Friday, July 1, 2016
5th Annual Birthday Challenge-46K
The Birthday Challenge: A Brief History
June of 2012 marked my daughter Casidy's first birthday and my 42nd birthday. This seemed momentous to me--not only that my baby was a year old but that everyone in our house had survived that first year. At the same time, I was looking for a way to reduce the amount of "stuff" in my life. Babies add a whole 'nother layer to consumerism---they allegedly need all sorts of accoutrements like cribs, changing tables, diaper warmers, etc. In short, my "minimalistic" lifestyle was being threatened, big time! In honor of Casidy's first year of good health, I decided to donate all my birthday gifts to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And, that might have been it, if not for Cameron Lane. A few months before our birthdays, Cameron was celebrating her own milestone birthday by soliciting donations for several charities and then walking 60K to earn those donations. I loved the idea and stole it outright but added my own wrinkle (Casidy would also "run" a kilometer, and I'd attempt to run my entire route). Everything went perfectly, and we raised $1080, mostly just through word of mouth.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Annual Birthday Challenge for Charity 45k Run!
Celebrate for a Cause 43 kilometer run
June of 2012 marked my daughter Casidy's first birthday and my 42nd birthday. This seemed momentous to me--not only that my baby was a year old but that everyone in our house had survived that first year. At the same time, I was looking for a way to reduce the amount of "stuff" in my life. Babies add a whole 'nother layer to consumerism---they allegedly need all sorts of accoutrements like cribs, changing tables, diaper warmers, etc. In short, my "minimalistic" lifestyle was being threatened, big time! In honor of Casidy's first year of good health, I decided to donate all my birthday gifts to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And, that might have been it, if not for Cameron Lane. A few months before our birthdays, Cameron was celebrating her own milestone birthday by soliciting donations for several charities and then walking 60K to earn those donations. I loved the idea and stole it outright but added my own wrinkle (Casidy would also "run" a kilometer, and I'd attempt to run my entire route). Everything went perfectly, and we raised $1080, mostly just through word of mouth. So, in 2013, no less thankful for good health, we found ourselves ready to do it all over again!
I expected the support crew to be up at home to great me but everyone was still asleep. This actually worked to my advantage, as there were no distractions while I changed my shoes, used the restroom, ate a quick snack (vanilla wafer cookies), and added some fluids to my Camelbak. I tried to take a selfie at this point but my camera wasn't working so it remains undocumented.
Thanks to everyone. Hope to see you next year!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Highpointing
Guadalupe Peak: 8,750 Feet |
Clingman's Dome: 6,643 Feet. Do you think that counts the observation tower? |
My sweet baby sister and I on Clingman's Dome. Oh, and that hat. I miss it. Hat, where are you? |
In 2008, we got a permit to hike Mount Whitney, the highest peak in California and in the continental United States as well. It was a three-day project which involved us backpacking to a high camp, bagging the peak as a day hike the next day, returning to the camp for a night and then hiking out to civilization the next. It was a grande adventure, one which is documented in a post earlier in the blog (see July 2008 entries).
Raul, Pat, Audra, Rose and I (seriously, where is that hat?) at the Mount Whitney portal. |
Mount Whitney: 14,505 Feet. Windy, which is why we are dressed for December. |
We returned to the United States for our next highpoint--Arizona's Humphrey's Peak.. I loved this one, not for the great hiking or breathtaking views (although, in fairness, it did have those as well) but because it was a pell-mell road trip adventure. We left Long Beach on a Friday evening and drove into Arizona, stopping for the night only when we reached the national forest outside Flagstaff. To sleep, we just pulled off of a dirt road and set up our tent. In the morning, we were relieved to find that we hadn't set up shop in someone's backyard. We drove up to the Humphrey's Peak trailhead, bagged the peak and drove home. Whew...
Humphrey's Peak: Elevation 12,637 Feet |
Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia at 4,784 feet. And, of course, our littlest highpointer bagged her first peak (on her second birthday, to boot). |
Mount Mitchell, North Carolina: Elevation 6,684 feet. |
As you can see, the view was not impressive. Non existent would be more like it. The mountain was shrouded in fog and rain. |
And, that's what we've got so far. Next up (pun): I'm really not sure. Perhaps South Carolina (Sassafras Mountain). Onward and upward, friends!
Monday, June 17, 2013
2nd Annual Celebrate for A Cause!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Mono Lake (Thanksgiving in Mammoth)
Regular blog readers will remember that our Thanksgiving tradition is to spend the holiday at some unexplored (to us, at least) location. Usually, this involves freezing our asses off in a tent in some rustic area (see blog entries for 2008, 2009). This year, for some reason, neither Pat nor I felt up to "roughing it" so we decided to splurge and get a hotel room. I want everyone here to know that I lobbied for Death Valley (average daily November temp: 70 degrees) but both Pat and I were intrigued to check out Mammoth Lakes, a popular mountain town on the East Side of the Sierras. So, we booked a hotel room in town, and off we went.
The next morning (Thanksgiving) we drove out to Mono Lake. Mono Lake is a salt-water lake with no outlet to the ocean that was formed at least 760,000 years ago. It recently made the news when scientists discovered a plant that synthesizes arsenic rather than any of the six essential elements previously known to sustain life. But, that is an aside. On Thanksgiving Day, there were no scientists or tourists. Just Pat and I enjoying this amazing, eerie landscape.
Later, we drove down to the Tufa State Reserve where there were many more Tufas both on the shore and in the lake.
A good view of Tufas on the lake shore.
A final view of some Tufas in the lake. I highly recommend a stop at Mono Lake if you find yourself in the area. It was unlike anything I've ever seen.
Bad Blogger!!!
At first, my goal was to blog once a week. Then, I downgraded to once a month.
And, somehow, after one final post in September, I seem to have given it up altogether. It wasn't a conscious decision--I just got busy, and blogging fell off my list of priorities.
The worst part is that there have been several blog worthy topics over the last several months. Luckily, I did manage to take some pictures, and my goal now is to go back and share some of these with you. In a few weeks, I hope to be caught up to the present.
Let's hope that 2011 is a good blogging year!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Anniversary Trip to Pismo Beach
One thing I really appreciate about Pat is that despite my relentlessly practical side, he remains a romantic. Thus, I wasn't surprised when 10 red roses were delivered to my office on our anniversary. Rascal (shown here) and Stormy, of course, believed the roses in be in their honor and immediately started munching on them.
After a leisurely start Saturday morning we headed north on PCH. Our original destination had been Santa Barbara but ,apparently, SB is a very popular fall destination in SoCal. That is something I hate about California: there are so many people that it is almost impossible to plan spur-of-the-moment trips. This bodes very poorly for people like Pat and I who do not seem to have the "planning gene." In any case, Pismo Beach had been recommended as a laid-back beach destination so we wanted to check it out.
Our hotel, the Sandcastle Inn, was right on the beach in downtown Pismo. Quite nice.
I took this picture of Pat right outside the hotel when we arrived. That night, we had a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant overlooking the town. Too bad I forgot the camera!
The hotel had a really neat little patio on the beach where we ate breakfast early the next morning.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Hike to Mount San Jacinto
The tram ride was somewhat freaky and not for the faint of heart. The floor of the tram rotates 360 degrees (three times) while climbing the incline.
Looking back down to Palm Springs made me a little ill.
But, the view did make me very happy that I didn't have to hike up this portion.
At the top, we entered Mount San Jacinto State Park and began the 5.5 mile hike to the summit.After four mile of hiking, we hit the ridge.
Then, about a mile later, we were on the summit: 10,834 feet.
There was a US flag and a USGS survey marker. And about 20 other people. But, I still managed to get a picture of Pat without anyone else in it.
Lately, I've been forgetting my sunglasses everywhere we got so I look a lot like this!