Terminus Tea…

some of you might remember that our son set out on 11 April from Springer Mountain in Georgia walking north on the Appalachian Trail…

encountering all kinds of weather (even some slushy snow for Mother’s Day)…

the Appalachian Trail is the longest hiking-only footpath in America with more than 2,000 miles of trail and 250+ shelters…

the overall elevation gain makes it equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 16 times…

each year a couple thousand people try to hike the AT from beginning to end in one season…

only a few hundred “thru-hikers” as they are called manage to finish the entire hike…

we are extremely happy and excited that our thru hiker reached the northern terminus on 2 September and had some fun at the top  (his trail name is Deuces so it is special that he completed his quest on 2 September)…

he said this photo was inspired by the Queen’s Guard (you have to imagine the black bearskin hat and red uniform…our boy has a great sense of humor!)…

in this photo you get a better idea of what the weather conditions were like that day (a bit brisk … his trusty backpack has been with him every step of the way)…

you may remember the Snickers photo we took before he packed his food boxes… there is a tradition on the trail that says your last Snickers bar is your trail fortune as there is a word on one side of each bar…

he got “Goofball”…

since I am combining this update with my T Stands for Tuesday post I thought I would include a favorite photo of Colin with our traveling tea cup when we met him in Waynesboro, Virginia back in June…

it took lots of planning and preparation not to mention stamina and determination all along the way…  we are excited and very happy for Colin… he is camping in Acadia National Park for a few days and will be making his way south to Virginia 🙂

 

 

“radiant with hope”

to celebrate Elizabeth’s 3rd T Stands for Tuesday anniversary last month some of us participated in an ATC swap and I was the lucky recipient of Linda’s  precious ATC (her gelli print envelope is beautiful too!)…

she and I share a fondness for all things French and napkins too for collage… look at these lovelies that she tucked in the envelope…I thought of my tea and coffee drinking friends while doing a little window shopping over the weekend… the Madame Butterfly tea description almost makes me want to drink green tea…Anthropologie window displays turn everyday items into visual treats with a focus on ecology and nature…speaking of nature here is an update on our Appalachian Trail hiker who is still going strong even though he shared recently that he enjoys the camping more than the walking…

he has already hiked more than 1,800 miles/2896.819 kilometers and worn out a couple pairs of shoes (there he is with all of his belongings on his back including his green tent)…

right now he is making his way through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire …

with some miles still to go…

“The US has enough on-shore wind to power the country ten times over.” #ANTHROEARTHDAY

Anthropologie’s wind quote made me smile thinking of all the crazy political news here in the US lately…

Hospitality In The Valley…

for Elizabeth’s T Stands for Tuesday this week I am sharing another update on our son’s thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT)…

on Friday we drove south for a little less than three hours to spend the weekend with him in Waynesboro, Virginia…he decided to take a zero day/day off on Saturday to recharge his battery spending time with us and doing some laundry… loading up on carbs and enjoying some nice hot baths/showers too (his Dad even gave him one of his famous foot massages)…

most days on the trail he hikes 20+ miles and even clocked in 31 miles a day or two burning lots and lots of calories in the process (we have never seen him eat so much!!!)…

we enjoyed hearing about his life on the trail and got to meet some of the hikers that seemed to pop up all around town…

they know all of the best all you can eat buffets and watering holes near the trail…

the Edelweiss Restaurant was a favorite of ours on the way back and forth from Virginia Tech when Colin was going to school there… right after I explained how special the song EDELWEISS is because it was the wedding song I walked down the aisle to we stepped into the restaurant and guess what that gentleman in lederhosen was playing on his accordion ♥

thru-hikers take on a trail name… 

Colin’s is Deuces…

Waynesboro really lives up to their city motto of Hospitality in the Valley by offering free rides from the AT into town with everyone being very friendly and gracious (they maintain a volunteer calling list to provide rides to hikers all around town)…

by Sunday morning he was itching to get back on the trail so he enjoyed a last big all you can eat breakfast at the hotel and we bid him Auf Wiedersehen after a quick Traveling Tea Cup photo (pinkies in the air)…

~♥ happy trails to you ♥~

Keep it Light…

our son is home from Colorado getting ready for his next big adventure which is hiking the Appalachian Trail…

yes you read that right… beginning in Georgia he’ll be WALKING north for almost 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) April to possibly September/October enjoying nature and sleeping under the stars…

 Snickers candy bars are a bit of a tradition on the trail because they offer high energy and calories (walking so many miles each day it is not hard to burn anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 calories)…

in an effort to keep down the backpack weight hikers often have additional supplies and food sent that they can collect at various points along the trail (a good bit of planning goes into that)… 

quite an exciting time for our nature guy and for us as Mr Magpie and I prepare for our trip to France in April…

in keeping with sharing a drink for T Stands for Tuesday here is a really nice slender water bottle that I picked up at the stationary store of all places…

I have missed visiting with everyone lately as I have been away from the computer alot… 

here’s wishing you a Happy T Day along with everyone over at Elizabeth’s Altered Book Lover… 

“Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light”   -Yogi tea bag inspiration