pennsylvania field trips

thousand steps, PA

"sure is peaceful up here."

"sure is."

CATE, of course, was comparable to a grasshopper while traveling down these steps with ease.  me, on the other hand, i was comparable to a small child learning how to walk.
WE came across a boy who climbs this mountain (drumroll please) up to 6 times a day!  our calves were STILL in pain 5 days later.  

 harrisburg, PA

                                                  

lucky for us, we got to experience a little piece of home.  friends from oregon (a tour of sorts) hit the road at about the same time as cate and i did.  coincidently, we were BOTH in pennsylvania at the exact same time, with only an hour and half separating us!  we took the night off, showered, and actually attempted to look presentable to the public!  success.  

seeing our fellow oregonians reminded us of our roots and real life; which seemed to me had been slipping away...slowly but surely.  we had been living a beautiful disaster of a life for the past 4 weeks.  we had grown accustomed to not knowing where we would be sleeping the next night, deciding whether to have bird seed granola or canned beans for dinner, and desperately trying to keep our clothes as clean as possible since a washer and dryer never seem to be readily accessible.  it's a humbling, exciting, crazy, growing adventure.  and i need to pinch myself every once and a while, just to make sure i'm aware that this is not real life.  "all good things must end."

"these are the days we're connecting dots."