Friday's FIVE!

In anticipation of our upcoming hiking trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park - last week's Friday's FIVE! was a tribute to five of my favorite GSMNP hiking trails... This week I will highlight 5 of our families favorite "Parkway" hotspots. We truly do travel to GSMNP for the beauty of the National Park - the hiking and the amazing views...but after a hard day hiking, it is fun to stroll the Gatlinburg strip and experience some of the touristy schmaltz. There are some people that never make it south of Stop light #10 - and actually come to this area just for the downtown attractions - we are not those people... but I'm not ashamed to admit that we have fun while we are there...

1. The Big Floating Marble Ball at Ripley's Believe It or Not! http://www.ripleys.com/ I think we only visited the attraction one time... but a stroll down the Gatlinburg strip isn't the same without a quick push on the big floating ball.

2. The Fudge Shoppe - I LOVE Chocolate Pecan or Chocolate Walnut!!! Such a well deserved snack after an 8 mile hike!!! http://www.fudgeshoppeofthesmokies.com/

3. Smoky Mountain Brewery http://www.smoky-mtn-brewery.com/ Bruce and I love the Smoky Mountain Brewery - and the micro-brews.... We like to get a sampler and discuss and compare the attributes of the Black Bear Ale or the Cherokee Red ... We are usually visiting during the seasonal tap of Octoberfest...one we both really enjoy!!

4. Ripley's Believe It or Not! Aquarium http://www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com/ Yes - it's true... this is one of the 'attractions' on the strip we really do enjoy. It is a wonderful aquarium ... and worth the price of admission.

5. Beneath the Smoke http://thegreatsmokeymountainsparkway.com/_shoppi/gsbensmo.htm I love this shop on the Parkway. It has wonderful prints - and paintings of the hiking trails and falls in the GSMNP ... there are wonderful wildlife photos and prints - a great collection of Big Sky Bears and various other interesting mountain collectibles, books and 'kadooies'....

Honorable Mention

The Happy Hiker - http://www.happyhiker.com/ This is a great Outfitter that isn't directly on Parkway... but it is a great place to browse and find supplies and accessories for hiking or kayaking.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS

OCTOBER is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic Violence can be defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.

Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure, or wound someone.
Domestic Violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender.

Domestic Violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.
Often - Violence is happening in a home where you least expect it... it is generally the victims pattern to 'hide' the fact that abuse is occurring... Don't close your eyes to abuse - stay aware and offer help. If you are in an abusive relationship - Save your life - and GET OUT...

if you know someone in an abusive relationship - encourage her/him to get help and to GET OUT! Help is available...TOGETHER we can END the LEGACY of ABUSE!!!

BREAK THE SILENCE - MAKE THE CALL! 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE http://ndvh.org/

• 1 out of 3 women ... in all of the world have been victims of Domestic Violence
  
• At least 3 women are murdered everyday by their partners
  
• 75% of those murders, occur in the home


• Violence against women costs companies approx. $75 million a year in lost productivity
  

WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

1. Attend upcoming events around the country.
2. Spread the word that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
3. Show your PURPLE POWER! Wear Purple and pass out Purple Ribbons!
4. Help a service provider in your area. Call the Hotline to find out local organizations that support Domestic Violence 1-800-799-7233
5. Encourage others to join the Million Voices Campaign to End Domestic Violence in America.

PLEASE JOIN THE MILLION VOICES CAMPAIGN
The Million Voices Campaign is a group of people and organizations in America willing to educate, inform, and raise awareness about the problems of domestic violence and sources to help. Joining is easy and free of charge. Help us achieve the goal of ONE MILLION members by joining the Million Voices Campaign and give America a million reasons to END Domestic Violence! http://www.ndvh.org/support-ndvh/join

Weigh-In

I finally reached the -30 tonight... I'm down 30 with 20 to go to reach my goal - 50 pounds in my 50th year.... I'm enjoying increased endurance - and decreased joint pain... and smaller clothes!!!
I can't wait to go hiking with -30 pounds and two new feet!!!!

Friday's FIVE!

When I graduated from OT school in 1993 - Steve and I took the girls on a much needed family vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. That Smokies trip led to a tradition and a location that we all hold close to our hearts... We have all traveled back to the park many, many times since that first trip in 1993 - and Bruce and I have continued the tradition since our first visit together in November, 2001. In June, 2006 we made a family trip with all the kids... and at that time introduced Tyler to this place that we love so much. Hiking has become a favorite activity for all of us - and it is an activity that the girls have carried on with thier own families. This November when Betsy and Debbie commit to each other in Hawaii, they will be hiking amazing trails in the islands - and later this month, Bruce and I will be making our annual fall trip to GSMNP for hiking and leaf peeping. This weeks Friday FIVE! is a collection of five wonderful hikes that I have done in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park....

1. Alum Cave Bluffs is my favorite hike in the park. It offers so many spectacular moutain vistas as well as geological features. This is a 4.4 mile hike that climbs 1125 feet and reaches a heights of 4955 feet. I have made my way to Alum Cave six times - two of those times included hikes beyone Alum Cave and on to the top of Mt. LeConte in 1999 and again in 2001. In 1998 - we celebrated Betsy's 16th Birthday at Alum Cave. It is a wonderful hike - and if I had to choose one.... this would be my favorite!!! http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/alumcave.htm

2. Abrams Falls is another favorite hike. I have hiked this trail three times. We celebrated Katie's 16th birthday on this trail in 1996 - and Bruce and I made this hike together in 2003 and again with all the kids and Tyler in 2006. Getting to the trailhead is part of the excitement of this hike as the trailhead is found in beautiful Cades Cove. Abrams Falls is a 4.2 mile hike that ends at a beautiful 20' falls that flows over a bluff into a broad pool more than 100 feet across.

http://www.mysmokymountainvacation.com/abrams-falls.html

3. Andrews Bald - is a 3.5 mile roundtrip to a beautiful bald that offers picnic areas surrounded by rhododendron and azaleas and offer plenty of spectacular panoramic views of the Smoky Mountains and Fontana Lake. We have made this trip in 2005 and again in 2006 with the kids and Tyler. It is a beautiful hike - one of my very favorites - one I will probably do again! Because of the views on this hiking trip - we decided to journey to the Fontana Lake area in 2007. http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/andrewsbald.htm

4, Chimney Tops is a 4-mile strenous steep hike that ends in spectacular views at the top of a treacherous rocky trail at elevations of 4800. I have hiked this trail three times. We made this trip the first time in Spring 1995 - we weren't prepared for this difficult hike - I hiked in jeans and tennis shoes ... and I was about 100# overweight and thought it was physically one of the hardest things I had ever done. We hiked this trip again in 1998 after I had lost the 100# and I can vividly remember the triumphant feeling getting to the top of that mountain with ease during that trip. This is also the first hike that Bruce and I did together in GSMNP in Nov. 2001 shortly after we had just started dating. Bruce has a fear of heights - and it was on top of this mountains that he reminded me... "I'd climb mountains for you". http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/chimney_tops.html

5 . Rich Mountain Loop is a strenous 8.5 mile loop that climbs a total of 1736 feet and reaches heights of 3691 feet. The trailhead for this loop hike is also in Cades Cove - and begins at the entrance of Cades Cove and passes John Olivers cabin. This is a long, peaceful hike because the trail is long and strenuous, it isn't one of the more popular hikes in the hike. The trail offers beautiful elevated views of Cades Cove and Townsend. It was on this trail that I first added a Pileated Woodpecker to my birding lifelist. Bruce and I have hiked this trail one time, in October of 2005. http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/richmountain.htm

HONORABLE MENTION:
Grotto Falls is an easy 2.6 mile roundtrip to a 20+ foot straight falls that you can walk behind. It is a fun hike because it is also a route to Mount LeConte http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/mtleconte.html 8-10 Llamas trek to two times a week to deliver supplies to LeConte Lodge. http://www.lecontelodge.com/ The trailhead to Grotto Falls is found on Roaring Fork Motor Trail - a beautiful motor route that offers beautiful leaf peeping in the fall. I have hiked this trail two times - Oct. 1996 and October 2005.

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/public-lands/national-parks/smoky-mountains/grotto-falls.html

In the 16 years that I have been traveling to GSMNP, we have hiked many, many trails - and many trails we have hiked more than once. Bruce and I have hiked trails on the Tennessee side of the park - and the North Carolina side of the park. We have visited Fontana lake - and Tsali for mountain bike riding....more of the honorable mention trails include:

• Charlies Bunion - I'm anxious to hike this trail with Bruce someday - I've hiked this part of the Appalachian trail one time - in March 1999.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlies_Bunion


• Indian Creek Loop - Includes Indian Creek, Deep Creek, Tom Abrams and Juney Whank falls in the North Carolina side of GSMNP http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/deepcreek.htm



• Laurel Falls - an easy, very popular paved hike to a beautiful falls. The first trail in the Smokies that we ever hiked! http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/waterfalls.htm



• Rainbow Falls - a beautiful, difficult falls hike that offers boths falls and views. http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/rainbow_falls.html
  

Friday's FIVE!

As we enjoy the last weekend of summer and prepare for autumn... the warm days and cool evenings make for perfect weather. Schedules become more routine - and a little less full without the busy days of summer fun as the days grow shorter. It's a time to curl up and read - enjoy a fire in the fireplace...eat a crisp fresh apple and enjoy a plethora of festivals. I love fall in Indiana! This week's Friday's FIVE! is a tribute to five of my favortie things to do in Indiana in Sept.

1. APPLES... Apples and more Apples.... I love fall fruit markets and Apples in September! Bruce and I made a road trip to Grovertown Fruit Farm for a bushel of Honeycrisp Apples.

We both enjoyed an apple straight from the bushel as we drove home with the VW top down with the warm sun on our faces! http://www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/in01.htm

2. James Dean Festival ... James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana and raised in Grant County - where I also grew up. Fairmount was the hometown of James Dean, and every September thousands of people gather in Fairmount, Indiana to pay homage to the local rebel whos untimely death, in a high-speed car crash on Sept. 30, 1955 guaranteed his legend as a true American idol. The weekend is filled with classic cars, oldies music and endless opportunities to view Jame Dean in his movies, The Giant, East of Eden and Rebel without a Cause. http://www.jamesdean.com/community/festival/index.htm

3. Estate Auctions - where you find table after table of well worn, well loved items that once belonged to someone....now up on the table for bidding. I love to browse the items ... walk around the items - drink a cup of hot cider and anticipate the sound of the auctioneer.

The days usually begin cool in the morning and end up very warm in the afternoon. The thrill of bidding on an item - and being the winning bidder reminds me of betting on a horse race! I haven't been to an estate auction for a long time, but it will always be one of my favorite early fall activities.

4. Blueberry Festival Bicycle Cruise http://www.blueberryfestival.org/pg/bike_cruise.html

and Apple Pedalers Bike Ride in http://brinin.org/content/view/393/162/.

Both rides are wonderful rides! The Blueberry ride begins in Plymouth during the Blueberry Festival and pedals around beautiful Lake Maxinkuckie and the Apple Pedalers Ride begins in Nappanee and pedals through northern Indiana and Amish country. Several years ago, we rented a 'trailer' for Bruce's bike and rode with Tyler on the Apple Pedalers ride. It was one of those memory making days that we won't ever forget - we had a great time!

5. Bonfires, Sweater and Chili.... I love to wrap up in a sweater in front of a bonfire by the lake. I love to cook a pot of chili over the fire in my cast iron kettles. Summer is over - Winter is on the way ... and Life is Good!

Weigh-In

I haven't posted a weigh-in lately... On Tuesday, 9/2 - I weighed-in at North Manchester (not my regular Monday night in Warsaw)...because 9/1 was Labor and our Warsaw meeting was closed. During Labor Day weekend - I didn't follow program as close as I should, knowing I wasn't weighing in on Monday. I didn't make up my mind to weigh-in on Tuesday until I woke up and faced Tuesday. I knew I also had to face the scales or disaster would be ahead of me. I knew weighing in during the week of 9/8 would be difficult because I would be in Memphis, which would result in missing toooo may meetings if I didn't weigh in following the holiday. The 9/2 weigh-in resulted in a +2.8 gain. ARGHHHHhh!!!! I was glad to get back to my normal routine tonight and get back to my regular class tonight. I was also happy to see that i was down exactly -2.8 tonight - my total current loss = 28.2# I am truly trying to make this a lifestyle change... and if it takes me a year or two to lose the 50-60# I want to lose, then so be it. I'm just happy that the recent schedule glitches didn't sabotage me completely. I weighed in at a Carmel meeting and a North Manchester meeting following a holiday. These are big behavioral changes for me! Historically, I wouldn't go out of my way to find a meeting (out of town) just to make sure I got weighed.

So - onward... this week starts with a good loss and a clean slate!

Panda Bears!

I have always loved Giant Panda's and in the 1970's - I collected Panda's - plush, figurines - you name it...if it had a Panda, I would collect it. Last week I was in Memphis for a business trip and I had a little bit of time early one evening and decided to make a quick trip to the zoo so I could see the Panda exhibit. There are only 4 zoo's in the US that have a Panda exhibit - and Memphis is one of those zoos. Panda's can be seen in San Diego, CA, Washington DC, Atlanta, GA and Memphis, TN. It was a wonderful experience...

Friday's FIVE!

Aunt Barbara is my Daddy's only sister ... and I remember the day we gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Pence's to wish them farewell - as they embarked on a new phase of their life... and moved west to California. I was only four years old - but I can remember being very sad. This weekend, my California Cousins....Mark and Bob and their wives.... Lynne and Diane came to Indiana for a Hoosier visit. This week's Friday FIVE! is a tribute to my California Cousins and five wonderful memories I've shared with them!!

1. Because they lived so far away, every year we would all gather at Grandma and Grandpa Pence's house before December 10th and fill a large plywood (what else?, we owned lumber

yards) box with Christmas gifts, stockings and suprises. Once the box was filled, Grandpa would nail it shut - and we would use crayons and markers and write all over the box before shipping it off to our Palo Alto, California family. I can remember looking forward to that special day. We would share a light meal together and it would be the 'kick off' for the holiday season!

2. I'm not sure how old I was - but Grandma and Grandma's house had to be fairly new... because the 'extra' bedroom wasn't in the basement yet and you could run complete circles around the basement staircase...There was always a wheel-chair at Grandma's house for my Great Aunt Vera - and I can remember sitting in that wheel chair while Bobby pushed me around and around and around that staircase in that wheel-chair. That day may have even been the farewell cook-out we had at Grandma and Grandpa's house when we all gathered to say goodbye to the Overmans. I don't remember for sure if it was the same day - but the memory I have was that I was having fun... and this was family. We were a part of each other... and these were my cousins and my brother - and this is the way family was supposed to be.

3. At 16 years old - I was given the amazing opportunity to go to California for a summer visit. I was able to spend time in Palo Alto with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ovie and Bob. I spent most of that visit with Bob and his girlfriend at the time. We went to Balboa Park http://www.balboapark.org/ and to the Beach and Standford University - We had a GREAT time and i didn't want the time to end. I then flew to San Diego to spend the rest of my California visit with my older cousin Mark and his wife. They lived in a small beach cottage with a front yard garden and a picket fence. http://gothere.com/sandiego/OceanBeach/homes.htm They took me to Disney Land and Sea World and to see Cheech and Chong - They lived in "Ocean Beach" http://gothere.com/sandiego/OceanBeach/beach.htm and to this 16 year old Hoosier girl... it seemed like an oasis. I ate pita bread and bean sprouts with avocados and artichokes. I had the time of my life - and I've never forgotten the experience. http://www.oceanbeach.com/

4. In 1998 - Mom and Dad and Steve and I went to San Diego for annual National Lumber Convention. We went to dinner one evening with Mark and Lynne and Bob and his wife.

The next day, Bob and his wife took Steve and I hiking at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. http://www.torreypine.org/ It was a beautiful hike - with amazing views. We had a great time together - and I can remember I didn't want the day to end. Once again, I was reminded of the distance between my cousin and I. I will always wish we could spend more time together.

5. When Daddy died in 2002 - We were standing at the funeral home ... and a very familar face walked in. If I knew Mark was planning to attend, I don't remember it. I just remember seeing his wonderful familiar face...and how connected I felt to my Daddy when I saw him. Mark resembles my Dad... and it was very comforting to see him. It meant so much that he would make the trip to Indiana and represent the entire Overman family at Daddy's funeral. I will certainly never forget that!

It was wondeful to visit with my cousins... and to catch up with them for a brief visit.

I hope that someday soon... we can visit them in their California homes.

Friday's FIVE!

We had a lazy Labor Day Weekend - which is unusual for us...however, we sure did enjoy the R&R and the relaxing 3 day weekend. Sunday we decided to paddle Grassy Creek and the lakes of the Barbee Chain....it was a great paddle and we ended the day with a late lunch and cold beer at the Landing on the channel between Little Barbee and Big Barbee lakes. I've blogged about it before - but we love living in Kosciusko County. Sometimes it seems this county was made just for us! There is so much to do that appeals to our lifestyle! This Friday's FIVE! recognizes just five of the things we LOVE about Kosciusko County!

1. GREAT Paddling - wherever you go.... We love a good paddle on our own, Yellow Creek Lake and Diamond Lake - but have also enjoyed paddling Pike Lake area, Backwaters of Webster Lake and the Barbee Chain.

2. Cold Beer and a bite to eat - about anywhere you go. From local taverns to finer restaurants...
We enjoyed The Landing this weekend, but there is someplace to go in about any area of the county. We also enjoyed breakfast with neighbors at the Beehive on Beaver Dam...

3. Winona Mountain Bike Trails - http://www.villageatwinona.com/village-bike-trails.asp
The trails are wonderful for mountain biking and hiking! While riding the mountain bike trails... a quick jump onto the Lake City Greenway, offers a paved route for easier riding, walking and jogging. http://www.indianatrails.org/Warsaw.htm

4. The wonderful country roads that are great for a road bike ride...and the country fields that are later great for Cross country skiing in the winter!

5. The deep Friendships we have developed in the 6 years that we have lived here!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBBIE ANN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DEBBIE ANN!!!!

My daughter's partner - Debbie celebrates her birthday today ... I'm very, very excited that very soon Debbie will officially be my Daughter-in-law as Betsy and Debbie travel to Hawaii in November for a formal commitment to each other. I'm so thankful to have Debbie in our lives. There isn't anything in the world that makes a mother more happy than knowing that her children are happy...and I'm blessed to have such happy, peaceful adjusted children....

Happy Birthday Debbie - I love you!!!