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  • Search Results for: ohio

    • Outdoor Ohio

      Posted at 9:20 AM by Brittany, on October 7, 2015

      It’s no secret I love being surrounded by trees. One of my favorite things about hiking is standing tall atop a mountain and admiring the world below me.

      A trip to The Holden Arboretum offered a hike like view, but with 1/20 the effort.

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      120 ft into the sky, the emergent tower offered fantastic views of the trees.

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      Up. up, up.

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      Purdy little lady!

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      I could have stared at those trees for hours.

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      Even the bogs were pretty. So long as you don’t slather a Petri dish with its innards.

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      I was able to explore the downtown Cleveland scene a few days after this country adventure, and the contrast between country and city life continues to fascinate me.

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      I will always adore the beauty of unique buildings, and even admire the hustle and bustle of city life, but my heart will forever belong to the quite nature of the trees where time seems to stand still. It’s a much simpler life if you ask me.

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      Royalty.

      Royalty.

      I always enjoy seeing both the city and the country while visiting new places. I find it gives a solid balance of perspective, and it always confirms my love of nature.

      I’d like to experience the city life for a short time, but I don’t see myself living somewhere large for longer than a year. I much prefer the slow and quite life of the suburbs. Something tells me my running pants and socks with sandals wouldn’t fit in with the business suits and BMW’s of the city. 😉

      Q: Do you prefer country or city life?

      b

      | 53 Comments Tagged Cleveland, Explore, Hike, Nature, Ohio, Vacation
    • Amish Country, Ohio

      Posted at 9:10 AM by Brittany, on September 28, 2015

      You know you’re in good company when you visit someone that puts ” visit Amish country” on the to do list. Before last week I had no experience with the Amish way of life, other than the extremely scripted “reality” TV show “Breaking Amish,” which I admittedly have been sucked into watching more than once.

      PC Meghan, a true horse and buggy.

      PC Meghan, a true horse and buggy.

      It seemed to me the Amish lived a very simple life, similar to the idea of living off the grid which I love. While this is true for most Amish that abstain from things like electricity and cars, I also discovered things I didn’t know.

      Meghan and I found ourselves smack in the heart of tourist Amish country, where despite the beards, dresses, and fancy hats, the Amish people were no different when it came to making money. Whatever it takes to make that dollar, even if it’s not completely ethical (in my eyes.)

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      My excitement quickly turned to fear when I saw a 3000 lb horse with sad eyes kicking ferociously to get out of his 10×10 pen, and when I saw an obese pig (I pray it was just preggo) having stomach convulsions. I suddenly felt like I was in a horror movie and my stomach sank to my toes. We spent ZERO pennies at this spot.

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      We quickly moved on to check out the bakeries, because the words “homemade” and “fresh baked” spoke to my sugar loving soul louder than a morning rooster. I also got excited to check out the famous cheese factory, and I don’t even eat cheese.

      Not only were they “not making cheese today,” the cheeses has added microbial fillers and colors. Um, what? Worse than this were the “homemade” baked goods.”

      Cue the Psycho music.

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      Well shoot, apparently my homemade goods have been missing some key ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils, polysorbate 60 (wtf?!), and artificial flavors.

      It wasn’t all scary though, the autumnal displays had my heart singing like a summer canary. Pumpkins, mums, and wagon wheels OH MY!

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      I also found my soulmate at one of the antique shops, but he refused to come home with me after I told him I would NOT be filling his belly with Amish made cookies.

      All this needs is the word

      All this needs is the word “my” after the word “steal.”

      After spending one too many hours trying to find a ray of hope, my hanger became unmanageable. With no explanation other than the magical white squirrels waving their tails again, I found a place to eat that was FRESH and delicious.

      Like a water mirage in the middle of the desert.

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      Cute decor too!

      Cute decor too!

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      I hoovered a burrito quicker than a Dyson vacuum

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      The ONLY item in all of Amish land, with no crazy oils or unpronounceable ingredients.

      Moral of my story is this: things aren’t always what they seem. I pray this is the case with the animals I saw at stop number one. ¡Ay, qué horror!

      I’d like to add that I am in no way “judging” the uncomplicated way of life for the Amish, and if it weren’t for the stories and sights of the living conditions for the animals I would be all about that life. I’m simply sharing my experience. 🙂

      Q: Have you ever been to Amish country? Tell me I’m not the only one that has shamelessly watched “Breaking Amish.”

      b

      | 43 Comments Tagged Amish, Explore, Ohio, Vacation, Vegan
    • The English Market, Cork

      Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on June 28, 2017

      After earning our Jedi certifications on Skellig Michael, we set forth to our next destination of Cork. Our time in Cork was very short, just a pit stop to rest our souls. Below you will see the out lined map of our journey thus far.

      It’s a rough sketch.

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      We stayed in Hotels (instead of B&B’s) the remainder of our trip, and Cork was the first hotel of the trip. It was hard not waking up to someone making me breakfast, but Cork was a good place to have my heart broken by lack of food because The English Market was just around the river bend.

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      We stayed at the Ambassador Hotel, which was OK. The staff was amazingly friendly though, and they had water at the front desk with the most amazing strawberries floating in it. I’ll never look at water the same.

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      From the hotel to the market was about a 20 minute walk. The goal for the morning in Cork was to find some local coffee, and a scone (at the market.) I stopped into Cork Coffee Roasters, because I suppose with a name like that you can expect local coffee. I’m glad the coffee was good, because the service was not.

      Womp. 

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      The English Market is Ireland’s most famous covered food market, and it reminded me so much of the West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio. You can’t get any more fresh and local than a market like this, and although the endless rows of raw meat and fish heads were calling to me (joke) I had my heart set on doughy, carby goodness.

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      I made myself sick off one of those hockey pucks in the bottom right corner. Or maybe it was because I ate mine, and half of my friends. Whoops. Either way, it was amazing and I paid like 90 cent for this. WHAT EVEN!?

      In America that scone would have been $3…easy.

      We spent less than 24 hours in Cork, but it was more than enough. The city is like a much smaller, pocket sized version of Dublin. A quick pass through is all you need (in my opinion.) Cork was the perfect launching pad for us because our next “big ticket” destination was Blarney Castle.

      Stay tuned for the next post to see if I received the gift of eloquence.  

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      Thanks for the cheap scones, Cork. ❤

      Travel Tip: Find the destinations you want to visit, and then plan your accommodations in areas before the actual destination. This allows you to see other places you wouldn’t have normally seen, and helps to break up the travel times. 

      brittany

      | 34 Comments Tagged Ireland, Market, Scones
    • North America

      Posted at 10:24 AM by Brittany, on June 18, 2017

      Life is meant to be lived. On this page you will find some of my travels within my home country, and my next door neighbor (Hi Canada!) Here’s how it works: The link will take you to the beginning of each trip, and at the bottom of each post (just above the comments) will be a link to visit the succeeding posts of each trip.

      I’ve been to 17 states within the U.S., however I wasn’t blogging when I visited them all. Below are the adventures I embarked on after I started blogging.

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      Canada

      • Victoria, BC

      United States

      • Alaska
      • Arizona / Arizona / Arizona  / Arizona
      • California / California / California
      • Colorado
      • Idaho
      • Michigan/Pennsylvania/New York Road Trip
      • Montana
      • Ohio
      • Oregon / Oregon / Oregon / Oregon
      • Virginia/Michigan Road Trip
      • Wyoming ( & Montana)
    • Unexpected Friendships 

      Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on July 11, 2016

      The universe has a funny way of bringing people together. I’ve been friends with two wonderful humans for over three years now, and I met them both through blogging. I often wonder if one day I’ll decide to stop sharing my adventures with the world, but one thing that keeps me coming back is the connections I continue to make with like minded people.

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      Two years ago I flew to Virginia to explore the land with a girl named Megan. Megan and I then drove north to Michigan to attend a girl named Lillian’s wedding. It was a trip I’ll never forget. Fast forward two years, and Megan invited Lily and I to her wedding. So I hopped on a a plane, flew to Michigan, and Lily and I drove north to New York.

      All thanks to blogging. 

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      Megan’s wedding was a combination of summer yellows and rustic wood browns. A casual yet classy wedding on a golf course that appeared to be straight out of the jungles of Jurassic Park. It was beautiful.

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      We ate, we celebrated, we laughed, we mingled, and we continued the wedding tradition of our triangular friendship. This must mean I’m next, so Mr. Mountain Man anytime you’d like to show your face I’ll happily smile back.

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      That other pretty lady in the middle is Alex, met her through blogging too!

      I’ve had the opportunity to travel to California, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania meeting a handful of people along the way, simply because I decided to share my mind with strangers five years ago. What a trip.

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      Without this adventure I may never have seen the lovely street art in Rochester, New York after a 5 mile run through the city. I may never have experience the cheapest produce at the Rochester Public market (where I proceeded to flabbergast an elderly man at my abilities to consume pounds of lettuce in one sitting) spending $1 on a bucket full of apples.

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      What a lovely adventure it’s been, and I can’t wait to see where I travel to next.

      I hope it’s somewhere with Indian food as good as I found in Michigan, because my mind was blown by the flavor explosions.

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      Q: What’s the most unexpected way you’ve made new friends?

      atterned-n

      | 64 Comments Tagged Bloggers, Explore, New York, Vegan
    • Streets of LA

      Posted at 8:15 AM by Brittany, on November 5, 2015

      I can’t help but think back to this time last year when I was engulfed in Chemistry. Fall is my favorite season, yet 3/4 of my free time was dedicated to that class. Last fall flew by without so much as a hello, so this year I made it a point to enjoy each and every changing leaf.

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      Not LA.

      This fall is flying by just as fast, but in a much more enjoyable way. I had a great trip to Ohio in September, just came back from California on Sunday (visiting this girl,) and am off to Arizona in just a month and a half.

      This is how I prefer spending my fall months.

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      November means Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I must admit I do enjoy the extra joy that comes from this month of celebration. I’m thankful for my adventures with Gigi last week, starting with exploring the streets of LA.

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      I was able to explore the land by foot each day, which as most of you know is my favorite way to explore. This allows me to see things I’d typically miss.

      Like a gaggle of black cats painted on a wall.

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      I had a handful of great runs, two of which ended at my “new favorite” California coffee shop – Alfred {Coffee + Kitchen}. When their slogan is “But first, coffee” you’re in good hands.

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      As a drip coffee lover I was happy to discover Alfred Coffee uses their own blend, with the help of Stumptown. I also appreciated the price on this cup of coffee, although I did find over $2 in monies during my few days of running.

      Their brew is called Alfred, sometimes simple is better.

      Their brew is called Alfred, sometimes simple is better.

      This is real life, from ONE run.

      This is real life, from ONE run.

      The $$ I found payed for at least one cup of coffee. That’s a win in my book.

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      LA is a fast paced city, which I could never see myself living in, but it allowed me to slow down and appreciate my time away from “real life.”

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      Sorry mom and dad, this was too good not to share.

      They also have a solid grasp on living in the moment, at least according to the streets.

      Q: Have you been to LA?

      atterned-n

      | 62 Comments Tagged California, Coffee, Explore, LA, Run
    • Fall FoMo No More

      Posted at 8:32 AM by Brittany, on October 20, 2015

      *This giveaway is now closed*

      Time out, how is it already October 20th!? YOWZA.

      Like many other souls on this earth, fall happens to be my favorite time of the year. I adore the pumpkins, the apples, the kiwis (did you know it’s kiwi season, because the kiwis are BANGING right now), and the cinnamon. All the cinnamon.

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      But seriously.

      Ah yes, I adore fall grown foods, but I also love the activities that come with fall. Pumpkin PATCH, apple ORCHARD, kiwi…picking up at the store, and cinnamon grinding. I had an epic adventure to an apple orchard/corn maze while in Ohio, but I haven’t done a single fall themed activity since and the months are slipping by.

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      That’s where she comes in. This is Hannah, one of my adorable blog friends over at House Vegan. Hannah and I connected over delicious vegan foods and we share a love for all things fall. Including Disneyland at Halloween.

      Hannah wrote a very clever eBook titled Fall FoMo No More which stands for “fall fear of missing out.” Genius. In her book she gives tips, tricks, and shares delicious fall themed recipes in an attempt to help YOU avoid missing out.

      I am 2/3 of the way into October NEEDING her book to help me prioritize my fall activities. What’s doable, what’s not, write it down, cross things off, make it HAPPEN!

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      You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy the recipes shared in this book, in fact one of my favorites wasn’t even edible.

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      Frozen shower melts..are you serious? Sold.

      Of course there are indeed plenty of edible treats too, my favorite being the salted ginger chocolate chip cookies. I’ll take them all please.

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      Hannah’s photo

      Or the chili con cashew queso. Straw not included.

      Also Hanna's photo

      Also Hanna’s photo

      Long story short: this book is adorable, it’s cheap, and it gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. You can buy a copy for less than the price of a Taco Bell combo meal (ew) click here, BUTTT you can also enter to WIN A FREE copy simply by leaving a comment on this post telling me your favorite fall activity.

      If you don’t like fall, well then I’m not sure how we’re friends. It must be because you love coffee, cats, or the great outdoors, and for that I can let it slide. As for the rest of you, share your favorites!

      Q: Favorite fall activity!?

      b

      | 41 Comments Tagged Fall, Giveaway, Review, Vegan
    • Prayers From Maria

      Posted at 9:05 AM by Brittany, on October 14, 2015

      This is my final post about my trip to Ohio, and it happens to be the first thing I did. Have you ever seen millions of sunflowers next to each other in one spot?

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      These gorgeous yellow seed bearing stalks were strategically planted right off the highway in an attempt to bring awareness to the world of children’s glioma cancer.

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      Maria McNamara was seven years old when she lost her battle with this cancer, but her story lives on within these flowers. The Prayers From Maria foundation has awarded close to half a million dollars in grants towards finding a cure.

      Talk about finding optimism in a tragic situation.

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      I’ve never been a big flower lover, but the story behind this field of flowers was something I had to be apart of. I’ll never look at sunflowers the same.

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      These flowers not only brought to life the stories of children battling this cancer, but life was buzzing in and around the flowers too.

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      I find it fascinating to watch the life cycles of bugs and plants. Without them we wouldn’t have all this beauty. Does anyone else think it’s cool how people and bugs work together? Just me? I watched a lot of science shows growing up…

      This beautiful display of love and awareness allowed me to reflect on what is really important in my life. Sometimes the things I find to be problematic really aren’t that bad, and sometimes good things come from tragic situations.

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      After reading about Maria’s story I learned that she showed strength and dignity while battling through her last days, offering prayers for other children battling this cancer. She was always putting others first despite her own struggles.

      There’s a valuable lesson right there.

      Life is what you make of it, so make it count.

      No questions, but do something today to make an impact on someone else.

      b

      | 38 Comments Tagged Explore, Ohio, Prayers from Maria, Sunflower, Vacation
    • Early Morning Confessions

      Posted at 8:00 AM by Brittany, on October 4, 2015

      1. I have two more posts about my trip to Ohio, (sheesh Brittany, talk about draaagggging it out) but in an attempt to break up the monotony and ensure other recent happenings don’t get forgotten I’m throwing one of these in the mix.

      2. Things like National Coffee Day. You didn’t think I could go without posting something about this did you? My favorite blonde haired coffee master and I got to do a two hour coffee tasting at work where we drank, ate, and laughed with customers.

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      3. Fall is my favorite time of year, and pumpkin is one of my favorite vegetables. After consuming an entire can I quickly realized I am not one of pumpkins favorite humans. I could have floated to the moon with all the air trapped in my belly.

      4. I lost all my morals last week and ate the most amazing scone. It was the size of two, topped with frosting fit for a donut, and I ate the entire thing.

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      Chocolate espresso scone from the heavens.

      Chocolate espresso scone from the heavens.

      5. I also ate an entire jar of Costco sized PB, because clearly that was a smart thing to do. My skin disagrees, and thanks to the new planets discovered by NASA on my face I won’t be eating nuts for a bit. The body doesn’t lie folks, skin rebellion is REAL!

      6. Solo hiking to soak up the change in season.

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      7. I’m using the coin counter app again to keep track of the change I find. I want to see how long it takes me to pay off my new running shoes. Most of the $$ I find is while running, so it feels like the right thing to do. 

      8. I.AM.SO.OBSESSED.WITH.MULBERRIES.

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      9. I’m going to climb Mount St. Helens on October 17th and I am so excited. 

      10. 100 mile September didn’t happen. Right before my trip to Ohio I lost all desire to run so I skipped a day. While in Ohio I ran 12 happy and free miles, but when I returned home the motivation escaped me again. I honored my lack of motivation and 100 miles turned into something like 75 miles. Not at all upset about it.

      With that said, I stayed true to my goal of trying to break into the 8 min mile range. I’ve never run for speed, and tend to coast in my comfort zone, but I decided it was time to push my boundaries a bit and I successfully ran 3.5 miles at an 8:41 pace.

      Boom.

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      My first 3.5 miler at a sub 9 min average pace!

      Q: What’s your confession?

      b

      | 58 Comments Tagged Coffee, Confessions, Garmin, Random, Running, Starbucks, Vibram
    • Americas Most Beautiful Farm

      Posted at 9:00 AM by Brittany, on September 30, 2015

      I assume it takes a lot to be dubbed as Americas most beautiful farm, a title that is sure to attract people from all walks of life. For me all it took was the promise of a trip to Pumpkin Village and all the apples I could eat, the beauty was just an added perk.

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      After a less than exciting trip to Amish country I was thrilled to let my inner child fly free at Mapleside Farms. For $6 whole dollars I threw my adult pants in the garbage and gave each child at the farm a run for their money. The coffee I drank at 5:30 pm may have helped me get wild, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

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      I made sure to get all 600 pennies worth of my ticket to Pumpkin Village and hit each of the stops. After jumping on a giant pillow with a gaggle of children, it was time to ride “the longest slide in America.”

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      That VIEW!! ❤

      The slide led to the party at the bottom of the hill with activities that made me squeal louder than a hog in heat.

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      Duck racing

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      I won the duck race.

      Hay rides

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      View from hay ride, the apple trees are stunning.

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      Corn mazes

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      I had no idea pumpkins were so hydrating.

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      Pig rides

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      You didn’t think I meant real pigs did you?

      We were the only adults sans children in the pig mobiles.

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      Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I gorged myself on apples.

      I ate at least 4.

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      One of my favorite memories of the apple orchard actually happened days later while I was on a plane heading back home. We were suck waiting for a handful of other planes to take off and sat inside the plane for an hour before actually taking off.

      I went a little stir crazy.

      I went a little stir crazy.

      An older gentleman to my left stood up to get some food from his bag just as we were ready to take off, and was asked to sit back down. He seemed somewhat panicked as he stated that he needed something to eat because he had stomach problems. All he was offered was water, so I offered him an apple.

      He graciously accepted the apple, and proceeded to take at least six photos of his shiny green fruit. Anyone that takes photos of their food gets a gold star of approval.

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      Children’s play barn in pumpkin village, but I would totally live in this tiny house.

      I lugged my (1/2)peck of apples all the way from Ohio to Washington in a carry on with ambitious thoughts of apple pie, apple crisps, applesauce and more. Instead, I ended up baking my apples and plopping them right onto multiple bowls of oats.

      It tasted like apple pie, but was half the work.

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      Mapleside farms gave me my first taste of fall for the year, and I can’t wait to check out some farms around my area. I only hope I get the chance to ride more mechanical animals.

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      Q: Have you done any fall activities yet? Next on my list is a pumpkin patch and a you-pick apple orchard.

      b

      | 43 Comments Tagged Adventure, Apple Orchard, Corn Maze, Fall, Ohio
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    • BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long bike rides, deep connections, exploration, and lots of cucumbers.
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