Hello friends! Its been such a long time and I haven't updated my blog hardly at all this summer. Sorry for that, you two faithful readers. :D You know who you are...
Larry and Summer.
Well, it was a great summer! I was fortunate enough to have a two week vacation at the end of July, and went to Iowa to visit my grandparents, whom I hadn't seen in over a year, what with graduating from PA school and starting a new job. It was a huge blessing to spend some time with them and remember how much I love them and how special they are.
Then, Larry and I drove to Colorado and saw some of my great old college friends, John and Steph. They now have a little gal, Hannah, that I'd been itching to see since she was born in April... 2009. What a sweet little thing! Again, huge blessing to my heart, to spend time with those dearly loved ones.
Then Larry and I drove to Granby, CO (after a short, accidental but fun stop in Boulder) and hiked 8 miles (5 hours, large elevation gain) into the Indian Peaks Wilderness to see a beautiful mountain called Lone Eagle Peak. I don't know if I've been anywhere that beautiful in the entire United States. And also don't know if my legs have ever been as tired as they were when we hiked out of that place. Or ran as fast as they did our first night on a hike after dark, when we realized after stopping for a few minutes that we were only ten yards from some moose. And Larry was kind enough to mention, as I was frantically running back to the tent, that a wilderness area like that in Colorado might also have a few "big cats." Luckily he'd also described to me earlier on the trip that when big cats attack, they spring from behind and latch onto the human neck with their gigantic teeth. So, I was also fortunate enough to remember the Park Ranger telling us about how hungry the bears were this year because of failed berry growth or I might have had too few ferocious animals to worry about on the dark run back to our campsite.
However, it ended up that we were not eaten by any large animals on our trip and for that I am very grateful.
Back in Oklahoma, I worked hard during the month of August, played violin in one of my great friend's weddings, and then took a short trip to Michigan to hang out with a couple of my girlfriends from PA school. Kristin's husband, Tyson, just graduated from medical school and matched for residency in Detroit, so they moved there in June. My good friend Erin (we were known collectively as "The Erins" all during school) and I flew up to see her over the long Labor Day weekend, slept in every day, shopped a lot and ate amazing food all weekend long... it was fantastic.
Not to mention, Kristin has two sweet little Dachshunds that Erin and I took turns walking all weekend, and cuddled with in bed every night. I think might see a tiny brown dog in my future...
We also visited Canada! That was fun. Except for the part at the border where we were interrogated by the Canadian border police- I swear, they are the worst. You would think they would have something better to do than ask us fifteen questions each about our personal history and how we knew each other... holy cow. Like suddenly one of us might stop, start crying, and admit that we were planning to stay in Canada illegally, grow marijuana and evade taxes. You'd think, like all other countries they would realize that seeing the sights and buying a post card are not really motives worthy of interrogation.
Another thing we got into this summer, was multi-sport racing! Backing up a little: back in July, a few friends and I organized a little "Adventure Race"- during which we had a blast running, biking, climbing, and "noodling" in the pool. We didn't actually race but stuck together for the events, which made it much more fun. Today actually, we did our second race of the season, a short length duathalon in which we ran 5K, biked 15K, and ran 5K. (I could not believe how hard the last 5K ended up being... should have eaten more breakfast). Anyway, one of the things I discovered as we got into it this summer, was how much like pure play it feels, without time goals or any agenda besides enjoying life. I also realized how unfamiliar I am with the town I grew up in, when we discover hidden ponds and trails unaccessible by car that I never knew existed. Surely in the time before vehicular transportation, people used to know about those things because they walked and biked by them... right?
Anyway... if you're tired, stressed, and overwhelmed with regular life like I usually am... set aside four hours one Saturday morning, get out there and explore your world in something other than a car!
Well, now I'm back and hanging out for awhile. I have some interesting tales from work that will get posted on here as soon as time allows... until then, enjoy the beautiful fall weather!
