Trail Journal Entry 3/26/2012 - Panorama

My tent survived the night extremely well.  My Hello Kitty duct tape patch was waterproof.  No inappropriate water reached the interior of the tent.  However, it was hella windy up there on the knoll where I set up.  I was fine until 4 AM, when it really kicked it up a notch.  Then the wind started to steal heat from my sleeping bag and sleeping pad.  I slept on and off, but I was chilly.  Once the sun came up I packed up and went down to the shelter to make breakfast.  It was strikingly warmer inside.  It faced the sun and had its back to the wind.  I'd say it was at least ten degrees warmer inside than just outside.  I quickly shed almost all of my insulating garments.

We had a short hike down to Thornton Gap and briefly onward to Panorama.  We all really wanted to go down into Luray for lunch.  I took them to Uncle Buck's, which I first tried last weekend with Just Blue Skies.  A burger and fries and some corn fritters really hit the spot.  Eventually we got back in the car and I drove Weaver and Sarge back to the park.  After hugs and goodbyes they set off for the last half mile or so, making it a very short hiking day.  With their heavy packs their feet are hurting.  They were going to the next Byrd's nest, which is a really nice place.  I hope they have a peaceful night and don't get too cold.

I was sad to see them go.  They're a lot of fun to hike with, and I like both of them very much.  Weaver doesn't live too far away so I hope that I get to see her again in the future, after she finishes the AT.  Sarge's future whereabouts are undetermined.  Maybe we can do a reunion hike, if he's not too busy hiking across the country or sailing around the world.

I have a crazy busy week ahead of me (and another speech eeeee!) and I still have to de-grease myself and do a tick check.  I suppose I should get to that soon.

In orbit around a shrinking Pluto

Today we went out to see Pluto, visited stores multiple times, and put up Christmas lights.  I'm exhausted.  There needed to be more naps this weekend.

JD isn't happy with the entryway lights, which are cool white vs the warm white elsewhere.  So that may be changing soon.  Me, I want more lights of any kind.  We've been buying LED lights which are crazy expensive but with which you can string 45 strings of lights together.  So that's nice.  I'm thinking maybe we'll decorate the Japanese maple next to the house.  Or cut back the dead summer growth and line the flower beds with lights.  It depends on our gumption levels.

Pluto was happy to see me, but he was looking kind of bony in the hip region.

I am not thrilled, but I have only myself and my stupid back to blame.  He's not thin, just unmuscled.  I need to make the rounds of the horse community and try to find an appropriate person to lease him, I guess.  Or something.  In the meantime I gotta get him in the round pen and make him move around to build that butt back up.  I keep having thoughts of selling him, but so far I can't bring myself to do it.  And I  keep thinking my back will settle down in the future and I'll ride him more.

I am ambivalent.  Obviously.

Today is the last day of our four day weekend and I will be sad to see it end.  Though I will be happy to do fewer dishes.  Three people eating several meals a day at home use far more dishes than two people eating one or two meals a day at home.  Oy.  Perhaps I should have invested in some nice Chinette.  Does that come in a pattern?

Starting to worry that my continued obvious happiness will become annoying to bystanders

Wow, another great day.  This is the best little mini vacation.

I woke up last today, just in time for JD to make me some breakfast. I left Lori to laze about on the sofa with a book, and I went off on a delightful hike.  No ticks, that I noticed.  Just flowing through the woods, listening to history podcasts.  I noticed that I'm a bit on edge, though. I kept jumping at noises.  I don't know if I've had bad dreams or what.

Typically I would get a good meal and then have a nap, but instead I  got a good meal and then started setting up the house for Christmas. JD hauled all the Christmas stuff out of the basement during half time for his football game.  We didn't get much done - mostly just the big tree and candles in a few windows.  I hope to get a lot of the railing lit outside tomorrow.

It feels so, so luxurious to know that I have ANOTHER day off tomorrow.  With Lori here it's been a very enjoyable time off from work.  I think having a friend here helps me view things with a fresh eye, and helps me to get out of my routine instead of sitting in front of my computer all the time.

Unfortunately my back has decided to start hurting on the left side.  After fifteen+ years of pain on the right, it's shifted.  Probably means some disk has degenerated a little more and started putting pressure on a new nerve.  It's not awful, just annoying (so far.)  Sometimes I feel like I have mild mutant progeria.  I keep hitting aging milestones too early.  Not the obvious ones like grey hair, hair loss, or wrinkles.  Just the internal ones having to do with my internal organs, joints, and brain.

I'm wise before my years, I am.  Or old.  But I prefer wise.

Good night, Chinatown

This morning JD got up in the dark and went to work.  Me, I stayed in bed.  I finally woke up after 8 and toddled downstairs for a leisurely breakfast of leftover blueberry pancakes.  I couldn't see any reason to wake Lori, so I left her to wake up on her own.  And she eventually wandered downstairs too.

Then we did something that I almost never do:  we went into the city to go to museums.  First we went to the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian, which was pretty awesome I must say.  Especially once we figured out where the exhibits were.  There were exhibits on modern American Indians, but also on indigenous peoples throughout the world.  Also, the "A Song for Horse Nation" exhibit is showing now.  There's a movie but it wasn't playing today, sadly.  Still, the exhibit was neat.  It talks about the history of the horse in American Indian culture, what changes the horse brought, and what they're doing now.  The Nez Perce are breeding a new Nez Perce horse from Akhal Tekes and Appaloosas.  There was a video playing which showed some of them, and they are some *nice* looking horses.  Very, very nice horses.  Also I was impressed that the guy on the video was in the "stallion field" - which was just a bunch of stallions hanging out together.  And they were no more nippy or fierce than your average band of geldings.  I know some breeds are managed this way, but I can't say that I've ever dealt with stallions in a group.  It's uncommon near me.

We thought it looked like a castle.

You know, I've lost track of what the hell this is, but it's pretty fantastic.

I'm pretty sure this is meaningful

Indians for the MTV generation

HORSIES!

This told a whole big story.  I can't tell you the story.  But I can tell you that all those rectangular hoofprints in a row indicates travel.

Loved this horsehead saddle.

Hello hello hello hello

Metro is so not sexy

I was starting to flag and Lori was a bit too, so we headed out to lunch.  We went to "Meatballs", a new restaurant in Chinatown.  You get your choice of meatballs (regular, lamb, crab, chicken, or vegetarian,) your choice of base (salad, grinder, pasta, minis (i.e. two small slices of french bread) or creamy polenta,) a choice of several sauces, "extras" of which I don't remember much except for fritos, and a side.  I got chicken balls on polenta with tandoori sauce and spinach cooked with garlic.  It was *fantastic*.  The price is reasonable for DC food, and the portions were pretty huge. I couldn't finish mine.  I hope the place stays open.  It deserves to.  They need more seating, though.

I can't tell if this really conveys how appetizing my meal was.  Just looking at it is making me a wee bit hungry again.  Also?  Thank you, restaurant industry, for starting to serve sauteed spinach everywhere.  I love you.

BALLS!  (The word meat is in tiny letters just above it.)

Lori's all happy and pretty!  Also, she loves spinach.

Refreshed and revived, we walked over to the National Portrait Gallery, which turns out to share a building with the National American Art Museum.  This led to some confusion, as we thought we were heading into portraits and we saw.. it's hard to describe.  Not portraits, though.  At any rate, we made it through two levels of the building before we were entirely pooped.  Both of us were getting kind of achy.  Walking all day is fine, but standing around kind of kills.  So I have no idea what the third floor is like.  I will say that my very favorite part of the museum was the Black List - a collection of photographic portraits of famous or important black people.  They were just really good portraits.  Maybe I liked them more because they're of people I've heard of, in the news?  Or maybe it was just really good photography.  Either way, I recommend seeing the exhibit.

Elvis is everywhere

Yeah, I don't know either.

Proof that obesity is not a modern problem.

You gotta love a military man.

Very fine stained glass.

JD got in touch and we decided to meet in Chinatown for dinner.  Lori and I headed outside, and immediately found a parade!  Or so we thought.  It turned out to be a brass band and a police car blocking traffic with its lights on.  I was a little disappointed that it wasn't an actual parade, but I was happy to sit on the museum steps and enjoy the brass band for a while.

You'll have to trust me, there's a brass band in this picture.

The temperature started to drop so I persuaded Lori to go to Fadó, an Irish bar.  (It didn't take much persuasion.)  We had appetizers and beer while waiting for JD to arrive.  After that we weren't much in the mood for an entree, but appetizers plus dessert seemed like a good idea.  :)

Lori is getting dubious of all this picture taking

Probably you would rather see the food.  Or the awesome bar.  Sorry.

It was a long day of tromping around in the city, but the weather couldn't have been better and it was great to get to see new museums.  Before we went I had a whole bunch of things I wanted to see (like the Botanical Gardens next door to the American Indian museum, and the National Building Museum) but I think I'm museumed out for a little while now.  Maybe next time I'll plan to go only for two or three hours instead of a whole day.  Shew.

Good night, Chinatown.

Scenes from my evening

I was really feeling none too happy today.  I was fed up.  I was doing my least favorite thing ever at work (again) and I spent a little while dealing with an idiot who shows every sign of becoming a recurring problem in my future.

So, when it was time to go home I was ready for beer and chocolate.  And friends.  

And the porch.

Welcome to the porch!

Plenty of room, no wait for seating

All leafy and shady

A summer beer, some queso..

And so I had beer, and friends came over, and then it was late and now I'm going to bed.