50 Year Old

So the half-century birthday was bound to come, and it is always more enjoyable to mark this milestone with good friends. It's even better when those good friends turn 50 just a little bit ahead of you. Kelly's milestone day was August 27, just about a week before Sarah, so our wine group decided it all deserved a night out on the town.

The evening started with some tasty beverages and live jazz at Creaux, a great establishment downtown. We are all so used to gathering at each other's houses that it is nice to venture into the public arena now and then.

Our next stop was the Infinity Bar on top of the Centre City complex in the middle of the city. It was a great view and we had a fantastic time just being together. As a side note, this screen shot captures Sarah's most consistent foray into social media to date. It may not last long, but BeReal has made an impact in her daily life and allows her to document such fine moments as this.

The celebrating didn't stop there. The following weekend we headed to West Virginia with the Abrahams to keep the party going. A primary destination was New River Gorge National Park. We were looking forward to some hiking and some great views. Fortunately we got both. Some really cool views came from our bridge walk.

The bridge that crosses the gorge is the largest steel arch bridge outside of China. The arch is about 1,700 feet long and the roadway of the bridge is nearly 900 feet above the New River below. On Bridge Day held in October each year there is a lottery to bungee jump off the bridge or even BASE jump off. We went with the safer option of a guided tour walking across the underbelly of the bridge.

The arch is 1,700 feet long but the actual bridge is about 3,300 feet long, so it is not a short walk. The morning of our tour was foggy which made for some eerie but cool pictures. We were worried about not getting to see the views we had read about, but in the course of the hour we were walking the fog cleared and we got to see it all.

Everyone was pretty comfortable with the height. It helped that we were all attached by ropes to a safety line. However, Reese took some time to get to her comfort zone. She has a healthy respect for heights and so was not immediately excited when we had told her what we were doing. 

We had a great guide who shared a lot of insight but also allowed us to take our time and enjoy the views. She also knew the perfect place to stop and get a group picture that captured the bridge and the New River so far below. We do love our National Parks and this was another great experience to add to our family history.

We also managed to fit in a nice hike up the New River that had waterfalls and swimming holes. Reese was the only individual that had any interest in swimming, but from her report the water was cold so it didn't last long. Overall the weekend was a blast and a great way for Sarah and Kelly to acknowledge another trip around the sun and the joy that comes from making that trip with family and friends.