Sunday Hike

So today is our wedding anniversary; Our first. Sorry about the title of this blog, babe. It's just not about the anniversary, but I will take a moment to say "Wow." God is so good.
Anyhoo, so today Lauren and I took off to Oak Mtn State Park with our dog Caesar. I've always wanted to try the trail to Peavine Falls, which if you know Alabama mountains and what is required to have a good waterfall, you'd also know that there aren't any good waterfalls in the state. I've been up to the falls before, sometimes by Mountain bike, but usually by car. After a good rain, the falls are usually pretty decent, but it hasn't rained in Birmingham in weeks. So I wasn't expecting much. The trail is @ 3 miles up and down over ridges. It was fairly warm, but I appreciated the wind while we were up on the ridge. Caesar was having a hard time. He quickly tired and started showing his age, 7 years. It felt good to stretch my legs a bit and breathe hard again. I've had zero exercise for the last week while I was out of town in Orlando.
We made it down to the falls, and as expected there was barely even a trickle. Nonetheless, Caesar found some water to submerge himself in while he rested. Lauren picked up some colorful nuts she found that apparently would look "just so cute in a bowl."
On our way back, we avoided certain peril by running from a swarm of yellow jackets. Poor Caesar had two on his rump that I had to swat off. He thought I was spanking him, so I had to assure them that I had the best intentions.
The hike was great. It was wonderful spending time with Lauren on such a special day. I was able to chill out after a week of work and business meetings. I also realized that I really miss hiking. As the temperature is getting cooler, it makes all the more sense to spend the night under the stars. Hopefully, that will be happening soon.