Mom’s visit is very enjoyable. Last night we treated her to the wonderful experience of dining outdoors in December, something she definitely doesn’t get to do very often in Syracuse.
Chris is back east visiting friends for a long weekend, but the rest of us went to a local restaurant and had a very enjoyable meal together.
I had a great hike down the Lemmon Rock Lookout Trail to the Wilderness of Rocks trail yesterday. My starting point was the highest parking area on Mount Lemmon. I tried a few different video recording techniques with my iPhone 16 Pro in this video, and I talked about some new accessories I have built for my adventures.
I felt really off center at the end of the work week, especially Thursday night and all of Friday. I had been paying closer attention to politics than usual during this election season, especially around the response to the debate on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, I also got sucked back into my Twitter account and I was really being pulled down by much of the rhetoric on there. After re-activating my Twitter account to defend Gus Walz after the convention, I went and re-deleted it yesterday morning. Any views of my YouTube channel that I garner from Twitter would probably be from bots, so I decided I don’t need that exposure.
All of this consumed turmoil was bubbling around in my head and quite frankly made me feel very burned out by Friday night. For many, it’d be just a matter of “just ignoring it”, but my brain doesn’t quite work that way. The chaos had fallen into the over processing department.
So, I decided that my hike on Saturday would focus on seeing and enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature in these parts. I brought along my camera without any real script or plan. I wasn’t going to spin the video into tips for a great hike or talk about what equipment works best for me out there. If I shot some video, it’d be just what I was seeing. I wanted to share what I hoped would be a positive experience with anyone that wanted to see it.
The hike was amazing. I feel much, much better as I write this on Sunday morning. It was a good workout, both mentally and physically. I’m feeling good.
I hope you enjoy seeing what I’m sharing here in this video.
Football season has begun. Earl wanted to see the Eagles game in a fun environment, so we made our way across Tucson to Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers in Oro Valley.
This restaurant is a chain throughout Arizona, with a location coming soon to somewhere in Texas, which is an odd twist.
This was our second visit to one of these restaurants, our first being in the Phoenix area in July. The Eagles won, we had a great time, and our server was awesome. There were many patrons stationed at their tables for the entire game, which seemed weird to me at first but when I saw others doing it I was good to go.
Go Eagles!
I went for a 9+ mile hike in the April sun in the desert today. I hiked some of my usual stomping grounds in Saguaro National Park East. Here’s a video recap.
I mentioned that on Tuesday I flew home from a visit with our friends Jeff and Mark in North Carolina. I was delighted to see on check in that I was upgraded to First Class on the second leg of the trip; IAH Houston to TUS Tucson on a Boeing 737-900. We shall disregard the gate agent who said my luggage was going to Tulsa. It didn’t.
It’s no secret that I enjoy flying First Class, even in the very first row in seat 1A with no storage in front of me, sitting next to an old broad who flipped on Fox News as soon as possible and would gasp every once in a while during her viewing experience with something called Gutfeld courtesy of DirecTV. I was thankful for her complimentary ear buds.
I opted for the chicken dish and a glass of sparkling wine for my dinner selection.
The mashed potatoes were bordering on soup, and the presentation was a little dicey, but as we bounced around the sky I ate my First Class meal and I was grateful for perks such as this.
You’re never in a place where you shouldn’t be grateful.
The old broad watching something called Gutfeld screamed COBB SALAD without taking out her ear buds when the flight attendant was taking our dinner requests. She also had some sparkling water.
Perhaps she needed a glass of sparkling wine to go with her ear buds.
While we were meandering on back roads on Saturday, we spotted the vintage Union Pacific passenger train near Picacho Peak. As we made our way along the Frontage Road aside Interstate 10, Earl snapped a few photos.
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post that I hiked up to Bridal Wreath Falls in Saguaro National Park here in Tucson. I’d been up there a few times before; this was the first time I’d seen so much water coming over the falls.
We have some storms in the forecast this coming week. I’m hoping to see even more water over the falls if I hike up there this coming weekend.
While Earl made his daily trip to the gym, I went hiking in Saguaro National Park east. I got started just before sunrise. I’d been on the majority of the trails I traversed today but the solo hike is just what I needed and as I write this I feel fantastic.
Feeling fantastic is good. I’m already planning my next hike for Saturday.
Our time is finite. Get out there and enjoy as much as you can before you reach your expiration date.
It’s been a relaxing day and a relaxing vacation at Walt Disney World. Tomorrow we head home. Tonight we take the water taxi to the Port Orleans Riverside resort for dinner.
I snapped a couple of photos of our resort along the way.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!