One year

One of the things I miss most about Colorado is the mountains (duh).  I didn't move there for them, but I did fall in love with them - camping in them, hiking through them, snowboarding, and just being awestruck driving through high mountain passes.  Moving to Philadelphia from Boulder, CO was a HUGE change, especially in terms of outdoor activities.  Slowly but surely, Nick and I have been finding things to do outdoors around the city - biking at Valley Forge, hiking in various parts of the park system around Wissahickon Creek, and walking around the city.

Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, September 2005

Clearly a different season.  RMNP, October 2006

Good heavens these pictures are old.  And how I miss those Rockies.

Our first (wedding) anniversary is coming up, and we went back and forth for weeks and weeks about what we should do to mark the occasion.  Boston, Niagara Falls, quick trip to the Caribbean, San Diego, Montreal, Virginia Beach.  All of these things crossed our minds, but we kept coming back to the same problem: too expensive.  What with closing on the house five days after our 1 year anniversary, we are going to be BROKE very soon.  We're trying to have as much as possible left in our savings after closing because we know that there are going to be lots and lots of unexpected or expected expenditures, plus that nice little mortgage payment

every month.  So, all of our ideas for an anniversary trip were put aside since we knew they would quickly add up and leave us sorry we'd spent the money.

Then two weekends ago, we were hiking just outside the city limits when it dawned on me that one of our favorite things to do is within close reach and a fraction of the cost of any other trip: camping and hiking, and maybe even a little time on the river if the weather allowed.  We're only a short drive from the Poconos and its an area of the state we haven't explored in the slightest!

It's not exactly the Rockies, but I think we'll make do.  Since it's over Memorial Day weekend, we might get some chilly nights, but that's why I have fancy thermal sleeping bag from REI, right?  Hiking part of the Appalachian trail, grilling over a campfire, maybe doing some floating, and seeing new parts of the state.  Sounds like a great vacation to me!  I think it will be a memorable way to mark our first year together, doing something we love together.