
12 T of Butter (I used salted)
Zest of the the lemons you squeezed.


Curd is normally made over a double boiler using only the yolks, this is because the whites cook a different temp often leaving white lumps . . doesn't affect the taste but certainly doesn't look pretty.

My grandmother had another trick!  She was always the practical one, wasting nothing by using whole eggs.  The trick is in the prep.

Start by creaming the butter and sugar much like you would for a cake.  When it's light and fluffy, add the eggs one by one . . then the zest.  Continue beating and slowly add the lemon juice.  This mixture will appear curdled . . NO WORRIES. This is fix itself when you cook it.

Place mixture in a heavy bottomed saucepan on med to med/low heat.  Stir continuously until thick like a pudding.  Remove from heat and cool in the pan . . stirring every few minutes until completely cool.  Pour into jars when it's cool (if it makes it that far), refrigerate and enjoy.


My only problem today?  I have no bread, muffins, scones . . . BUT, I do have a spoon!  YUMMMMY!

The fruits of labor!

Wow!  It's bad almost a year since I posted on my blog . . . bad Grace :-(   
it's that damn FaceBook, it's so easy to upload photos to and a blog is harder work.

Soooo . . . my New's Year's resolution is to pay MORE and BETTER attention to my blog.  I may skip back in time with adventures I haven't posted here . . I have  LOT of fun stuff to put on here.



TODAY

I was craving soup!  Not just any soup . . . but creamy tomato.  Then I remembered that earlier this summer, a great group of ladies gathered at my house for team tomato canning lessons.  We all chipped in on the cost of the tomatos (organically local grown!! BONUS).  Everyone brought quart jars and we split the wares when we were done.

Creamy tomato soup is probably the easiest soup out there  I started with a quart jar of stewed tomatoes, Used my immersion blender to reduce them to the creaminess I desired (I like mine just a TINY bit chunky).  I added a chunk of frozen pesto (made it myself . . see this post here for instructions on making your own pesto

Click here for homemade Pesto instructions!

I put half back in the jar for later . . . to the remainder in the pan, added a bit of Lawry's garlic salt and some garlic powder (love me some garlic!) . . . about 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream and VIOLA!    A pinch of fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggano cheese (mmmmm) and some cracked black pepper.

HEAVENLY!!

Pair it with some toasted French bread . . a glass of red wine.  

What else could you wish for on a winter day?

Men . . . nuff said

It's snowing outside . . so, we are house bound . . what to do . . what to do?

I know, my husband says . . "Let's clean out the attic!"  (not what I had in mind . . truly). but it's a great day to post things on the sale and trade sites, there's a great captive and bored audience out there right now!  He goes upstaris . . digs around like a squirel having a seizure and hauls down this old clock, and says . . "do we really need this anymore?"  "we haven't used it in YEARS"  So, in the box it goes for sale.

Of all the shit up there . . that's the ONE thing he chooses . . sigh

Ok, let me take a pic (off I run to find my iPhone, because it's easier and they take damn good pics) . . I'm not paying attention to him (which is probably half the problem LOL)

"Hold it up" I say!

THIS is what I see

Men . . LOL

So I have this GREAT burlwood clock for sale . . . Runs on one AA battery

$40

Call me

(Vanna not included in sale)

Oh Facebook! My daily dose of entertainment!

I love Facebook for a lot of reasons.

I love staying connected with friends, I get up to date news flashes of what happens around town. I follow inspirational pages . . it's just so many things!

I'm sure everyone out there by now has experienced in influx of "For Sale and Trade" pages.  I love them . . . I've sold a crap load of stuff on them (unfortunately, I've bought a crap load too!)

Every once in a while . . a train wreck happens.  You know, those posts that the comments just keep flying in and it looks like it will come to blows?  I rarely post on those, but they are GREAT to watch (admit it . . you do too)

Occasionally . . I am the accidental train conductor  LOL!

Like this . . (I blurred all name except mine to protect the guilty) . . . I've laughed about this all night and all this morning.  The sad thing is, the original poster of the cookies was banned from the site for posting "obscene photos" . . tis a shame . . because I really was going to purchase a dozen to take to my next Tuesday coffee with the girls . . . huge sigh

What was especially hilarious to me (and the several people that private messaged me) was the lady that called me a sicko and pervert . . went on to suggest we all need to get laid!  LOL

Life's about the little things ...

Yesterday, when we went to the city to visit our youngest for the day. We were strolling down a sidewalk and met a couple and their two children coming the opposite direction . . . just as we were about the pass them . . the little boy (about 3), gasps loudly, throws out his arms to stop everyone and looks down.

Walking across the sidewalk was a ladybug.

What a shame that we forget as we grow to take delight in the smallest of things. It made me smile for the rest of the day.

So, as your start your week . . filled with work, family and life in general.

Don't forget to see the ladybugs!

I smell like an Italian restaurant . . .

I planted ONE basil plant in my garden this year, and despite the Oklahoma drought, I was rewarded with a HUGE basil shrub!  So, with nothing better to do today, I set out to make Pesto.

The house smells AMAZING!  I now have a quart of fresh pesto in freezer waiting for wintertime food adventures (if it makes it that long)

Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself. Very easy, VERY rewarding!

It starts with simple ingredients, fresh basil leaves, fresh garlic cloves, toasted pine nuts, freshly grated Pecorino (or a mix of pecorino, parmesan and romano)  and a good olive oil.

Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted in a dry pan)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I use the garlic infused from Whole Foods bulk isle)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese (I like using the 3 cheese blend from Whole Foods (pecorino, parmesan and romano)
Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt, to taste

Wash fresh plucked leaves and spin in a salad spinner. 

I stuff my bullet blender with 2 cups of leaves, the fresh garlic, the pine nuts, the cheese and olive oil. You could also use a food processor, but I think a regular blender would yield a "chunkier" pesto.

I spin it all until I get a nice smooth paste. The finished pesto is smooth, green and oh so good!

I finished it by stirring in the sea salt and pepper to taste and then pack it all into one container for the freezer! I like one container, easy to chip out what you need with a fork . . . or you could freeze in ice cube trays for a more controlled serving. I don't like the cubes myself . . they freezer burn too easy.

Enjoy!   I am now thinking of what I can do with the rest of the herb garden . . hmmmmmm!

I adore random wrong numbers and telemarketers . . . it is an open invitation for serious FUN

I am minding my own business this morning, drinking a cup of coffee, catching up on the Olympics and I get a text on my cell phone from (I googled it) some New York cell phone number.

So, I thought I would play along . . hey . . I had nothing better to do.

Here's how the conversation went . . . (I'm in the blue . . )

I thought they wanted to play . . .  making sad face now  :(

The great circle of life and friendship . . .

(grab a cold one, settle in a comfy chair . . this is liable to be a LONG one folks)

"Friends"

Have you ever given much thought about WHERE you have gathered those close to you? As to exactly when and where you and a certain person became "friends" in the first place?

I have given that much thought recently . . in the matter of a mere week, I tearfully held the hand of one friend and said goodbye as he lost his battle with cancer and joyfully hugged another hello . . . all the space of 7 days. Life is SO amazing.

Be it Divine intervention, Fate, Karma . . . whatever you want to call it . . I consider it to be both amazing and humbling.

Let me tell you several stories, that eventually weave themselves into one.

Both, in part begin with Facebook and Farmville . . yep, Farmville . . that annoying game that clutters up your Facebook feed with requests from virtual "friends" for things like cows, trees and imaginary bones for imaginary dogs.

I began playing Farmville several years ago. Something I SWORE I wouldn't do . . but it sucks in you slowly . . an addiction worse than crack I swear. First it starts off with completing a few simple tasks then to get any further in the game you must have "friends" . . when you run out of real friends . . the flesh and blood ones you already know and can talk into it . . you eventually start asking complete strangers to be your "friends" so you can get more stuff, to grow bigger crops and a bigger farm.

These people must first be Facebook friends . . . and that is truly where the interesting thing happens. Your learn a LOT about people from Facebook . . it is impossible to not show your soul somewhere along the line (at least for me LOL) . . . you post pics of your kids, your family, your home, your life and over the course of time . . the virtual friends begin to feel like friends you have known your entire life . . not all of them . . but MANY do. I think it is simple human nature to reach out to others in time of great joy and great need.

I have a LOT of Facebook friends, many I know in person . . and many, many more that were gathered along the virtual path that I have never met face to face . . but feel I would defend with my life if it came down to it. Some are here in Bristow . . ones that I have never met but believe me, am planning to now!

Today . . I got to meet one, in the flesh in person . . . and it was like hugging someone I have known forever. Isn't life grand?

I got my best friend Kitty shamelessly hooked on Farmville (addictions are better shared you know) and somewhere along the way we ended up with a lot of the same "virtual" friends . . the ones you can count on to send you a cow when you really needed it or to feed your pigs or play with your virtual dog.

There are several people we both immediately bonded with . . those people that you meet on the road in life and stop with amazement and say . . "Hey, I know you . . you're like me"

Eventually, you start chatting on Facebook with these new friends . . you comment on their kids, their likes their dislikes . . you somehow become invested in their lives and you share in their joy and their pain and reach out virtually to comfort when the need arises. We both became equally attached to a wonderful person named Michelle Wheatcraft . . . about our age, same likes, dislikes, quirky sense of humor and adventure and often talked about just getting in the damn car, driving to Pennsylvania and knocking on her door LOL . . we're known to do shit like that.

So . . . in the course of many conversations over several YEARS, I discovered that Michelle had relatives in Oklahoma.

So here is where the story comes full circle . . . last week I held the hand of a very good friend while he lost his battle to cancer . . . Ronald Schmidt, a.k.a. local DJ, Dusty Edwards. We bonded 18 years ago when I first moved to Oklahoma with a common background in the County Music industry. I promised him I would be with him to the end . . and I was. We spent countless hours driving to and from various doctor appointments in deep conversation about all types of subjects . . life, love, friendship and including of all things. . . Farmville . . he was my Farmville neighbor too . . I was telling him about a lady I met on Facebook and with Farmville and was telling him about her brother who along with his partner, own a bar in Tulsa (this is where Fate intervenes I believe . . ) and low and behold, he actually knew her brother and had DJ'd parties at his bar. When I told him that his sister was flying to Tulsa for her brother's 50th birthday . . Dusty was SO excited for me, and was looking forward visiting their bar again, with me in tow LOL (said I would need a body guard and he was it . . period) I'm sorry to say we didn't have the chance to do just that. Dusty lost his battle last week. I got to hold his hand, I stayed to the end . . that is what friends do.

And today . . I got to come full circle and hug a new friend hello! Life is funny that way. I think sometimes you just have to be open to the possibilities and see what is already in front of you. Through Dusty, I have bonded with several people in town that were mere acquaintances . . that I now consider to be dear friends. Through Farmville, I have turned virtual friends into REAL ones . . . and somehow managed to find ONE that we both had something in common with. How many kinds of wonderful is that.

Michelle and I spoke on the phone for the first time several days ago and made plans to meet in person when she was in Tulsa. . and she said something in the course of the conversation that terrified me for DAYS. She said "I hope you are in fun in person as you are online" . . and I thought "Oh God . . what if . . " What if we meet and we don't like each other? What if we sit there and have NOTHING in common after all and NOTHING to talk about? OMG . . I called Kitty . . and was almost in tears (she is my voice of reason, and I hers) . . she assured me everything would be JUST fine and by they way . . she hated me because she couldn't meet her too.

We agreed to meet at a local Irish pub, a favorite haunt of mine . . filled with memorable comfort food from my childhood (since I hail from an Irish from the insides out family LOL) . . it was a "safe" place for me . . and a lovely place to make new friends!

From the moment she walked in and we placed a bear hug on each other . . it was non-stop conversation . . . I am in LOVE. She IS like me . . and I am like her and this is what makes this great world go round!! Three hours flew by, accompanied by great food and pints of Guinness . . life is GOOD. To quote something I once heard . . ."time seemed to grow wings and fly".

I brought her a necklace . . a full circle fashioned from the Claddagh . . where two hands make a complete circle and symbolizes love and friendship. (I was going to buy her a cow . . for the Farmville thing . . but a Claddagh just seemed more "right")

We have made plans to meet again hopefully in May . . to take a two week road trip from Pennsylvania to New Orleans . . not making any plans to do anything special other than let the road be our guide (a dream of hers) . . and we're bringing Kitty too, since she couldn't be here today . . she's NOT getting out of the next meeting. . . then I will drag her ass up and down the Appalachian trail for a week of hiking and camping on the trail (a dream of mine).

So here's to old friends I will truly miss . . new ones I have met . . and ones I have yet to meet (so . . . watch out Scott LaCombe . . Kitty, Michelle and I know where you live . . thanks to Facebook . . you never know who might come knocking on your door! . . and we ARE planning on it).

Eeek . . .but it's "Healthy Food"

My girlfriend Kitty and I were just discussing this issue yesterday . . . about nutrition labels and portions and how food companies try to trick us (and succeed).

This is a product that I have bought many, many times . . although not in the last year or two.

I picked up a bag the other day . . . without looking at the label first . . a NO NO in my book these days, but I was in a hurry . . and you know how that goes.

You sprinkle this tasty mix on your salads that contains fruit and nuts to make them tasty and more interesting . . healthy right? wrong, wrong, WRONG!!

THIS why we read labels . . and THIS is why you need a food scale! It's really easy to look at this and say "oh, it has fruit and nuts and is ONLY 30 calories" (this is where they get you by the short hairs ...)

Look at the SERVINGS too ... there are SIXTEEN of them in this little 4 oz bag! Lets do the math ... 30 x 16 is 480 whopping calories . . added to your healthy bowl of lettuce and vegetables (and we haven't added the dressing yet ... EEK)

I remember making a salad for dinner for my husband and I and adding the entire bag between us . . it was NOTHING on the salad it seemed . . just a little extra crunch and flavor. That being so . . each one of us was adding an additional 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, 40 carbs and 32 grams of sugar . . . in the words of the infamous George Takai . . . OOHHHH MYYYYY!

Below is what a 7 gram serving actually looks like . . . would that fill you up? Me too neither!

And the really insulting thing is that it says on the front . . Great for Snacking . . the package contains less than two of my handfulls . . . a supposedly good snack.

The moral of this rant is . . this is why you READ YOUR LABELS, and compare SERVING SIZES to nutrition data and do the math . . then think about how you can do it healthier! Fresh non-sugary walnuts and fresh fruit (dried fruit packs a concentrated sugar whallop) . . . not only tastes better, it fills you up faster. Buy a good food scale too, one that weighs in grams and ounces and tares out the weight (meaning can stick a bowl on it, zero it out, add an ingredient . . and zero it out and so on).

They are cheap, easy to use and you will wonder how you lived so long without one!!

Losing my marbles . . .

Wow! It's been since June that I played with my blog? Bad, bad, bad Grace!!! LOL

Let me start the new year off with my losing my marbles!!

Last January . . . after living for several months with the most awful pain in my right shoulder . . I finally gave in, quit whining about it and went to see my doctor. He confirmed what I already knew deep down . . I tore a tendon in my shoulder (lifting heavy things like railroad ties and fence posts . . without being warmed up and by being OUT OF SHAPE).

He put me into supervised physical rehab 3 days a week . . which turned out to be a turning point for me. I have struggled with my weight for YEARS . . . trying this diet and that one, only to lose some then gain it back when I quit the diet.

Part of the rehab of my shoulder were a series of strength training exercises to improve the range of motion I have lost . . much like regular circuit training in a gym. Much to my amazement . . my body responded to it like it was MADE to do this sort of thing . . who knew??. My therapist Gordon worked both sides of my body to create a balance and through this . . I lost weight . . . by doing NOTHING but exercising. Wooo . . did a light just go off in MY head. I knew all all this was possible . . I was an athlete in high school and college . . but somewhere along the way . . I fell out of this groove.

Soooo . . long story shortened (as much I can can . . . I love to ramble ya know) . . I went straight from rehab to a personal trainer . . same three days a week . . same 30 minutes each session.

I have LOST 70 pounds and 45+ inches to date!! Woo Hoo!!! just by weight lifting . . very little cardio (weights are where it's AT girls . . .) although I have fallen in love with kickboxing . . . especially when I am allowed to hit a real person (scary what that might say about me . . LOL).

My weight yo-yo's . . up, down, up, down . . . but eventually still down. I don't stress about it . . . I'm really in NO HURRY. I no longer DIET, or stress about it . . I JUST LIVE!

I KNOW NOW THAT THIS JOURNEY IS FOR LIFE! And I have met some of the most amazing people along the way (what a bonus!)

That brings us back to the marbles . . . goals are good! and sometimes I need reminding just how far I have come and how far I have to go.

Sooooo . . . on my kitchen window sits TWO jars . . one for representing pounds I have lost (one marble . . one pound) and one with pounds I need to lose. For ME . . it keeps me grounded and in check (and pisses me off from time to time when the marbles clink into the WRONG jar dammit) . . . but it makes it fun (and I'm all about FUN!!)

So here's for losing your marbles!!! (for the RIGHT reasons . . LOL)

Pete's Place

If you love Italian food and you visit Oklahoma, then a stop at Pete's Place in Krebs is a must!

Established in 1925 by Italian immigrant Pietro Piegari, who started brewing his famous Choc beer and then later opened a restaurant in 1925. The rest is history! The Choc Brewery makes some of the finest craft beers you will ever sample and the food at Pete's is legendary.

We stopped at Pete's for dinner on our Memorial Day Model A putt up the Talimena Drive. Just the set-up is enough for two.


Your meal begins with an antipasto plate of Pepperoncini, Muenster Cheese and Olives, a HUGE bowl of salad and an endless basket of garlic bread!
My favorite! Ice cold Peach Beer from the brewery next door! They don't bottle the peach . . you have to come to Pete's to sample it.


The kitchen was HOPPIN when we were there! The smell was incredible when you walked by the door!

Mmmmm . . . all the spaghetti you can eat!

Pete's is located in a lovely, butter yellow house . . that is HUGE on the inside!

Lunch leftovers for the next day!

Just the set-up is enough to stuff you . . Antipasto, Bread, Salad, Spaghetti, Ravioli, Meatballs!

Mushroom smothered Ribeye!


We ate on the leftovers for two days! Cut up chunks of steak on crackers with cheese . . mmmm . . perfect road food.

Seriously, if you get a chance, visit the town of Krebs, the "little Italy" of Oklahoma. There is an Italian grocery store, Lovera's where they carry all things Italian and an amazing array of salami, sausages and hand-crafted cheese.

But especially, stop by and eat at Pete's, you won't be disappointed! . . and tour the brewery next door, it's a day/evening well spent!

http://www.petes.org
http://www.loverasmarket.com
http://www.chocbeer.com

A Memorial Day in Vintage Style!

We have a 1929 Ford Model A that Jim has been dying to take on a long road trip. So, on Saturday, we packed our bags, an ice chest and headed out to Southeastern Oklahoma. We spent the first night in Macalster at the Happy Days Hotel (decorated in theme rooms from the 50's) very fun!

We had dinner at a GREAT Italian restaurant, Pete's Place in Krebs (also the home of the Choc Beer Brewery . . darn our luck LOL) . . I will post a separate blog on Pete's . . what a great place.

The next morning we headed to Mena, Arkansas and spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon slogging around the antique shops (found some great trinkets!)

We took the scenic Talimena Drive (http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com) on into Wilburton, Oklahoma and spent the night. We saw TWO black bears on the mountain! One was a cub at an overlook . . I scared him and he scared me (I threw a peanut butter sandwich at him and ran for the truck LOL . . he was running the opposite direction so no worries LOL). The other was a full grown Black Bear that was just standing by the road . . . I have a couple videos of him on my facebook page.

We had a great Mexican dinner at Adelita's, in Wilburton, they have several locations and it just happens that this one sits too close to both a church and a school to serve beer they said. . good food . .but would have been MUCH better with an ice cold Corona!!

The next morning we got up early and headed to Robber's Cave State Park (http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.6415). Stupid me only took flip flops on the trip and had to hike the boulders in sandals LOL (But I DID it!!). Jim even got me to straddle an endless crack in the earth! You have to know that I am TERRIFIED of heights and my heart was beating so hard you could about hear it!! He was laughing so hard at me that he had tears running down his face (ass). I got attacked by a tree vine on the way down (told the people at the bottom it was a bear . . have to have fun with the tourists ya know)

We saw a bobcat and a few deer and enjoyed watching the buzzards playing in the wind -- they look like they have way too much fun doing that!

All in all it was a FUN trip! We didn't want to come back home, 427 miles in all (at the top speed of 45 mph). We decided we are doing it again in the fall, when the trees are in full color, taking hiking shoes and hiking the trails around Robber's Cave (they look amazing).

Here are a few pics from our adventure!

It was nice knowing him . . . I sure as Hell was NOT getting close enough to save him!

Monkey boy Jim . . going places I would NOT

Risking my life . . standing on a edge of a cliff (I swear, it was a LONG way down!!)

Looking over the edge (as close as I was willing to get!!)

A doe and her little spotty fawn, he was jumping all over the place like a little jumping bean!

The chef, preparing peanut butter and jelly sannys for breakfast!!

Wedging myself in a rock staircase!

These were so cool looking!

Bear damage!!!! (that's my story at least)

I thought these looked like big green hairy butt cheeks!

On the way to the cave

Trail marker to the cave

She's looking shiny and pretty thanks to Route 66 Tint & Toys in Bristow (great detail job . . THANKS!)

I know . . the crack looks small here . . but stand on top of it . . it went down to CHINA!! (I could have died. . . honestly)