Happy Birthday, 'Merica!

We really don't know how good we've got it. I know I certainly take for granted the freedoms and amenities that come so easily and immediately to all of us. I am a PROUD American, and am proud to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved country!!

To celebrate, Rob and I loaded up the boat, finishing just as Jessica pulled up to the house to add her gear to the inventory. We hopped in the truck and were off to find Cave Run; it had been recommended to us by a few different people, so we opted to check it out.

We came to the realization about an hour and some change into the trip that there were a number of boats traveling the opposite way on the highway, and that eventually got the best of our curiosity. After some Googling, phone calls and research, we ended up abandoning our original plans of Cave Run, and in turn found ourselves on a direct route to Taylorsville Lake Marina somewhere in Kentucky....

love these two! 

Taylorsville Lake was a blast! I totally dig the fact that my tribe is a pack of spontaneous adventure-seekers, and can roll with just about any situation. We didn't land at our intended destination today, but had an awesome day anyway!

The evening started creeping in, so we packed back up and trekked back to Cincinnati, where it was a quick shower and turnaround, and back out the door we went, to spend the rest of the evening and watch fireworks with Andrew, Jessica and a collection of their friends on the west end of Cinci.

love this guy! 

Fireworks, new [& existing] friends, food and fun! From what I've seen, birthday parties are full of those things, so I'm pretty certain we did it up just right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!
U-S-A!!!

xo | cmd

City Flea & Cincinnati Meanderings

Rob and Dillon resolved early on to head out to the river. I voted to go my own way for the early morning, and took advantage of the semi-dreary day to check out this year's showing of The 513 City Flea. I made it down to Washington Park just as a downpour had made its way out, and was greeted by puddles, a drizzling remnant of the storm and handfuls of Cincinnati-enthusiasts who didn't seem to mind the sloshy condition.

Sunny or not, it was wonderful!

rain or shine! 

Becky rendezvoused with me a short time later, and after another few rounds of the City Flea vendors.

peruvian mochilas and kombucha

scavengers! 

It wasn't long before we took off northbound for REI, where Rob and Dillon met up with us. As it turned out, they'd not even made it off the boat ramp as the rain set in. They U-turned back to the house before joining us. The REI sales is still happening; Rob bought his hammock today!

uh oh... the hammock epidemic continues! 

and some yoga... ;) 

We parted ways with Becky and headed down to Findlay Market, where we grabbed Eli's and showed Dillon around the market grounds. There was a pitstop as well at Rhinegeist, where to our surprise, there was some major renovation well underway!

i'm sorry... say whaaaaaaaat?! 

I can't wait to see this when it's finished.

After Rhinegeist, we made our way back home, where the split decision was made to give the river a second chance. We dropped in and took off towards Ludlow. One of Rob's bosses and his fiance joined us for a couple hours, and then it was back up the river to the ramp.

The skies may not have afforded us the sunshine we were hoping, but it was still a beautiful night to be on the water!

beautiful! 

dillon & rob

We pulled off the river just as the rain started to threaten its return for the night, dried the boat off and made the trip back to the house. The boys wanted to venture back out to OTR, for the usual touring that occurs whenever we have visitors. I opted out of that excursion, and set myself up for a night of absolutely nothing on the couch - which I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed ;).

The boys will be back sometime in the early hours, but with any luck, I'll be out cold by that time.

Happy Saturday, folks!

xo | cmd

[The Baja's] Maiden Voyage!

The moment of truth was upon us! [Will she sink or will she purr?]

Before the day got started, Rob and I set out on our separate tasks to prepare for the day: He readied the boat and I headed out to grocery shop for the cooler. Our timing was perfect; Jessica & her friend Andrew arrived right on time and we were on the road by 11.

Eastfork, we have to admit, is not necessarily a place of any sort of splendor. It is however, very convenient for us, and the perfect place for Rob and his new toy to really get to know each other. Norris Lake & Cumberland are on the list and we'll get to those as soon as we can plan the weekend out.

We were so excited to get going that I skipped taking any pictures right away. You know it's intense when my camera isn't out ;). We held our breath as Rob throttled out for the first time and we were off into the day. We cruised around for a bit to feel out the ride [which was pretty. daggone. awesome] before settling into a cove for a bit of swim time.

It wasn't long before Brittany and Wayne joined the party; the rest of the day passed by without a care in the world, and I'm pretty sure we were a bunch of happy little campers by the time it was over :)

happy people, happy day!

There's nothing better in this world than enjoying life in the moment, whatever that moment may be. Today we did just that.. in the company of some awesome friends and a day that was at our disposal.

We. Are. SPENT.
Rob's burnt, too.. and it's time for us to call this one another awesome day for the books.

G'Nite (:

xo | cmd  

Hello, BAJA!!

It's HERE!

I have to say it was a little funny this morning to see Rob awake well before me.... that is, at 4:00 AM. Today was the day slated to head north [like, way north] to pick up the boat that Rob hadn't yet seen in person, but had technically already purchased, according to the banks.

that's no lie.

I was a bit nervous for him, yes. Buying something big like that without the opportunity to first see it in person, but I took cues from him and stayed positive about the experience until a reason should confront us not to stay that way.

It was a 4-hour ride up north, just a short time past Cambridge & Zanesville to Bowerston, where we met with an awesome couple about to hand over their boat to us.

We stayed much longer than we expected; the couple turned out to be a really interesting, funny pair of people and our conversations extended far past the details of the boat sale. We've agreed to stay in touch, and if they should ever find themselves heading to Cumberland, they'll look us up.

MOST importantly here though: WE HAVE THE [NEW!] BOAT!

i couldn't get back far enough to get both truck+boat in the pic :p

My boyfriend was a jargled, excited little mess all the way home, rightfully so. I may have had my reservations about this whole arrangement, but I have to hand it to him: he did an excellent job on this. His ability to hunt on Craigslist is truly unrivaled. Good job, babe!

This lovely behemeth is now parked in our driveway, safe and sound for a sleepover before its maiden voyage tomorrow [yes, tomorrow]. Rob and I decided to celebrate with a date night out to Rusty Bucket & a movie.

We accomplished two things tonight:

1. Rob's first trip to Rusty Bucket was a success.
2. We saw the new TMNT! Hahaha... okay, we saw HALF of the new TMNT; it would be our luck that about halfway through the movie, an entire BLOCK of Oakley's power would crash, leaving a theater full of movie-goers with raincheck tickets for a future show. I'm not complaining; we'll definitely be back to see it!

date night with this guy ♥

I guess in the scope of things, a power outage at a movie theater is nothin'. It's been an awesome day.

Time for some rest; tomorrow's a lake day!

xo | cmd