Go West, Young Man

Here I am on a beautiful Friday morning in Illinois. I am filled with anticipation as I work away in the office all day. Because at 2:30 this afternoon, Joy is picking me up and we're heading off to the airport. I shall arrive in Seattle, Washington around 10pm and then the adventures will begin.

You see, Blom is out there for the summer doing his law internship. And I happened to have a free ticket with Southwest that was set to expire on July 15. I couldn't let it go to waste, and so I'm heading out to Washington and Oregon to spend some time with him over the big 4th 'O July weekend. We have set some high goals and expectations for ourselves, wanting to become the adventurous and rugged men we talk about. Here's the run-down:

FRIDAY NIGHT:
I will get in around 10 and then we'll head straight south and find our way to a campsite near Mt. Hood, about an hour east of Portland, Oregon. We will set up my never-been-used-except-for-in-the-guest-bedroom North Face tent and try to get some sleep.

SATURDAY:
We'll be up bright and early to go and rent some skis. Then we're going to go up to Timberline on Mt. Hood to do some skiing in July. Now, if you are a close blog follower, you will recall that my first experience skiing was last year in Colorado, and it quickly became just about my favorite thing in the world. So I'm excited to get on some slopes again and hopefully won't have to start all over. We'll finish up in the afternoon and then drive a couple more hours south. We'll set up camp near the Three Sisters, three mountains that are part of the Cascade Range.

SUNDAY:
Once again, we'll be up early. This is our long day of hiking, for indeed, we are planning to climb the South Sister, which is the tallest at 10,300 feet. And hopefully, my dear buddy Taylor Skiles will be joining us for the climb (someone has to carry me back down). Taylor went with me to Nepal in 2003. We'll be exhausted when we get to the top, but who knows, maybe we'll throw some snowballs as we look out over Oregon. Then it's back down. Our bodies will have nothing left to give, but they won't have much time to recoup. After we get a little rest and some dinner, Blom and I will drive west towards the coast. We'll camp on the beach and think about the two days that have already gone by and the two that are still to come.

MONDAY:
Blom and I are both gonna try something we've never tried before, and I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous. We're gonna try to surf. Whenever I think about the cool-people sports of the world, I think of surfing and lacrosse. Whenever I think about people being swept out to sea, I think of surfing. I am neither cool nor sea-literate, but I'm going to do my best. And I can't decide if I want Blom to be better or worse than me. I'd like him to be worse so I don't feel like such an idiot trying to doggie-paddle while he rides the big waves, but I figure if he's worse, then goodness, he must be pretty bad, and I sure don't want him to get swept out to sea either. Monday night will be relaxing and going out to dinner with my good friend Dawnette, who I also know from my summer in Nepal. After a dinner of great company and conversation, Blom and I will load ourselves back into the car and drive up to Washington, where we'll spend the night at his place, and where, it is rumored, there is a hot tub. My muscles will be crying out.

TUESDAY:
We'll sleep in a little later on the 4th and then borrow Blom's roommates two kayaks. Then we'll have a relaxing few hours working our way around Puget Sound. After that, all the phsysical activities will come to a close. We will then relax, have a nice dinner, and watch some fireworks by the coast. I will fly home Wednesday with memories for a lifetime and aching muscles for probably just as long.

I think it's just about the best itinerary I've ever seen. It certainly is different from the itinerary I had for my trip to NYC six years ago with Blom and Drew and wanted to fit in as many Broadway shows as possible. Oh how things change. This weekend, I'm not actually sure if we'll be able to do all this stuff, but we're gonna try and hopefully weather will be wonderfully cooperative. Regardless, there are few things better (is there anything better?!) than good company and some time in some marvelous nature. You can be sure to expect an update. That is, of course, assuming that I don't get swept away to sea.