My new hiking boots

I decided that I'll work in chronological order, to publish all the things I've been accumulating this past week.

Ever since I bought my new hiking boots (squeee!) I've been raring to go on a hike and start breaking them in, and three weeks later, the opportunity finally presented itself. My schedule and the boyfriend's never seemed to match up, and I generally prefer to go with someone. And very few people I know seem to be as über-excited about hiking as me, or the boyfriend. Also, life is full of stuff to do, so hiking was tossed onto the back-burner for a little while.

But last Sunday, we finally got our hike on. And it was marvelous. The weather cooperated, it was cloudy but no pouring of rain happened, and partway through the day the sun came out. Temperature was perfect as well - just right for a vigorous walk. We might have over-done it, just slightly, as we set out around 1 and got back after 7. . . And boy my legs and feet were tired. Not sore though - those boots I chose were a pretty smart investment. I have to get used to how rigid the sole is, and after 4 hours or so, I started to notice a little bit of chaffing on my left ankle. But how many shoes can you say that about? I think these will work out pretty darn well.

Now, photos!!!

I love how my city has these hidden pocket of semi-wilderness. During the hike, every so often I completely forgot that I was in the middle of a really big city, full of lots and lots of people. We might not have easy access to purple mountain majesty or wild and untamed forest, but a 10 minute walk from the boyfriend's apartment and we were urban hiking. I have no excuses for the quality of the river - there are many beautiful waterways on this continent, and this is not one of them. Though it is apparently a whole lot cleaner than 100 years ago, so that's some progress. I guess :(

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And now that that's done (I really hate the brute force photo uploader you have, Blogger. . . No customization options?? Lame), I'm going to go to sleep - it's been a loooong day, and I never had that nap I wanted.

But now there are four more blog posts soon to be coming your way, with a third completely new baking project coming up this lovely long weekend. Another new recipe from Smitten Kitchen, of course. Awesome!!

Stay beautiful, Mother Nature, and I hope you're having a wonderful long weekend, Dear Internet.