Adventures in Alabama Part 2: Trap Shooting

Hunting is an everyday part of life for Erik's family down in Alabama. Since we were out in the middle of nowhere, there really wasn't much for us to do other than shoot things. I got to try my hand at trap shooting for the first time and it was actually quite fun! The first three photos are of us trap shooting. The orange things in a box were the clay pigeons we were shooting. The next picture is of our ammo and the last is photo is of a shell shoved in an ant hill...boy oh boy did those ants get mad :)

Adventures in Alabama

I'm sad to say that Erik's grandfather, Elsie Whatley Jr., passed away on 2/3/08. He was a wonderful person and I feel blessed to have had a chance to meet him a few years ago when we traveled to Alabama. He led an amazing life and will be greatly missed. Erik and I were able to get tickets and fly down to Alabama for the wake and funeral last week. Despite the occasion, the trip went well, and it was really good to spend time with family. Erik's grandparent's are from a very small town called Sweet Water in southwestern Alabama. (insert banjo music...) It is literally out in the middle of nowhere...and it was kind of nice to be away from everything for four days. No malls, no traffic, hardly any cell phone service, no internet...nada...just miles and miles of pine trees. Here are some photos from our trip down south...

Alabama here we come...

Watching the sunrise while on the airplane and enjoying the view of the mountains...


Once we landed in Birmingham we rented a car and drove 3 hours to Sweet Water...

We were out in the middle of nowhere...and it was nice for a change!

Baby pine trees were everywhere...

...and I had to take a picture when we drove by the hay-bale art! There was a monster truck, tank and helicopter all made using hay bales.


Here is the "Whatley Estate"...otherwise known as Erik's grandparent's house :)

Say hello to the Elk...and the elk's rear...


...and last but not least, Anne the hunter...lol...not really, but I did get to learn the fine art of trap shooting and brush up on my target shooting skills. :)

So, there are a few pictures from our trek to 'bama. More to come soon...

Winter Walks on the Beach

I miss summer. I really, really miss it. Erik and I have been talking a lot about the beach lately. It must come up in conversation at least twice a day...so we figured we should take a trip down to the shore, even though it's freezing out! Yesterday we hopped in the car after a yummy breakfast, fueled up with some coffee...mmmmm coffee, and headed to Misquamicut, RI. We were secretly wishing it was the Outer Banks we were driving to, but we will have to wait a few more months for that drive.

It was cold and overcast yesterday at the shore, the sun kept poking out from behind the clouds and we had the beach to ourselves. It was so refreshing.

I love being by the water. I even made a mini video on the camera of the waves... I know, I'm a dork, but I figured it would be a good pick-me-up to watch it whenever this winter weather has got me bored.

While walking we found lots of seashells, neat rocks, a piece of sea glass, seaweed, bird footprints and Erik even spotted a lobster tail.

This first trip to the shore of 2008 definitely left us rejuvenated and I'm sure we will be hanging some pictures on the fridge to remind us of the day.

On the way back home we stopped by the Connecticut River Museum in Essex.

We didn't see any eagles out and about, but there were lots of sea gulls walking on the ice and even a pair of swans swimming in the water. Erik was hoping to see some eagles, but I guess we will have to plan another trip down to Essex to do that.

Also, If we ever win the lotto, we want one of these :)

Salmon River

A few weekends ago Erik and I drove out to the Salmon River in Colchester, CT to poke around and enjoy some time outside. It was a pretty overcast day, but we didn't let that get in the way of a nice hike through the woods (and along icy paths) down to see the river.

We also stopped to see the historic Comstock Covered Bridge. I had visited the bridge about a year ago while on a day trip with a friend, but Erik hadn't seen it before, so he got to visit two new sights in one day.

On the way home we couldn't resit a stop at the wonderful Colchester Bakery to pick up some bread. If you have never had bread from Colchester Bakery, you are missing out on a treat! We picked up a loaf of our favorite Russian Pumpernickel bread with these little little black charnushka seeds on the top that smell wonderful! Ahhh...happiness is a good day spent outside and some still-warm-from-the-oven bread!

Adventures in Snowshoeing

On New Year's Eve Erik and I drove up to the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, CT to try our hand at snowshoeing. Erik got some awesome snowshoes for Christmas and has loved doing it, so we rented a pair for me at REI and hit the trails. The conservation center was beautiful...a true winter wonderland! The center is located on 4000 acres of land (yes, that's right...4000 acres!) in Litchfield and we will definitely be visiting it again to hike it's many beautiful trails. Snowshoeing was fun and I can't wait for more snow so I can try again! The photo above is one of my favorites from the day. A quintessential New England barn in the winter...what could be more beautiful!

snowshoes...check!
poles...check!
snow...check!
Let's go snowshoeing!

















Winter Wonderland



























Busy Beavers


























We were in a "Natural Area"...
























Erik enjoying his new favorite winter activity!

Me, all bundled up!

There were giant pine trees all around us, it was gorgeous!

Chicago!!

Here is a short slideshow/video of our trip to Chicago to see Brooke!

Weekend Getaway...

Last weekend my sister Mary and I hopped on a plane and flew out to Chicago to visit our cousin Brooke who is living there temporarily for work. It was a very quick trip, but we packed it full of fun! Snowstorm, good food, shopping, and skating filled our 30 hours in the windy city. Here are some shots from the trip...

up, up and away!!

The view was beautiful...

sweet home Chicago...

We went ice skating and saw Santa...

and ate some yummy pizza!

It was an amazing trip and I will be posting more pictures as soon as I can figure out a cool way to do a slideshow.  Mary and I had lots of fun visiting Brooke and can't wait to plan a trip to see her in Florida once she moves back!