i had a wonderfully relaxing 4-day weekend, after working my butt off all week.
it was well-deserved, i believe.
friday was spent at the beach with matt, where i began the slow recovery of my ocean complex.
i have always loved the ocean. i'd be the first one to run in and jump in the waves. until last year. on two separate occasions, at el matador beach in malibu, i got SLAMMED by big huge waves. waves that take you down under, flip you around, and drag you across the sand. each time i eventually came up, scared stiff and ran to my towel. i was done for the day. but the first time it happened i decided to try again. the second time? no dice. i haven't been swimming in the pacific ocean in almost a year. i'll sit on the beach and as i see the waves come up, my stomach gets all in knots and i get incredibly anxious. it's been a bummer. so on friday, i decided to try again. the waves were small, and i stayed in for a couple of minutes before i started getting anxious and uncomfortable. but now i know that i can do it. even if only for a few minutes. and i'll be back. i won't give up!
on saturday matt and i spent the day getting ready for our camping trip the next day. tim came with us to r.e.i, where i finally bought myself a hat for the sun. then we went to arby's. i felt like i was 12. it was wonderfully bad idea. we rushed home and rushed out to the orpheum to see the avett brothers. matt had never seen them and i was real excited to introduce him to this favorite music of mine that he has never experienced. we took the metro downtown and walked through 4 blocks of ghetto before we reached the comfort of the orpheum's lights. the theater is absolutely beautiful, and the show was incredible. 2nd row, center, thank you very much. matt said it was 1000% times better than he had thought it was going to be. you can't go to one of their shows and not enjoy. i thoroughly suggest, no, ORDER you to go if they ever come in the near vicinity. unbelievable.
we got to bed a little after 2am on saturday night and got out of bed less than 4 hours later to drive up to the mountains. after driving for about 15 minutes we realized we forgot the chicken wire to put around the car [to keep out the marmots] so we had to turn around and go back. ugh were we tired. it was a brutal 4 1/2 hours in the car, trying to stay awake. but we got there. we got our wilderness permit to go up to eagle lake [one of our favorites.]. we found a parking spot. and we cruised up the mountain. last time i had a fairly horrible experience [not in shape, hiking too far, high altitude, 30 lbs on my back..] and this time the difference was incredible. i'd been going to the gym regularly for the past month, and i couldn't believe how much my fitness had improved. we cruised up that mountain in 2 1/2 hours. and not once did i cry, throw up, or even pout. it was great. we met some nice women on the way up, and a kid named adam who finished up the trail with us. matt and i found a nice place to pitch our tent right above the water, and after dumping our bags to claim our space, we jumped into the lake. water was real chilly, but incredibly refreshing, and such a wonderful, natural way to bathe. soon after, we made dinner [jamaican chicken and rice and peas. MMM.], did a crossword, and got to bed real early [just a little after 8!].
i slept horribly. i kept waking up. i think because a. my pillow hadn't fluffed up enough before i tried sleeping on it and b. it was SO quiet. b may not make as much sense..but it was deafeningly silent, and every time i woke up it was hard to fall back asleep. we spent 12 hours in that tent, waking up a little after 8am. we took our time waking up, getting ready, snacking, changing, and then headed up a nearby ridgeline to check out the view. it was beautiful. and sunny. we both got burned [though it's pretty inevitable when you're at 10,000 ft.].
after the ridge we climbed back down, brought some gear out to the lake, and waded across to a rock, where we had a delicious lunch of pasta primavera [i love mountain house dehydrated food], swam a bit more [matt swam, i jumped in and out], and napped on the rock.
after our nap we had to start packing up our gear and head down the mountain. it's so hard to leave this place. we left our campsite at 5:15 but didn't leave the lake until 5:45 because we were too busy lollygagging and taking pictures, trying to prolong our stay. but we had to get down so we could make it to the restaurant at the bottom of the trail.
we BOOKED it down the mountain [hour and a half] and now my legs are paying for it. but we made it to silver city, the little cabin town with a small restaurant/general store. this has become our post-hike tradition. it's so delicious. and so cozy. i never want to leave.
we finished our meal, got some pie and hot chocolate, went outside to look at the stars, and headed down the mountain. i hate leaving. it is the most beautiful place in the world.
what a wonderful, wonderful weekend.
[sorry this was so long.]
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