Bike, Hike + Dogfish [The Weekend]

Welcome to the last week of August! Where did the summer go?

For the first time in nine years- I’m actually not going to complain about summer ending, because for the first time in nine years- it doesn’t mean that I have to go back to school! Actually, if I think about it- it’s the first time in twenty-seven years that I don’t have to go back to school, since I’ve either been in grade school, college, grad school or teaching school since I was five years old. What an odd concept…

I’m looking forward to the fall, because I love the fall (just like every other person on the planet, right?). Fall foliage, cooler weather (not cold!), apple picking, pumpkin everything… what’s not to love? Before we get there though, I’m going to just enjoy these last few weeks of summer and wear shorts for as long as I can.

So, here’s the weekend review. It was a good one! AND I can even cross two items off of my Summer Bucket List!

Saturdays are usually a rest day for both Greg and I, but they often involve some kind of “active” rest- like an easy hike or long walk with the dogs. We chose to focus a little more on the active and not so much the rest this weekend and headed out on a little biking/hiking trip!

Greg and I hit the C&O Towpath late in the morning to bike up to Harper’s Ferry (#14 on the list: Bike on the C&O). I know I’ve talked about this activity before on the blog, but we don’t do it nearly as often as we used to, and I miss it! We rode up to the trailhead, locked up our bikes and hit the Maryland Heights Trail.

I’ve hiked this trail more times that I can count, and I never get tired of it! It starts out pretty steep (which is always difficult to capture in a photo), and stays that way for a good mile or so.

Then you get to a point where you can either head straight up to the Maryland Heights overlook (which is also a pretty nice climb) or take the Stone Fort (extension) trail, which adds about 2 miles to the hike and is super steep. Guess which way we usually go…

This part is ass-kicking and makes your heart rate go way up- but man it feels good to charge up those hills!

After we got to the top of the trail, it leveled out and we picked a spot to cross off #11 on the bucket list: picnic along a local hike!

I had packed a sandwich for Greg, a toasted P28 bagel for me, some mini Asian pears, one of the (many) little bags of Popchips from our pantry, and a ton of cut up veggies.

Lunch just tastes so much better when you’re enjoying it in the great outdoors!

After our little picnic, we eventually made our way back down to the trailhead. The C&O canal runs along the Potomac River, where there’s generally always people tubing, white-water rafting, kayaking, fly-fishing, etc.

And there’s always plenty of other cyclists and runners on the towpath.

As we biked back, I tested out my picture taking skills (which is probably really stupid and I’m just asking to crash). I used to be really good at taking action shots while on a bike… now I’m just okay.

This picture makes me dizzy.

Like my awesome clear lenses?

Oww! What a hottie. Speaking of hotties, check out Mr. Speedy!

He’s thinking: stop taking damn pictures and hurry the f*%$ up!

Our bike/hike/picnic adventure took about 3 hours round trip and was so much fun! When we got back home, I made the usual weekend grocery trip and then came home for a hot date night, which included watching this movie.

I can watch this movie over and over again, and still laugh like it’s the first time I’ve seen it. SO many good quotes (“Slappin’ the bass,” “Totes Magotes,” “City Slickaaaa” okay I’ll stop.) And in case you don’t know, I have just a little, tiny crush on Paul Rudd.

…And we were both asleep by 10pm.

**

Sunday morning started with a little of this

followed by teaching Spinning at 8:00. After getting home from the gym, I was lazy for a few hours until it was time to head down south to Gaithersburg. First stop: Fleet Feet to pick up my new kicks!

I had ordered these last week, since the store only carried them in purple. I love these shoes and can’t wait to break them in! I am most definitely a Brooks girl, through and through.

While we were there, we made a quick stop over to Bark! to buy a new toy for the boys and to check out the pet adoption they had going on. Look at this cutie!

Hmmm, maybe I should add a little, tiny dog to my pack. I would name him Anwar Sadat (watch the movie mentioned above if you don’t know what that means).

Speaking of dogs, Dogfish Ale House was our next destination (and the main event for the day!). Did you like that little segue?

I’d like to ride on this bus!

Greg and I had made plans to meet up with our friends Mic and Brie for lunch-but we all knew what we were really there for- the punkin ale! Brie’s awesome mom Lynne also came.

I adore Lynne, and hadn’t seen her in quite a while. You can see where Brie gets her awesome healthy lifestyle from- her mom is in her 60s, is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, and mountain bikes every single day. She’s also got amazing biceps, but was too modest to flex for a photo. Trust me- they’re pretty damn impressive.

Mic’s husband Brie is also super active and mountain bikes on a regular basis. I won’t tell you his age- you wouldn’t believe me.

Sisters from another mister:

We ordered the usual hummus to start

I got a salad with grilled chicken and shrimp (and carrots, cucumber, avocado, tomato and lettuce)… pretty much what I get every single time.

The food at Dogfish isn’t really anything special, not great, but not bad either. Actually… the hummus is always really good. But, like I said before, we really go there for the beer- and the Punkin ale was just released the day before (glad there was still some left!) I consider myself a pumpkin beer connoisseur, and Dogfish is probably my favorite, with Schlafly and Southern Tier’s Pumking being a very close second.

Happy kids.

It started pouring while we were eating lunch, so we ended up hanging around for almost two hours, which was just fine. You know those friends you have that you can talk for hours and hours and there’s never a lull in conversation? Yeah, Mic and Brie (and Lynne) are those kinds of friends. Plus, it was fun to pick Lynne’s brain a bit since she’s a Personal Trainer with years of experience!

When the rain finally stopped for a moment, we all caravan-ed over to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few things. It’s always fun to go grocery shopping with friends and show each other products that you love (and find new things). Or at least…. it’s fun to me.

We all finally parted ways and it was time to head on up the road.

The rest of the evening was spent doing some work on the computer, making dinner, relaxing, and turning in early. I had to teach Bodypump at 6:00 this morning and Greg had a 6:20 am train up to New York for a 2-day business trip. So now I’ve got the house all to myself until Tuesday night- oh the possibilities!

Have a great Monday!

PS- You still have all of today to enter the latest KINDsnacks giveaway! Go!

What did you do this weekend? Are you a pumpkin beer fan (and if so, what’s your favorite kind?)?