Two in one month

Just 3 weeks separated the deaths of Max & Lucy. It's been a rather difficult (and expensive) month. I wanted to post some pics of my little girl because she was so beautiful (and of course I loved her). But first--a little narrative of how I became her mother.

My wonderful grandmother always loved siamese cats; I'll never know why. This breed is M-E-A-N!. Lucy was no different. Nevertheless, Granny adopted her as a kitten and watched over her for the next 4+ years. My family members and I, taking care of Granny for those years, were quite aware of Lucy's disposition in life. We were regularly maimed from her quick reel-in with the clawless front paws only to be bitten as to remind us of our lowly positions in life. In the cat's defense, we knew it would happen; she was just too pretty and wanted the attention. It was a trap. Just like the trap my family set for me when my grandmother died. I forget the exact words, but I was led to believe it was my grandmother's dying wish that I, beloved granddaughter, should forever love, cherish, and nurture little Lucy. I reluctantly accepted this burden to bear. In fact, I cried when I brought her home. How could I bring home another creature that Max couldn't play with? Would Max resent me for it?

I was tricked. After a few days, I figured out Granny didn't care who took the cat--no one else wanted her. By this time, I already had my husband going with the original story. He learned the truth about a year later. By then Da Goose was part of the family. (You know how you have 9 different names for your pet? Lucy, Little Girl, Da Goose, Juice, Lucifer, Juicifer, B****) We became accustomed to her routines and idiosyncrasies--and we loved them and her. I miss her every day.

Adventures outside were always exciting:

See a pattern in the next shots? She liked to squeeze into tight places.

Her final hours in a favorite spot as evidenced by the nose prints on the window.

Warm days are here!

At last! I'm so grateful for warm weather, and today was that day. With temps in the 80s, I ventured to BCSP for a 3+ hour mountain bike ride w/ Meredith. One goal was to work on my technical skills. I had some trouble in the usual spots on the newer trails, but one big achievement was an unimpressive mastery of left-hand turns.

A few years ago, my husband spent some dough on a YZF 1000 motorcycle. Out of spite, I decided to buy one for me (Kawasaki ZR7). However, I had never driven a motorcyle which required some immediate training on my part. I signed up for a 3-day Motorcycle Safety Foundation class and learned basic operating techniques on a Honda 125. During this class, the instructors noted that most people are more comfortable turning either right or left and not as comfortable with the other direction. There is NO REASONABLE explanation for this. It's all in the head. Somehow, I developed an irrational problem with left-hand turns/curves in biking.

A couple of tight, downhill switchbacks (to the left) have always made me do a one-foot scuttle through the turn. But not today. Meredith observed my incorrect technique and offered some pointers. Lo and behold, I made both switchbacks with ease. IT'S ALL IN THE HEAD! jeez. Who was it that said, "We are the biggest limiters in our performance."--or something like that. He/She was absolutely right.

When I got home, I found my husband doing yard work. Finding a treasure in our woods, he left me a nice surprise in the front yard. It must be love. Yay to warm weather!

This just in...

Got this on e-mail today. Road ride anyone?

Banff!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour came to Bloomington last weekend. Deciding I wasn't really in race shape, I skipped out on the Knobscorcher race in North Carolina and sat my butt at a theater watching other people do really cool things like extreme downhill skiing, kayaking, biking, etc.

While several friends had recommended seeing the show, it was a picture of Ryan Leech in the paper that caught my eye. He's a world-class trials rider; during a 6-month infatuation with trials riding, I saw many of his videos. A segment of his newest video, Crux, was playing at the Film Festival. His website shows some awesome videos. There's also a good one on You Tube.



If I ever find a Genie in a bottle, I'm using one of my wishes to possess these rad skillz. I guess my second wish will be used to summon the courage to go actually perform the tricks.

The final video, The Red Helmet, was a winner of the Best of Nissan Outdoor Games and is also available on YouTube. The kid is cute, the athletes daring as ever, and the video is just well made. I even liked the song choice to accompany the shots. Most of all, I thought it was rather motivating.



Jump in! Let's take some risks.

Rest in pain-free peace, Max

Mommy loves you, Big Dog.

Special thanks to everyone who sends well wishes and cries with me. Also need to send a huge thanks to M & M who came over in the thunder, lightening, and rain to help dig a big freakin' hole and lend their support. All of it is much appreciated; it made a sad evening much more bearable.

Kauai, Hawaii - continued, Days 10 - end

We were just starting to sleep through rooster calls towards the end of our trip. However, this day held big plans for us as well. All of us decided to check out the Kilauea Lighthouse, the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian Islands. According to this link, it was built in 1913. Sadly, we arrived too early and the gate was closed. Nevertheless, we took some pics and saw some of the native birds including a booby. Yes, we had much fun with that word, too.






After some bird watching, Jenna & Dave stayed behind to do some more while the rest of us set out to kayak up the Hanalei River. We rented a some kayaks; Jason & I in singles and Art & Megan in a double. I, too, wanted a double, but Jason thought it would be more fun in our own boats. Wonder why....


Below is a photo I took of a sign at the rental place. There are so many words for this picture, but I just can't seem to think of them right now.



So we head up the river in our yellow kayaks coming across some interesting duck and turtle species. As we continued, we saw a log jam in the middle with some overhanging trees. Jason successfully negotiates the obstacle, so I start to follow the way around. Art & Megan decide they can take a different route. Unfortunately, some weight distribution problems caused them to capsize in the cold, mountain water. As Megan is gasping for breath, I'm trying to untether my life jacket to throw to her. It's really not that dramatic; I just wanted to do something to help. I ended up getting out of the way.

When everyone is back in open water, another species emerges from the bow of MY kayak--a gigantic spider! eeewwwww. Even though Jason disagrees, I say it's as big as my hand. Screaming and looking at my bailout options, I manage to get the creature on my paddle and throw it in to the water. IT WALKS ON THE WATER to Art & Megan's boat where it quickly climbs up the side. She was laughing until then. Jason paddles over to retrieve it, but the persistent thing, again, climbs on their boat. Finally, Art saves it by placing him back in a tree from which we are guessing he fell. I would have been fine if someone had smashed it or tried to drown it. Needless to say, I kept diligent watch when we passed that spot on our way back. Eeeeewwww.

The rest of the time was spent on short hikes and walking on the beach. Oh yeah--and another looonnnnggg plane ride back.

Kauai was amazing. Google it to find marvelous scenery and breathtaking photography.

Kauai, Hawaii - continued, Days 7 - 9

Link to Days 1 & 2
Link to Days 3 & 4
Link to Days 5 & 6

Day 7 - Canyon Hike and Rental Car trouble. "Spoon or die" became the token phrase that day referring to the cold night in the tent. After some pancakes for breakfast, we agreed to go to the top of Kalalau lookout again then hike some of the canyon and swamp trails. Unfortunately, the rental cars started showing their age again. After packing up during the morning, it appeared that leaving the trunk open too long drained the battery in the Corolla. Joel was more than 30 miles away and probably wouldn't be in a hurry to rush to our rescue. Thankfully, Jason and Art are quite handy. Naturally, there are no jumper cables nor tools in the car or in our backpacks. So, the boys set out to impress the girls--much like MacGyver. The process went something like this:

1. Find Dave's Leatherman tool (which has pliers).
2. Take dead battery out of Corolla.
3. Start the Hyundai.
4. Take live battery out of Hyundai and put in Corolla.
5. Start Corolla.
6. Take live battery out of Corolla and put in Hyundai.
7. Put dead battery back in Corolla.

It works! And these steps were repeated the next day when it happened again. Someone finally unscrewed the trunk light.

We were now on our way to view Kalalau Valley again, this time with better results as we arrived before the clouds did:

We also hiked the trails from this vista and around the wettest place on Earth, Alakai Swamp. This region receives, on average, more than 460 inches of rain every year compared to the southwestern part of the island that receives around 20. The views were gorgeous!

We receded to Salt Ponds for camping on the beach. What another great day! And let it be known that we saw ZERO chickens on the swamp trail. However, at this point we were taking bets on who could guess the closest time in the a.m. that we would hear cock-a-doodle-doo.

Day 8 - More snorkeling! We headed to the calm waters of Poipu beach and rented some snorkel gear. The shop informed us of a tsunami advisory for the area, but we learned through our cool, new iphones that it had since been cancelled. I poured on the sunscreen and explored the ocean floor!

We also saw our first monk seal, an endangered species. They like to catch some zzz's on the beach then return to sea. With it being so common, the beaches have stakes and caution tape to envelop the creature and protect it from curious tourists.

No camping this night--or the next 3. We headed to the Mango Shack for some "comfort." Alas! A real bed. Our group rented this place to take a break from therma-rests and perhaps some more pleasant amenities. Oddly, I didn't notice chickens right away; rather, my attention was on mosquitoes. For the next 3 days, I would be covered in DEET to minimize the number of bites on my legs. They were thick! With the mild weather, the shack didn't have windows but screens. Screens with holes that allowed mosquitoes in. Among the amenities was a shower. While it was outside and fairly open to the world, it did have hot water. ahhhhh. Since no one was renting the shack next door, we took the liberty of using that shower as well.

Day 9 - More snorkeling! Today was Dave's birthday and we let him dictate the events. More snorkeling awaited us. We rented some more gear and headed to a nearby place called Larsen's beach. Much to our surprise, we stumbled upon some nudists. Much to the guys' dismay, they were all dudes. We didn't strike up any conversations, but Jason had a close encounter when someone decided to swim right by him when his face was in the water. We're wondering if it was a coincidence that everyone else had retreated to shore to rest for a while. Being a mature group, we chided him when he returned to see if he was able to spot a Unicorn Fish. I spent most of the time under a tree to minimize exposure to the sun. I was lucky so far in not getting burned to a crisp.

After grilling dinner, Art decided to surprise Dave with a cake. We scoffed at his idea to cook it dutch oven style in the grill as the shack didn't have a stove. However, after supper, he presented Dave with a fully cooked, perfect chocolate cake. We were in awe. What a terrific end to a terrific day.

Link to Days 10 - end