I have been training for the Merrell Oyster Racing Series which is coming to Nashville on October 24. It is an urban adventure race that has six legs. On each leg, you use a different discipline: you might be running, biking, rafting, shopping, using public transportation, eating, climbing, creeking, canoeing, trivia, kayaking, golfing, scootering/skating, bowling, etc. They do not reveal the course ahead of time, but like the Amazing Race, you get passports alon...

Staff Fun Day Don't we look like we're having fun? Oh, what a day! Today was Staff Fun Day for First United Methodist Church. We've had a very difficult year, and our staff has really been through the ringer. In an attempt to relieve some of the stress and pressure and to help us bond together as a team. Gretchen organized it, and this morning we all met in the Sanctuary at 9:00 to start our day. We were divided into three teams: I was on a team with Michael W...

Lakeside Trail at Hamilton Creek Park Every month we try to do a variety of hikes for the Hendersonville First United Methodist Church Hiking Group. Some are close by, some require driving an hour or more, some are paved, some are rocky, some are easy, and some are more challenging. This month we hiked to Laurel Falls on Labor Day for our strenuous hike and to Hamilton Creek Park for our easy, local hike. Whenever I lead a hike, I like to go scope it out ahea...

Full Moon Hike Last night I went on a Full Moon hike at Long Hunter State Park. I have always had a fondness for night hiking which I think goes back to my church camp experiences as a child. My church used to go to camp at Laurel Pines (summer) and Forest Home (winter) in the San Bernadino Mountains in California. As a child I dreamed of being a zoologist or park ranger, so I absolutely LOVED camp! One of the things we did at camp was to play elaborate adventur...

Snow Falls I went hiking yesterday with the Nashville Hiking Meetup to the Laurel-Snow Pockett Wilderness in Dayton, TN. I hiked part of this trail a year ago in the spring, but we took the Laurel Falls fork. Today we tackled the Snow Falls section. I rode down with Steve and Mike. I don't know if it was just because it was early, but our car was very quiet on the ride down. I've done a few trails with Mike before, but Steve is fairly new to the group. We arri...