Shenandoah

Rather than hitting the road early like we'd originally planned, we ended up sleeping in this morning to make up for other, shorter nights endured this week. We finally rolled out of bed about nine and decided it was too late to whip up anything for breakfast. Plus, we were out of eggs; plus, it had been a long time since we'd gone out for crepes. So we took care of that, were glad we did, and set out to drive to Shenandoah.

When we tried to get reservations a couple of weeks ago, camping in the park was already full. We decided that was okay and we'd just make a day trip out of it. On the way down, we stopped at a grocery store for some driving food --Triscuits, summer sausage, cheese and grapes--and enjoyed some finger food along with the scenery.

We also enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, an old favorite I've listened to many times but which was new to Matt. If you've never heard it, read by the author, it's an experience I would highly, highly recommend. Keillor takes turns being raunchy, hilarious, poignant, and soothing, and his speaking voice and writing style are both amazing. The Cedar Rapids Public Library (still the best I've come across) always had it available, but this time we had to download it from Audible.com. It cost $7.49, downloaded quickly and loaded onto the iPod without any problems.
Once we got to Shenandoah (which took about 2 hours) there wasn't as much fall color as we had hoped for, but the views were still nice, and we ended up parking and going for a 3-hour hike in the woods. It was really nice to be out away from the city, and the weather was great. We had a nice time getting a little exercise and chatting without any kind of deadlines for a change. I think we're definitely going to make it a goal to try to keep getting out of the city on a regular basis-- it's really refreshing to us both.
On the way home from the park, we ended up coming across a vineyard and having a free mini wine tasting. The day just kept getting better!
By around 8:30 we were fantasizing about dinner, so we stopped to get some tomatoes and basil while we were out. Once we got home, Matt whipped up a quick batch of pizza crust and we made a pizza with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil (and, of course, lots of cheese).
And now we're just happy to be back home. Tomorrow we're going to go to yoga, I'm going to work on homework, and then I'm excited to have the week (mostly) off of school.