The stretch of vitality

Sunday we hike up to Saddle Rock in the morning and then went tubing on Boulder Creek. The water was running really really fast. It was essentially class III rapids I would say. We walked along the creek for a mile and only found about a two block stretch that looked like it could be done in a tube without certain demise. Big Wave Lew went over an extra waterfall that Erin and I were too chicken to attempt. We walked back up a few times and did the same section over and over. We got a lot of comments from passing pedestrians and cyclists to the effect of “you guys are nuts”, which Lew particularly enjoyed. We only ran into one other group of tubers on the water. We saw lots of people renting tubes but no one tubing the section of creek we were on. This one set of tattoo-laden guys came out looking like drowned rats. We asked what it was like and they said they started way up at Eben Fine Park and “we got fucked up”, so we were glad we didn’t go any further west.

I closed on my new house and I’m all moved in! It feels really great. Moving is easy when you are a nomad (now former nomad). I’ve been filling shopping carts at all the stores to get all the stuff I need. I hired a personal assistant off of craigslist and she has been a huge help coordinating cleaners, plumbers, electricians, handy men, landscapers, utilities, etc. The house feels great – especially my new memory foam mattress and new pillows. Click on the photo above for a few more shots, but the place is still essentially empty so I’ll post more photos in a while.

You will also find there some photos from a recent CHAOS hike up to Royal Arch. Other than dealing with the house closing, I started doing some swimming at the gym and enjoying that. It’s been a while since I posted so I’m omitting and forgetting some things, but I guess that’s motivation to try to blog in a timely manner. Anyway, tomorrow we hike Green Mountain followed by tubing on Boulder Creek which should be a good time.

I’m back from a very fun family reunion on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We played lots of tennis, went swimming in the ocean, played catch on the beach, and rode our rental cruiser bikers around. The golfers golfed in the morning and evenings we enjoyed yummy home cooking and drinks. The title of this post is a quote from one of my cousins shouted during some horsing around in the ocean.

Woo hoo! Today I signed a contract to purchase a house! This time hopefully it goes through. I’m very excited. More news on that when things are finalized. Last Sunday I did a nice hike with CHAOS up Bear Mountain then down Bear Canyon then to Ken’s for some grilling and chilling. I had a few other good social outings this week as well, including Josh & Matt’s birthday BBQ. Tomorrow it’s off to the much-anticipated family reunion on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. In addition to meeting my fresh-from-the-oven nephew Will, I also get to see Jamie Sue. Can’t wait!