Thank goodness moving weekend is NEXT WEEKEND! Mike spent the morning shoveling (we get a discount on our rent as the "care-takers," or rather, "care-taker," of our little duplex unit) as I walked around with Rachel bounding through snow banks.
Now we are warming up and thinking about which room to conquer in terms of packing! The process hasn't been too bad thus far, but we have our share of goods still left to sort. To be honest, ll I really want to do is knit, drink tea, and listen to holiday music! But, nevertheless, we really need to start getting serious about this moving thing, so I will set aside my projects and gift wrapping for now!
This was one of the most memorable days of our honeymoon adventure. It all began with some nature videos:
First, a lurking morning visitor:
Nature video 2:
Conversation regarding Mike Vasich's recent discovery:
Me: What Would Carol Vasich Do?
Mike responds: What Would Milt Vasich Do?
"It's all about comfort...no regrets."
Man, what I would've done for a pair of wool socks. 3rd confrontation with poison oak that day. I was doomed. That said, Mike seemed to possess the greatest sense of doom as we hiked through private property due to getting completely lost. He claims that he was "trying to keep it real," but I think he really had this image of some crazy land owner from the boonies attacking us with a shotgun...I kept reminding him that we were in northern California...but he would hear none of it!
Lunch break, "a mile or two from our destination...only 20 minutes away..."
As promised, here are a few videos highlighting our canoe pick-up from REI and it's ignaugaral trip out on the Minnesota lakes. It actually took us a couple of attempts to get the canoe- our first trip to REI took longer than expected, and we needed to get back home for a neighborhood late summer potluck (not mention, the huge pre-labor day sales...as expected, I got a bit waylaid in the women's athletic gear department).
Video detailing first attempt to pick up canoe:
Later in the work week, Mike and I were determined to bring "Lenny" home so we could take her (or, I guess it's a "him") out over Labor Day weekend. This time, I went straight with Mike to the boating department...
Successful canoe pick-up!
Saturday afternoon, we headed out to spend a few hours exploring the chain of lakes in Lebonon Hills State Park, about 30 minutes south of Minneap. It was a gorgeous afternoon, coolish and sunny. The lakes varied between weedy and lily-pads to absolutely clear and silent.
Our third day was packed with adventure. A big fan of trail running, I decided to take advantage of the scenic paths. Mike dropped me off from a trailhead seven miles out, and then he hiked from a different trailhead about three and half miles out. The plan was to meet about an hour later at Alamere Falls, a (sort of) secret place off the coastal trail.
The plan went somewhat awry. First of all, I am embarrassed to admit that I was way more scared on the lonely trails than I had imagined. Things were all sunshine as I was climbing up the ridge, but as I sailed down the mountain towards the coast, some negative visions of mountain lions took over. With fog drifting through mossy redwoods and not a person in sight, I think I set a PR (personal record).
Back on the ol' reliable coastal trail (tried and true), I felt safe again. But, as the clock started ticking at the trailhead to Alamere Falls, I started to wonder about Mike. Where was he? Two passing hikers claimed that they left from the same parking lot as Mike about an hour before and they hadn't seen him. Just as I started to get really worried, Mike and his blue backpack came over the crest. He had forgotten his wallet, so he went back to Almost Pi after he dropped me off. Then, understandably, he got lost in Bolinas.
Reunited, we hiked an unmaintained trail down to Alamere Falls.
I heart nature. And nature vids, of course. David Attenborough is pretty much the dude in my book. I may not have the budget or know-how that the production team of Planet Earth had, but that didn't stop me from taking some perhaps not-completely-fascinating footage of exotic California wildlife (yes, horses made the cut. Look at their masks and tell me that's not crazy bananas).
So, for installment one of nature video series: the fabled, masked horses of Almost Pi.
