Jul 7, 2010

The morning started off waiting at Bob Evans with Ryan and Jeff until Diebra showed up with Chuck so we could say, "Happy Birthday... let's eat!" And we did. The food was great, probably because we were all really hungry. I had a chocolate milk. I miss that sometimes.

After breakfast (a full thirty minutes, of course) I went swimming with Ryan. It was another extremely hot day so it felt great. Since I was sweating just sitting in my car I felt that I needed to submerge myself in cool water.

I think we did this backwards.. we went to the gym after swimming. We did mostly leg exercises, with Tony the Tiger reminding us to return all the weights from where we got them. Thanks, Tony. After some difficult ab exercises and a few miles on the treadmill, which was much easier than yesterday outside by the way, I headed home to a cold shower.

We went to PJ Whelihan's in Washington Township for Quizzo part deux so Chuck could join in the fun for his birthday. The first four rounds were exactly the same so we did pretty well. Chuck got a lot of the answers without our help though. We even did really well on the rounds we hadn't played before and won first place. I guess we'll have to go back to use that gift card. They have good specials so I don't mind.

I wanted to go outside and enjoy the beautiful night air but I felt like crashing when I got home so I did just that.

Jul 6, 2010

When I got up my thermometer said it was 95 degrees. In the shade. So I decided to go for a run at Parvin's. It wasn't bad at all at first. I was in the shade most of the time and it felt pretty good. Once I got to the other side of the lake where the sun peeked through the trees generously, it was a different story. Every time I breathed in I could feel the hot air choking me. I had to stop halfway around and walk the rest. It was a nice walk but the heat was too much. Great idea.

We went to Quizzo later without Chuck (unheard of)! We got a lot of drinks (mostly water) but they were never cleared from the table. We were doing pretty well during most of the game, we each contributed. We actually did well on the sports round somehow and wound up placing second for a ten dollar gift certificate. Not bad. I'm glad they figured out the award system now.

Jeff and I didn't feel like going home so we got a Klondike bar after waiting in line for about ten minutes at Wal*Mart and then went to the Oarhouse for a few beers. It was good to be hanging out drinking with Jeff again. Haven't seem him around these parts too much lately.

I was pretty tired when I got home. That's what two beers will do to me!

Jul 5, 2010

I was supposed to get up to do a 5K race in the morning but I didn't feel like getting up and it was getting really hot outside so I slept in again. The first time I actually left the house was to help Carissa get a TV and entertainment center at Wal*Mart before we went to the movies to see Toy Story 3. I liked it a lot but I don't remember movies being quite as dark when I was younger.

I went to Ryan's later to go swimming. Even at dusk it was still really hot out so the pool felt great.

Overall I didn't do too much again. I spent a lot of time in the air conditioning watching things and writing.

Jul 4, 2010

I did some sleeping in after the late party last night and lazed around a bit after I woke up. I felt like getting out of the house so I took a bike ride around town and then headed for my mom's house in Bridgeton. It was a nice day for a ride.

Sam was having her annual Independence Day barbecue so we went over to join in the festivities. She grilled up some vegetables to make a delicious wrap and then I challenged Jeff to a game of horseshoes. He was ahead at the beginning but I came from behind to win with a ringer and a leaner to take the game.

SamBakes had some delicious cupcakes out for us. Banana. Peanut butter. Awesome.

We played a few games of "ladder ball" as the kids like to call it. I think it's more fun in the dark when you have no idea if you're about to get nailed with balls.. yeah. I don't remember who won. That usually means I lost, right?

I was asked to get the fire started so I did so. Chuck watched. The fire was a little harder to start than the one last night but once it started it was much easier to maintain. We need to get some bigger logs for our next fire.

Sam busted out the fireworks (well, sparkler) and we celebrated the Fourth of July like true Americans.

Nathan wanted a closer look so he slipped on his shades and stared down his sparkler until it couldn't spark any longer. You tell 'em, Nate.

Sam brought us some marshmallow roastin' equipment and we got down to business. Everyone had s'mores but I stuck with a single, well-roasted marshmallow. I'm very particular about how it's done and the chocolate in s'mores is too much for me. It was a tasty mallow though.

A short time later, a surprise guest showed up with more sparklers! Katie let us light those as well and we had another go at it. She also brought Catchphrase! I love that game.

After a few hours of "I woke up sporting Elijah Wood" and "Twenty Questions.." we all left around midnight. 'Twas a good Fourth. Merry Independence to you!

Jul 3, 2010

We got an early start on our drive north, picking up Nathan at the train station along the way. After a drive that always seems longer than it should, we got to Worthington State Forest and then had to find our trail.

One U-Turn and a lunch later we came upon the trailhead that would lead us to the Appalachian Trail and Sunfish Pond.

The first part of the trail was a steep climb that didn't let up. It was definitely hot out but the humidity was low so we could be thankful for that.

We took a few rest breaks along the way as it didn't take much uphill to make us feel exhausted. Whenever there was a flat area on the trail it was a welcome rest for our legs.

The trail provided nice scenery, with ferns everywhere except for the narrow trail on which we were walking. The orange trail met up with the Appalachian trail at the top of the incline and led us to the landmark for which the trail was named.

We came upon Sunfish Pond and took a break by its edge. There were large rocks and plenty of shade to cool off while we took in the view.

The trail took us around the outside edge of the pond and back to near where we started. The opposite side of the pond was much more rocky and it seemed to be where most people on the path were stopping to enjoy the scenery.

After a long drive home, with a stop at Rita's on the way, I got right back to work clearing the yard some more with Jimmy and getting our fire ready. It was literally the easiest fire I've ever started with dry pine needles and a few small sticks. It started quickly and never went out.

The fire was too big for the ring so we made a pit which worked much better. We had to keep an eye on it since everything has been so dry.

A bunch of people showed up and the fire was burning bright. We turned up the music in Jimmy's car in an attempt to rival the annoying neighbors who had been revving the engines on their motorcycles all evening.

Dave, under the influence of his homemade wine, jumped over the fire a few times. It's not like he needed to be drinking to do it. I think he might have burned off some leg hair.

Alycia, Laura and Brian showed up and joined the party. I told them everyone's name like they did when I came to the first frisbee game. Pretty sure they didn't remember any either.

Tracy and Mike came with a special guest who I haven't seen in a very long time.

We hung out having drinks and watching the fire until about 2am. Nathan was playing guitar but I don't think I ever heard it over the music playing. We looked for constellations with a Droid app.. it's pretty insane. The night went really well and everyone slowly started leaving.

I thought it was done but Jess and some friends stopped by after we had cleaned up and gone inside. They hung out and had a few beers while debating future legislation until they finally realized it wasn't 10:50 and they should probably get home. After they left I happily retired to bed.

Jul 2, 2010

Jimmy and I spent hours in the morning cleaning up the house and cleaning out cabinets of old items that should have been thrown away long ago. Since it was trash day we kept throwing bags out to the curb hoping that we would beat the trash truck. We got a lot out there before they came.

We took a ride to a trail off of Silver Run Rd. nearby that I'd seen a sign for but had never stopped to check out. The trail was nice and surprisingly long. It was well marked and had stairs on some difficult areas.

It goes out to a boat dock on the Maurice River near where we kayaked the other day. I want to come back here to sit and read. It's very peaceful.

I got an invite from Brian to come play ultimate so I happily accepted and headed up after having something to eat. We had less people this time so we played with the goals instead of making end zones. I liked the added element of scoring the goal with the frisbee. The game was awesome and I managed to score a good number of points. I also blocked a lot of shots today.

The sunset was really nice. We stopped to take a water break and enjoy the scene before finishing up the game when we couldn't see the frisbee anymore.

I came home and took a walk with Ryan and then met Katie to do some shopping at the Super Wal*Mart. I tried to get to sleep early so I would be rested for the hike in the morning.

Jul 1, 2010

I didn't do too much in the morning but I finally got around to taking my bike tire to get fixed. It took literally five minutes to do it and I got the thicker tube this time so it shouldn't get punctured as easily.

I picked up Katie and Brian and went to a park near Mullica Hill for a picnic. The weather was perfect for it and I wanted to spend some time outside.

We got sushi and even though it's not traditional picnic food I really enjoyed it. It wasn't a traditional picnic anyway. We ate under the pavilion where a family of birds made their home in the light fixtures.

We threw a frisbee around for a while in the field. The wind was blowing so it was hard to gauge my throws, although it felt as if I've improved.

Next we took to the volleyball courts to play badminton. We dueled it out with one another but the wind was really our enemy. We played for a while and had to continuously hit the birdie all the way to one side so it floated back to the center of the court where we wanted it to go.

Once the birdie was destroyed the game was over. Or was it?.... We took a walk around the park trails at a leisurely pace. It's a really nice park. After throwing around the frisbee some more we headed for an indoor game.

I torture myself playing ping pong with people that can beat me all the time... but I won a game against Katie! I had no shot against Brian, though I was happy to score a few points. I think they're getting to know us at the gym..

The rest of my night was spent at home. Nothing exciting happened.