Pictures of people, friends, and family.
Room with a sea view — We opted for a room with a sea view, for a day spent catching up on work. Watching the changes in the weather and enjoying the view up and down the coast was, as they say in the ads, priceless. Best Western Clifton Hotel, Folkestone.
Ginger testing the water at St. Leonards-on-Sea — We have a few days to explore and this is where we ended up on the first day. Five-minute read.
What Gare Bears might wear in the woods — With the emphasis on might. Well actually, might not. We had a good laugh though.
Ginger, Gary and the Spinnaker Tower — Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth.
Ginger watching the dawn at 30,000 feet. We are off on the first leg of a trip to the UK. Our first visit since 2019.
Another Hat — I bought myself something with a large brim that was also lightweight and airy for the summer.
It’s that trail cairn again — By one-thirty I had camp squared away, and I started an uneventful hike back to the trailhead. +2
Jus’ Chilling — The six-mile hike back to the trailhead should only take three to four hours (depending on if I stop for lunch), so I can sit back, take it easy, and enjoy the forest for a while. +1
Doing the ‘Eclipse Dance.’ Just before the totality. 2024 Total Eclipse. Just four minutes to go…
Pre-Eclipse Shenanigans —Gary & Ginger — 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. +3
Pre-Eclipse Shenanigans — Lanie & Ginger — 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. Notice how the light in the background is already fading.
End of hike selfie — I Hiked over twenty-two miles in two-and-a-half days. I’m happy with that. Three-minute read, +1
Morning Coffee, camped off of the Big Piney Trail.
Uh oh! — Pills out on the trail can only mean one thing. Yup, the dreaded AFIB has struck again. Going as slow as I could and taking a rest at what seemed like every few yards, it was still a struggle to bring and keep my heart rate down, and impossible to get it to settle into a regular rhythm.
Long way down.
New hiking Sandals — I’m not sure when they stopped calling shoes like these huaraches, but sandals seems to be the current nomenclature. These are Bedrock Cairn Evo PRO Sandals. So far, I am much preferring these to my Luna sandals.
Abandoned Homestead Ruins, Paddy Creek Wilderness — Taking advantage of some cell phone reception I sent Ginger this picture taken by the old chimney breast at the junction of the South Loop and the shortcut to the North Loop.
Checked in and ready to go — I got away without any major delays, and here I am at eleven-thirty all ready to hit the trail.
Finally seeing results — I’ve been regularly exercising for around and hour a day, five days a week for three months now. I read that it takes a lot longer to get results when you get to a ‘certain age,’ and so it has. This week, for the first time the body fat percentage has dropped into the green.
Heading Home — I remembered to take an end of hike selfie just before I left the trailhead parking lot. Two-minute read.
Back at my home from home — Taking a selfie when I get to the lake has become another Piney Creek Tradition.
Stopped for Lunch by Piney Creek — I thought this was the spot we stopped for lunch on 11-11-2011, but it was probably the next creek crossing. +1
Loop Finished — And I’ll admit the trail kicked my butt. I wasn’t as fit as I thought I was, and my heart deciding to throw a wobbly at the end of day three didn’t help.
Breakfast in my hammock. Irish Wilderness, Missouri