#2 conquer the franklin mountains

the views were amazing

#2 on my list was an unexpected adventure, which is great because i love surprises. i went to el paso, tx for a weekend to visit one of my best friends. with little expectations, i searched for activities to do in the el paso area to fill up our weekend with. unfortunately my google search came up with very little. so with zero plans i packed a few essentials and hopped aboard a plane. once i got there, the views of the beautiful mountains sparked a fire in me. i've been hiking in los angeles and malibu before, but those are nothing in comparison.

first cave and first stop

the ron coleman trail at the Franklin State Mountains were amazing. when we arrived a small group of military guys started chatting with us. they asked how far we planned to hike and if we had ever been up the mountain before. neither of us had. they laughed, doubting we could make it, but told us that if we were ambitious enough we could get dropped off at one side of the mountain and climb over the whole thing. challenge accepted.

one of my favorite parts 

they gave us a ride to the other side. (looking back on it, getting in a car with strangers was not the smartest idea, but it happened) we made it to the first cave, then the second cave, climbed up a couple of chain-links attached to the mountain and stopped to admire a beautiful passage way over-looking the city of el paso.

the passageway 

the way up was peachy. we followed a set of faded, blue, spray painted dots letting us know we were staying on the trail. the way down was a different story. in true me fashion, we got lost. i don't know where and i don't know how, but i know we were climbing down an unmarked path. with silent fear in our hearts and rocks slipping beneath our feet, we kept smiles on our faces as we searched for the next symbol of hope, a blue spray painted dot. 

this is my best friend, kim

our happy dance immediately commenced once we saw the remnants of blue paint on a jagged rock. with adrenaline pumping i decided to run the rest of the way down. well, adrenaline or burning desire to walk on a flat surface again, call it what you will. i enjoy running, but running down the mountain was one of the most enjoyable runs i've ever experienced. the scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and i was loving every second.


4 hours later we had conquered the Franklin State Mountains. i definitely recommend this trail to any adventure seeking hikers. it gave me such a great feeling of joy and accomplishment.  i have a new found love for hiking. i'm eagerly looking forward to the next time the mountain and i meet. a big thank you to el paso for the wonderful and unexpected memories.

the world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.

e. e. cummings

cheers to a fun-filled 25th year!

turning 25 is a milestone. you are able to rent a car. you are half way to 50. you are a quarter of a century. you are no longer a reckless fresh-out-of-college kid. 

i am determined to make 25 great. to continue to explore this beautiful world. to continue to challenge myself.  at age 23 i challenged myself to do 12 vacations in 12 months in 2012. one of the greatest decisions i have ever made. 2012 was a beautiful year filled with adventure, friends and joy. as we age, things only get better- just like fine wine, right? 

for my 25th year of life i wanted to do something special. something that would be memorable for years to come. i put some deep thought into it and after a short while i figured it out. year 24 was filled with changes. lots of changes. change is always for the better. i have to believe that. God has a remarkable plan that we may not understand and may struggle to  follow, but a remarkable plan indeed. change isn't always easy. but it is apart of His plan, no doubt. with this notion of change and newness, and a little e.e. cummings for inspiration, i challenged myself to do 25 things i have never done before in my 25th year. 

for my 25th thing i have never done before i am working towards completing a blog. i've started plenty. decorated them, added pictures, even wrote a couple posts. but i have never published nor completed them. so here's to starting at the finishing line!

it takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

e. e. cummings

#1 visit the texas state fair

the new and improved big tex

my #1 thing i have never done before was visit the texas state fair. i took a friday off of work. with a farris bueler spirit guiding me,  i hit the texas state fair. i went with a good friend who didn't have work that day so it worked out perfectly. our first ride was on the crazy mouse. it was great until we got stuck. excellent start, right? we made the most of it. with cotton candy in hand and an excessively swirly cart, we enjoyed every second of being stuck up there.

you're never too old to decorate a pumpkin! 

next we made our way to the pumpkin patch. what talent those pumpkin carvers have!! there was a very dedicated man chiseling away at what was the largest pumpkin i had ever seen. he was surely working on a beautiful masterpiece. he inspired me so i made my way over to the kids table to work on a masterpiece of my own.

meet babe, the pig

after our pumpkin extravaganza we headed over to see all the animals. i've seen plenty of farm animals in my day but it was exciting nonetheless.

we left no crumb behind

my real texas state fair mission was next, indulging in fried nutella. i had seen numerous facebook and instagram posts raving about how delicious the fried nutella was. needless to say, i had to try it. with maps in hand and boots ready for walking, we set out to find the fried nutella stand. we walked and walked and walked. 2 directionally impaired girls trying to find a needle in a haystack posed a challenge. a very nice police officer, who must have seen us wondrously walking in circles offered us a ride to the fried nutella stand. he was our knight in shining armor. more like our knight in a golf cart, but you get the idea. once we got to the fried food stations our bellies were overwhelmed with options. fried butter, fried cookie dough, fried peanut butter and jelly, the list went on and on. we decided on fried nutella and cookie dough. a decision well made. the cookie dough was amazing. i wanted to eat every last drop. the nutella was good, but the cookie dough was amazing. i would highly recommend the fried cookie dough to any future fair go-ers. it was delicious and worth every calorie. 

i'm not sure if it was the feeling of being a kid skipping school, the shameless tourist attitude or the greatness of the texas state fair itself, but my day was amazing. it was everything i wanted and more. such a perfect kick-off to my 25 in 25.

once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

e. e. cummings