Ohana Means Family

The crew before our departure, photo credit - Momma Rose

After our weekend on the river, there was something almost poetic about our trip home from the Delaware Water Gap. The orange hue of the dark blue sky during lightning strikes. The Super Moon lighting up the Valley to the East, but what made it most special was having Brad in the passenger seat. 

Trust me, I don’t always like him there. He tends to passenger drive, but this time it was different.

We don’t talk about Afghanistan. It’s an unwritten rule, but I thought about Brad's deployment a lot on the ride home, especially when we got into Maryland. A song came on the radio, and I started in with the quiet sobs. Brad must not have heard me or maybe he chose to let me have my moment…I don’t know. I breathed deep breaths and decided to leave Rihanna's "Stay" on the radio.

The Poconos were my safe place during the summer of 2010. They were something familiar and fun. I felt surrounded by love and laughter, which gave me such positive energy.  A summer to remember that’s for sure, and every once in a while it creeps up on me either in the form of a reminiscent smile, misty eyes, or both. 

Brad’s deployment, Jan’s death, whatever else was going on, it inspired me to live. It was the summer of the Bucket List and the summer I gained a family.

Remember Lilo and Stitch? It’s an old Disney movie with a cute little alien and a sweet Hawaiian girl. Lilo is the pint-sized Hawaiian, and in the movie she says, “Ohana means ‘family,’ and family means nobody gets left behind.” It’s not about blood or, hell, a last name. It’s about how you take care of each other, and I owe so much to John Lohmann, Jessie Lohmann, and the Krueger family for never leaving me behind.

You may be wondering why Maryland set me off. I would communicate sporadically with Brad during the Summer of the River. Replying to an e-mail from Momma Rose Krueger’s desktop. Answering a phone call on my drive home. Brad called me one time, and I had just arrived in Maryland. I talked and drove until West Virginia, and then pulled over at the rest stop to concentrate on him and his voice. I hung up and proceeded the lonely ride home. I'm sure Mumford was playing in my CD-Player. That summer was the summer of Mumford too. 

When I arrived in Maryland on June 23, 2013, Brad was next to me, deary from the weekend of fun and the big meal we just ate at Cracker Barrel. 

At the river, we grilled out. We put on plastic horse heads and galloped around a Stroudburg yard. We canoed. We bickered about my canoeing skills. We made camp. We grilled more. We laughed. We almost capsized. It was the perfect conclusion to a vacation. Brad got to experience the river like I did that summer he was gone, and he got to know the river family that he's heard so much about. 

He learned that Jessie doesn’t like bees or Poison Ivy, and when you mix the two, it’s grounds for a possible boat rescue from the campsite. He learned that John’s limit is 5 Brad-caliber Captain and gingers because by then John's trying to capsize the tethered canoes by standing with no sense of balance. Brad learned that Bridgette and Hank are the freakin’ coolest and so are their horseheads. Momma Rose has the best damn listening ears and broccoli salad...ever. Nick likes drinking games more than campfire talk, and Mr. Krueger is a champ at navigating a pontoon boat, especially when he’s trying to spray you with water.

The pranks we pull, the jokes we make, it’s all out of love. Jessie pulls a dead fish out of the water, all of a sudden it’s in my face, and she screams “Ahhhh!!!” I scream back.

John and Brad collaborate to put a fake snake in my sleeping bag. I nearly jump out of the tent and wake everybody up.

Bucky tries to shotgun a beer for the first time. It takes him three minutes, literally...

These memories are moments now, and now Brad gets to be a part of them instead of just hearing about them from me.

Please note, don't enlarge...pictures get all pixelated and gross, but I'm too tired to keep messing with it. :( It's still cute without being huge, though!

Reddish Knob

It's beautiful even in the Blue Ridge haze...

Interested in going yourself? Click here. 

And the Briery Branch Dam, which we stopped by on the way back. 

Blogging Moments - Kayaking the Shenandoah

For the longest time, I figured the only way I'd ever get to see a Bald Eagle was inside a cage in a zoo or aviary. But last Wednesday, as I paddled down the Shenandoah in my kayak, one of the first sights I witnessed was a Bald Eagle diving down into the water to catch a fish.

Brad turned around in his kayak and yelled back to me, "Is that a blogging moment?" Um, yes.

When Brad exclaimed, "What the hell was that?" I considered "that" as another blogging moment. A box turtle swam past him, "Look at that!" he said. Mr. Turtle cruised through the water with only his little turtle head above the surface.

The blue heron guiding us down the Shenandoah. The cows cooling off in the water. The ducklings swimming behind Momma duck. This area, the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, is full of "blogging moments." And for those beautiful landscapes you can't capture with the right words, there's always a picture, and they say that's worth 1,000 words. Maybe more.

Free Time! What am I doing?

It's been a while since I've posted. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have enough time to post. It's just that I've been so busy writing for other blogs that I've neglected my tried and true--Off the Rails.

I was walking down to the pool with Brad yesterday, and I said, "I think I'm going to retire Off the Rails." His reaction surprised me.

"But WHY?" He seemed genuinely concerned.

"It's just that I'm so busy writing for other people..."

"But Off the Rails is your place to write about your personal adventures..."

Brad was right. I can't abandon this blog. It's the 21st century version of a journal. It's a constant reminder that I live my life to its fullest.

So what have I been up to?

Well...I GRADUATED...hallelujah

Horseback Riding

The day after graduation, I went horseback riding with Jessie-formerly-Kreuger-now-Lohmann, my mom, and my sister. We arrived at the stables and were greeted by a wonderful group of people, including a song-bird cowboy and a former-Montana-ranch-hand-TEENAGER. I blogged about the experience for Kline May Realty. Yes, I get paid to blog. You can read more about the adventure here. 

Kayaking

Brad and I went for a 12-mile paddling trip on the Shenandoah River. It was Brad's first time paddling, and it took him a while to get used to it. His kayak trajectory reminded me of a drunk person stumbling around. He couldn't keep the boat straight...whatsoever...for the first three miles. I thought I FINALLY found something he wasn't good at, but, alas, he perfected his form by the end of the trip. Damn. 

The day we paddled, it was cool May Sunday, and we welcomed the clouds and their relief from the heat. The highlight of the trip? Nope, not the riverside picnic, but a new Brad-ism. Every time we encountered a rapid (however very small it may have been) Brad exclaimed, "Let's tackle these rapids!!!" We did manage to be only a few of the people who didn't capsize in a strong Class II rapid. Strong for Class II, not that Class II is too strong. I blogged about the experience for Kline May Realty. Yes, I got paid to write this blog too. You can read more about the adventure here. 

Hiking 

Since graduation, Brad and I have gone on three hiking adventures:

1) Big Run Loop in the south district. It's a 5-mile loop through the wilderness. The best views are at the beginning and the end of the hike, and the last time we hiked this trail, Brad pissed off Momma Bear. Luckily, no Momma Bear on this hike. Only Poo Bear. 

Cute, ain't he?

2) Stony Man and Little Stony Man in the central district was the second hike we've done since I graduated. It's a very touristy hike to beautiful views. Less than 4 miles total walking for two hikes. I blogged about it for a new website that I'm helping get up and running, Shenandoah Valley Events. You can read more about the adventure here. P.S. You can tell how windy it was by my out-of-control hair. Talk about adrenaline rush sitting on that rock... 

Photo credit Brad Roberts for the picture. Wasn't going to say anything, but he's sitting next to me right now and yelled, "I TOOK THAT PICTURE." 

But I took the other two.

and most recently, 3) We hiked South River Falls in the central district. We hiked this trail yesterday in the 90-degree-ish heat. I was panting heavier than Rex at the end, and that's all I'm going to say about that. Oh, and I drove home with barefeet in a sports bra and shorts...and Brad was shirtless. Total redneck move, but we were THAT sweaty. I think we're officially Rockingham County residents now...

Rex also went swimming for the first time. He's not the biggest swimming fan despite his webbed feet. He gave Brad the cold shoulder for a good twenty minutes after he got out of the water. 

A Wedding Weekend

John and Jessie Lohmann, my brother-from-another-mother and now sister-in-law-by-another-mister-in-law, tied the knot last weekend. TALK ABOUT A FRIGGIN PARTY!!!

A river-side venue, rustic decorations, a hay-bale sectional with cloth AND pillows, two bonfires, one stacked with wood over 10 feet tall, dancing til 1AM, and the best company ever made this the wedding of the century. Yes, I realize I'm not married yet. Still...it was the wedding of the century. 

The night before the wedding, the groom, the best man, the best man's best girl, Brad, and I dined on a late-night feast of mac and cheese and weiners. It made me feel like a kid again except, I enjoyed this meal with coffee laced with chocolate vodka. Umm...yum?!

The day of the wedding, a group of us set-up for the festivities (bride and her bridesmaids excluded), making sure the table cloths were perfectly knotted, the baby's breath tied beautifully with lavender ribbon to the "alter" chairs, and that the birch tree/purple mason jar lanterns/baby's breath centerpieces looked just right. Check out the sneak peek on the DBE Photography Facebook page for an idea of the venue and the awesome people in attendance. 

The ceremony was beautiful and so personal. Jessie's cousin officiated, and humor was interspersed throughout the non-traditional vows. I laughed out loud and even teared up...a little...I guess. Fine. I teared up.

The dancing after the ceremony and awesome meal was straight awesome. I just watched a video of John and I dancing to Macklemore, video was recorded by Dan Emmerman, my like-a-father-but-not, who is owner of DBE Photography, at around 1 am. I need dance lessons...desperately. I really, really need dance lessons. 

While the dancing crowd danced, Brad and I hung with the bonfire crowd, cuddled up by one of the two bonfires that burned that night, and when the party ended, we camped out on the river. We camped out on the river the next night too...waking up to foggy river sunrises in the morning and the company of some of the people we cherish most in this world. 

Here is a pic of us from the wedding. Photo credit goes to the lovely and friggin' awesome Mary Dunkleburger. 

Cabela's

On our way home from the wedding, Brad and I checked out Cabela's. It was our first time there. One of my co-workers at Kline May Realty said, "It's the Disney world of Outdoors Stores." He's so right. It made me sad to see the stuffed animals, though, but that added to the Cabela's experience, I suppose.

Miscellaneous

Redbox movies, ice cream sandwiches, deck-chilling, barbecuing. Date nights, crafting, and more is what I've done since graduation. And I'm lovin' it. 

What's crazy is I have fun during the work-week too. It's like life is my playground, and I'm realizing that the hard work really did pay off. I do miss all of my friends who moved away though.