My Obligatory "I'm Not Dead" Post

Just thought I'd mention it, since I haven't posted in two months.

In the meantime, I had fun at the Dragon*Con Parade on Labor Day weekend...



...and Dragon*Con night at the Georgia Aquarium.



Georgia Tech football was really fun for six weeks, and then not fun at all the last two. And guess who we're playing for homecoming next week? *gulp* I can narrow it down for you - it is an ACC game and the opponent is undefeated. At least it is a night game and we'll all have a good time until kickoff. Wonder how long I can keep my buzz going?

While I'm being all productive on blog updates, I also put something up on that other blog I started (and have neglected for two months) as well.

I think PDM and I will probably do another mini-vacation around New Year's Day that is within 5-6 hours driving distance of Atlanta. Any suggestions? Would prefer to be near a state park or some other natural place where we can do a few winter day hikes. Last year we did northeastern Florida (Amelia Island) and had a good trip. The beaches were great (and deserted) but we would also consider going north to the mountains as well.

That's about all I've got for now.

The Photos Speak for Themselves

These are all from our last full day on vacation and were taken in the subalpine region near Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Lets just say it was a terrific vacation. We probably crammed way too much into one week. Drove 1300 miles. Hiked 36 miles. Had some wildlife encounters (including multiple bears).

Dealing with that first week back to work is always the worst, although a light schedule and my fellow physicists made it easier this time. We had a lot of adventures. Great times!

It's Always Something...

Now that I can breathe a sigh of relief about the national parks being open during my vacation, I found an even bigger problem with my travel plans: SNOW!!! Since the trip is days away, I started checking trail reports. I did not anticipate that nearly every trail I want to hike would still be covered by a thick layer of snow in August. Apparently the Pacific Northwest got record amounts of snowfall last winter, which has failed to melt in the usual timeframe. The higher elevation trails are either impassible, impossible to reach because the roads are also snowed under, or both. Lower elevation trails can be challenging due to fallen trees and high flow creeks and streams due to melting runoff. The net result will be that we have to modify where we visit and will probably not get to do nearly as much hiking as I had hoped for. PDM might prefer this arrangement, but I am disappointed that I won't get to walk through an alpine meadow filled with wildflowers and surrounded by beautiful mountains (unless I can find one that isn't under several feet of snow).

I am also a bit concerned that with far fewer places to spread out, the crowds might be much larger than what we'd prefer (we would rather not have ANY company on a trail other than plants and wildlife of the type that doesn't eat people). Still looking through my books and guides for creative alternatives, and hoping that our innkeepers will be able to point us toward paths less traveled, or maybe the park rangers will have some suggestions. But I am still astounded that my August vacation plans are all shot to hell because of snowpack. That just amazes me - and never crossed my mind when planning this trip.

High Anxiety

So.... we are going on a vacation in about a week. The plan is to fly into Seattle, then split time between North Cascades National Park, Mt Rainier NP, and Olypmic NP. All of which will be CLOSED if the idiots in charge of our government can't get their shit straight by August 2. I am trying not to freak out, but every day that passes without any hope of an agreement sends my nervous system into overdrive. We have a lot of money tied up in a vacation that may need quite a bit of modification on the fly. NOT what I had in mind when I planned it. We had briefly considered returning to Canada to see the remote parts of Jasper, and now I am wishing that is what we decided to do. It would be far less uncertain. Yes, I know the general area we are traveling to is beautiful, and there should be some state parks and other alternatives, but really, we should be able to just look forward to the trip instead of getting that awful sinking feeling every time we think about it. I have enough stress in real life and on the job. I don't need vacation anxiety. I really don't. (And yes, I realize that far worse things will happen if an agreement is not reached than us not getting to do what we want on vacation. Just another reason why this needs to be resolved by level headed compromising! This is not rocket science - raise income AND cut spending. They need to do both. Duh.)

Happy 2011

Happy New Year from warm and sunny Florida. PDM and I are down here on mini-vacation (staying not quite a week). Having a wonderful time biking, hiking, eating, drinking. Wish you were here. :-)

Big Ol' Jet Airliner

No, I'm not going to a Steve Miller concert. But I am going to California tonight for a visit with my sister in Encinitas. Mom's coming too. As usual, it is taking me hours to get my sh*t together and pack a bag.

I'm not taking PDM, which means only one thing for him: Booze and Hookers!!! He talks a big game, but in reality it will be more like "Beers and Burrito de Puerco!"

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Vacation, had to get away.



Really missing vacations right about now.

This photo is from the Primitive Trail in the Devil's Garden section of Arches National Park. Great hike. Not a soul in sight, which is the way we like it. I posted a bunch of photos from Arches on Flickr this weekend.

We don't have any plans for the next one, and that makes me antsy. I like having something to look forward to, even if I have a long time to wait until it happens. I haven't been able to pin PDM down to anything more specific than one football away game weekend trip in October. Working on him for something in mid December. Don't know where, but I am open to suggestions. Probably not too far from Atlanta, if I want to have a reasonable chance of convincing him to go. PDM doesn't ski, so it needs to be somewhere warm and sunny. Maybe Jekyll Island again, or somewhere in Florida.

Lodge Cats

Some comfy cats at the lodge in Utah where we stayed on vacation. Ah, I miss vacation...

They also had buffalo.

Friday CritterBlogging

Here is a big critter we saw on the trail between Takakkaw Falls and Yoho Lake in Canada last summer. He was so quiet we almost missed him.

This is why we don't gain weight on vacation...

Hiking. Over 43 miles of it spread over six days. Elevation changes in the thousands of feet. Eating trail mix all day and drinking water. Only one big meal each evening, with calories worked off in advance. And boy, were we hungry by supper time! We consumed an impressive amount of food in that one meal.

Winding Down...

You didn't think a little thing like vacation would stop me from catblogging, did you? Friday is our last day of vacation. We'll be winding down with a less ambitious schedule, taking the scenic route from Moab to Grand Junction. The return trip on Saturday will consume our entire day.

A big public THANKS to Mom for spending most of her week at my house with the cats, taking care of them and providing love. She's good at that.

Vacation Eve

Our vacation starts tomorrow. For Zima, it's always vacation. The cats have it pretty good around here.

Mom's coming over to cat sit. You can use this thread to say hello to her during the week.

More Adventures...

We're going on another trip. Planning is almost as fun as doing. I'm sorting out the fine details for our vacation-- which area to explore on a given day, and which trails to hike. I think I've got it figured out. The course planning (flights and hotels) was done back in January. This is the fun part.

We leave on Saturday. Can't wait!

Cat Proximity Alert!

My three cats usually do not mix well - no two of them get along (except temporarily, if some special food is involved to keep them occupied). Silvio seems to know he got away with something here. Moxy was too relaxed to put up much of a fuss when Silvio joined her on the back of the couch. Notice how he settled into a position facing away from her. She's got a look of quiet resignation on her face.

We're back from our brief trip to the mountains. A couple of days alone in a cottage and a few hikes in the woods did us a world of good. We also got together with an old family friend last night. There is still another day to relax before I go back to work. Strange how today feels like a Sunday. PDM is on his state-mandated furlough next week. Even though it is unpaid leave, I am a little jealous of the extra time he'll have at home to chill. My Monday back on the job is shaping up to be a very long day.

And last, there was good news/bad news about the old laptop. The good news is that it was a hard drive problem that is easily fixed (cheap, too). The bad news is that my old hard drive was so messed up, none of the data could be retrieved. I've had it so long that I am not entirely sure I remember what has been lost. Maybe that is a kindness. The take home message is that if your computer starts making strange noises and acting up, you might want to back up your hard drive sooner rather than later.

Other Places

Vacation seems like so long ago...

Meanwhile, closer to home...

It isn't often that you return from vacation in better physical shape than when you left. We spent most of our week in Canada hiking and eating trail mix all day. Didn't matter what we ordered for supper -- we'd already burned all of those calories and then some. We came back home and found that we had a little more energy than normal, and we liked it. Neither of us wants to lose that.

Since we both work for a living, hiking all day every day is not an option. But getting out on the weekends is doable, especially if we could go somewhere close to home. There just happens to be a mountain very close to us: Stone Mountain. Sure, it is basically just a huge rock, but it is nearby and has hiking trails. We could get there, hike to the top and back, and be home in less than an hour and a half. Plus, it would be a good place for us to take our bikes for some riding. So we bought ourselves an annual parking pass and went there this morning to hike.

We did the walk-up trail, and then walked the 5.5 mile loop around the base of the mountain. And it was so friggin' humid it felt like we were walking in a sauna. The loop trail may have to wait for cooler weather before we try it again. But the walk-up trail will be seeing us again very soon, early in the mornings before sunrise and heat and crowds.

Lake Louise

Click here for the embiggened version (which is much prettier!).

Reliving vacation, one area at a time. Like I said earlier, it will take some time for me to sort through all the photos and clean the best ones up for posting on Flickr. I adjusted only exposure -- NOT color. The lake really is that bright and blue. We got there early in the morning and successfully avoided the crowd at this very popular destination.

Big Plans

We are heading for the Rockies tomorrow. The Canadian Rockies, eh.

Yes, we're finally going on that much-needed vacation, and the only downside (other than the cost) is having to get up at 3:30am in order to make the early morning flight. We're looking forward to a week of scenic hikes, paddles, and drives within the four national parks that line the continental divide up in that neck of the woods: Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, and Jasper. Plus... hot springs!

Mom will be coming over to cat sit for the week, and she is bringing all of her little dogs. She reads this blog and the comments, so wish them all luck! Not sure who will have the hardest week -- the dogs, the cats, or Mom. Hopefully the house will survive and no one gets hurt.

Goin' to 'Nooga

Gas prices be damned... we're going on a road trip! We haven't visited PDM's brother and his family in several years, so we invited ourselves over. We'll hang out with them for the weekend. Then on Monday when they go to work, we will head over to the Tennessee Aquarium to see some fishies before we head home.

PDM and I are both "on vacation" all of next week. We decided against travel (other than this weekend's jaunt). Instead, we plan to use the time to work on the house and yard. Don't worry -- it won't be all work and no play. There are a couple of flicks we want to see (Prince Caspian and the new Indiana Jones movie), and I am sure we'll find the time to go to the pub now and then. Just not having to work for the next ten days will be a treat.

Hopefully the cats won't trash the place while we're gone. See ya in a few days!

I'm still not here.

On vacation until tomorrow. It will be business as usual on Monday, except for the jet lag. I've tried not to stray too far from Atlanta time, which means getting up very early here. Fortunately it has been easy to do - no alarm clock required.

California is pretty this time of year. The scenery at Torrey Pines State Reserve yesterday was stunning - much different than it looked last August. Today is finishing as a lazy day visiting my sister and her family, after an ambitious start -- going on a two-hour harbor cruise of San Diego bay. Good thing the Minnow was not lost, as I did not pack anything for being marooned on a deserted island.