What a fun night last night!
For Matt’s birthday, I surprised him with an early evening hike at one of my favorite spots in the DC area — the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls, MD!
I hiked this trail a few years ago with my dad, and Matt’s always talked about how he wanted to try it. Last night was the perfect time. 🙂
We had absolutely gorgeous weather for it!
First things first — I packed us some provisions! Homemade 5-Minute No Bake PB Granola Bars:
And oranges — pre-peeled so no sticky hand issues while hiking! 🙂
And then we were off!
To get to the Billy Goat Trail, you actually start out on the C&O Canal — yes, the same one that’s my favorite running trail! Just way farther north 🙂
The best thing about this trail is that a lot of it involves rock scrambling! I knew Matt would love this since he’s part mountain goat/Tigger 😉
Can you believe this is a mere 20 minutes away from the city?!
We hiked most of “Part A” of the Billy Goat Trail, which is the most strenuous and takes you scrambling along rocks above the beautiful Potomac River.
We had a blast — we want to come back another day when we have more daylight left and hike the whole thing 🙂
(Say hello to Virginia on the other side of the water!)
“Wait, how did you get over there?!”
Success!
The view was worth it 🙂
We scrambled our way back just as the sun was starting to set. Beautiful 🙂
After our hike, we enjoyed a late dinner — involving steak, of course, for the birthday boy!
To cook the steak, Matt seared it in the pan (it was rubbed with a little olive oil and salt and pepper) for a minute or two on each side, then popped it, pan and all, in the oven (at 350) to cook for about 5 to 7 minutes.
This method makes steak super juicy! Yum 🙂
My contribution to the meal was a Greek Quinoa Salad — recipe courtesy of Kath’s blog! I made it a few years ago and loved it so I decided it was time to bring it back 🙂
I followed the recipe but left out the shrimp (since we were topping it with steak) and capers (not a fan). Delish!
We also enjoyed some wine 🙂
LOVED this kind!
And dessert? Super Charge Me! Cookies, of course! Matt really liked them 🙂
And now — I’ve got another really fun day lined up — a Virginia wine tasting tour for my college friend Sarah’s bachelorette! Woohoo! I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap 😉
Have a lovely Saturday!
