Renaissance

Friday, January 17, 2025

Watkins

A camping trip to Watkins Glen with tons of people from our community. (A Trail Life and American Heritage Girls community camping trip.) If you ever get a chance to go camping with other people you know, it's tons of fun. The kids were partying 100% of the time and the parents were relaxing 100% of the time.

On Saturday, the Watkins Glen gorge was INSANELY OVERCROWDED. (This is beautiful tourist attraction so people come from all over.) There were major traffic jams of people on those teeny, narrow trails. (At one point, we were at a standstill for 20 minutes as people tricked past one another.) And just days before they had seen major flooding to the trails so everything was puddled, pooled and wet. We Newmans arrived mere moments before our whole group was leaving, so we didn't have time to grab waters or snacks or prepare in any way. It wasn't a super great hike. We arrived back to the campsite tired, THIRSTY, wet and annoyed that a 25 minute hike had taken nearly 3 hours... and we didn't see anything but our feet or other peoples' heads!

Sunday morning, the girls and I went out early before we headed home and it was peaceful, serene, quiet and beautiful. I am SO glad we tried again the next day... if ever you go to Watkins Glen Gorge, tour the gorge early on Sunday morning and you won't regret it!

(You can tell by the pictures which day they were taken.)

Sunday, January 12, 2025

There is love

I love my children.

One way you can tell is because though I am TERRIFIED of heights, I followed them to HIGH CLIFFS and not only allowed them to walk upon them but I, even I, walked among them.

Why yes, that is a cliff in which they could fall to their doom

Why yes, Judah thought it would be hilarious to prop himself as if he has fallen to his doom. (His feet, apparently, were in a crag of a rock. "Totally Secure", I'm told. As if that offered me any comfort.)