Fragile, handle with care!

First hike of the year! We got caught in the snow, but it was still a good time.

I went out swing dancing last night! It's the first time I've been dancing in years, and it was a lot more fun than I expected.

I was an absolute beginner compared to the other couples dancing, but I had a good teacher and got to twirl around a lot. Between that and the live jazz band, can't ask for more.

My dog turns 10 years old today! I think of him as an old man, and now he's finally reaching the double digits.

I had a short getaway trip to Staten Island this weekend! One of my boyfriend's close friends needed a catsitter, so we graciously accepted the responsibility and lived in his lighthouse for two days.

Awesome. I'd be lying if I said that our mini-vacation wasn't 90% comprised of pancakes.

First outdoor run of 2015!

It's 50 degree out, but doesn't look it - Today was completely overcast, the reservoir was still iced over, and there was snow everywhere. Still, that's what made it the perfect running day.

I bought new glasses!

They're cheap frames from Zenni, but hey - I've worn the exact same style for over a decade, it's fun to try out something new.

My boyfriend and his friends are aiming to join the 3500 Club (The Thirty-Five Hundred Club, a group of hikers who have climbed all of the 35 Catskill peaks that are above 3500 feet in elevation). I finally had a Sunday off and it wasn't bitter cold out, so I joined them in hiking West Kill Mtn!







Awesome, tough day. There's still about three feet of hardpacked snow covering the trail, so there were some really difficult parts. In one section, the first guy had to kick some footholds into the ice so that the rest of us could climb it like a ladder with our hands and feet, then get pulled the rest of the way. And on the way down, we just sat on our butts and slid.

It's finally starting to get warm and the ice is cracking! The wind was still pretty cold, but I got to take a long walk around the reservoir this weekend. Three cheers for spring coming around the corner?

Spent a pretty wonderful Saturday going on a nature walk to look at salamanders and frogs, then taking ~4 hours to play through Twilight Struggle, and eating some Peeps s’mores! Not a half bad way to spend my weekend.

So my boyfriend is an environmentalist who works closely with a lot of the local conservation groups. Because of this, he had the opportunity to sail with the Clearwater last week! He lived on the sloop with about a dozen other people and sailed up the Hudson while caring for the boat. This was extra cool because I got invited to visit him and eat dinner on the boat one night:

My brother graduated this weekend! Not only did I get to celebrate with him, but it gave me the chance to travel around the Adirondacks for a few days.

Can't believe I forgot to post this! My grandma turned 93 on April 29th. Isn't she lovely?

I got the chance to visit Mohonk at a discounted price this weekend, so my boyfriend and I spent about 6 hours exploring the preserve! So much hiking!! We climbed to the highest point of the cliffs (and I even climbed to the top of the Skytop Observation Tower), walked around the lake at least twice, followed the trails both on top of and below the cliffs, and did a good amount of rock scrambling. It was such a good day, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!

The boyfriend and I did another mountain hike yesterday! We climbed to the peak of Overlook Mountain, came back down for a nice dinner with friends, then went to a small concert at our favorite bar. All in all, it was a good day.

Climbed two more peaks! This was my first bushwhack, so I'm proud of myself for continuing the entire way. North Dome and Sherrill were well worth the effort! And it only took us 6.5 hours to go 7 miles.

I went to the Clearwater Festival this week! Lots of folk music and odes to Pete Seeger, lots of hippies, and lots of rain. I'm lucky that it was so fun, otherwise that would not have bee worth getting soaked all day long for!

I turned 27 yesterday! And for the first time in years, I managed to have a decent birthday party - A bunch of us got together for drinks and cupcakes at a local park, and all my friends finally got to meet each other. It was a really nice day, if low-key.

So much has happened, with no time leftover to talk about it!

- I'm now teaching summer school, so I've got my own classroom

- Hiked up Hunter Mountain and knocked another one off my 3500 peak list



- Hung around Lake Minnewska for a while and enjoyed my first swim of the summer!

- Climbed Panther Mountain and went swimming again! Finally! It's been so hot, I'm amazed whenever I can find the time to actually get in the water



- Climbed Wittenberg Mountain, and the view was well worth it

I survived my first year of teaching summer school! And I didn't cry once, despite the frequent 14 hour workdays.
This was a great experience - I got control of my own classroom, got to flex those management skills of mine, and got the chance to network a bit. I couldn't be happier with how this turned out!

And I climbed two more peaks last week: Vly and Bearpen

Summer Hoot!

The Hoot is a weekend-long festival that's filled with lawn concerts, bluegrass, bonfires, dancing, and beer. I went to the Winter one this year and was finally able to get to the Summer Hoot too! There's no better way to enjoy Ashokan.

Knerd bought a car!

Last month, I got out of work to see that someone had completely smashed in the front passenger side of my old '94 Plymouth Acclaim. It took weeks of talking to insurance agents, getting my car evaluated, test driving junk, waiting for the reimbursement check to mail, going back and forth to the DMV, and negotiating with car salesman before it all finally worked out.

I've finally got a car that *feels* new to me, even if it's a 2009. This is the first time I've ever had power windows and locks!

I've been trying to find the time to accompany my boyfriend on a survey as his "volunteer," and I finally had the chance this week. We had a grand ol' time measuring the diameter of hemlock trees, counting foliage and looking for infestations. He got paid for this work, I did it out of the goodness of my heart.

Swimming Hoooooooole!