Adventures in Leaves

This fall was a season of travel for me. I kicked off my travel season with a laid back weekend visiting Jeramy's family in Knoxville, before I left for a two week business trip to Washington, DC. I flew straight from DC to Chicago, met Jeramy, and hopped a plane for ten days in Peru.

Once we returned, we just couldn't stop.

We carved some pumpkins and I baked the obligatory fall treats, then we spent the next weekend out at my parents' house. Bogie was thrilled to frolic around in the leaves and spend some time off his leash. 

Bogie in the wild! Well, sort of.

We spent Halloween curled up at home, but Bogie and I got dressed in the Halloween spirit and dressed up.

The following weekend, we headed to Holland, Michigan to visit a friend. We drove along the lake as a storm rolled in and caught some stunning views. 

We were only back for four days before we turned around and drove to Milwaukee for the weekend, where we caught up with old friends, attended a wedding, ate too many good brunches, and forgot to take photos...as usual.

PERU

I changed some things.

Tennessee

I'm pretty sure summer isn't coming this year, and I was beginning to doubt it ever existed in the first place, so I decided to go searching for proof. I planned a series of southern vacations for March and April with the hope I could come across some warm weather. This past weekend, I took a short but much-needed road trip out to Tennessee.

I packed shorts and dresses, but I knew I would end up wearing them with tights and heavy layers. I planned on spending two days in Knoxville and two days in the mountains, which would be considerably colder.

After nine hours of driving, my poor little pickup barely made it to the top of this mountain!

We planned on one day of hiking, but woke up to rain and cold (of course). Fortunately, living in Chicago prepares people for such conditions. 

Shooting a gun in the morning wakes you up faster than coffee!

The hike to the peak of Mt. LeConte was fantastic, despite the rain. This massive overhang was a great place to take a break and drink several thousand bottles of water.

It was freezing up at the peak, and there wasn't much to see because of the clouds, but it sure was a great place to sit down and eat a sandwich.

I'm back in the miserable Chicago weather through next week, and then I head off to Savannah, Georgia, where I should finally experience some real warmth. In the meantime, I want to finish the huge redecorating project I've begun in my apartment...photos to follow shortly!