Appalachian Trail, Ramsey Cascade Falls & A Smelly Ride Home!

Today was our last day of our mini getaway into the Smoky Mountains. That meant packing up and gearing Ernie for one more day of adventure and the drive home.

packed up... again

Off we set, in search of our day's adventure. We identified Ramsey Cascade Falls as our end goal, and after an hour jaunt in the car, we were winding down the gravel path towards the foot trail. We strapped on our day packs and were off on the 4ish mile ascent up the mountain to the falls.

more rivers! 

bright colors of the woods! 

hey, mare! 

subiendo, subiendo... subiendo y no bajando

orange spotted newt

We made it to the top, after a grueling network of rock steps, slippery tree roots and loose shale rock. 

nothing like this boost of confidence at the top.. :/

ramsey cascade falls - totally worth it. 

 Fortunately, we managed to get all of our photos done without any casualties.

friends :) :) 

just gracefully snacking..... yenno.. 

 

We breathed in our fill of God's gorgeous work at the top of this mountain. We sat with each other and did nothing but just listen and stare at the waterfall. We stayed there in that place together, yet silently still: isolated in our own internalized conversations with God. I wouldn't have traded that for the world.

And then the descent..

It couldn't have been a better day for a hike up to and down from the falls, and there's no two people I would've hand selected to spend that time with today, either.

We left the falls and captured a last reminder of the morning on the way out:

The laughable moments didn't end when we stepped off the trail for the last time this weekend; in fact, it continued from the moment we were back in our seats. Marianne and I traded spots for the trip into the city, and I decided it would be fitting to assume the role of my seat's previous occupant... and to own it.. haha.

i. am. marianne. 

We journied back into the commercial part of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, with a few stops before lunch. I suggested we stop off at NOC, which is the PF equivalent of REI. Always a good choice:

It was a fuel stop after that, during which we thought it fitting to capture Ernie in the aftermath of our excursion:

a successful day! 

Our last notable stop before the drive home was Starbucks - Let the fru fru drinks begin! My love-hate relationship with Starbucks continued; I can't drink their coffee because it's always so burnt, so I indulge in the fancier drinks on the rare occasions that I find myself there. I share a similar sentiment with both Becky & Mare, and today we learned that Mare's pseudo name is still a tricky one, even in its true classic nature:

"fankenstien" 

I'll let you decide what you think that should have been. Haha.

Fast forward through all the other stuff: Lunch at TR, then the 4ish remainder of a drive back to Cincinnati. We made it unscathed, and Becky's continued on to her place. Mare and I are both showered, which was desperately needed.. laundry is running and our bags are already unpacked for the most part. This is the super-accelerated version of an unwind.. hah.

We're spent. I'll be re-living this several times until the next outing, I'm sure.

Until then, good night blogbots - see you in the AM!

xo | cmd

Visitors & TeePees & MOVIES!

Happy Friday, ya'll!

Today was a gorgeous day: The sun was out, people seemed happy and we all knew we were within earshot of the weekend all day. On top of that, I had the pleasure of trying out Cheapside Cafe for the first time with Elisa on lunch!

Carri took the day off; her daughter & daughter's boyfriend drove in for a visit, so Elisa and I made the best of Friday by making sure to highlight the best part of it: Friday lunch!

Back at the office, Carri and her clan stopped by; her daughter Katelyn's boyfriend happens to be Nick Gaines, one of the pro-am SX riders we saw in Indy. He'd ended up with a broken arm during that race, and spent his short visit in our office eyeing the auto parts store in our parking lot, in hopes that he could find some device to remove his cast that day.

The sun stayed out all day, paving a clear path for continued positivity as the work day and week came to a close. The good times would continue after work, too! We'd promised Sydni a date night at the movies, with a specific flick in mind: HOME!

adorable movie!! 

Guys. I've come to the realization that basically all of the movies I want to see... are animated. This one was awesome. If you think Jim Parsons is funny on The Big Bang Theory, wait until you see his voice and Sheldon-esque mannerisms embodied in a cute little purple alien.. haha.

We loved it.

And now we're home, it's late, and bedtime is beckoning! TGIF!
G'Nite, blogbots :)

xo | cmd

#SRP2015 Day 8: We Are Home.

ENGLISH: BLACK FONT (Or gray).  SPANISH: RED FONT

INGLÉS: FUENTE NEGRO (O gris).  ESPAÑOL: FUENTE ROJO

*******

Today, we left Panama. We ate a fast breakfast at our hotel with Talsy & Ruth, then loaded into the hotel shuttle and were at the Tocumen Airport in a matter of minutes. It was there that we said a rather rushed and informal goodbye-for-now to the Vegas, grabbed our bags and proceeded in to start our day of traveling.

Hoy en día, salimos de Panamá. Comimos un desayuno rápido en nuestro hotel con Talsy & Ruth, luego cargado en el transporte del hotel y estábamos en el aeropuerto de Tocumen en cuestión de minutos. Fue allí que dijimos una vez apresurado y adiós-para-ahora informal a la Vegas, cogimos nuestras maletas y procedió a iniciar nuestro día de viaje. 

we are going home.. 

goodbye, panama!
adiós, Panamá

Flight 1: Panama City, Panama to Denver, CO. That's about 5 hours, in case you're wondering.
Flight 2: Denver, CO to Chicago, IL. That was about another 2 hours.
Flight 3: The last flight - Chicago, IL to Dayton, OH.

Vuelo 1:. Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá a Denver, CO Eso es cerca de 5 horas, en caso de que usted se está preguntando. 
Vuelo 2: Denver, CO a Chicago, IL. Eso fue sobre otras 2 horas. Vuelo. 3: El último vuelo - Chicago, IL a Dayton, OH 

obligatory airplane wing + cloud picture.. somewhere over Panama
avión ala obligatoria + foto nube .. en algún lugar sobre Panamá 

art as we ran through the o'hare airport
arte mientras corríamos por el aeropuerto O'Hare 

chicago  (chicago)

A mere 9-9.5 hours of flying later, we are here, in Ohio, in the good old U.S. of A. We are back in North America. We're a motley bunch right now, but with hearts full of a week we won't soon forget.

A sólo 9-9,5 horas de vuelo después, estamos aquí, en Ohio, en los buenos viejos EE.UU. de A. Estamos de vuelta en América del Norte. Somos un grupo heterogéneo en este momento, pero con el corazón lleno de una semana que no olvidará.

our final landing
nuestro último aterrizaje

Day 8: Return from the mission.
Check.
But, the work continues...

Día 8:. Regreso de la Misión.
Hecho. 
Pero, el trabajo continúa. 

xo | cmd
♥ | cmd

#SRP2015 Day 2: Suiche, Panama

ENGLISH: BLACK FONT (Or Gray).  SPANISH: RED FONT

INGLÉS: FUENTE NEGRO (O Gris).  ESPAÑOL: FUENTE ROJO

*******

After arriving in Panama at 3:00 in the morning, we slept for just short of 2 hours before we were up, showered and on our way back to the airport. We caught a flight from Panama City to David, where we finally rendezvoused with Talsy Vega, National Director of e3 Partners, and two of her children - Ruthie and David.

Después de llegar a Panamá a las 03:00 de la mañana, dormimos durante poco menos de 2 horas antes de que nos levantábamos, nos duchamos y en nuestro camino de regreso al aeropuerto. Cogimos un vuelo de Ciudad de Panamá a David, donde finalmente reunieron con Talsy Vega, Director Nacional de E3 Partners, y dos de sus hijos - Ruthie y David. 

hotel riande
hotel de riande

with quinn and the giant chess set
con quinn y el juego de ajedrez gigante

panama city airport - an early day for us!
aeropuerto de la ciudad de Panamá - un día antes para nosotros!

final packing before the mountains
embalaje final antes de las montañas

our team: talsy. david. aaron. marissa. cori. quinn. chris.
nuestro equipo: talsy. david. aaron. marissa. cori. quinn. chris.

We accompanied them back to their beautiful home in David, where we unpacked & re-packed according to the next phase of our entry into the week: THE HIKE. We loaded back into the truck and drove the near 2 hours from David to San Felix, another small town that marked the "halfway point" of our driving time into the Suiche mountains. We convened there for lunch with three of the Spanish translators and one of the Ngobe translators, all members of the 'Vega Team' who rally together for these trips and pick up where they left off with the last group. 

Nosotros los acompañamos de regreso a su casa en David, donde nos deshacer y re-embalado según la siguiente fase de nuestra entrada en la semana: la caminata . Cargamos de nuevo en la camioneta y fuimos los cerca de 2 horas de David a San Félix, otro pequeño pueblo que marcó el "punto medio" de nuestro tiempo de conducción en las montañas suiche. Convocamos allí para el almuerzo con tres de los traductores de español y uno de los traductores Ngobe, todos los miembros del 'equipo de Vega' que se congregan juntos para estos viajes y continuar donde lo dejaron con el último grupo.

here we go! driving from david to san felix
aquí vamos! la conducción de david a san felix

lunch in san felix with the team
almuerzo en san felix con el equipo

flowers
las flores

loading up to leave
cargar hasta dejar

bernabe & rita  ||  bernabe y rita

We hopped into another truck at that point, which carried our growing team of the SonRisers, Spanish translators Juselino, Zobeida & Rita, Ngobe translator Bernabe, and eventually Mateo as well, who we kind of just picked up halfway up the mountain. We were toted further and further away from the city, meter by meter closer to the foot of where our hike would begin.

Nos montamos en otro camión en ese punto, lo que llevó a nuestro equipo creciente de los SonRisers, traductores españoles Juselino, Zobeida y Rita, Ngobe Traductor Bernabe, y, finalmente, Mateo, así, que nos tipo de acaba de recoger a media altura la montaña. Estábamos toted más y más lejos de la ciudad, metro a metro más cerca de los pies de donde comenzaría la caminata. 


Here we go!
¡Vamos!

We eventually landed there, where I somehow managed an itty bitty 10-minute catnap during part of the hour we spent awaiting villager support to tote in all of our gear. We eventually got moving, setting foot onto the mountain that would be our home for the week.

Nos finalmente aterrizamos allí, donde de alguna manera me las arreglé 10 minutos siesta durante parte de la hora que pasamos esperando aldeano apoyo a Tote en todo nuestro equipo. Finalmente nos dieron en movimiento, poner un pie en la montaña que sería nuestro hogar durante la semana. 

at the base of the mountain
en la parte inferior de la montaña

we have a lot to take up there...
tenemos mucho para tomar allí arriba ...

just a small nap, haha...
sólo una pequeña siesta, jaja ...

the help has arrived!
¡la ayuda ha llegado!

let's go! [with juselino & talsy]
¡vamos ya! [con juselino y talsy]

going up, going up, going up and not going down!
¡subiendo, subiendo, subiendo y no va a bajando!

marissa & i were determined to make it fun :)
marissa y yo estábamos decididos a hacer que sea divertido :)

hi, little guy..
hola, poco hombre ..

Three hours flies by when you're surrounded by this kind of beauty, with the fatigue of the day coming down on you but knowing that the resolve in your heart to get to where you can sleep is stronger than the shaky nerves in your feet as you tread over rocks, gravel and grass in rubber boots.

Tres horas moscas por cuando estás rodeado de esta clase de belleza, con el cansancio del día viene abajo en ti, pero a sabiendas de que la determinación de tu corazón para llegar a donde se puede dormir es más fuerte que los nervios temblorosos en los pies al pisar sobre rocas, grava y hierba en las botas de goma. 

in love.
estoy enamorado

banana trees
árboles de plátano

one white tree in the midst of green
un árbol blanco en medio del verde

scenes along the route
escenas a lo largo de la ruta

stubborn horse, determined boy!
¡caballo terco, muchacho determinado!

CAMP! This was the only day of the trip in which I stepped entirely into the river, past my knees, filling my boots with water. I become a novice in the dark when my body is fatigued. Haha. It wasn't much of a sight in the dark, but my heart was tied to the place no later than 24 hours later. It was our home, where we started and ended each day. We ate together there, reconvened after spreading out on daily missions, and between each portion of our ministry during the day. Our home base in the Suiche mountains.

¡HABITAT! Este fue el único día del viaje en el que entré en su totalidad en el río, más allá de mis rodillas, llenando mis botas de agua. Me convierto en un novato en la oscuridad cuando mi cuerpo está fatigado. Jaja. No había mucho de una vista en la oscuridad, pero mi corazón estaba atado al lugar no más tarde de 24 horas después. Era nuestra casa, donde empezamos y terminamos cada día. Comimos juntos allí, volvió a convocar después de la difusión en misiones diarias, y entre cada parte de nuestro ministerio durante el día. Rezamos allí. Historias compartidas por el día allí. Veíamos a nosotros mismos a crecer a través de la experiencia de todos los días. Nuestra base de operaciones en las montañas suiche.

our home for the week
nuestra casa para la semana

dinner and discussion on the first night: 10:30pm
la cena y el debate sobre la primera y noche: 22:30

meeting pastor simon for the first time
satisfacer pastor simon por primera vez

Day 2: Hike To Suiche.
Check.
Tomorrow, we begin God's work here.

Día 2:. Caminata Para Suiche. 
Hecho.
Mañana, comenzamos la obra de Dios aquí.


xo | cmd
♥ | cmd