I carved a pumpkin!

I am such a geek.

6-pound smoothbore Artillery demonstration at Gettysburg.

In case those of you couldn't open my email attachment, here's the picture of Sullivan and I outside Gettysburg last night.

Grr. I feel a little bad that I haven't actually written a decent post for nearly a month now. Things with me are still much the same as a month ago - spiritually stagnant, wondering what God wants me to learn, wondering what my place is. In short, I've been frustrated a lot. I feel like I have no more goals in life, and that my lot for the next few decades is to put in my 8 hours every day, then find some distraction in the evening to hold me over until I go to bed. All the trips I've taken over the past week have been great, but they've all been solo trips; fun, but lonely. That fact that I'm still pretty quiet in person hasn't done me any favors. I'd just like to know what to do with myself, what my future is...

Shenandoah Solo #3: Turk Mtn summit. I had never been to the far southern section of the park, and my thirst for hiking in the fall cannot be slaked.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. Outside Charlottsville, VA.

What can I say? Admission to the park was good for a whole week, so how could I resist going back one last time before I get back to work tomorrow?

More Shenandoah-y goodness from this afternoon. Fog lifting from Compton Peak.

The view from Hawksbill Mountain - the highest point in the park (4051').

Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park (elevation 3450'). A beautiful open plateau on top of the mountains.

Montpelier - James Madison's home in central Virginia. The building is in the middle of a 10-year long restoration to its circa-1815 look.

Gettysburg, looking west towards the Appalachians.

Mmm... Chocolate...

Harrisburg, PA skyline as seen from Island Park in the Susquehanna River.

Well, my vacation's halfway over. I've been to see my brother in Pennsylvania, visited Harrisburg (saw the 100th Anniversary parade for the state capitol building,) Hershey (you can smell the chocolate before you see the town. Three words: dark chocolate milkshake.) and Gettysburg. I've gotten lost in a garden maze with Nate and toured through a cave in Luray. I'll have pics just as soon as I can find my camera... I think I left it in the truck yesterday...