It’s been one year since Robin and I got married; it went by very quickly for us. I wanted to do something special for Robin and I, so I secretly booked a Bed & Breakfast in Greenville, Maine for 1 night and 1 day. There has always been a B&B in Greenville that I’ve wanted to eat and stay at; Robin and I always drove by it while heading to Kokadjo. I called Blair Hill Inn to reserve the 3rd floor room that overlooks the Moosehead Lake, a couple of months in advance just in case.

Our anniversary is October 4th, which happened to fall on a Sunday- so after church Robin and I headed towards Greenville. I told her we are going to go somewhere for the night but I couldn’t tell her where. The weather was rainy and cloudy. Upon arriving Greenville, a large fog cloud hovered over Moosehead Lake which rained on my idea of having a good view of the lake. I pulled into the B&B under the guise that I was lost and going to ask directions. After checking in I asked Robin to come inside and told her this is where we were staying.

The inside of the Inn was beautiful, it resembled its original charm with a large fireplace, dining room, game room and sitting area. After checking in, we headed up to our room that overlooked Moosehead Lake, had a king size bed, wood-burning fireplace and all-tile bathroom. We stayed in for the evening, exchanged our gifts and drank our sparkling grape juice and ate the remainder of our wedding cake, in front of the fireplace.

The next day, we got up early and ate our complimentary breakfast which was home-made by the owners themselves, while watching the previous day’s fog start to burn up from the rising sun. Later on in the morning we checked out and headed towards the boat landing for Mt. Kineo. I originally was planning on having us kayak to Mt. Kineo; however I was told it’s about a mile from the shore which normally is not bad when kayaking along a stream or river but Moosehead Lake is very large and usually has large cold waves. I decided to pay to take the ferry across the lake which was $10 a person round trip. Upon arriving on the island, the Sun started to peer through a section of the cloud veiled sky. I was looking forward to climbing this mountain as this was a first for both of us; I’ve read about the island’s history. It got its name from an American Indian that was banished there and then later on it was “discovered” by “white man” a hotel chain erected a hotel on the island however several years later you can read about the hotel during the process of being torn down and it burnt down.

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(See Spring VA vacation for the rest of the vacation read)
On Monday May 5th Robin and I headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a hike down to Apple Orchard Falls; to Robins knowledge, that’s all it was but to everyone else they knew that it’s where I planned to ask her to be my wife. The trail is 1.2 miles to the falls and intersects with the Appellation Trail. We made various stops along the way, one of which calmed my fear of a wilted waterfall, we came across several flowing streams in which we stopped and photographed as well as several dead trees that were pecked to its structural limit. Near the end of the hike there’s a mini-waterfall with a very nice wooden bridge which Robin wanted to stop and watch as she has never viewed a waterfall in person, needless to say I was very anxious to head to the main attraction that was merely 600 feet away. I enticed Robin to hurry down the trail while she was playing with a millipede she came across stating that I was getting hungry.

As we descended down the man-made wooden stairs that carried us around the outer edge of the mountain a large waterfall came into view through an opening of trees; to Robins surprise she jogged down the stairs and crossed over the large wooden bridge onto a wooden platform where we sat our gear down and took in the beautiful vista while being cooled by the spray of the waterfall. I retrieved a small bag of Chocolate Chip cookies that we made the night before that hid the engagement ring and sat on a large boulder in front of the falls. I said to Robin, “Let’s have a snack”, she made her way to the rock and I handed her the bag of cookies. As she was opening the bag she noticed a smaller ziploc bag that concealed the ring, she asked, “What’s this little bag?” while reaching for a cookie and I suggested that she open the bag to see what’s inside. As she unraveled the bag she paused once she saw gold and I took it from her hands, got on my knee and asked her to be my wife. I will never forget the look on her face as I proposed and after as she was running around with joy. We were able to eat our lunch and photograph the falls once Robin started to calm down a bit. Robin is one of those women that are very good at guessing things, and fortunately I was able to through her off the entire plan, she was completely surprised by it.

Last November I ordered two round-trip tickets to visit Mom & Jack for Robin and I for the first week of May. Robin last flew on an airplane 22 years ago, at the age of 4. The outbound flight was set for 7AM which meant we both had to be up very early and at the airport for check-in an hour before takeoff. When we arrived we were told that we needed to be thoroughly searched by the TSA agents; I wasn’t surprised as this always happens to me. Months of planning to ask Robin to marry me were almost exposed as her engagement ring was hiding in one of my camera bag’s compartments, the TSA agent looked through all but that one with Robin at my side- once cleared we hurried to the jet and found our seats, I made sure that Robin had the window seat so she could enjoy the views. An hour and half later we landed Philadelphia, hopped on another plane to Cincinnati and then to Roanoke, VA where we were greeted by Mom & Jack. Robin was surprised to see the topographic differences between Maine and Western Virginia (not West Virginia) which consists mostly of large sharp ridged mountains and rolling hills.

We ate at Robin’s first Cracker Barrel on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway which overlooks Roanoke, Lynchburg, Shenandoah Valley, etc. I always enjoy riding on the parkway; it’s amazing to think how much work was put into building the roads throughout all of the twists and turns of the mountain range for everyone to enjoy God’s Creation.

Just as I was surprised at the size of Thomas Road Baptist Church Robin marveled at its elegance. Jerry Falwell, Jr’s theme for the morning was “Deal or No Deal” similar to the TV show, each brief case had a word that described how we all feel when it comes to spreading the Word of God and how to overcome each “excuse”. At the end of the service we browsed a few of their stores; Robin purchased a needed Bible cover for me. After church we were treated to dinner at the Peaks of Otter restaurant that sits at the foot of Sharp Top Mountain. Virginia’s evenings are warm and it’s air quiet, free from the buzzing of mosquitoes, black flies, etc opposed to Maine, so Sunday evening Robin and I sat on the swinging seat on the porch and talked about our relationship, places she wanted to visit, which was good; I really enjoy having conversations such as that with her.

On Tuesday the 6th Robin and I headed to Sharp Top Mountain; we started at the Rangers station which is the base of the mountain. Half way up I found that hiking in a heavy polo shirt with an under t-shirt with a heavy camera bag was a good way to work up a sweat; Robin fortunately and embarrassingly helped me out for a few minutes. Three quarters of the way up there’s a ledge aptly named “Buzzards Roost“; it consists of a small number of very large protruding boulders with a 200′ drop off where you can see evidence of Buzzards eating their prey and salamander’s sun bathing. We climbed to the top of the roost and photographed the landscape, had a snack and cooled off. Robin is a personal trainer and Health Educator; because of that I enjoy giving her a hard time about her fitness (which is great by the way)- for most of the hike she was ahead of me and when she was tired she’d stop to while waiting for me to catch and then would start again as I caught up not allowing me to rest at all so I brought this to her attention and stated I was in better shape than her (which is not true). Robin ran up the mountain for the remaining 300′ which does not sound difficult but in the sun and the slope of the trail it is.

The top of Sharp Top mountain holds true to its name, the tip is narrow and steep consisting of very substantial boulders that are supported by smaller boulders that make a balancing act in the circus pale in comparison. We sat on top with our shoes and socks off overlooking Bedford enjoying the cool breeze flowing over our sweaty bodies whilst eating our lunch. From our perch we had a 360° view that spans for at least 60 miles valleys and mountains that would make any skeptic believe in the Ultimate Artist. Even our Sigg water bottles enjoyed the view. We both climbed out onto miscellaneous perches that most people do not climb to due to the amount of courage it requires. After climbing various ledges and filling our digital camera memory cards we took a different route, the paved route that the bus transports hikers from the base to the midpoint of the mountain; the walking distance is two hours longer than what it would be taking the actual hiking trail. Fortunately we were able to spot a Dark-eyed Junco and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

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I woke up on early Tuesday morning greeted by a cool breeze and a dark horizon, it was time to take a shower and head to the Bangor International Airport. When I passed through TIA’s security checks I boarded the near-full aircraft to my surprise; most of the commuters were from Maine. Earlier during the week I had read an article on how to take photographs through an airplane’s window as it’s something that I’ve wanted to attempt the next chance I had; unfortunately my window was scratched to the point where they would show. The sun started to rise as the jet engines were warming, by the time we were in the air the sun was just above the horizon illuminating the dark blue sky that display a beautiful gradient. As we climbed higher Maine’s many bodies of water were covered with a light fog- a common sight in the mornings of Maine.

I arrived to the Cincinnati, OH airport a mid-sized airport and from there we were up and down in about 45 minutes. I arrived to Roanoke Airport in Jeans and polo with an under T as it was cool in Maine but in Roanoke it was roughly 90. We had dinner at The Cracker Barrel, I had the same meal as last time- Hardy Breakfast.

Thursday the 30th was a little cooler, in the high eighties with very high humidity. Mom and I hiked Otter Creek Trail which was roughly four miles long consisting of river bed trails, tree root stairs, crossing the stream, walking under bridges and the woods up and down mountain stream crevasses. At the end of the trail a log cabin restaurant awaited us at which Jack treated us for dinner.

On Friday the 31st we headed out to Jamestown, VA to visit the original and permanent English settlement that began the US’ history. Friday was probably the hottest day that I experienced for a very long time, the temperature was at 100 with very high humidity. When we first arrived to Jamestowne we drove the park loop that had informational signs depicting what the inhabitants did to survive. At the beginning of the trail a male Eastern Box Turtle was crossing the road; Jack stopped so I could take a look at it as I’ve never seen a Box Turtle before. Near the end of the loop there’s a path that leads to a beach on the James River, since it was hot, mom and I went in knee deep- the water was bathtub hot something a Mainer is not accustomed to.

Once we finished the loop we headed to the original settlement where excavation was still in the works, we visited the first Christian Church, a remake of how houses were built, remake of the three ships that landed and a museum that hosted many artifacts that were dug from the site. Tools have always interested me, especially early tools man has used to ease his work; the museum had a lot of old tools ranging from eye glasses, ear picks, make-shift knives, hoes, metal shards meant to stop intruders, etc.

Afterwards, we headed towards Virginia Beach only to find out that traffic was very very heavy- what would normally take 45 minutes took us roughly two hours. Once we arrived we walked on the beach and I went knee high since I did not not bring my swimming shorts.

Sunday the 2nd was my first visit to Thomas Road Baptist Church since Jerry Falwell passed away a few months ago; his son, Jonathan Falwell is now the primary pastor for TRBC. I am always amazed at how God has blessed Jerry’s work and the people he’s help bring to Christ and one of the many things that show this is TRBC and its members. During the service I started to regret turning down a job interview for Liberty University last year because there are so many groups and outreaches that I would like to be apart of. TRBC posts the majority of their sermons on their website, even if you’re not a Believer, I suggest that you at least check one out, especially “Preparing To Build, Part 8″.

Monday’s weather was a cool (for Virginia) 82 with partially clear skies, Sharp Top Mountain’s visage was semi-clear. On our way to Sharp Top Mountain we stopped in an Angus field to snap a few photos. We purchased bus tickets to the top of the mountain as didn’t want to spend the majority of the day hiking; while waiting for the bus one of the Game Wardens allowed me to take their pet Box Turtle out so I could properly photograph it. Once we reached the top, the skies were regrettably hazy but we still enjoyed the limited view. On our decent a Doe walked passed us, ate a few leafs of a lower hanging branch, walked passed us again, stopped and stared at us. Mom was just inches from feed her a handful of leaves; the Doe was very calm and curious, she followed us down the majority of the trail, eating and watching as we walked. As funny as this may sound, I think she was a gift from God as I was complaining that I didn’t have an opportunity to take a decent shot of much today.

Later in the evening I photographed the Moon hours before the full lunar eclipse that I woke up for very early in the morning.