Busy Weekend

Tom and I took last Friday off - it feels like it has been a while since we were both able to get away with that despite the fact it is built into our work schedules. It is a little tougher for me usually because I am one of only a few people in my office on the 9-80 schedule which means that people often expect me to be there. And Tom is getting into a really crazy time at his job - he may have to start working on Saturdays some in the coming weeks as well.

At any rate, we certainly made the most of our long weekend. We loaded up Tom's Subaru with a grill, tent, pillows, and a dog, and headed down the coast for big sur. Since it was kind of an impromptu trip, we didn't spend a lot of time thinking about our packing list and ended up without some important-ish items such as headlamps, sandals, or shorts. On the way, we stopped at Nepenthe for a drink. Nepenthe is a pretty funky little restaurant with a fabulous view, that apparantly originated as a "mecca for poets, artists, travelers and vagabonds". We sat outside and watched the sunset next to a nice outdoor firepit.

Next stop was Kirk Creek Campground, which we've stayed at once before a couple of years ago. We talked with the groundskeeper last time we were there, and he proudly bragged that it had one of the "top ten rated individual campsites in the country". I can't imagine who goes around rating INDIVIDUAL campsites, but regardless, it certainly is spectacular. It is on a bluff right above the ocean, so every campsite has a fabulous view and the sound of crashing waves all night long. They allow dogs, too, and in fact it seemed like there was one at almost every site around us. Banjo did great - he particularly enjoyed having a healthy portion of our steak dinner and getting to sleep with us in the tent.

In the morning we trooped down to the beach below the bluff for some rock hopping and general enjoying-of-the-ocean. Banjo overcame his intial fear of crashing waves when he discovered that seaweed tastes DELICIOUS and he spent the rest of the walk sprinting from one stinky pile to the next.

After breakfast, we headed back north to Big Sur Station, which is a starting point for a number of hikes in the Ventana Wilderness. We set off for a hike with no particular destination - just enjoyed the redwoods, earthy trail, and views of big sur and the ocean. With a bit of trepidation, we let the little bugger off his leash - he had been so good on our snowshoe hike a couple of weeks ago that we figured it would be worth a shot. Of course, as soon as we let him off, he sprinted off as fast as his little legs could take him about 200 feet down the trail..... at which point he abruptly stopped and waited for us to catch up, much to our relief. So we did the rest of the hike with him off-leash - stopping to smell whatever he wanted, but always making sure to keep us within eyesight. Whenever Tom and I would get separated by a little distance, he would sprint back and forth between us - just stopping long enough to get a quick pet before tearing off to find whoever was missing. Maybe he has some sort of herding dog mixed in with his border terrier. Anyway, we were so proud of how well he stayed with us and how well he listened to our commands - he is going to be a great little hiking buddy for us.

We headed home Saturday night with only one stop for ice cream. Relaxed most of the day Sunday (I had my first rec soccer game) and started getting excited about our upcoming fantasy baseball season. Speaking of baseball, the A's are on TV for the first time this year, so I'm outta here...