This year has been flying by and it’s hard to believe we’re sitting just about 2 months away from Christmas and the beginning of a new year! Brady and I have been trying to soak in all the great weather and fall colors while it lasts. A month ago we hiked the Billy Goat Trail, we were at the beach in Delaware a few weekends ago, then we went backpacking, then hiking with my family, and this past weekend we went out to Western Maryland to ride the rail trail and enjoy some fall colors!
The specific trail we rode on has 2 parts: the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) that runs from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD and then it continues on to Washington D.C. via the C&O Towpath for a total of 335 miles. We started at the Eastern Continental Divide and rode the last 25 miles of the GAP trail down into Cumberland on Saturday afternoon. The best thing about this section of the trail is that it’s all downhill (1800 ft elevation drop <- I wouldn’t want to be going the other way!) So it’s not like you can just sit there and coast but even with breaks and minimal effort, you can make the trip in 3-4 hours. The only thing that’ll be sore after this trip is your tailbone if you don’t ride often.
It was a 2 hour drive to get out to Western Maryland and the weather Saturday morning was abysmal. Dreary, misty, foggy, damp and overcast yucky weather. As soon as we started driving up the mountain to our start point, we left the clouds hanging on the mountains behind us and we were in instant sunshine! By the time we rode our bikes into Cumberland a few hours later, it was if it had never been overcast at all. The weather for our ride couldn’t have been more perfect. It was 70 degrees with just enough cool in the breeze to keep you from overheating while riding in the sun.
I loved the sunshine, I loved the fall colors, I loved the company… it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.
Over the state line.
On Sunday we managed to get out of bed at a reasonable hour so we could go do some apples and veggie picking at Larriland Farm. I’d been wanting to go for a week but many of the fields had been closed due to mud so I’m glad it was still open even though it was a drizzly morning. We started with apples and then moved on to spinach and beets. I think spinach may be one of my favorite things to pick. Apple picking is too easy and is over too quickly but you have to spend time picking spinach and it breaks your back in the process… so much fun! You always have to pick a ton of spinach because that stuff disappears once you cook it. That entire bag is probably only 2-3 meals. If that.
Our farm excursion finished up in the barn where I grabbed freshly picked onions, broccoli, tomatoes, apple cider, and a couple decorative pumpkins.
The rest of Sunday was spent cleaning and organizing our place for our upcoming move, playing computer games together, having a pizza dinner with my family and that’s about it. The fall colors aren’t going to last long so next weekend we’ve got some Shenandoah hiking planned and a birthday get together with the in-laws. Stay tuned for a What I Ate Wednesday coming tomorrow!
What did you do this weekend?
What are your favorite fall activities?
No Comments