Steak and a Horror Movie Day

My fiancee for years has not celebrated Valentine's Day, but Steak and a Horror Movie Day instead. Eat some steak with a group and watch a scary film. I only just found out that this was not a wildly followed Valentine's Day alternative, but just her creation.

As a pseudo-guest post, she and her friend created a number of other Valentine's Day alternatives that have activity-food pairings. Start your checklists!

rock-climbing and tacos night
skydiving and kimchi day
bungee jumping and calzones
nascar driving and pizza
heli-skiing and pierogies
rollerdisco and shwarma
russian roulette and borscht
lugeing and tagine
deep sea diving and sweet potato pie
skeet-shooting and truffles
cow tipping and pho
four-wheelin' and punch
hot air ballooning and spring rolls
karate and hibachi!!!
marathoning and macaroni
elephant riding and home fries
tapdancing and tofu
hullaballoo and hibachi
tomfoolery and tomatos
shenanigans and shiitake
bootlegging and bananas
robbery and ricola
jello wrestling and foie gras
hang-gliding and haggis
hairdressing and pancakes
beekeeping and rice cakes
horse-riding and hot tamales
shuffleboard and hard-boiled eggs
line-dancing and curry
Bar exam study and bologna

Go State!

While visiting the skating rink the other night, I spotted a guy standing along wall on the ice a couple of yards from me wearing an NC State sweatshirt. Unlike the other universities in the Triangle, people usually don't wear NC State gear unless they actually went there. So I flashed the Wolfpack sign and shouted "Go State!"

He turned my way and gave me a rude look. His expression changed though when he saw my Wolfpack sign. He laughed, and said to me, "Sorry, I thought you yelled at me to 'Go Skate!'".

Go State, Go Skate!

Art Loeb Trail up Black Balsam Knob

In December, I took a short hike up Black Balsam Knob along the Art Loeb Trail. Black Balsam Knob is accessible off the Blue Ridge Parkway, 37 miles southwest of Asheville. Coming from Asheville along the Parkway, you turn right onto Black Balsam Knob Road. Drive 3/4 mile up the road. Trail heads off on the right. The map (from this site on the entire Art Loeb hike), shown below has the Black Balsam portion shown at the bottom. It's a quick hike, but you break the tree line halfway up, and can see for miles around at the top. Without trees at the peak, it can get very windy.

In the pictures below, shows the terrain at the base of the trail when it's still in the forest and the black balsam trees as you start your climb. Further down is the rocky trail as you start reaching the tree-less portion of the bald, and the view around.

Jughandles in Asheville

Visited Asheville a couple of weeks ago, and came across a couple of jughandles of interest. First, at the base of Black Balsam Knob on the Art Loeb Trail, I came across a jug of water with my name on it. A bit creepy actually.

Asheville also has a Jersey jughandle in the westbound direction on Patton Avenue at the intersection with southbound Clingman Avenue. Excited to see this intersection type outside of the Garden State.

One does not simply...

One does not simply walk into Mordor either.

Hiking on Ramanessin Brook Greenway

My friend from nursery school told me about this hike he really likes to take in Holmdel, NJ. It's mostly on the Ramanessin Brook Greenway Nature Trail, which on the maps appears to be part of Holmdel Park (but far from the spot where the State Cross Country course is). It was a 4 mile hike that went from the trailhead on Holmdel-Middletown Road across from the elementary school. You can park along the west side of the road. The trailhead is marked with a giant sign with the greenway's name.

The greenway along the river for the first 3/4 mile is inside the forest. It follows the river over a few footbridges, before breaking out into the open on a farm road. Follow the farm road around the field. There are some side hikes down to the river along the way, as well as an old red farmhouse. The road will turn north, cross the river, and head around a farm growing shrubbery.

After rounding the shurbbery farm, head north on the farm road for another 1/2 mile until you reach the turnaround spot, an old fallen down farmhouse. You can walk around it and check out where its kitchen, stables, and bedrooms were. There's an old chicken coop about 30 yards to the south. Walking back along the same route to the trailhead gave the total of 4 miles for the hike.