Skydive!

This photo was taken after our skydive. What an incredible experience!

Unbelievably, my former neighbor called to say he and his visiting kids were going white water rafting today, and invited us to go along. So we hiked up a mountain yesterday, jumped out of a plane this morning, and went white water rafting this afternoon. I think I will be hard pressed tomorrow to find a body part that is not sore!

Crowder Mountain--Saturday

My son is here for the weekend, so Saturday we went out to hike at Crowder Mountain. We decided to take Rocktop Trail up to the peak, which I had never done before (I've only come down it). The photo below is actually the trail; it goes right up those rocks (see Jonathan on top?). Once on top, you have to step from rock to rock, and although I'd probably have been fine if I hadn't stopped to catch my breath, I had to sort of regroup up there to be able to make it on across.

Jonathan was very patient with me. It was extremely hot and humid, so I was not as perky as I'd have liked to have been. Uphill is always more difficult for me anyway.

Good news from drought land

Some might see this as a miserable day, but it's relief we definitely needed!

Weekend Hike

After kayaking for the first time Saturday (no photos--I was afraid I'd drop the camera!) I was a bit stiff, so thought I'd take a hike Sunday to loosen up. This was a "recommended hike" at one of the local nature preserves. I did see some lovely flowers...

...and some very happy flowers

...but much of this hike was in the blazing sun and on a road covered with large gravel, making walking a bit of a chore--not to mention the trails were not well marked and I spent most of the time not sure where I was.

Green on green...can you see the little critter?

The hike was supposed to be four miles, rated easy to moderate. Right. By the time I got back to my car, I was thirsty (even though I'd taken bottled water and drank the worse-than-tepid stuff), soaked with sweat, beet red, and tired. Not to mention perturbed. I'd taken their word for it and planned a nice 1.5 - 2 hour walk. I walked almost 3.5 hours (5.7 miles) without being sure where I was most of the time.

Tuesday's walk

This guy was lumbering across the path.

I don't know; this just struck me as interesting.

Then and Now

Last week I took a picture of the view from this swing in a park where I sometimes walk.

Here's the view from the same swing this morning...

I love this shot.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan

What did you get for your 21st birthday, Jonathan? Oh, my mom got me a new tire!

Duke University

I attended the Duke University Chapel this morning and spent a good while in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. These are a few of my favorite shots.

Lucky 8

The Olympics opened today, 08/08/08, at 8:08 AM. Not a coincidence, so I'm told. The number 8 is considered lucky in Chinese culture. My little town is displaying (until it's moved to the Beijing International Sculpture Park) a sculpture by Jon Hair, "a Cornelius resident, internationally recognized artist and the official sculptor of the U.S. Olympic Team." The sculpture is called "Lucky 8" and now resides behind Town Hall and next door to Food Lion--not the greatest place for photos...

There's something about water!

I'm making several blog entries today; there are photos I wanted to get recorded that didn't make the "first cut" on the daily blog (not that I've been contributing daily....).

Just for the fun of it!

These are extra photos from yesterday's walk...the flowers at the water's edge made me happy! I especially like the first one. The red flowers below were huge (bigger than my hand), but it was hard to capture that scale.

Thursday's Walk

Busy, busy!

I guess this is a result of the bad storms we had a couple of weeks ago; I'd not noticed it until today.

The tree may think fall is approaching, but the temperature certainly doesn't feel like it!

I've been watching this interesting web just outside my door, but this morning was the first time I'd seen the designer.

Red and Yellow

Visitor

Wing Haven

Nestled in a downtown Charlotte neighborhood, Wing Haven is a 3+ acre garden/sanctuary. It began in 1927 as the private residence garden of the Clarksons, and began as an empty clay lot. Now it is a sanctuary that will always be a part of Charlotte.

I had lots of photos I like, so may be posting more this week. If you are interested, the whole set is on Flickr.

Maybe he meant it as a compliment

My new furniture arrived today, and the delivery man said "I see furniture all the time, and you've done different!" He seemed admiring.

So now in addition to the detached storm door, I actually have furniture in the living room.