An ADK Anniversary

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of me finally finding out what the hell was wrong with me. To refesh, a doc in the ADK diagnosed me after my doc fell down on his job......for 2 years. It's been a long year and a difficult journey. Meds and pain and misery (oh my). But I feel like I have leveled out.

Last week we made our annual pilgrimage to the ADK. It was better than I had hoped. First and foremost, I got to spend a few days with a very old and dear friend and her family. Secondly, all the worries and wonders I had prior to going were unfounded.

Packing is like an olympic event in our house. We have to pack for 4.....OK, who am I kiding.....I have to pack for 4. Plus we have 2 large bins full of camping equipment plus we now have a canoe. Most stuff wasn't too difficult to pack and load.....Scott helped alot with that. My worry was how the hell was I going to lift my end of a 70 pound canoe and get it on and off my truck? Well, I was actually surprised that they only difficulty was that that thing is damn heavy! But Physically I was able to get it on the truck and I had no issues after. My friend's hubby helped Scott get it off when we got there. Thanks again Marty!

We tent-camp and haven't had an air-mattress in a few years.....ever since the mice made a snack out of the old one. I kept meaning to buy a new one but never seemed to get around to it. I really worried about sleeping on the ground this year. Was I going to be able to get up in the mornings? Would I be stiff? In pain? I am happy to say that I had no issues sleeping on ground. I really was surprised. I thought I was going to have to go to the nearest town and buy an air matteress. I hate setting up and taking down my tent. But even more, I hate the thought of possibly having to buy a camper some day in the near future. I always have to keep in mind if I even should be sleeping on the ground.....padded or not. This year I was able to stay camper-free.

Another worry was, would I even be able to do anything? We usually hike, canoe, walk, walk, hike, swim, shopping day in Lake Placid, etc. You get the point. We haven't hiked a mountain since we've had the kids. (I wanted to this year but didn't find a small enough one that my daughter may be able to do until the day we left.) We did a lot. I don't think we sat around one day. The easiest day was probably the day we canoed. Although I had to remain very conscious of how I held the paddles, it was surprisingly easy. I did have some muscle pain after but nothing more than a workout burn. Swimming was great. I was in the pond almost every day. And all the walking we did (which was my biggest worry) no problem.

So all in all, it was a great vacation. Honestly, the most difficult things for me were coming home (only because I would love to live there) and being away from my blender and juicer for a week. I can't wait to make my reservations for next year!