Summer Vacation Day 1

So starting a blog was one of the many things on my list of things to do, during this week in July. The list has many things on it but this seemed like the most daunting so I'm tackling this first. Very unlike me. I usually prefer to check off all of the little things first. 

The other things on the list are:

1.  Put Glenn's name on the mailbox (he finally changed his address, I guess that means he's staying -- yaay!).

2. Find a recipe in which to use the fresh peas I have in my fridge.

3. Map out my road trip to Maine for next weekend.

4. Hang out with Johnny (my 13 year old nephew). I'm not sure he really wants to hang out with me though. He says he does but I'm not convinced.

5. Hang out with my friend Maria at the beach.

Okay enough of this list. Pretty boring huh?

I did happen to have an amazing weekend. Glenn and I were in the White Mountains. We spend a lot of time there. Hiking. On Saturday, July 7 we did the Zealand Hut Trail and the Ethan Pond Trail.  We clocked about 10 miles in 6 hours, counting two half hour stops. One at the Zealand Falls and one at Thoreau Falls. I'm not sure if that's fast or not. It was a beautiful day, sunny and hot, but not that humid.  This hike was not very challenging (except for the last bit up to the hut which was very steep -- and true to form, I slipped on the way down and landed on my left hip). Apart from my little tumble, the hike was enjoyable.

I didn't have to watch every single step I took, carefully stepping over rocks and stumps like I usually have to do. There was a lot of flat terrain with just enough up and down to make it interesting, lots of water features, and big rocks. I learned a new term -- glacial erratics. These are big boulders that some glacial occurrence managed to move thousands of years ago. We did this hike instead of hiking Mt. Jefferson which was the original plan.  I chickened out. Mt. Jefferson is 5,000 plus feet and I've never climbed one that big.  I changed my mind because Jefferson is mostly an exposed climb and there  was a threat of rain and lightening in the weather report. I really don't want to be on an exposed mountain during a lightening storm. 

Anyway, even though Glenn has his doubts, I WILL climb Jefferson this year. There, it's in writing and on the internet. I have to do it now right?

When we got home yesterday it was sunny and hot in Winthrop, MA where we live.  I immediately walked down to the beach at the end of my street to enjoy the last of what must have been a spectacular beach day.  Luckily for me, several of my friends and neighbors were there with their new toys: a kayak and two paddle boards. I've been kayaking before but never had the chance to try a paddle board. I gave it a shot. It was hard. Hard to stand up, hard to stay up and hard to paddle!

I got a few pointers from my friend Adicel. I'll give it another try. I think I prefer the kayak though!

By the way, speaking of the beach, the name of this blog comes from the five breakers just off Winthrop Beach. They are called "The Five Sisters". I'm really not sure how the name came to be. I can't find anything about it on the internet.  I did find out that there is a rather tony neighborhood in Burlington, Vermont called the Five Sisters.  

My neighborhood is not tony. But it's home and there is always someone to hang out with at the beach.

Well, it's time to knock off some of those other things on the list. At the very least, I'm hoping this blog inspires me to write something daily, even if nobody reads it.