If You're Going to San Francisco....go in October!!

View from window of the plane - sunset over Rockies.

Today makes a week I've been in San Francisco - and what a difference a couple months make!  Last time I was here it was August and was cold, foggy, and damp.  This time, every day has seen a cloudless blue sky, brilliant sun, and mid-day temps in the 70s (or, like last weekend, low 80s!). 

When I arrived last Friday night, my friend Erika from L.A. flew in about the same time as I did.  She planned to stay the weekend with us in San Fran before flying home.  My cousin Erin and her wife Kerri picked us up from the airport and drove us to a quaint Italian restaurant near their house in the Castro district.  We had yummy dinner and caught up on each others' lives.  I was pretty tired since my body thought it was 3 hours later than it was here, but I had gotten a couple hours sleep on the plane, so that helped. 

Erin, Erika, Lauren at Twin Peaks overlook.

The next morning, Erika and I got up before 8 and went running.  Erika is a much more accomplished runner than I am, but let me just say, running in San Fran is hard!  We were both heaving about 50% of the time.  Hills + runners = God laughing.  Anyway, we ran to this little park that had big rocks on top of a hill and from the top, you could see almost all of SF and beyond the bay to Berkeley, Oakland and other areas.  After we finished our run, we returned to Erin's and took showers before going on a driving tour of SF w/Erin and Kerri. 

Lauren and Erika at the Palace of Fine Arts.

They drove us through different areas of SF and pointed out houses they loved (all of which would cost millions of dollars despite being smaller than the average house in Charlotte) and then took us to a beach very near the Golden Gate Bridge.  We were so lucky to find parking right off the bat along the shoreline, and though we didn't stay long, it was fun to watch all the people and see the bridge without a shroud of fog.  From there we drove to another beach on the opposite side of the bridge which was prettier in my opinion and less touristy. On the drive there, we saw a whole group of roller-bladers and all of them were wearing butt-less costumes.  Some had the butt cut out of their pants, some had cut off the back of their skirts - it was so bizarre.  Welcome to San Francisco!  Everyone seemed to be out and about as it was in the low 80s - unusual for SF and on the second beach, Erika and I took off our shoes and ran around the sand and waded a little bit in the frigid water.  There were a couple people actually in the water, but they were clearly insane. ;) 

Erin, Lauren, Erika with bridge.

After that, we drove through the Presidio (an old military base that is now a huge park) and went to Nob Hill to see Grace Cathedral.  The Cathedral is a decedent of Grace Church which was built there in 1849.  The present church renovation was completed in 1964 with Ghiberti doors made in Italy that are replicas of the doors on the Florence Baptistery (part of the Duomo).  As soon as I saw them I was like "Whoa, those look like the same doors" and after looking it up on Wikipedia, found out they were replicas made when the doors were removed during WWII and kept in underground storage for fear of bombing.  During that time, several replicas were made - this being one of them. 

Bridge!

After seeing the church, which was very reminiscent of European cathedrals, we went to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where all the sea-lions sun bathe on the docks.  We bought a few little things and looked around in several of the shops on the pier.  From there we walked toward a pier that proffered a wonderful view of the Bay Bridge directly to our right with the sun setting on it, and the Golden Gate far to the left, with some fog rolling in under it.  I got some great photos of both. 

We tried to go to a Spanish restaurant for dinner after that, but it was a 2 hour wait and we were starving.  Instead, we went to a sushi place and I got fried shrimp since I don't do raw fish. 

The next morning we left a little after 9 and drove to Muir Woods, a National Monument (like a National park but smaller) that was across the Golden Gate.  It has redwoods there, so we went to do some tree-hugging.  I was excited because I got us all in for free with my National Park pass! :)  The woods were incredibly mystical and full of magic.  We kept expecting to see nymphs, gnomes and fairies pop out at any moment.  The trees were definitely big and tall, though not as large as the ones I saw in the far northern part of CA during my road trip.

The best beach!

After a good hike through the woods, we drove to Saulsalito for lunch.  Saulsalito is a little town right on the bay that overlooks San Francisco with tons of unique little shops and seafood restaurants.  We ate at one right on the water and then shopped around.  In one of the shops I bought a perfume bottle made in Italy with beautiful blown-glass for only $20.  Erika got one too.  We also watched as some random guy built rock formations on the wave breakers, finding small rocks and medium sized rocks and making them balance on each other in ways that looked impossible. 

Grace Cathedral.

The Florence doors.

From there, we drove back to SF and went to Alamo Square where the beginning of Full House was filmed.  While on the hill overlooking the Painted Ladies (the colorful row houses), some guy started playing the Full House theme song on a boom box and some random girls started crying she was so happy.  I guess I can't say anything though...I was practically in tears when I went to all the Dawson's Creek places in Wilmington last summer.   After that we were totally pooped and came back to the house to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy before taking Erika to the airport to fly home. 

On Monday while Erin and Kerri were at work, I worked from their apartment until Erin got home.  When she did, we changed clothes and went to the House of Air.  This place was so cool!  It was a giant warehouse full of trampolines where you could jump yourself out!  We purchased an hour of jumping and after 15 minutes were already exhausted.  It was so much fun to play on trampolines again, since Mom sold ours a few years ago.  I practiced my front handspring and flip, and the next day, boy was I sore!  I wish we had something like that in Charlotte - what fun we had!

View of Golden Gate from Bay Bridge area.

Pier 39 - Fisherman's Wharf.

On Tuesday I did some work and then walked down to the downtown Castro district to buy a pair of sunglasses and some earphones (I left mine at home and the ones from the airplane were not very good).  I was then listening to Mocking Jay on this little recorded device I borrowed from the library and I just kept walking down Market Street.  Next thing I know, I'm in downtown SF - three miles from Erin's place.  Apparently, the president was in a hotel right near where I was giving a speech and I didn't even know it! It would've been cool to see him.  I watched some street tap dancer perform and had lunch at a burger place that was new and gave me free fries with the burger.  I was too tired to walk all the way back (uphill), so I took the subway to downtown Castro and then walked the last half mile or so back to Erin's.  A little later I walked to the Circus Center, about a mile and half from Erin's, and took a silk aerial class.  I learned a couple new moves, which was fun, and inside the gym where the class was held, other people were practicing trapeze, rope aerial, trampoline and other such circus acts.  It was slightly overwhelming to the senses, but interesting.  However, I like the classes I take in Charlotte better.  We have more silks to work with, more people, and we move a bit faster I think.  The teacher here was very nice though.  When she asked me about the moves I knew, I started telling her and realized that we spoke a different language - the moves I know are called by different names in NC than in CA, so I had to describe/show her many of them and she was like "ohhh, interesting, I can see why it's called that!" 

Bay Bridge by sunset.

Erin picked me up from the class and we came home where Kerri was making shrimp scampi for dinner and it was delicious!  I then packed a bag and Erin dove me to the train station (called BART) so I could take a train (actually more like a subway) to Berkeley where Mike was going to pick me up.  I've known Mike for about five or so years now, having been his first salsa teacher when I was teaching with Rodrigo in college.  I'd come home every other weekend to teach with Rodrigo and Mike had come in to take a class with his girlfriend at the time.  We kept running into each other thereafter, and have established a friendship over the years.  He recently started his MBA at Berkeley so I went to stay with him for a couple nights to give Erin and Kerri a break and catch up with Mike. 

Kerri, Lauren and Erin hugging redwoods.

After he picked me up, he drove me back to the humongous house he shares with five other MBA students.  It was built in 1901 and is gigantic and kind of spooky with many hidden doors and secret closets.  Mike definitely got the best spot in the house - the entire attic is his and is so large with so much storage it actually fit his entire 3 bedroom apartment from Charlotte.  He has a great view off his balcony and the angles of the roof and the redwood walls/ceilings are so lovely.  The house has so much character - I want to live in a house like that one day.  Much more interesting than the cookie-cutter houses new developers make. 

pretty

The next morning Mike had class at 9 so I worked from his place for a little while, then walked the 20 minutes to the Berkeley campus.  It is really a beautiful campus and I LOVED the library - it was so great with old sofas and chair and oriental rugs and chandeliers.  I spent some time there reading and then met Mike when he finished his class at 12:50.  We walked back to his place and ordered pizzas for pickup from a local joint. Before his 4 o'clock class, Mike tried to get some homework done and I worked on some grad school apps.  While he was in class until 6, I ordered my GRE scores to be sent to the schools I'm applying to and edited my writing samples.  When he got home, we made pasta for dinner and relaxed some until it was time to go salsa dancing. 

Hanging out with a tree.

The place we went to dance reminded me so much of Morehead Street Tavern in Charlotte where we used to salsa dance on Wednesday nights in Charlotte. I met some of Mike's grad school friends there and we had a fabulous time dancing.  Though when I wasn't dancing with Mike or his friend Will, I was not entirely happy with the creepy guys there.  As soon as a dance ended, I'd step one toe off the floor and another guy would be like "Bailar??" (dance??).  Finally, by 12:30 when my feet were killing me, I was like "sorry, I'm done." haha  The atmosphere of meeting his friends and hanging out with everyone there made me really miss school so much.  I'm getting more excited about the prospect of grad school.  I almost wish there were any top MFA programs out here.  It really is a different world and kind of magical in its own way.  Unfortunately, the only top programs not on the East coast are in Boulder, CO (Univ of Colorado); Austin, TX (UT) and St. Louis, MO (Washington Univ), and I'm applying to all of them as it were.  I'm also applying to Univ of FL, UNC-G, UNC-W, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Hollins University, and UVA. 

At the top of our hike.

That night, I woke up a few minutes past 5:30 a.m. thinking that Mike was shaking me awake.  I woke up scared because I thought maybe there was a fire or something, but when I opened my eyes, there was no one there.  Mike was on the couch and I was in his bed, which was rocking forward and back, forward and back.  It was then that I realized - I was experiencing my first earthquake and it was completely surreal.

The next day I told Mike about it - he hadn't woken up - though he's a much sounder sleeper than I am.  I told him to look it up online because Erin said all earthquakes are recorded in a list online.  Well, as soon as he typed in Berkeley earthquake, it came up as an actual news article.  "3.9 Earthquake Shakes Berkeley."  hahaha  He was bummed that he missed it.  I'm sure being the attic also helped with feeling it, though 3.9 is fairly strong and Kerri even felt it in SF, despite the epicenter being in Berkeley. 

Erika and me in Saulsalito.

Rock statues with SF in background.

After we got up on Thursday, we went to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast and worked on our applications - his for fellowships and mine for grad school.  At 1:30 we left and went to lunch at this kosher place called Holy Land where we each had pitas stuffed with meat, tomatoes and lettuce.  As we walked back to Mike's house, we passed the most famous ice cream place in Berkeley and since Mike doesn't eat ice cream, I of course had to get one and try it.  It was, admittedly, amazing.  I even got Mike to try a bite.  Back at the house, we watched Revenge which he'd kindly recorded for me.  It made me really happy how closely he listened to my whole recap of the show this far and really paid attention and when watching the show, would pause it and ask me questions.  So many people would've been like "whatever." 

With the Painted Ladies.

After the show, we walked to the park that is directly across the street and played some Frisbee then just lay on a picnic blanket enjoying the warm sun.  It was a gorgeous day, warmer than the day before, and it was just the perfect ending to the day.  That evening, Mike drove me to the train station and Erin & Kerri picked me up on the other side and took me with them to the oldest bar in San Francisco where one of their friends was playing live music.  We had a yummy dinner and their friend was very good - though the world series postponed his set quite a bit and as it was, he had to start before it was over since they went into so much overtime.  I must say though, it was getting fairly exciting when they went into their 10th and then 11th inning.  I can't believe St. Louis ended up winning after being down most of the game. 

Kerri and Erin looking at the Painted Ladies.

Today I went running and went to the top of Buena Vista park from which you can see the Golden Gate, then I went to the same spot with the rocks on the hill where Erika and I had run.  I sat there for a while looking out over the city and listening to a podcast on my iPod. 

Now I'm back at Erin's working and waiting for her to get home so we can either walk or bike across the bridge.  Tomorrow she and Kerri are driving Kerri's mom to Sanoma for her birthday, so in the morning I'm going back to Mike's until my flight leaves on Sunday night.  We're also going to a Halloween Party on Saturday night which I'm looking forward to! 

Mountain Weekends Full of Color

Me, Bethany, Vanessa at sunset in Jonas Ridge.

I went to the mountains for the last two weekends and it was glorious! The weekend of Oct. 7-9 I went with some of my life group girls for a little bonding retreat.  Bethany, Vanessa and I arrived first and took tons of pictures with the sunset which was breathtaking.  By the time Whitney and Lisa made it, we had tacos ready for dinner and we all sat around chowing down and having a good long catch-up session.  With everyone's busy schedules lately, it's been difficult to really know what we've all been up to.  Lisa is up to her eyeballs with her new position as a teacher at Matthews Elementary, Bethany has been working hard to raise the $22,000 for her 11-month mission trip, Whitney just got back from Costa Rica on a business trip, and Vanessa recently took on a new position at the bank.  On Saturday we went to Upper and Lower Falls (my favorite place to hike).  Bethany almost immediately fell in and got soaked, but luckily Vanessa had an extra shirt.  Then, as we hiked up the gorge toward Upper Falls, I decided to take a timed group shot w/my camera.  I set it up and then, realizing I only had 10 sec to get where they were sitting, tried to jump over the water.  It didn't work and I got drenched from waist down.  Whitney and Vanessa both got their shoes wet.  Pretty much the only one to stay dry was Lisa (also the most cautious).

Vanessa and me in Jonas Ridge.

After we rested a bit at the house, we got back in the car and drove to an apple orchard called Alta Pass off the parkway.  We tried to pick apples, but it was a little past the time and they were mostly picked out.  We filled the rest of our bags from the barrels in the shop and then stopped by Wal-Mart to get ingredients to make apple crisp that evening.  It was amazing by the way.


The next day the girls headed out fairly early and then I worked on writing for my grad school apps until Mom, Dad and Grandma Bailey arrived from Boone.  They had been staying with Uncle David at his mountain house Saturday and Sunday morning (Grandma drove up from Tallahassee on Friday).  We all played a new game called Qwirkle and then I drove home with Mom since she had to work the next day.  Grandma and Dad didn't drive back until Monday.

Me, Bethany, Vanessa watching sunset in Jonas.

The next weekend, I was scheduled to go camping with 25 people from Charlotte ONE in Linville Falls.  Mom, Dad, Grandma B., Grandma and Grandpa all went up to the mountain house together.  Camping was amazing - it was so beautiful up there.  It really was the perfect weekend for the colors.  I brought my two 4-man tents which were utilized and we had s'mores and hot cocoa and it was really nice.  On Saturday we hiked around Linville Falls and Chastity, Ben and I ended up behind everyone else as we marveled at the trees.  At the last overlook, Ben got me and some other random girl from Duke to follow him off-trail and we explored and saw some really cool views and found a neat rock to climb - but by the time we got back, everyone else was gone.  As Ben and I walked back toward the parking lot, we ran into my family who were there seeing the views which was nice. 

This was the picture I was trying to get when I fell in. I'm soaked here.

Upon reaching the parking lot, Ben and I realized there was no one else from our group there so we jogged/walked the mile back to the campground.  We also found two woolly worms on our way!  After we got back, everyone else was already ready to go hiking again, so we scarfed down some lunch and I led the way to Upper/Lower Falls.  While no one fell into the water (that I knew of), Ben, Josh and Jenni all slid down the waterfall at Lower Falls.  It was so cold - I can't imagine getting in willingly, but they did and I got some cool photos. Afterward, they were cold, but they did what they could to warm up and enjoyed their new-found fame. ;)  By the time we finished hiking Upper and Lower Falls, only about 15 of us were left - the rest had gone back to the campground early.  I convinced my group (who wanted to watch the sunset) to come with me to Grandma and Grandpa's mountain house in Jonas Ridge where they have an amazing view.  When we all got there, it was starting to get quite chilly and they were glad to warm up.  Everyone introduced themselves to Grandma C. and she taught us a game called "Spirits Landed" or something like that.  We all got a kick out of it and it led to other people in the group showing us other games like "Black Magic."  All were games that involved something that seemed "magical" but really involved some sort of trick between the two game operators which the crowd had to figure out. 

Whitney, Vanessa, Lisa, Bethany, Me - Uppper Falls.

Unfortunately, the sun was not going to set as soon as we thought it would, so we had to leave before it did to start making dinner back at the campground.  Ben showed everyone how to wrap up pieces of chicken in tin foil and he cooked them over the fire.  The potatoes were wrapped up and thrown down into the embers.  While it took a while, it was a pretty decent meal for camping.  I totally would've just gone with hot dogs. lol

Hiking in Linville Falls

The next morning we had bagels and cream cheese and peanut butter and jelly and packed up everything pretty quickly.  My family came to pick me up and we went back to Alta Pass apple orchard because Grandma Bailey wanted to get some apples like the ones I had gotten the weekend before.  Afterward, we stopped at Chestoa Overlook where you can see the Jonas Ridge house quite clearly atop the mountain. 


Overall, two weekend in a row in the NC mountains was lovely - the perfect time of year and beautiful weather for both trips.  I've been entirely blessed with weather lately - and good friends. :)

With Chastity and Ben at Linville.

Off trailing with Ben.

Beautiful fall colors in Linville.

My crazy friends sliding down the water fall.

The Jonas Ridge house from the Chestoa Overlook.

Perfect Sunday

At EA's bday lunch.

Today was a great Sunday.  The weather was in the 60s, finally making it feel like fall.  I picked up Grandma to come to church with me for the first time and it was so nice to have her along.  We enjoyed the message a lot and she got to meet some of my friends.  A little later in the afternoon, I went to a big lunch for my friend Elizabeth Anne whose birthday it was and then to Freedom Park where a bunch of church friends usually gather on Sundays.  Even though there were only a few people there today, it was just really great.  It's amazing how wonderful good weather can make you feel.  My friend Ben was there with his family and my friend Lesley was there and she ran about 2 miles or so with me around the lake.  It was such a nice afternoon and when I got in the car to come home, I got a message from my friend Erika in LA saying she could come up for a weekend to San Fran while I'm there to visit. 

When I got home no one was here, but after I got out of the shower, Mom got home with her friend Linda and we all watched Everwood together which was a nice end to the day.  I'm just so blessed by the friends and family in my life. 

Last night I went to a clothing exchange where about 20 girls brought all the clothes/shoes/accessories they were tired of and we all just swapped.  I got a few cute new things and had a lovely time meeting new girls and catching up w/older friends. 

Sunny Seashores

Lauren age 2.5 with Little Reid.

With my sweet dog Sammy.

Grandma, Lauren, Erin, Aunt Debi

 Note: The memory below prompted me to go to the old photo albums and take pictures of the old photos. They really don't have anything to do with the story itself.


Today is a perfect day: 80 degrees, sunny, blue sky with fluffy white clouds and a cool breeze.  I decided to go running around a nearby outdoor track instead of heading to the gym and it was definitely the right call!  The track, however, was a little wet from the torrential downpour last night, and since the track is made out of dirt and sand, it was slightly messy.

So, there I am, running along, when all of a sudden the breeze picks up and a smell fills my nose and I am transported back nearly 20 years.

I'm climbing over large breaker rocks that separate the enclosed beach area from the ocean.  The Miami horizon line gleams orange across the bay as the sun begins to set.  The wind whips my short tangled hair about my head and fills my nose with its salty smell.  My Keds work to find stability on the uneven rocks and sometimes my hands aid in the endeavor.  Grandma stands along the path warning me to be careful and not to get too close to the water, but she smiles as the breeze blows her curly white hair and the park around us quiets down with families departing for dinner.  Seagulls squawk overhead, but their screech is almost like a harmony - they are the backdrop of my childhood.

This was how I spent many a late afternoon growing up.  It was my favorite place - Matheson Hammock park.  It was free after five, so that's when Grandma and I would go.  I climbed the mangrove trees, played in the sand, splashed in the water - but my favorite part, was climbing on the rocks and looking out over that vast ocean knowing one day, I'd go beyond it.  At the time, I don't believe that was a conscious thought. It was just a feeling, standing tall on those giant rocks, looking out at the water and the skyline - for some reason, it held more magic to me than all the sandcastles in the world.

So today, as I ran around that track, the breeze picked up and filled my nose was that same smell, the wind feeling the same way and the same temperature.  I could almost feel the rocks under my toes.  I don't know what kind of sand and rock the track is made out of, but it must contain salt somewhere, because the air picked it up just as the ocean breeze did on the Miami shore, and the smell brought a smile to my lips as my brain surged with memories of a simpler time, full of light and love and careless joy.

Family Reunion at Lake Gaston: Erin, Me, Reid III, Kelly, Megan, Chris, Gma and Gpa in back.

Dirty Dancing, Wedding Planning, and other Joyousness

Messer, Stephanie, me, Tiff at the outdoor movie screening.

Messer, Steph and Me dancing on a rock.

I hadn't seen Stephanie since my last birthday when I met her at her place to go to the Dirty Dancing festival together.  Both our lives are busy and we haven't been the best about keeping in touch, but this was the event to bring us together.  Her friend Messer from Miami also joined us (as she was with us the first time we went to Lake Lure together 2 years ago).  On the ride there we caught up on each other's lives and the time flew by.  Before we knew it we were checking into the Lake Lure Inn which was built in the 1920s and is so quaint and lovely.  They were very accommodating, letting us check in early and change before we headed to Chimney Rock (only a few miles away).  At Chimney Rock we got lunch over the river and then walked along the "River Walk."  On some lovely rocks, we did an impromptu photo shoot with dancing poses (of course) and then went to a coffee shop where Messer and I took Dirty Dancing tests which we both scored 100% on and were therefore entitled to free coffee.  I gave mine to Stephanie.  Every story had a poster in the window about the festival.  Several people had on t-shirts with phrases from the movie like "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" and "I carried a watermelon??" 

Posing on the rocks.

That evening, we set up blankets at the Moorse Park where the outdoor movie screening would take place.  Tiffany and Mitch (her new fiance!) met us there.  We had a little picnic and waited for it to get dark enough for the movie to start. When it began, everyone clapped and throughout the movie, you could hear people saying lines along with the characters and there was lots of "oohing" and "aaahing" over Johnny (Patrick Swayze).  It was a lovely evening, even though it got rather cold, and we had such a blast.  Tiff and Mitch left afterward, but Messer, Steph and I went to a bar very close to our hotel for karaoke night. What we saw there came as a bit of a shock.

Imagine a room full of the most back-woods, hillbilly people you can imagine.  Now imagine them drunk and singing.  Not a pretty picture.  Messer literally sat at the bar staring at the crowd with her mouth open most of the night.  Stephanie and I were being continually talked up by the local clientele and everyone had to deal with the insufferable singing stylings of this couple who thought they were the best thing since sliced bread, but were really just revolting.  Mostly because they were so obnoxious.  When the husband sang, he wore dark glasses and a hat and did crazy Matrix moves with his hands.  It was just bizarre.  The woman thought she was just amazing and later when Stephanie and I got up to sing "Ice Ice Baby," she came and stole the mike from me because she thought she could do it better.  It was ridiculous.  

At karaoke.

I did get to sing my old standby, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and everyone high-fived me afterward and said I did an amazing job and it was the best song of the night.  Stephanie just looked at me and said, "I had no idea you could sing like that and where did that woman voice come from?" After that, we left before the locals got too rowdy or too friendly.  Stephanie was already having to repeat again and again, "I'm MARRIED."

The next morning we got back to the festival site about 10 a.m. for a Charleston lesson.  At the end of the lesson, they started teaching the chorus dance from the end of the movie.  We learned the rest of it later after the mambo lesson (which was taught totally wrong).  It was so exciting to learn the dance from the movie and they said we'd get to do it that night at the outdoor concert. 

Carrying watermelons.

The day was spent eating free watermelon, dancing and listening to the live bands.  Stephanie had to leave for a while to go do an errand for her family, so Messer and I hung out. At one point, a swing band was playing and I really wanted to swing, but Messer didn't really know how and did not want to go up in front of everyone so she grabbed some random bald guy and asked if he could swing.  He said yes, so she asked him to dance with me and he did.  He was actually really good and I had such a good time.  Later his wife saw me by the docks and said "Oh, you're the dancer who danced with my husband.  He was the bald guy." lol

When Stephanie returned, we all got in the car and drove to various locations where the movie was filmed including where the lake lift happened, the steps Baby danced on, the ruins of the old dace room/Kellerman's stage room, and a hotel where the floor from that old dance room had been installed.  That may have been my favorite place.  We came in and the hotel manager was very nice, letting us take off our shoes, traipse around taking pictures and even lying on the floor to "soak up Patrick's essence" as Messer put it.  We had ice cream in Chimney Rock and then went to the resort where the outdoor live band concert would take place that evening.

Dancing on the steps.

In between classic bands like The Clovers and The Embers, the Asheville Ballet performed dances to all the songs from the movie and then did the final "Johnny and Baby" dance.  At the end, everyone who had learned the chorus got up and danced it.  It was so much fun.  Afterward, everyone was dancing on the floor when the guy who played Johnny came up and asked me to dance. We had such a good time and grooved really well together.  The last move we did was a lift/spin and everyone had backed up and was watching us.  It was totally my "Baby" moment.

The next morning Tiffany met the three of us at Chimney Rock State Park to hike around and we had a really nice time.  She left after that and the three of us went back to the Lake Lure Inn to get a tour of Jennifer Gray's suite where she stayed during filming.  Patrick Swayze's was unfortunately occupied.  From there we drove to Hendersonville where we went apple picking and had a great time with my camera and it's 'color selection' tool.  (Refer to photos to see what I mean). 

Sitting on the floor Patrick danced on.

The following Thursday I drove up to Asheville to go see wedding sites with Tiffany, Mitch and her parents (since I'm going to be the Maid of Honor).  First we went to the Biltmore which was very beautiful and would offer a fantastic view if they got married at the Diana statue on top of the hill overlooking both house and mountains.  That evening there was a wedding festival where vendors from all over came to try and suggest their services to future bridal parties.  It gave us a few good ideas, but overall, was a bit disappointing.  That night we went to dinner at Olive Garden and then watched "Something Borrowed" together.

The next day we checked out a really cool venue not far from Tiff and Mitch's house that offered beautiful views and a nice indoor space for the reception at a much lower cost than the Biltmore.  Mitch and I liked that place best.  Next we saw the Grovepark Inn's venue which Tiffany seemed to favor, but which I didn't like as much due to the dated architecture and decor of the indoor space (though the view from the outdoor ceremony spot was lovely).  We had Mexican for lunch and overall it was a great couple days with Mitch and the Carusos. 

Tiff and me climbing a tree in Chimney Rock.

Back at home, I have been learning some really cool new moves in silk class lately, though one of them (a drop move called Foosball), left a big bruise under my left arm - but only b/c I was scared when I first did it and favored one side when I dropped over the other. 

Otherwise, I've been writing up a storm for the paper and wondering when I'm going to have time to finish my graduate school writing sample and start/finish my applications.  Once I get that over with, I'll feel better. 

Apple picking with my "color detection" camera.

The Whirlwind of Fall

I've been so busy lately, I'm actually trying to rack my brain for the highlights.  How in the world does life go by this fast? I've been doing a lot of stories and columns for the paper and am about to take on a new role writing the news briefs for the Young Achievers section that comes out on Tuesdays.  Last Sunday, I had a story about a friend of mine, Bethany, and her upcoming 11-month trip to 11 third world countries to help the least and the lost.  She said, thanks to my article, she's had people coming out of the woodworks to help support her financially, in prayer, or by buying Citipass books from her.  Here is the link to the article - it's a pretty inspirational story! http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/09/11/2589401/ex-nurse-leaving-her-comfort-zone.html#storylink=misearch

I can't imagine quitting my job, trying to raise upwards of $20,000 and taking off to war-ravaged, disease-filled countries where people are so inured to poverty and death, they take it as a given.  She is so very brave!

BOB reunion.

Last Saturday BOB (Bevy of Beauties or Babes of the Bible) - my Bible study group - had a little reunion.  The group has been going for 6 years under the leadership of Kathy Storm and while women have come and gone, once a BOB, always a BOB.  We now have a couple BOB babies as well!  Jen brought her sweet little one Caroline and Bridget brought Natalia.  They are only about two months apart so hopefully they will be great friends! It was so nice catching up with some old members and really appreciating all that BOB has given us. 

This weekend I'm going to Lake Lure with my friend Stephanie and her friend Messer.  Stephanie and I met a couple years ago when we were both teaching dance at Fancy Feet, but as it turns out, she and I went to the same dance studio in Miami and her sister, who is a year younger, and I were best friends in class.  I actually have pictures of us together!  It is such a small world!  Anyway, last year (or the year before??), Stephanie and Messer (who visits from Miami on occasion) and I went to Lake Lure to see the locations from the Dirty Dancing movie and go apple picking.  It was such a great day!  Well this year there is a Dirty Dancing Festival that will have a showing of the movie over the lake, lake lift contests, watermelon carrying contests, dance lessons and competitions and a live concert.  I'm sooo excited and we booked a room for two nights in the Lake Lure Inn which is right there in the action.  It's going to be awesome!

The following Thursday I'm going up to that area again to go with Tiffany (my oldest friend) to check out this wedding festival because she's getting married in a year or so and I'm going to be her maid of honor!  Anyway, she wants me to check this out with her to get different ideas.  We also may meet with a wedding planner at Biltmore to see what they offer.  I'm so excited for her!

After that I have one weekend home before going back to the mountains for a retreat with my Bible study girls.  The weekend after that, back to the mountains to go camping with a bunch of friends from church.  The weekend after that I wanted to fly to San Francisco to visit my cousin and see some friends out there, but now she's not sure I can come and by the time she knows, flights may be too expensive.

Kathy with BOB baby, Natalia.

So yes, fall is a whirlwind season for me.  Not only that, but I'm supposed to be applying to 9 grad schools!!  Ahhhh.  Time, time, please stand still for just a little while!!

Creative Urges

Do you ever have trouble deciding how to express your emotions?  Right now I am torn between the desire to write, sing, dance, run, draw, or just give up entirely and sleep.  I often get these urges (usually late at night when very little is actually practical) where I just feel like I'm being pulled in a million different directions from the inside and I want to scream which leads to the want to run - as though I could outrun the creative urges battling inside me. 

I probably sound schizophrenic right now, but seriously, what do people do with these feelings?  Usually I feel like I can't pick so I end up just ditching the whole idea and watching TV - or blogging instead of writing a creative story which would take significantly more time. 

Part of it comes from what a fantastic day it was and how I really wanted to be outside and I couldn't be and now I'm regretting not taking a long walk or running outside or playing Frisbee.  Tomorrow morning, I think I'll run outside.  My allergies can just take a backseat to the beauty of the day (please let tomorrow be as gorgeous as today!). 

I'm pretty sure, if I could fly, I wouldn't feel this way.  I really wish I could fly.  :)