OOO #18: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like
No one ever likes my shoes, some of my favorite hiking trails, and a spring tea
Outfits
Ohio
As we continue to move into even warmer weather in Ohio, I was lucky enough to visit one of my favorite places this past weekend: Hocking Hills. I really enjoy hiking (this is all thanks to my husband; I was definitely an indoor cat when we met), and it’s nice to be able to drive an hour and get onto some beautiful trails. I particularly enjoy waterfalls, so hiking in Hocking Hills is always a delight.
This trip, I was able to visit Cedar Falls for the first time, saw the Upper and Lower Falls at Old Man’s Cave, and trekked one of my favorite trails in the region: Cantwell Cliffs. Cantwell Cliffs has both a rim trail and a gorge trail, which I usually combine into a fun, medium difficulty hike. I particularly like Cantwell Cliffs over the other trails because it includes a descent down a steep rock staircase wedged in between two rock faces. Cantwell Cliffs is also farther north and less well known than most of the other trails in the Hocking Hills region, so there are always way fewer people there. I have visited in late fall, spring, and summer, and I have enjoyed it every time I’ve gone.
One of my other favorite hikes (and one of the more rigorous ones) in the Hocking Hills region is the rim trail at Conkle’s Hollow. This trail is beautiful since you get to overlook the gorge and the rolling hills around you, but I have found it impossible to get a photo that does it justice—most photos just look like a bunch of treetops.
One of my goals for the next time I visit Hocking Hills is to hike the Grandma Gatewood Trail, which connects Upper Old Man's Cave Falls, Lower Old Man's Cave Falls, Rose Lake Falls, Whispering Falls, Hidden Falls, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave if you go one way. The link above also describes how to turn it into a 6 mile loop instead of a 6-mile one way hike. The Grandma Gatewood Trail is part of the cross-country American Discovery Trail, which I will not be undertaking any time soon!
Other Things I Like
I am a big tea drinker (think 5-6 cups a day), and in recent years, I’ve branched out from my favored tea brand (Twinings) to try other brands and blends.
In this tea journey, I stumbled upon Harney & Sons. My first favorite blend was their Hot Cinnamon Spice, which tastes like you’re drinking liquid red hots (you’ll swear there’s sugar in it, but there isn’t). Then, I found their Paris tea—a light fruity black tea—in a breakfast buffet before a professional development session one morning. As you can imagine, my introduction to Harney & Sons’ Paris blend was the best part of that day.
Since then I have tried most of Harney & Sons’ teas (thanks to a lot of variety packs), and I have finally settled on my favorite blend: Cherry Blossom.
Harney & Sons' Cherry Blossom blend is a green tea that features delicate notes of cherries (as opposed to Celestial Seasonings’ Black Cherry Berry, which I also love, but is not at all delicate about its cherry flavor). I typically only drink this blend in the spring, since it reminds me so much of the cherry blossoms that bloomed in DC every April. If you’re looking for a light tea to try this spring, I really recommend Cherry Blossom (I imagine it would pair well with a macaron from Pistacia Vera—I should probably confirm this in the near future)
That’s it! Have a great week!