Minor Signs of Spring

Our Japaneses Maple sheds it's thousands upon thousands of leaves each fall, almost as if expending the last of its energy in losing the green in favor of a brilliant red.

Here it is February and the Japanese Maple is starting to bloom once again.  I've come to realize it has been months since my gentle readers have had an update from yours truly, since the Japanese Maple sported fall leaves. Its been a long winter of joys, tragedies, holidays, hikes, rains, ...and of course work, work, work.

I wouldn't dream of trying to capture the incredible adventures, good and bad,  in the past four months but would be happy to relay the highlights...

Most of you are already aware of the tragedy in the Lewis family.  Last December, my niece Karissa was in a fatal accident.  Many of you sent your condolences and if I have not had an opportunity to say so, your kind words and thoughts during that difficult time were particularly comforting.  The funeral was a testament to a beautiful life cut way too short by this horrible accident.  I toyed with the idea of posting the eulogy and will consider doing so at a later time, when the hurt and frustration over losing such a young woman have subsided.

The one great thing to come out of this tragedy was my opportunity to reconnect with my nephew Matthew and meet his lovely partner, Julie.  They have recently had a baby and it was great to see Matthew with a strong young woman with a great sense of humor.

My grand nephew, both of us of course are terrified of each other...

After the whirlwind trip to North Carolina and the funeral, the holidays were just a blur.  I was really having a hard time finding the Merry in my Christmas...one bright spot was flying off to Seattle just after Christmas for a few days of touring.

Seattle was definitely colder than Oakland at this time of year...but the frigid temperatures didn't seem to dampen our spirits as Rusty, Yosiell and I traipsed all over this beautiful bayside city.

For a couple of very cold days, the gray parted and we had incredibly sunny skies.  We took the ferry for a trip on the bay and some spectacular views. 

Long distance view of the Space Needle.  We didn't go to the top of the space needle as the line was very long.  We opted instead to go to the top of the Smith building.  Also incredible views, with a ticket price of about half the cost and no line!

We 'got our grunge on' at the EMP (Experience Music Project)  featuring a special Nirvana/grunge music retrospective.   We also saw a really cool Jimi Hendrix display.   

On the bottom floor of the EMP, an exhibit of Sci-Fi and horror film memorabilia.  This stake?  Buffy the Vampire Slayer of course.   

We also experienced a wonderful tour of the Seattle Zoo through the largess of our great guide, Hugh. 

Almost a little too close for comfort.   Awesome and up close view,  thanks to Hugh. 

On a particularly rainy day, we took a tour of the Seattle underground.   An excellent tour , wonderful stories about the history of Seattle, filled with colorful characters and seedy beginnings.  

A blissful ferry ride out to an island for lunch.  Seattle proper in the background.  

Pike's Market...charming but pretty touristy.  

We returned from Seattle in time to spend a relaxing evening with our friends Matt and Ryan for New Year's eve.  Appetizers and a little bubbly washed the road weariness away.  Unfortunately, 2012 wanted to throw one more bit of annoyance at us, in the form of our transmission failing us on our way back from the festivities.  Trying to get a cab or tow truck on New Year's proved to be almost impossible.  Eventually, 3AM, we made our way to our warm little home on Ardley Avenue.

Because of the many hard times and stresses, 2012 will not be missed by me...my only resolution for 2013 is to strengthen my relationship with those nearest and dearest to me.  My expectations are pretty damn low for anything else in 2013.  My time and energy are going to those that choose to lift up my spirits not those that dwell in the negative, or chose to criticize and tear down.  I'm also resolving to spend more of my weekends in the grand out of doors.  I'm off to a great start on both of these.  Be forewarned, I'll be spreading the love when and where I can.

To honor my resolution, I joined a couple of gay hiking groups.  The hikes are well thought out and are considered to be moderate level...and truthfully my first hike of the year was challenging.

The hike was a seven mile trek from Mt. Tam to Stinson Beach.  The hike down must have been the moderate part, but the last 90 minutes went up something called Steep Ravine, I renamed it Steep @#$#*%! Ravine.  Of course it took a couple of hours for the heavy breathing and wheezing to stop so I could say anything.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Nice view from the ravine...

Steep Ravine, the return trip from hell!

And finally the hike has ended.  Rusty fended fairly well and even admitted that he might consider another hike soon but maybe not too soon.  We rewarded ourselves by not moving an inch off the couch except to answer the door for the pizza delivery guy.    

The next hike, Pinnacles National Monument.  I'm afraid this hike has ruined me for all other hikes.  Beautiful, amazing, incredible.  Pinnacles is a condor release site but we didn't see any of the approximately sixty birds.  We did see incredible rock formations, a lake, a few caves, and some of the prettiest vistas I've ever seen.

This entire area is an old volcano.  The other half of the volcano has moved south all the way to somewhere near San Bernadino.

Yosiell in the 'regal' pose.  This type of moxi wasn't as evident after the hike.   We were all exhausted.  

A serene respite for weary hikers.  No swimming though, lots of  leeches.  

One of a few caves...some were actually pitch dark.  

Pretty as a picture. 

The whole group.  Almost forty people made this hike.  A very friendly group. 

What a grand view.  

Yes, that is me at the top of that big old rock.  A little extra climb but I did it because it was there!  I've got to admit that my legs were a bit shaky after this one.  

After Pinnacles we spent a little less time recovering.  I'm hoping by the end of this year, the term moderate doesn't fill me with quite as much dread.  

Just one more hike to share.  Mt. Diablo, fairly local, and again moderate difficulty.  

Looking over the East Bay from trail on the ridge.  

Yes, that's me on Eagle Peak with my new Valentine's Day present, a hickory walking stick.  Old school baby! 

A panoramic photo of Yosiell and Rusty on the left, and... Rusty and Yosiell on right...what kind of trickery is this?  Just a little phone app fun!  

So friends, life continues out here on the left coast.  I'm planning on hitting the trails a few more times in the next couple of weekends.  I'd also like to dust off the camping gear and spend some quality time feasting on food from a campfire and gazing at some stars.  This year, I've been working lots of hours and keeping to my resolutions can be difficult.  But I'm committed to it.  I recommend to everyone that you spend a few minutes in the great big wide open, it's doing wonders for my disposition.