Stay-cation Part Deux

Who needs expensive trips and exotic locales when you have a French bakery and zipline tours in your backyard?  Ok, not directly behind my house but just a quick jaunt up the road in Rock Hill, SC.  True, the Canaan Zipline Canopy Tour was no Edinburgh Castle adventure but it was still pretty awesome!  Nine ziplines?  Six over the river?  Yes, please!

 

I solemnly swear that I zipped across the line in the background!

The couple that ziplines together has helmet-head and chafed thighs together...

And who knew that Rock Hill had such a thriving downtown area?  Complete with its own French bakery even?  Certainly not me!  Although our zipline guides were heartless enough to start talking about food within the first 30 minutes of the 3+ hour tour, we have them to thank for directing us to the yummy Amelie's French Bakery.  Crusty French bread + food names that I can't pronounce + espresso + sinful desserts served by an actual French 'chef pâtissier' minus the infamous French attitude toward English speakers = heaven! :) 

No more caffeine for Mark! 

No Turkey for Me

So this summer, I was hoping to be here:

Oh, the Vacation Conversation blogposts I was going to have!  I had planned to illuminate myself about Istanbul, bolt across the Bosphorous so that I could officially amble through Asia, and just generally traipse around Turkey.  Alas, the NEH didn't appear to find my application essay worthy.  (I can't imagine why my writing didn't impress them!)  

Yes, the lack of Turkey in my life has been a letdown.  Although not having to worry my family about getting potentially dragged into a fatal hostage situation and/or encountering ISIS insurgents has been an unexpected bonus to this whole rejected-by-an-entire-country thing.  

More importantly, not jetting off to Istanbul has freed up my summr for a lot of other things.  Like visiting friends and going to the Parthenon.

No, not that one! (Been there, done that!)

Nashville's Parthenon is more my speed this summer!

And maybe a little of this...

But first, a little stay-cation action...

Zippin' the Zoo & Zoomin' the River! 

I think the summer's off to a nice start!