Hocking Hills

I went out to the Hocking Hills yesterday, which is a four hour drive and somewhat of a spur of the moment thing for me.

Mostly, I went because I wanted to go on the Zipline Tour. I had never heard of Hocking Hills really before this, but overall I'm glad I went, because Hocking Hills overall is a pretty cool place to visit.

Um, I don't know why I look somewhat psychotic in this picture, but I was having a good time!

The canopy tours has 10 ziplines and like five skybridges that has you zipping around in the trees about 30-80 feet high. The adrenaline is rushing and its a LOT of fun!

On a sky bridge, testing the restraints. Should have tested them a little farther.

The people there were awesome and they are really laid back, telling us the only rule was to have them hook us up and that we were to have a good time. That was easy, overall the trip took about two and a half hours from start to finish.

Yes, I look a little crazed from the adrenaline, but its only because I always make this crazed face when I'm goofing around

Riding on a zipline is a lot of fun. I want to do more research on other zipline tours but I was told this is one of the best ones in the Continental US. The longest zipline is about 600 feet long, riding up to 35 mph on the line. I don't think I ever got that fast thought.

Ok, fine, actually I am crazy. . . tour guides were awesome guys though!

This is the zipline tour from the line itself. You don't get the same affect as the actual tour from the video but it is a bit of a rush!



I have noticed it takes a lot for me to get a thrill anymore, I've gotten used to heights so I didn't really feel scared the entire time I was out there. Felt totally safe and just had a blast! If you are ever in the Hocking Hills, really recommend checking this place out.

And of course, there is more in the Hocking Hills then Zipline Tours.


This is a rockbridge that is a natural formation, the picture doesn't do it justice but you have to walk about a mile or so to get to it. There are a lot of cool natural formations like this in the Hocking Hills.


This is Old Man's Cave, which is in the middle of this huge gorge that is cut through the area, you wouldn't know it was there until you practically walked up on it, and there wasn't people all over the place.


Old Man's Cave has a couple of waterfalls, this is the upper falls, though I'm guessing it's a little more spectacular when you catch it in season. And I am advertising the fact that I went Zip Lining, yes.


Not every picture has to have me in it
Cedar Falls is down the road a couple miles, I hear this is another cool waterfall when you get it in season, but as you can see, this time of year it's a bit of a trickle.


The trails to the falls are just really cool, this area is awesome for hiking in. This is coming up the gorge out of Cedar Falls. I wanted to see more, but alas, it gets dark in November. There is plenty to see here that you can spend a couple days exploring. I only had one, and I had to be back in time to get some sleep, seeing as I worked today. And this was a four hour drive.


The last place I got to visit was Ash Cave. Playing with the lighting, I took some pictures with the low light setting, taking advantage of the affects. It was a beautiful day to explore the hills considering it is the middle of November.

There are a couple of other places that I didn't get around too, Cantwell Cliffs, the Rock House and Conkles Hollow were the ones I wanted to see that I didn't get too. Rock climbing, ATV rentals, Horse back riding, apparently this is a pretty big tourist destination.

Never knew this was here. As I've toured it, I have come to discover I really like the State of Ohio. Probably one of my top ten favorite states.

great, now I'll have to do a list.

Exhaustive Roadtrip Much?

Machine Gun Shoot got rained out. Well, actually it didn't, but I delayed going there by a day. Instead, I spent the day getting things ready for the rest of my trip.

Which included getting my tickets for Orlando. I think I'll definitely be doing this trip, seeing as I've got Five Days at Disney World and Seven Days at Universal Studios. Plus I got a ticket to Kennedy Space Station.

For Free.

The hotel and food is what will cost me, and i'll likely spend the most money of my entire trip in Orlando (and nearby places) but whatever the case, looks like I'll be using all thirty days of my leave. I've got to be back by November 7.

So the trip is up into Ohio, through New York, Vermont and New Hampshire to Maine, go back down through Massachusetts into Rhode Island and Connecticut, through New York City, Philidelphia and DC, and then high tail it down to Florida from there.

I'm going to exhaust myself on this vacation, but damn am I not looking forward to it!

Leave Info

Yay for Leave! For those of you who don't know, Leave is basically paid vacation in militarese.

Every time I have had a bad experience on mobilizations, Leave has always been there right when I needed it most, to pull me out of the crapper and get me all rested and cheerful again. Or at least get my head straight.

Leave in 2005 led me to take a whirlwind trip across 5 countries in Europe, a trip I would love to repeat again if I ever get the chance (though granted, likely visiting different countries next time) and something I briefly considered this time around.

Last year, I did a Mid Antlantic State visit. I stopped updating after DC due to overwhelming number of pictures to edit, which meant I left out Philidelphia, NYC and Gettysburg, but I have pictures for my own record. In hindsight, I wish I blogged more on it. But hindsight is 20/20 and I was busy actually enjoying my leave instead of worrying about blogging about it.

And that is the point of Leave and all.

Actually, the trip home last year was interesting too, seeing as I did a detour in Illinois and down through Missouri and then there was that whole Prop8 thing in SLC.

Anywho, if you haven't gotten the news, I like to travel. A lot. I love to visit different parts of this beautiful world we live in and now I'm looking at different areas I have not been to yet.

Where haven't I been? Hmm, New England strikes me as some place I need to check out, so I'm heading up that way via Ohio and New York (brief stop at Niagara falls) and into Maine then go down through Rhode Island and Connecticutt through Massachussetts (Salem in October should be pretty cool) and back into New York and down into DC.

I have thirty days. I don't think I'll use the entire thirty days. Whether or not I continue from DC depends on how burnt out I am from being on the road though. I saw both NYC and DC last year, so I'll hit up some places at both I missed on the last trip (maybe Broadway this time?) and continue on. Depending on how much time I have left (my plan is not to stick to a rigid agenda of being at a specific location on a specific date and seeing museum such and such at this time and visiting historic location So and so at this date and time because then it ceases being a vacation) I'll head south from DC to Florida and go check out Disney World.

Why you might ask? Because for lack of any other reason, It's freakin' Free for me to go there. To bad I don't have any young children or significant others to go with, but if I play my hand nice, I can probably make a few friends on my trip and hang out with them there. Besides, I think everyone ought to visit Disney World at least once in their life.

My mother asked me why I don't go see disney world first. (Actually, my trip up north will probably take me about two weeks if I play it right). The reason, because I can get caught up in Florida for one thing. There is plenty to do there, and it will likely be pretty expensive to go to Disney World for free.

But who knows, I might reverse the itenerary and go see Florida first. I'm open. That's what I like about 1)traveling by my own set of wheels and 2)not having to worry about other people. As much as I love my family to death, we are quite large as families go (i've got five siblings, four of which are married, and at last count thirteen nieces and nephews) and trying to get us all in sync at family functions is akin to trying to catch a feral cat with nothing but a liquor license and a chain saw. If that analogy makes any sense whatsoever. Case in point, nothing ever goes as smoothly as planned when you try to get that many people on the same sheet of music.

Now, if my family would let me run things and put my current training into use, I would have any family function running like a well oiled machine except for infants are involved. But I digress, and I'm rambling off topic.

anyway, Leave should be interesting. I'll blog when I can. And at the very least, I'll TWEET it!

30 days of paid vacation. If you judge it by how many hours I have worked since February, its well deserved, seeing as I sometimes work 16+ hour days.

DC - Post the Third

Day six - October thirdish. And my third day in DC.

Yeah, I haven't finished my Leave Speech. And I can't think of anything else to blog about in my very boring life right now. So I'll blog about the more exciting part of the year.

This day, I decided to plan out my trips on the metro and bought a pass to cover the trips I would take. It worked like a charm.

First: White House



I went straight to the white house this morning to get some pics and a view of it. I didn't tour, because apparently getting a tour through the white house grounds these days requires a three month RSVP or something. So I got a pic from a distance.

Saw the white house. Got a picture of me looking disheveled (I'm on the road, that's my excuse). Moving on to the next matter of business.

Second: WWII Monument

The WWII monument recently got dedicated a few years ago, and the main concern was making it so it didn't spoil the reflecting pool and the view of the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.



There is a lot of symbolism involved in this memorial. One side represents the European Theater, one side represents the Pacific Theater. Each pillar represents a state. There are different battles etched in the granit around the fountains on the side.





Found my state. You don't think I'm desecrating the monument by climbing up here, do you?

Third: Signers of the Declaration of Independence

This is a memorial off the beaten path. Myself and one other person were the only ones there when I visited it, and pictures truly do not do it justice.



That's Mr Ben Franklin's autograph etched in stone. I wish I got a better photograph, but it means more in person. I could have probably gotten some better pictures on an overcast day.

Fourth: Vietnam Memorial, Again.

I visited the Vietnam Memorial two days previous. But I didn't get a good chance to really see it then, as it was getting dark, and i wanted to get some pictures of it.



It is a very somber place to visit, I remember studying it in Art Class and the symbolism involved, how it is a place for vets to come and reflect. The sheer quantity of names on the wall is a little numbing itself.



Remind me to burn that shirt when i get a chance.



Fifth: Lincoln Memorial, Again

Like the Vietnam Memorial, I had visited the Lincoln memorial again as well.



The pictures I took of myself were better then.

Sixth: Korean War memorial



The Korean Memorial is not as famous as the Vietnam memorial, but like it, there is a lot of reflective symbolism. There are images etched into the carving, and the statues reflect in it.



It has a near mirror affect.



Seventh: FDR Memorial

Yes, today was Monument Day. I just walked around the mall looking at the different monuments. Word to the wise, wear a comfortable pair of walking shoes.

The FDR memorial uses a lot of symbolism in regards to waterfalls to represent the different parts of FDR's presidency. As you may know, FDR was President during the Depression and WWII, and he's the only president to serve four terms.



Without showing you the mass amounts of waterfalls in the memorial, I'll show you the final, which is the most impressive display. It is a pretty neat memorial to walk through. I recommend having somebody with you, so you can take stupid pictures of yourself. It's hard to do that when it's just you and a tripod.


The final monument of FDR and his dog. Seeing me next to the dog will give you an idea of how large this statue is.

Eighth: Jefferson monument

This monument is a bit off the beaten path, instead of directly on the mall. But it is still definitely worth a visit.



While walking toward it, I saw an albino squirrel. I had the wrong lens to get a really good shot of it.



Inside the monument is a statue of Jefferson.



It's a big statue. Lot's of etchings on the wall to go with it.



And of course, the neo classical architecture that is symbolic of DC.



I tried to get a shot of the monument from across the water, but as you can see, it is quite shady over there, which is pretty much makes for not the best of picture taking experiences. Yeah, I'm still learning this camera.

Ninth: Holocaust Museum (warning: Powerful and very depressing! This place will rip your heart to shreds!)

I don't have any pictures of the Holocause museum, mainly because pictures aren't allowed. But this is a must visit for any history enthusiest and anybody else in general. It pretty much details the history of the holocaust from the very beginnings to experiences of the survivors today. Give yourself at least two hours to tour through it. It takes at least that long to just walk through it without reading every little piece. Plenty of videos, lots of information about Hitler's eugenics program and kind of shows how a rational group of people can be brainwashed into thinking Genicide is ok.

If you go to DC, this museum is a must visit. And whats more, it is completely free.

Tenth: Washington Monument. . . Sort of

img src="http://www.risawn.com/blog/leave/dc61.jpg" width="315">


Ok, I didn't actually go to the Washington Monument. You have to get a pass to go to it, and they go quickly. What's more, i didn't get there early enough to get one. But you can see the monument from all corners of the mall.



From the whitehouse.



In front of the Licoln Memorial.



the Jefferson memorial.

To name a few. It is an iconic figure, you can't help but notice it everywhere you go, and of course, it is one of the most recognizeable monuments in DC.



My parting shot from the mall, on the lawn, with the smithsonian and the Capital in the back ground. Then I hopped on the metro and headed to my last destination of the day.

Eleventh: International Spy Museum

Yes, the international Spy Museum. One of the few museums you actually have to pay to see. But it is well worth a visit, though can be skipped if you are on a time constraint.

Watch out for China Town. And don't get to turned around. Er. Hehe.

Not the best location in DC, there was a street preacher just outside the metro entrance telling how evil the white man was and what was owed in retributions, and all sorts of nonsense. I didn't linger long.

the Spy Museum is another such place where pictures aren't allowed, so I'll link to it. Definitely worth a visit if you have the time. But it is easy to get museumed out when visiting DC. But I still had a little time left.

Twelfth: National Portrait Gallery.

It was basically a portrait museum, and is directly across from the International spy Museum. I wandered through the first floor for a moment. If you are an art lover, I guess its worth a peak, but by all means not the highlight of my trip. I'm not much of a portrait art fan.

The one museum I really wanted to visit was the Museum of American History, but it was closed for renovation. If I make it back to DC in the near future, I will be sure to pay it a visit.

While there was still daylight left, I made it back to my car and got on the road to my next destination. Which was Philidelphia. I'll try to post about that later.

DC - Day Two

October 2nd - Day 5 (second day in DC)

Back on my Leave fun. Yays for Leave!

I did something a little bit different the second day. The metro works a little odd in DC, you can buy a day pass but you can't use it until after a certain time, so you have to buy a trip pass in the morning and then use your day pass in the afternoon. I didn't like this set up so much so I decided I would go ahead and drive the second day.

Um, my advice for DC. Don't drive. Just, Don't.

Because I had my car though, I decided to get the items that are kind of off in the boondocks and away from the Mall out of the way. This included Arlington Cemetary. I wanted to hit up the National Zoo as well, but I ran out of time. It was a bit out of the way so I couldn't get to it.

Trust me, driving in DC is just a big pain in the fourth point of contact. Getting from my Hostel up north (which was just across from a Metro terminal) proved to not save me any time if I had simply waited for the Day Use Metro. I would have saved a few bucks too.

But alas, I drove this day.


Anyway, back to Arlington. A very somber site.



I observed a changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. However, I should have been on the other side of the tomb to get a good view of it. It was very interesting, a lot of awesome rifle movements.



They looked Sharp. Very impressive.




I found the Marine Memorial. Saw the Air Force too. Never did see the Army memorial however. But the Marine Memorial with that image of IwaJima is quite gripping.

Women Veteran's Memorial. This is only a few years old, really recent in fact. Very well done.

After spending a couple hours walking around Arlington, I got in my car and decided to visit the Pentagon. Except I got lost and couldn't figure out where to park to visit the memorial. Eventually, I just gave up and decided to come back, instead focusing my time on finding Mt Vernon. This is one place I do recommend driving to go see if you have a car, but it is accessible with Public Transportation as well. If I had planned it out better, I would have done it that way instead.



This would be George Washington's estate. I walked all over the place, toured his home, pet the goats, and saw his original burial tomb as well as his final resting place. There is a very interesting museum about his life as well.

Mt Vernon is not free, unlike much of the rest of Washington DC.



Afterwards, I decided to give the Pentagon memorial another shot. I figured out the parking arrangement, which is actually suited fairly well for visiting this monument. They don't like pictures, but I believe taking pictures is ok.

They just dedicated this memorial this summer. It is very beautiful and peaceful, and like so many things I tend to get drawn to visiting, very somber and reflective.


Each bench represents a victim of the attack on the pentagon. the benches facing toward the pentagon represent those on the planes, the benches facing away represent those working in the building. They are organized by the year in which the victim was born. I believe the youngest was in the 1990's, the oldest was in the 1930's.

I saw a lot the second day, but not as much as the day previous, or the next day. Mostly because I made the mistake of driving. I decided to try to see the capital and went and visited, to discover that you have to get tickets to view it. Same with the Supreme Court.


So I walked the grounds of both buildings instead. Saw a few congressmen, but have no idea who they are or what states they represented.


The idea of watching congress in session made me think that I could probably get a good feel of it by watching some CSPAN.

And I had other things I wanted to do. So I decided not to get tickets the next day.

But the daylight was waning, and being in DC, I wanted to visit another building that I could likely only take advantage of with my Vehicle. For those of you who are not aware, I am LDS. I generally do keep this point mute in my blog most of the time, because of my rantings and ravings, it doesn't always point to me as being the best example of my faith and I don't want people to judge me by my faith or my faith by me. I wish I was a sterling example, but alas, I am human and prone to err.

Anyway, being in DC, I wished to go visit the Temple. I also wanted to get some pictures of this building, as it is quite beautiful. The sun was setting, I had to take the scenic route to get to it, and lost my way several times, but I successfully found it again.


I was worried I wouldn't be able to see it, but when you turn the corner on the freeway from the East, you cannot miss this building. It just pops out at you out of nowhere. You can't miss it.

I wish I could have gotten a shot of it from the road, but I was focused on Driving in Rush Hour Traffic.


I discovered that dusk is a really good time for taking photos of buildings.

There was an exhibit showing at the Temple Visitors Center called Reflections of Christ, which was a series of pictures depicting various moments in Christ's life. Very powerful, I gained a greater appreciation for it after watching the little video on the making of this exhibit. It is highly recommended, as any Christian can appreciate these pictures.

By the time I left the temple grounds, it was quite dark, and I had to try to find my way back to the Hostel.

I got hopelessly turned around multiple times, found two gas stations out of gas, and got a little worried that the economy was going to tank and riots would explode while I was on leave.

Fortunately, I made it safe and sound and in time to watch the Vice Presidential Debate.

And listen to the owner of the Hostel give us a clue onto his political leanings.

Hint - He wasn't a fan of Sarah Palin. And that's putting it nicely.

Visited States - Updated Again

visited 33 states (66%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president

I plan on visiting Tennessee before I leave. I promise.

I'm not sure if Florida or Maine actually count. those are Airport States.

I probably shouldn't technically count Kansas, Iowa or Ohio as I just traveled through a corner of them, but in the meantime, well, that's my visited states tally.

Chincoteague and Assateage

Day Three, Tuesday September 30

When I was a young girl, my favorite author was Margaret Henry. She is well known for her books on horses, and one of her most popular is a book called Misty of Chincoteague.


I was a horse nut, had a bit of an obsession really, and had always wanted to see Chincoteague Island since I read the book.

Though I have outgrown the horse phase (don't get me wrong, I still love horses, but its not to the point of unhealthy obsession I had as a preteen), I've still wanted to visit Chincoteague Island.

Well, there are ponies everywhere, but you have to go to Assateague Island to see them.

I went early in the morning and toured a bit. And forgot to put on bug spray.

Big mistake. The mosquitoes are particularly vicious. Of course, on the Chincoteague side of Assateague, I didn't see many ponies on the island. I did however, see a lot of bugs, mainly spiders. So I tried getting shots of them while i got eaten alive by mosquitos.

I need to find out what kind of spider this is.

But aside from the ponies, and the spiders, there are a lot of birds on Assateague Island.



I just played with my camera mostly. And no, I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of myself. Unless you count the pics of myself I took with my snap. (as soon as I can find that camera, which I have misplaced, I will show pictures)

There was, of course, the Assateague Island Lighthouse, and being a fan of Lighthouses, I wanted to get some pics, except for it was under renovation. I think.



The Maryland side offered more wild ponies, if by wild you mean ponies that will walk right up to you and pass you by without a care in the world.



I really did like Assateague Island, and of course, the pony shots, which I felt like I got a few. I want to take some of these through Photoshop and mess with them a bit.

Wildlife Pics.