Euro Trip 05

This adventure was a last minute, no planning adventure. I went to see my brother Sam, who was stationed at an Army base in Germany, for Christmas. I got to meet his beautiful fiancee Nadia (shown with us on the park bench). We were passing a train station, and decided to take a -fly by the seat of our pants- adventure. We booked train tickets from Frankfurt (Germany) to Calogne (Germany) to Amsterdam (Holland) to Paris (France), all in the course of 5 days. We made no hotel or hostle reservations, we just got out of the trainstation and started looking for lodging. This worked out well, because Nadia can speak 7 different languages. If we did not find lodging fast, we worked on plan H, for Hammett (when plans A,B,C,D,E,F&G did not work out!!) which envolves finding the nearest bar and drinking a beer...planning our next move. The girl giving me a hug is Naima, the bartender of the Peace and Love hostel in Paris. I taught her how to make a Bloody Mary. It was a shame to have to leave Europe, but I am looking for a good excuse to return!

Appalachian Trail 05

This adventure is set in the foothills of Northern Georgia, affectionately known as the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. We left home at midnight, and after 15 hours of driving, we had arrived at our destination. After hiking two liniar miles, which was actualy six trail miles, we had ascended six thousand feet to our campsite near Blood Mountain. The breathtaking view of the mountain range convinced us to stay there for three days, rather than contenue down the trail. The campsite was situated above the clouds, as we watched a thunderstorm roll in UNDER us. One of the best things about the night was the pinpricks of light we could see that peppered the sides of the mountainrange...campfires from other backpackers. The rattlesnake pictured above made his home under a large rock that sat 30 feet to the west of our campsite, but we didn't bother it, so it didn't bother us. Those who attended this adventure were Matt, Martin, Erik, Ryan, Mark, Buhler, and Me.