Happy 17th Birthday Fishy

Happy Birthday Fishy (Gillian)!

I am so glad time has brought us back together in the same place! Thank you for introducing me to the Gunks the first time I visited and thank you for welcoming Marc and I to call this place our home!

Happiest of Happy Birthdays!

TheChristyBel

Happy 17th Birthday, Gilly!

Look How Cute You Were!

Birthday Love!

Belmar Day

Today, I joined the Toman's to visit one of our favorite places on earth, the Jersey Shore! I went a little more south of Asbury Park (my usual) to Belmar. The beach was PACKED! But Fish (Gillian) and I (and the rest of the family) had a great time swimming, boogie boarding, making sand castles, and laying in the sun.

It totally makes me miss living in Asbury Park and working from my computer. Bah. One day, I'll go back to that! Maybe!

TheChristyBel

Belmar & the Atlantic Ocean!

Fishy & I

A Belmar Sunset

Selfie with Fish

Took a Selfie with Fish After We Finished the Lemon Squeeze at the Mohonk Mountain House

Biking to Castle Point

Selfie with Fishy at Castle Point

Today, decided to join Fishy with a family bike ride around Minnewaska State Park and celebrate Father's Day with the Toman's. I just LOVE Minnewaska State Park - great biking carriage roads, waterfalls, swimming areas, and some gorgeous views. This Minnewaska adventure, we biked from the Minnewaska Lake parking lot to Castle Point and back. A 4.3-mile carriage road that takes you to the highest part in the state park. You bike along a series of bluffs that define the western rim of the Ridge. It was great seeing a lot of wildflowers along the way - lots of Mountain Laurel and the view from Castle Point was pretty nice too!

TheChristyBel

We Made it!

More PINK Mountain Laurel

Beautiful White Mountain Laurel

Summit Posing at Castle Point with Fishy!
2,200 feet above sea level

Water Balloon Fights with Friends

This summer has been hot!! And it has only been pretty much a month into this summer season. I have totally forgotten about how humid the east coast is. I do not mind the hot, but the humidity, is not so fun every now and then (ok, more like all the time). It makes me really miss the dry heat from the Tetons! I am really grateful for the air condition. But I guess working for the Preserve, I get the benefit to swim in the Coxing Kill or at Mohonk Lake, but sometimes I just want to stay home and cool off. So, while in Poughkeepsie running errands, I totally stopped in Target and picked up some waterballoons! Marc and I called over the Toman's and we had some dinner together and decided to cool off! It was super fun and a great way to beat this heat!

TheChristyBel

Hallie and Fish stole my phone and took a billion selfies with it.

Fun times in our backyard!

Upcycling Bar Stools

After seeing my upcycled arm chair, my friend, Wendy, convinced me to re-purpose two bar stools she was trying to sell at her yard sale. So I literally spent the entire day working on these stools in front of her customers. It was actually pretty cool when people would come up and ask questions about what I was doing. Not to mention, when I finished, the compliments I got and the bids! Unfortunately, no one bit on the chairs, so I got to take them home...for Free!

TheChristyBel

Gertrude's Nose

Patterson's Pellet

Exploring Minnewaska State Park today. I heard of a really cool place to hike to from a co-worker called Gertrude's Nose. This hike is a 7.5-mile loop that takes you to 1,288 ft about a bunch of stunning cliff edges, rock formations, and some really amazing views. From the Minnewaska State Park - Lake parking lot, you head down past the bathing beach area and continue left along the Minnewaska Lake Loop (a red trail). As you continue up and around some s-curves, you'll pass the Castle Point Carriage Road, and then after a few more minutes, you'll reach the Millbrook Mountain Carriage Road on your right. This yellow-blazed carriage road will bring you to a great overlook with an awesome quartz conglomerate erratic called, Patterson's Pellet. It's a boulder that is remarkably balancing and staying put on the edge of the cliff face. As you continue on the yellow trail, you'll reach a junction for a red-blazed foot trail for Gertrude's Nose. You'll pass along some great scenic scapes and cliff edges. You'll eventually head down into the woods along some scrambly rocks and boulders. After the rocky descent you'll pop into a clearing with powelines overhead and continue under them. Back onto the cliff's edge, down again, and back into woods. Once you emerge from the woods, you'll get back to the cliff's edge and head toward Gertrude's Nose. It is definitely a long stroll along the cliff until the nose. Gertrude's Chin is a giant pile of rocks and talus below. The Nose is about 25 minutes from the Chin as you continue forward. The "Nose" means a rock formation that juts out of the cliff with nothing pretty much underneath it. After lots of photos and summit posing and hanging out at the nose area for lunch, we continued the loop going over more of the top of the ridge towards Millbrook Mountain that is the tallest in the Near Trapps (this is on the Mohonk Preserve side). After hanging there and getting some breeze-appreciation, we hiked back towards the middle of the ridge and back towards Minnewaska Lake. There are a lot of Lowbush Blueberry bushes and a great loop hike! I strongly suggest it! Enjoy the photos!

TheChristyBel

Couple Photo on the Nose

Fishy's Prom

Gillian invited Marc and I to her pre-prom photoshoot. It was so adorable. To be young, in high school, and going to prom again....meh, I would not, but seeing Gillian and her friends all dressed up was precious. Here are some photos of their photo shoot.

TheChristyBel

Hallie & Gillian
(Prom Dates)

Candid Photos

The Whole Group

Close Up of My Fishy

Gillian, What Are You Doing?

Pretty!

Fishy with Her Parents, David and Wendy

Dad and Daughter

Formal Pose

Me, Fishy, & Marc

My Fishy - I cannot believe she's a Junior!
I remember when she was 9 years old!