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       Erika and I had our first chance togo out exploring together, but first let me explain why this was our first adventure together.

         I was sitting at the art gallery I manage, painting and hanging art like usual. We had just hired a new woman, and because her daughter was in town, which was rare, she wanted her to see her new work place. Unexpected I see the two of them walk casually through the double glass door into the gallery, and I saw a beauty I had never seen before. Instantly Erika and I connected, and for me at that moment, I knew I want to spend the rest of life with her.

       Remember how I said it is rare that she was in town? Well thats because Erika is this crazy awesome world traveler, and at this moment she had been living in Barbados for the last year which she was returning back to shortly. She returned and we spent 4 months away from each other which ended up being an amazing 4 months of verbal communication that aloud the both of us to grow a relationship far beyond any physical touch could. So she returned, and everything I knew I felt was confirmed. 

       Our first night of camping started at Pine Log State Forrest. This is a beautiful state park in north western Florida with many different hiking trails, campsites, and lakes full of huge Cypress Trees. 

       We set up camp, and being the excited adventurers we are, we went on a hike! A 4 mile hike to be exact! For the first portion of our hike we did it blindfolded, and I will tell you why. I had learned of this spiritual exercise of doing a hike blindfolded by a teacher named Stuart Wilde who teaches Taoism. In one of his teaching he talks about feeling the energy around us, and using a blindfold to force us to trust what we feel and not just what we see. So Erika and I took this lesson into the woods, and we walked.

       It was amazing how much we could feel the ground beneath us, the breeze brushing our skin, the songs of the forrest, and the guiding energy leading us. 

       Our first night of dinner consisted of Chicken with tons of different veggies!!! Erika did the prep work of the veggies as she left the more "manly" chicken prep to me... lol!! 

       Nothing better than cooking with a fire! I only burnt myself a few times, but the laughs were worth it!

We woke up,  made some coffee, and packed up for our next camp site!

       There were many different experiences on this trip, and if I wrote them all this this "short" blog post would become a "short" book! Here are some more photos from our two day camping trip!

Love you all! Thank you!

Check out Erika's Blog here!