Monday, July 20, 2009

Free Weekends!

Wow, what a weekend. Friday night after work, A and I loaded up the car with camp chairs, air mattresses, life preservers and all manner of thing we weren't sure we needed and didn't end up using and drove up to Mason Lake in Washington to spend the weekend with friends. We BBQ'd, we picnicked, we swam, I snorkeled for lost treasures (and found only fish that seemed to follow me through the water), we went tubin', A rode on our friends jet ski (which is like a small open speed boat and accelerates faster than a Ferrari!) and Chibo got to learn some social skills with two boxers, a golden retriever and a border collie. Needless to see, he was out sized by all and more than a little freaked out, but I think he had a good time nonetheless. We certainly did.

After all the water sports on Saturday, we found ourselves with a few aching muscles, but luckily no sunburn and decided to head home a little early, but taking the long way around on the coastal highway. It wasn't as scenic as we'd have liked, but we enjoyed the country air and some cherries from a fruit stand just the same. The Astoria bridge isn't as bad coming over from the Washington side, but was still a thrill and we stopped by the beach in Seaside to let Chibo run around a little more before heading home. A and I played "catch" with Chibo - I called him to me then sent him to A, A praised him for coming over and sent him back to me. Since Chibo won't catch a ball, we just send him back and forth to wear him out. It works pretty well.

By the time we got home, all three of us were ready to crawl into bed and sleep off the weekend. Not exactly the most restful of weekends, but definitely a celebration of having weekends off from work! The friends who hosted us this weekend already invited us to join them for camping next weekend, too, so it looks to be an eventful summer.

When I was speaking to my pregnant friend, R, she was telling me that despite being pregnant, she's been able to do most of the things she had put on her list of summer goals, like camping in a fire lookout and other outdoor activities. Not having had weekends off for so long, I haven't really thought of a list of summer activities I'd like to do, but since this December marks the end of my 1001 days, I guess I should re-evaluate my outdoorsy or seasonal goals from that list:
  • 23. Teach a QiGong class
  • 27. Go outrigger paddling again
  • 28. Go for an overnight backpacking trip
  • 29. Go backpacking for more than one night
  • 49. Plant an herb garden (or at least 4 kinds in pots) - 1 down, 3 to go - I've got a mint in a pot out front.
  • 50. Plant a vegetable garden - well, this isn't going to happen, but maybe I can get a squash plant into the ground or a tomato plant in a pot for the house?
  • 51. Plant Tiger Lily's bulbs - Yeah, I'd like to plant some flowers, but I think I missed my window - aren't these supposed to be planted in spring? Or maybe it's really fall?
  • 59. Hike 2x per week for 2 months - Not sure I like hiking all that much, but we could do a few short local hikes and I'm sure A would love that!
  • 72. Renew SCUBA certification and go diving! Everybody at the lake this weekend was interested in taking a class, so we could probably at least do that part.
  • 80. Go to the zoo - We did this last week when we attended a zoo concert, but I'd like to go again.
  • 81. Have a day of gracious living - tell people about the concept. Will have think about this one.
  • 95. Take the train to Seattle - we have a coupon!
  • 97. Have a cocktail party - make a new drink for friends! I can't wait to do this one!
  • 100. Go to Olympic National Forest - wow, we could have done that this weekend! Guess we'll have to try for that next month when we head up that way again!

Looks doable. Let's see how we go.

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