birthdays, can't live without them

time to schedule a trip to the optometrist for some stronger glasses or to find out about laser surgery to eliminate them altogether.

thinking of going with bifocals of the smooth no line type. don't have a clue what style will grab me but might go with one of the faddy new thin line types like all the trendies are sporting. thinking about some john lennon types as well. only time will tell.

this weekend was interesting. spent the morning saturday climbing the east ridge trail at armstrong woods state park. met a couple of nice people at the trail top and walked back down to parkinglot land with them with some difficulty. one of us had a sprained ankle.

saturday night after a phone call with a special person, on a wild mission I drove to Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. (he spent his honeymoon in a cabin that was once there and site marked - that was 1880) parked on a dirt road near the park (out of sight) since the park is posted only for day use and rangers patrol regularly.

about 5 miles up to the top gave me a view of sonoma county that must be one of the best. did a little remembrance ceremony for an old friend named chevy chaser, whose ashes are there on the summit. that way I can see the place where he is from anywhere in the county. there's the ashes of another dog that was before him also there who was a doberman named Missy. eventually went out like a light and only woke to the sounds of some small varmints crawling around in the undergrowth once or twice. before I lapsed into unconsciousness I watched the stars and that big old moon and thought about all the campouts that I've enjoyed and what a strange place this is.

woke at 5am ish and hiked down before the rangers were making their first rounds and wanted to call somebody but didn't.

while driving down the mountain, decided to drive up to cloverdale to pick up my canoe which has been stored at a friends place. gave it a good washing and then transported it to santa rosa. then went over to terry's to watch the giants game and barbeque turkey burgers done in the garlic and italian spice tradition with grilled green onion, celery and green bean packets done up with basil, grape oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

first hiking in awhile but not the last. hiking to the high spots is something that really moves me and must be a throwback to something in deep cellular memory. guess I may have to say goodbye to all these places sometime around the bend. time to visit them all and take a few last looks. this is the first place that ever felt like home and it will be missed.