Adventures of Late

Road trip, a photo by suzipaw on Flickr.

In reverse chronological order:

M and I joined friends Caitlin and Sean for a long drive through some BLM back country yesterday. We took Rex (Roxy is very gunshy) and encountered ridges with incredible views of peaks (Lassen, Shasta, Tahoe range, the Buttes) and valleys, scrub and forest, rivers and lakes. We stopped at what we thought was going to be an idyllic spot by a river for some target practice, but it was marred by the many shooters before us: lots of trash, broken bottles, and copious amounts of toilet paper comingled with the incredibly sized pinecones under the trees.

Shooting off the various firearms the men had brought was an activity I don't often indulge in, so that was fun. Our picnic was marred by a caravan of five jeeps that actually were driving up the river bed and tearing it up, but other than that we had a fine time. Rex got a little bored, but I'm sure he was glad to be with us. We resolved to come back again to camp--there were quite a few people taking advantage of the amazing winter weather to set up tents and enjoy the mostly remote area. It's a little unnerving and also freeing to be in a place where the usual camping rules don't necessarily apply. I just wish people could exercise a little more personal responsibility to go along with that liberty.

The week before I spent mostly in Santa Clara at our second conference of the year. It went very well, even better than we'd hoped, and that was great. However, that meant it was also very busy, and that meant I didn't leave the hotel from when I arrived Monday morning til Thursday afternoon. I did hit the gym twice, yay! Though I can tell I've lost a little ground in the weight department--time to get back to the real gym tomorrow.

The weekend before Santa Clara, M and I headed over to Redding for brother Steve's 50th birthday party. It was truly a surprise, which was great. His girlfriend Tammie had booked an excellent band and it was pleasant if chilly hanging out with family by the bonfire. I played kitchen with Sophia and Myla after the party, and we had more quality family time at breakfast the next morning. I feel like I'm seeing more of the brothers and their families lately, and I'm really grateful for that!

In a nuclear family first, we actually left the dogs alone overnight for the Redding trip! We had a neighbor look in on them in evening and the morning before we returned. They survived, but it was pretty hard on us humans.

The only bummer of that journey was the Monster Mobile--this was the first long road trip test for it after the repair, and sadly she failed. Coolant is still leaking and the misfires are back, so into the shop she goes tomorrow. I really don't want to be car shopping now, but I also really need a reliable vehicle.

In other news: I called the real estate agent who sold us our current abode and have put the wheels in motion for mortgage loan pre-approval. Now that I'm back, I can start to dig into that process. Unfortunately, it looks like we probably won't be able to keep our current place and rent it out like I'd hoped, but I have more research to do there.