It seems like "tired" and "coffee" are two absolutes in my life. I will always be tired. I will always need coffee. Even on vacation. Last Saturday morning I woke up early so I could run on the beach. I'd missed the chance to do that over Memorial Day weekend and with two weekends in a row at Oak Island I wasn't about to miss my chance again. So at 6:45am on Saturday I headed out the door with my running shoes on.
Memorial Day weekend threatened rain, but on Oak Island, a barrier island of North Carolina, the days were gorgeous. I had spent Saturday with girlfriends on the beach and on Sunday McCrae came down to join me. It had rained torrentially the night before - the remnants of a tropical storm moving landward - and the post-storm swells beat hard against the beach at high tide in the afternoon. It looked like great body-surfing conditions, and McCrae and I grinned at each other and took off into the breakers.
When I have to myself long periods of time I tend to revert to some...peculiar habits. In my youthful solitude of being an only child I would write (obviously), read (of course), practice a half dozen instruments, and frequently engage in "bored running." Yes, bored running. It is a real thing, often deployed as an antidote to the dread "bored eating" and usually resorted to after several days of mindless couch potato-ing in front of soul-numbing TV.
I was slow to get moving on Saturday morning, putzing around for last minute packing and shopping for food like salami and trail mix. All this meant I was a little slow to leave for Boone, past rusting cars in a field by a sign that read "Dirt for Sale" and billboards and signs advertising ski supplies and fly fishing guides. Worse than being late though was finding the Profile Trail parking lot blocked by orange cones and a sign that read "Lot Full." I skidded into a parking lot down the road from the trailhead to try to figure out my next move. There was another trail option for hiking up Grandfather Mountain: I just had to find it.
It's always tough coming down from the endorphin rush of a wild adventure, whether it's an epic trip or just an insane weekend getaway. But on the bright side I've got plenty of photos to sort through and I've got a few big trips this summer that I need to plan. That should stave off the worst of the Monday blues for now as I happily daydream of adventure still to come.
This weekend for Mother's Day I did some labor of love for my mom's garden, and afterwards we played with some puppies! Well, no one wants to see pictures of me sweaty and dirty and covered in mulch. But everyone wants to see puppies!
Are you excited? Because oh gosh am I excited! One of my best friends had her second baby recently and she asked me to take newborn photos. Seriously, I was more than stoked in the days leading up to the photo session, and I am more than stoked to finally share the pictures with you!
I feel a sense of failure if a weekend goes by without some sort of grand adventure. All my time gets sucked up in the work week, so I feel pressure to maximize the two weekend days that I have.
