Hi Gram,
I had a pleasant weekend. I got up Saturday and had a leisurely morning chatting with Nicki as she de-personalized the house for the real estate sales pictures. I sat reading my book and keeping her company, and occasionally admonishing her for carrying a heavy box or piece of furniture without asking me for help. I threatened to just follow her around to keep her from hurting her back, but she assured me that was the last heavy or awkward thing…. then an hour later, I’d see her walking by with another heavy or awkward thing and we’d have the conversation all over again.

The forecast called for rain in the afternoon, so I headed out on my bike to try to beat the storm. It was a little chilly out, but I had a good ride. It felt good to see lots of people along the path, walking dogs, pushing strollers, running and biking. The path winds along a creek and between neighborhoods, following underpasses at busy roads. Now anyone who really knows me knows that I absolutely love going through tunnels. When I was a truck driver, I looked forward to routes that took me through mountains, hoping to experience a tunnel or two. When I was in Europe a few years ago, there were so many tunnels as I drove from Switzerland to Italy, I had to pull over a few times to catch my breath from all the excitement. Imagine just how excited I was to ride my bike through these underpasses, some going under four lane roads. They were narrow and low, ducking my head even though I probably didn’t need to. I grinned ear to ear every time I rode through one.

I returned as I felt light sprinkles starting to fall. A mere minutes after putting my bike in the garage, the sky opened up and started a downpour that made me thank my lucky stars that I gotten back in time. A little bummed that she wasn’t going to get her yard work done, Nicki chatted with me for a little bit as she crossed off some of the indoor tasks from her ever-dwindling list. In the afternoon I headed to Sierra, a discount clothing store, to find some new shirts. I recently realized that my large shirts are a little baggy and I was curious to see if a medium would fit. Pleasantly surprised at the fit, I bought two to give them a test run. If I’m still happy with them in a week, I’ll go back and get more.

I hurried out of there and down to the ice arena where my friend Renee had a hockey game later that evening. She joined a recreational league a few months ago after not having played since the 90’s, and I was looking forward to cheering her on. The game started shortly after I arrived, with both teams skating hard as they raced up and down the rink trying to score or defend their goal. About ten minutes in, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see my blizzard buddy Adit! He was on his way to a concert and just stopped in to say hi after Renee told him that I would be at the game. We hugged our hellos and caught up a little, then planned to meet up for lunch or dinner one day in the following week.

After the game, I sat on a bench watching the sun go down and waited for Renee to get out of her gear. She met me out there after a bit, then we headed back inside to meet some of her teammates at the bar for some dinner. It was great catching up with her, hearing about her accomplishments at work and her passion for the hockey community that she’s found. She and her teammates recounted some stories of their past games and future plans while we all ate too much fried food. Full and getting tired, we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

Sunday morning, Nicki and I planned to go up the mountain a little for a hike. I got a late start on my morning routine and was worried that I would delay our departure, so I was a little relieved when she came down and told me that she had overslept her alarm. She got a little coffee in her while I finished up my morning routine, then we packed our day bags and left for the trailhead. We got to Golden Gate Canyon State Park late morning to find a lot of other people were there to take advantage of this gorgeous weather, leaving us to search for parking. We found one last spot along the road, so we grabbed our gear and headed out. The start of the trail led softly downhill, an easy start that led us along switchbacks winding down the hill. We passed folks that had gotten an earlier start than us, panting and looking tired, serving as a gentle reminder of what we’d be facing on our return.

I was glad that Nicki liked to take a slow, steady pace on her hikes. We got to enjoy the scenery and listen to the birds, take frequent breaks to catch our breath and hydrate, but still feel active and part of nature. The path alternated between gentle descents for a while, then “thigh burners” that led back up, folding back and forth on the switchbacks. We would always wave and exchange some kind words with the hikers coming the other way and were even passed a few times by people running or biking the trail, obviously tougher than either of us. About 45 minutes in, we came to an overlook that provided a view of the snow capped mountains in the distance. We took turns looking through the binocular viewer, seeing in greater detail the tree lined ridges.

Making space for others on the viewing platform, we continued on our way and started down the gentle downslope. Nicki was quick to remind me, though, that whoever goes down (that would be us) must go back up (and up, and up, and up…) I didn’t even care, though, as we kept our slow but deliberate pace, chatting about life and plans and stories and dreams. Before we knew it, we were working our way back up the switchbacks, this time serving as an example of what was to come for the hikers starting on their journey. With each turn approaching, we were sure we were almost there only to find as we rounded the bend that there was “one last turn” to go. Finally, that one last turn came and we saw the campground building and signs of the trail end. At the car, we checked our apps and found that we’d walked 3.7 miles with a total altitude change of almost 700 feet. The cool air and slow pace kept it from feeling too hard, but we were proud of what we’d done.

We made some salads when we got back to the house, resting a little and planning the rest of the day. After lunch, we patched some small cracks in the concrete then arranged the patio furniture and tackled a few other tasks. Once we cleaned up, I spent most of the rest of the day reading and relaxing while she packed some boxes and checked more items off her list. We capped the evening off with a light dinner at Modern Market, chatting about life, relationship goals, and FI events in the coming year. Exhausted, I headed to bed shortly after we returned to the house.