My Mom and I are headed back to the east coast tomorrow. It was a great weekend. Exactly what I needed. Lots of laughs with Dad about the most inane stuff. We did some cooking. We did some electrical work (a total failure of course...but at least we got to play in fiberglass insulation for a while). Sophie was nutso, even on sedation.
Saturday was a pretty easygoing day. Dad and I went into Boulder in the afternoon. He dropped me at the Subaru dealership, while we he ran some errands. I guess that we're thinking about trading the "snowpusher" GTI for something more New Hampshire appropriate, like a Subaru outback. Surprisingly, the saleswoman let me drive two cars by myself. Let me tell you, if you want a low pressure sales environment, just mention that you have cancer. I think she was far more worried about me as a mother, then worried about moving the car as a salesperson. Anyway, I drove a used 06 Outback with the turbo and loved it. Super fast, super expensive feeling, tons of ground clearance. I mean...they park these things with the ass-end up on a sidewalk. They didn't have any used 2.5's with the manual, so I drove an 09. Classic Subaru feeling, but not nearly as nice as the turbo. Still, the turbo will always need premium, and, after the GTI, I'm pretty much done with that game. Simple is beautiful this time around. For you cars nuts, the turbo suffered from some light surging. No idea what that was about. The non-turbo seemed to buck a little while using the engine compression to slow the car, though this would probably go away with break-in.
On Sunday Dad and I headed up Coal Creek Canyon from the house to explore around Gross Reservoir. We took Sophie along, and she hiked 3 miles post-surgery with no problem at all. It was beautiful up there too. The reservoir had frozen over, broken up, and then resolidified, producing beautiful patterns. The front range has received basically zero snow this winter. And while this is scary for the summer fire danger, it is wonderful to hike dry trails in february. I wish that I had this kind of a winter when I was trying to mountain bike through it last year. Anyway, it was about 55 for the hike, and today was 67 in town. The hike ended at a beautiful little beach to a frozen South Boulder Creek. We hung out there for a bit. I meditated, and then we headed up to Nederland to grab some grocery items for dinner. Thanks again for such a wonderful weekend Karyn and Dad!
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera up at Dad's, so I won't be able to post pictures of the hike until later. Still, I promise to do so.
A parting note: this weekend I was laying in bed, when I remembered a paper that I had read for biochemistry in college. Basically, it is a review article that reviews how all of the hormonal effects from a unilateral orchiectomy could change one's utilization of food fuels to produce much higher levels of endurance. Specifically, the paper examined Lance's incredible transformation from a one-day cyclist into a grand-tour monster. Considering that I bonk when I roll out of bed, I can only hope that this will allow me to ride for 12 hours straight like Steve and Ed. And yes...I would give my left nut for that. If you're interested in the paper, email me, and I'll send you the PDF.
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