LakeyPen

Yesterday's adventure was averted. Tiffany has a few friends visiting from Texas, so we all went to the improv show together in his car, which is good because the bus I had planned on taking, in spite of what the Internet told me, wasn't running.

Today, all of us went "hiking." That was Robin's word for it. I'm not sure if it's my own naïveté or a matter of Robin's characteristic faulty lexicon, but "hiking" puts me in the mind of metal-harnessed backpacks, walking sticks, cargo shorts, and cranberry-filled granola bars. This falls more in line with my understanding of a picnic. We walked around a lake on a flat asphalt trail for thirty minutes before stopping at a wooden table to eat sandwiches. Still, the mountainous scenery was picturesque, getting to the locale required an hour drive each way, and the trail was positively rotten with the poop of various animals, so it felt like an Important Event, which I guess means Robin can call it whatever she pleases. I get the feeling that if Robin walked to the mailbox she would report the journey as a "hike," though.

Walking in poop is a weird thing. As for myself, I'm not down with it. Backtracking across the path, however, I couldn't help but notice how much flatter some of the piles seemed to be, and not on my account; I was quite careful with my steps. I pointed this out and was met unyielding defense and treated like I was the crazy person for not wanting to have the grooves of my shoes filled with beaver dookie. It made me glad that we don't wear our shoes in the apartment.

Oh, we had to be sure to be back to the apartment by 6:00 - Robin and Tiffany had a very important raid scheduled in World of Warcraft. Their guests have been exiled to the living room to watch a movie. By the way, Robin and Tiffany, to my knowledge, don't know that I blog, but they are quite aware that I ridicule them every chance I get. I mock because I love.

Overall, my thoughts on hiking: whatever. It was definitely pretty. No question. The thing is, everything is pretty out here. I see mountains and trees and rivers every day. I'm always happy for a chance to get away from Redmond and nerd-life for a little while, but driving an hour to see a pretty area seems strange when I see beauty all around me. Again, not a bad way to spend an afternoon, but as I write this, I'm sitting in my room, looking out my window, and seeing a far more beautiful sight:

The guy across the street took his Christmas lights down!


*I saw other Christmas lights on the drive to the lake.