Road Tripping: Columbus, GA

Also back in mid-November, after our friends came to visit and before Thanksgiving, Annie and I were able to join Brad on a business trip that he had to Columbus, GA.  When he took this new job back in May, we hoped we would get to travel with him occasionally since several of his cities are within driving distance.  This trip turned out to be the perfect opportunity since it was within driving distance, just one night, and he was traveling by himself.

So, we left on a Tuesday afternoon just in time for Annie's nap.  She did great and slept most of the 2.5 hour trip!  Brad and I were able to enjoy some nice, relaxing conversation, music, and a sermon on the way down!  

We stayed at the Marriott hotel in downtown Columbus, GA! 

 It is in an old mill building right across the street from the train station.  It was so nice!

Even though I don't really remember the city of Columbus, 

I do remember riding a train here when we were little!  

 Columbus has a very charming downtown that is on the Chattahoochee River!  

Even though Columbus is a small city there is a lot to do.  

We arrived just in time for dinner Tuesday night.  We picked the Cannon Brew Pub on Broadway Street which is the main street through downtown with lots of restaurants and shops on it.   

Dinner was okay but it was fun to be out! 

After dinner, we enjoyed time cozied up in the hotel room.  Annie slept great in her pack n play while Brad watched the Duke game.  I caught up on reading blogs!  After the game, Brad and I watched Parenthood - our new favorite show on the iPad!

Wednesday morning, we searched for the local breakfast dive and found Ruth Ann's Restaurant!  

We both had omelets, biscuits and coffee.  Yum!

After breakfast, Annie was ready for a nap in the big bed... 

...and Brad worked on his presentation.  

I sat and read in the quite hotel room with nothing else to do - heaven!

Eventually, Brad left for his meeting and Annie and I set off to explore downtown! 

 She was excited about our adventure!

The campus of Columbus State University is mixed right in with downtown!  

Unfortunately, after only about 10 minutes of walking around, 

it started to POUR rain and the tornado sirens went off!  

 Annie and I hurried back to the hotel and hunkered down in the lobby for the remainder of Brad's meeting.  We were a little sad not to get to explore Columbus and go see the Chattahoochee River, but we actually had a lot of fun together in the lobby!

We visited the hotel coffee shop, 

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took self portrait pictures, 

and talked to the baby in the mirror!  Annie was great and hardly made a peep!

Brad returned from his meeting and we headed back to Broadway Street for lunch at the City Market Cafe.  

Annie was so glad to see her Daddy!!

After lunch, we headed home and Annie did great again on the drive home.  We had such a fun little adventure and hope to do it again one day!  Annie was a perfect travel companion and we loved being with Brad!  Hopefully, we were not too much of a distraction:)

Wild At Heart, The Hike

Brad and 9 other guys from his Fellowship Group set off at 5am, Thursday, May 12th for a 3 night, 4 day, 32.7 mile backpacking trip through the Great Smoky Mountains!  He was like a little kid preparing to go to Disney World - he shopped for all of his supplies and talked about his trip for weeks leading up to it!

"The Hike" was the official end of his Fellowship Group. 

Here he is bright and early Thursday morning dressed and ready to go!  His pack weighed in between 30-32 lbs I think depending on his water levels.  At first I felt really sorry for him, but then I remembered that I have been carrying around a 20 lb "pack" for several months now with more to go so I didn't feel so bad!

Brad was the "Trail Boss" for the trip nominated by the priest in charge of the group due to his previous hiking and backpacking experience.  The guys called him "TB" for trail boss or "Boss" all weekend.  They each had nicknames for each other.  As the trail boss, Brad planned out the hike each day including where they would stay at night, the pace of the group, when they would stop for lunch and breaks, etc.  He is a great leader and enjoyed this job very much!

Brad took this picture Friday while on the Appalachian Trail!  Gorgeous! He said as far as he could see it was just beautiful mountains and trees!

 

Here is Brad on Sunday afternoon after he returned home!  He had already cleaned up at this point but had not yet shaved.  I love his scruff!!  You can also see how tired he is in these pics. 

He loved every minute of his trip! 

He came home 3 lbs lighter, with stronger and sore legs, no injuries, and lots of great adventure stories! 

One of Brad's favorite parts was the 7.4 miles that they hiked in the rain on the Appalachian Trail.  They also stayed at the Derrick Knob shelter on the AT Friday night. So cool!

On Friday, Brad and another guy at the head of the pack almost stepped on a 5' rattlesnake!  Thankfully, Brad spotted it before they got too close.

And finally, another great part...breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way home!  He said they all ate their weight in food and couldn't get enough :)  Oh, and he hopes not to eat another Cliff Bar with either chocolate or peanut butter in it for a long time. Ha!

He also enjoyed getting to know the guys in his group so well as you can imagine you would after spending 4 days in the woods together.  I am so thankful that he was a part of this group and got so much out of it! 

Wild At Heart

For the past 12 weeks, Brad has been in a Men's Fellowship small group at our church.  They read the book Wild At Heart by John Eldredge and have a 4 day backpacking hike planned through the Great Smoky Mountains in May to wrap-up their study.

He has loved the study and especially the fellowship of men of all ages.  I am so thankful he has been a part of such a great group! 

In high school, Brad hiked and camped quite a bit with friends and even though it is something he loves to do, it has been a long time since he has done it.  So, in order to get ready for his trip in May, he has been out to Oak Mountain several times to hike with his backpack, and of course, his favorite sidekick, Layla.  I think it is fair to say that Brad and Layla are obsessed with each other!

Here she is riding in Brad's car!  She looks just like a human sitting in the front seat. 

Brad took some great pictures with his iPhone on each of his adventures. 

Layla loves the water and was so glad to finally cool off halfway through the hike the first day!

Also halfway through the hike on the first day was this gorgeous waterfall at Peavine Falls!  I can't wait to go out with them...maybe after baby!?!

Layla was completely worn out after her first day of hiking!  She couldn't even hold her head up on the way home!

Here are a few pictures from their second hike.

The second hike took them around this lake!

And the reward at the peak of mountain was this spectacular view of Birmingham!

I just started reading Wild At Heart myself and it is a great book!  I think Eldredge is absolutely right...men are made for adventure and the wild and women love to have a manly hero in their life!

I can't help but think of the song Cowboy Take Me Away by the Dixie Chicks:

"Cowboy take me away, fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue

Set me free oh I pray closer to heaven above and closer to you

I wanna look at the horizon, and not see a building standing tall

I wanna be the only one, for miles and miles

Except for maybe you, and your simple smile"

The Has Beens, Flowers, Sewing, & Baby Registry

Saturday, Brad and his best friends from high school, Wes, Blake, and Lance, played in the Rick & Bubba Connect 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the Met.  They named their team the "Has Beens" since they have been playing ball together since middle school!  Here are some fun shots of them in action taken by Lance's girlfriend.  

They did much better than they expected for being "has beens" and lost in the quarter-finals.  I think they were actually relieved to lose because they were all sunburned and sore from playing 6 games!   Also, they wanted to get home and watch the Masters!

I, however, was hoping they would go all the way because there was a $750 prize for the winning team!

While Brad was playing basketball, I worked on a few projects I have been meaning to do.  First, I went to Lowe's and picked out some Summer flowers for my front porch pots.  

Then, I worked on a bubble for one of my favorite almost-1-year-old little boys! His Mom, Kat and I shopped for the fabric back in January.  Better late than never, right? 

Finally, Brad and I finished up a long Saturday at Buy Buy Baby.  Registering has been weighing on me as something I must do in order to get ready for this baby so it felt great to finally make some progress!  We actually had fun doing it too!!
(Not our best shot :) but necessary for documentation)

Happy Birthday Bradley!

Happy Birthday Hubby!! I am so thankful that you were born 28 years ago today!  I also can't believe that I have known you for 10 whole years!!!  Here we are on your birthday several years ago!

I thank God every day for you that he brought us together!! You are such a wonderful husband and I am so proud of you!

I pray that this year will be a wonderful year full of love, happiness, friends, good health, and fun!  I love you!

Tuesday Night Date Night

Tonight Brad and I went on an fun date night tonight to watch Nick Saban: Gamechanger!  It was an excellent movie and perfect timing to get us ready for the opening game of the season this Saturday!  After watching the movie, I have even more respect and confidence in Nick Saban.  He is truly an excellent teacher and a great motivator.  I think he could have me running a marathon or even playing football if he was my coach!  

After dinner, we went to Flip Burger since we have never been.  We got to enjoy our dinner on the outdoor patio overlooking the city.  It was a beautiful view and a beautiful night!  I am so glad for some cooler temperatures so that we can get outside more!

For dinner, I had the wild turkey burger and vegetable of the day, and Brad had the lobster burger and fried okra.  Both of our meals were delicious!!  We will definitely go back!  

  Thanks for a fun night Hubby!!