Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Ok, so there wasn't any lions or tigers (well, except me) on vacation. But, we did see a bear.

Its customary that during our retreat to the mountains, that we go experience nature. JJ used to call them nature adventures. We have a day hiking book and we usually scan the book to find a hike that suits our desires.

This year we chose a fairly easy trip. It was a paved path, 1.3 miles out to a waterfall and 1.3 miles back. The elevation wasn't so high, so we gave it a try.

The path was crowded, of course, but we forged onward. I was excited to see the Mountain Laurel was in bloom.

We made it to our destination without any problems. I am so happy to see that JJ has become more independent. Once we hit the waterfall, he asked if he could climb about. In the past, he's usually begged one of us to go somewhere with him, so he could see what he wanted.

We took a rest for a while. It wasn't too hot, so we weren't too bad. I managed to get JJ to sit still for a few minutes to take some photos. Most of them didn't turn out right because it was mid-day and the sun/shadows were fierce!

JJ loves taking pictures with the camera as well. I'm not hesistant to hand it over because he always takes good care. Plus, its all insured! :) He was able to get at least one good of Gene and I.



And Gene was able to get me a new Facebook profile photo when he took this one...



On the way back to the car, we saw a few fellow hikers had stop to look at something. When we got close, we realized it was a bear! A mid sized black bear was roaming around the mountainside. We watched for a minute. I was hesistant to stick around because I didn't want to be attacked. Everytime I took a photo, the shutter click would make enough noise for it to look at me.


On the way back to the car, we saw a few fellow hikers had stop to look at something. When we got close, we realized it was a bear! A mid sized black bear was roaming around the mountainside. We watched for a minute. I was hesistant to stick around because I didn't want to be attacked. Everytime I took a photo, the shutter click would make enough noise for it to look at me.

Finally, the bear crossed the path and I said we needed to hail tail out of there before we were dinner. Gene finally agreed and we left the bear alone.



Buh bye Bear!

So there you have it folks. Vacation in a nutshell. Ha... I stretched it out as long as I could. Hope you enjoyed, its now back to every day life.