#7 - Read 36 Books (Fail)

Well, I know there's still time left, so this list might get slightly longer, but there's no way I'm reading 24 more books in the next 2 weeks, so here it is. (To be fair, I should probably get credit for at least 20 books for making it through War and Peace.)

I mean, dang, I took on some serious stuff this year. Maybe a little lighter next year!

1 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
1/5/18

*2 - The Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
1/7/18, gifted to me by Rebeca Matus

*3 - The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien
I'm not sure

4 - The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
4/14/18, gifted to me by Kevin Robitaille

5 - Little Fires Everywhere
4/29/18 (audiobook)

6 - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
5/30/18 (audiobook)

7 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
6/9/18, recommended by Maureen McGonagle and read with me by Alicia De La Pena

8 - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6/9/18

***9 - Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
7/1/18, gifted to me by Casey Jordan

10 - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7/28/18, given to me at the DePaul Campus Rec Elf Ceremony

11 - Babbit by Sinclair Lewis
10/30/18

*12 - Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
12/9/18, read for the second time

*Recommend

#36 - Read 35 Books

Last year, I read 30 books, but when I put them in a list and then took a photo, I was disappointed with the content.  It was mostly school-related reading and shallow books.  Apparently the depth I was thinking for class made me crave no depth in my free time.  However, I decided that wasn't acceptable to my inner literary snob, so I vowed to read at least 3 books from the Modern Library top 100 for the 20th century list, and to beef up my reading list in general.  I am pretty pleased with my choices this year.  Below are the books I finished and a favorite quote, or, when lacking reading notes, the first line of the book.

1 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
1/17/15 (for the third time)
"That's when I make a list in my head of very act of goodness I've seen someone do."  (p. 390)

*2 - When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
1/18/15
"Not 'my nephew Keith' or 'Keith, who works at the filling station and is wanted in five states,' but 'just Keith,' as if we had read a book about her life and were expected to remember all the characters."  (p. 23)

3 - A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
1/18/15, loaned to me by Kevin Robitaille
"'Dragons,' said Mollander." (p. 1)

*4 - The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
3/9/15
"But I was not reassured.  I remembered the fox.  One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed." (Chapter 25)

5 - The North Pole Penguin by Christopher Payne
3/20/15, borrowed from and written by Chris Zann

6 - The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll
4/5/15
"All the trouble, of course, began with Velazquez,"  (p. 3)

*7 - The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
4/5/15 (for the second time), gifted to me by Kevin Robitaille
"'...And that's where the power of love comes in.  Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.'"  (p. 178)

8 - A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
4/11/15, loaned to me by Kevin Robitaille
"The night was rank with the smell of man."  (p. 3)

*9 - A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
5/16/15
"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head."  (p. 1)

*10 - The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
5/27/15
"Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring the out like the rain." (p. 80)

*11 - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
6/23/15 (for the umpteenth time)
"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.  That doesn't happen much, though." (p. 18)

*12 - The Satanic Verses  by Salman Rushdie
7/1/15 (for the 2nd time), "borrowed" from Jerry & Kathy Krone
"He saw the tree explode into a thousand fragments, and the trunk crack, like a heart..." (p. 506)

13 - The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Sugrue
7/8/15, gifted to me by Jerry Krone
"The story I tell is one of a city transformed." (p, 3)

*14 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
7/18/15, loaned to me by Casey (Jordan) Krone
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." (p. 39)

15 - Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
7/23/15, gifted to me by Kathy Krone
"Why is there a glop of macaroni salad next to the Japanese chicken in my plate lunch?" (p, 1)

16 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
8/11/15
"And what is good, Phaedrus,
And what is not good --
Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?" (p.1)

*17 - The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
8/15/15
"How long could we remain true to the girls?  How long could we keep their memory pure?" (p. 182)

*18 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
8/31/15
"But then finally we had to go inside and almost the instant we did the spell was broken, and in the brightness of the hallway we were embarrassed and stiff with each other, almost as if the house lights had been turned up at the end of a play, and all our closeness exposed for what it was: make-believe." (p, 619)

*19 - You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh
9/1/15
"Breathing in, I know I am breathing in." (p. vii)

20 - Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework by Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn
9/14/15, recommended by Dr. George Reed
"The implication in education is that we are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, to use technologies that have not been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." (p. 9)

21 - Snuff by Chuck Palaniuk
9/24/15
"One dude stood all afternoon at the buffet just his boxers, licking the orange dust off barbecued potato chips." (p. 1)

22 - My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
9/4/15, book chosen by the book club that Sarah Arn invited me to
"I don't want to be a tree, I want to be its meaning." (p. 51)

*23 - Yes Please by Amy Poehler
10/19/15
"She has lived a life of struggle and decided not to pick up the armor.  She teaches me about compassion.  She makes her journey about open hearts.  She is not ashamed. / Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou." (p. 79)

*24 - Euphoria by Lily King
11/6/15, book chosen by the book club that Sarah Arn invited me to
"'...The truth you find will always be replaced by someone else's.  Someday even Darwin will look like a quaint Ptolemy who saw what he could see but no more.'" (p. 51)

25 - Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook
11/29/15, book sent to me by Jerry & Kathy Krone for our trip
"The Big Island has it all." (p. 9)

*26 - Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
12/14/15
"He felt the weights of things, of his body, his emotions, his hopes."  (p. 159)

27 - The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep by Carl Johan Forssen Ehrlin
12/21/15, borrowed from Evelyn Sommariva

28 - All By Myself by Mercer Mayer
12/21/15 (for the second time), read to me and her son by Evelyn Sommariva
"I can get out of bed all by myself."

29 - Excuse Me by Karen Katz
12/21/15 (for the second time), read to me and her son by Evelyn Sommariva
"Mommy says, 'Do you want peas for breakfast?'"

30 - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
12/26/15
"'...Within him there is a secret something that is striving to grow.  It is the thing I let be killed in myself.'" (p. 30)

31 - Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay
12/27/15
"When you can't find someone to follow, you have to find a way to lead by example."

32 - Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
12/27/15
"I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story." (p. 1)

*33 - Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
12/28/15
"When I reached C Company lines, which were at the top of the hill, I paused and looked back at the camp, just coming into full view below me through the grey mist of early morning." (p. 3)

34 - Blink by Malcom Gladwell
12/29/15, loaned to my by Jerry Krone
"But it had one overwhelming advantage: allowing people to operate without having to explain themselves constantly turns out to be like the rule of agreement in improv. It enables rapid cognition." (p. 119)

*35 - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
12/31/15 (for the second time), gifted to me by Jerry & Kathy Krone
"I relay it through printed words on crumpled newspring, words that they can read again and again, returning to the circus whenever they wish, regardless of time of day or physical location. Transporting them at will. / When put that way, it sounds rather like magic, doesn't it?" (p. 369)

*Some favorites.  Of the books I read for the first time, The Goldfinch was my favorite with Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Days being a close second.  A Catcher in the Rye and The Night Circus are already on my all-time favorite list, which is why I chose to read them again.

#46 - Surf at Least 12 Times

Way back in 2011, when I first started this list endeavor, I had as an item: "Surf... for More Than One Second."  I'm not sure what I accomplished on a board counted for more than one second, but it was real surfing on the ocean, so I counted it.  That was on a visit to San Diego.  Now that I live here, I own a surfboard and a wetsuit.  I have constant access to the ocean.  I enjoy surfing despite my lack of natural talent and skill.  Yet, I rarely went.  I wanted to change that.  So I added "Surf at Least 12 Times" to my list this year.

My list is partly about trying new things, but it's also about doing things I've always wanted to do... or at least have spent some time wanting to do.  I would love to be a surfer.  My next step is making actual time in my day for surfing and going regularly.  Writing this goal down on my list worked swimmingly.  (Yay puns!)

1 - Monday, June 28
I don't know how much time I have left in San Diego, so I decided to max out all of my San Diego activities.  I put a few on this list.  That wasn't good enough, so I put them on my to do lists.  That worked a bit, but I still wanted to do more, so I planned my workouts, at least for the summer.  Sunday: beach volleyball; Monday: surf; Tuesday: yoga; Wednesday: more beach volleyball (that's my sport); Thursday: swim; Friday: hike; Saturday: run.  Beach volleyball and yoga have been in the plan.  I started swimming last week.  This week I would start surfing and hiking once a week.  I got up on Monday, dragged my board, wetsuit, and towel to the car, and headed to Ocean Beach.  I suited up and headed into the water at dog beach.  I waded out at low tide.  My first wave, I just rode lying on my stomach to just enjoy the moment and remember just how fast a wave can take me.  I headed back out and just missed a few good ones.  Then I hit one and just couldn't get going.  When I slowed, I looked down and saw a huge thing under my board.  I inwardly panicked a bit, even though I was only 4 or so feet deep.  Then I realized the thing was white.  Then I realized it was part of my board.  Then I realized my board was busted, the whole front bottom of the fiberglass peeled back.  It had only been 10-15 minutes, so I half-heartedly tried to catch another wave, but there was so much drag there was no chance.  And I stepped on something squishy that swam away from under my foot.  So I went in.  I'm trying to think of a way to get a new board, but I'm so broke, that I'm not sure it will happen.  I'm so bummed that my board busted right after I acted on my weekly surfing plan.

2 - Monday, July 13
I was hanging out with my buddy Erin Gillespie on Friday night and told her the tragedy of my board.  She offered to let me use her extra board.  In fact, she said, I could just hold on to it for now because she only used it when taking a friend surfing, and they always had to at least rent a wetsuit anyways, so if I was going to use it...  So kind.  So Monday morning, I checked Surfline, picked up Erin's extra board, and headed to OB to continue my Monday morning surfing "routine."  I went for the dog beach again because of the proximity to the lifeguards.  I rode one wave to get the feel and then headed back out again.  On my way out, I stepped on something that moved from beneath my foot.  I convinced myself it was just sand.  I managed to kneel consistently and stand at the end of one wave.  But then I stepped on something else, and I swear it was squishy.  This time I convinced myself it was seaweed.  Then I stepped on something else that was squishy and, I swear, swam out from under my foot.  I told myself I was fine, there was no point in worrying about something that wasn't hurting me, but I decided to swim instead of walk out.  Which meant I only caught small, broken waves because I was too exhausted from all of that swimming.  I stayed out as long as I promised myself I would because I decided, in that moment, that I didn't want to be afraid of surfing, especially when the scariest thing so far had been squishy things, which were probably not stingrays because it's dog beach, and it would be stupid to have a dog beach in a spot with that many stingrays that I stepped on 3 in 30 minutes.... 3 that didn't sting me.  However, I think I'm going to try the pier side of OB next week, just to shake that squishy fear.

3 - Monday, July 27
I missed a week due to rain.  We don't surf here in San Diego after a rainstorm due to water pollution and risk of infection.  I got back out there the week after though.  This time I went to the pier in Ocean Beach, which is where I took my swim lesson.  There are plusses and minuses to this location.  I like the waves better, but there's a strong undertow, so it can be exhausting to walk in the shallows.  There are also a ton of surf lessons going on, especially with kids, so I feel safer, but there are also way more people to avoid, people like me who don't know what they're doing.  I managed to stand once, but I didn't have a ton of time, so I didn't get my flow going.

4 - Monday, August 3
Back to the dog beach this week to overcome my fear of the squishy things.  I have decided it's just sand moving beneath my feet with the tide and the undertow.  I was a little braver this week but the waves were small.  I can consistently catch a wave and kneel but by the time I get my feet under me, the wave has petered out, and I just hop off.

5 - Friday, August 14
Today I had my surfing buddy Tara Edberg back.  We went to the OB pier, where it was crowded, but the waves were decent.  I found myself catching faster, deeper waves, probably because I was a bit braver with a buddy to distract me.  I need to get just a bit braver and faster because even though I was deeper and had longer to ride the wave, I was so concerned with balancing before standing that I still wasn't standing until the wave was dying out.  Next goal: stand up quick when I catch a good one and just fall if I fall.

6 - Friday, August 21
I tried out a new spot today: South Mission Beach.  It's more a spot for beach volleyballers than surfers, but since it has a huge parking lot, and I was going in the evening, I thought I'd try it out.  The waves were tiny but somehow I got up consistently and had the longest rides I'd ever had.

7 - Thursday, August 27
I met Kai & Tara in Mission Beach for a late afternoon surf.  The waves were rolling and tough to ride, but the dolphins playing all around us more than made up for the bad surfing.  It was a beautiful afternoon, and Kai & I stayed until sunset, chatting and having photo shoots.  She even made a collage of all the sweet shots of the day.

8 - Thursday, September 2

Waves weren't great today.  I floated around and got up a couple times, but dog beach was a choppy mess.

9 - Friday, September 18

Things started well at South Mission Beach, but then the ocean got ROUGH.  I tried to stay where I could still touch, but the undertows kept changing the depth of the sand, and the waves were coming from multiple directions and were at multiple heights, so every now and then I'd be walking in waist deep water, hit a deep spot where I couldn't touch, and, hanging onto my surfboard tightly, would brace for a 3-4 foot wave to come crashing down on me.  I still managed to get up a few times, but the waves were so scattered and there were so many swimmers now that summer is over and there aren't as many surfing-only-area regulations, so I had a rough go today.  Still, any day getting beat up by the ocean is a good day.

10 - Thursday, October 1

Today was my best day of surfing yet.  I stood up at least 10 times.  I probably would have fit in more rides but there was a line of even-more-beginner surfers just a bit shallower than me, who, I swear, were doing their best to block me from any waves.  It felt like every time a good wave would come, I'd check to see if there was anyone in my way, and there were like 4 people in my way, with boards parallel to the shore, like a defensive line.  I immediately felt guilty for every surfer I've blocked because, dang, it's so hard to get out of the way when you don't know how.

Then, sadly, I had to return the board I've been using because it's owner moved back to the coast and wants to use it.  I've grown to love my weekly surfing excursions, and I still have 2 more rides to complete this item, so I hope I can figure something out!

11 - Thursday, October 8

It hasn't even been a week, and 2 nights ago, after finding nothing on Craig's List, I was on Yelp, searching for surf shops that had high ratings and mentions of used boards.  I found quite a few.  But then yesterday, I was in Linda Vista for a meeting at USD with my dissertation chair, so I stopped in Bird's Surf Shed.

The owner's son, Jackson, listened to my experience and heard that I was looking for something a step up from a foam board but still inexpensive.  He showed me a few boards but told me that a Torq would be a good next step for me.  They were in the $400 range, which is very reasonable for a surfboard; they increase in price with size, and the bigger the board, the easier it is.  The foam board I'd be using was an 8'.  He then showed me a 6'10" "used" Torq that was only $350 and didn't look used at all.  I told him I'd picked up some extra shifts at work, and I'd mull it over.  Before I left, he brought me to the back, pulled up a beat-up, foam-top, 6'6" Torq.  He told me it was a demo board and that I could take it out to see how I liked the style.  Like, could just try it before buying anything.  AWESOME.

I took it out today (the next day) and had a blast.  I only got up once, but after 30 or so minutes, I was getting the feel of it.  I kept riding too far back because I was used to seeing a lot more board in front of me, but I knew that's what I was doing and was adjusting well.

I lied in the sun for a bit then went back to Bird's.  Jackson chatted with me a little longer, and then, on request, left me along in the aisle to think.  I mulled over a few options, but my choice eventually came down to 1) working a lot of extra shifts at my 2nd and 3rd jobs and coming back to buy a new board over 7' or 2) buying the 6'10" used board for $150 less.  I decided the used board would be a smarter grad-student decision, though buying a board at all was a stupid grad-student decision.

As Jackson took me to check out, someone told him to check on the status of the board, and I was nervous for a hot second that the board had already been sold.  It turns out someone had called about it 10 minutes prior to come look at it.  But, since I was there ready to buy, the board was mine.  One of the staff put on the fins and polished it up for me while Jackson helped me pick a leash, got me some wax and a t-shirt, and rung me up.

I have a new board.

12 - Sunday, October 11

Friday and Saturday were so packed with work that I had to wait until today to take out my new board.  I drove down the coast after a Torrey Pines hike and lunch in Encinitas with camp friends.  I stopped at South Mission Beach because there's easy parking there, even on a weekend.

And we lived happily ever after

The waves were huge.  The board (nickname: Bae) was fantastic.  I had a great time.  It's definitely going to take some getting used to, but I was already getting up.  I stuck to the white water because the waves were around 5 feet, which is a bit above my experience, but with waves that big, I got some decent rides.

It's funny.  I wrote this list item to get myself to surf more often, and somehow this 12-installment story had some twists and turns and has a happy ending.

13 - Monday, October 12 (Epilogue)

I don't know that I'll update every time I get out to surf, but this is the first time I've ever done 2 days in a row.  I love my new board, and my arms are exhausted.

?? - Friday, November 21

I have surfed several times in between these posts (with a break because of my tattoo), but I wanted to give credit to my family for going to the "beach" I wanted to visit so I could attempt to surf in Hawaii.  The surfing itself didn't go so well.  The surf report only had 1-2 foot waves, but I figured I'd catch a few baby ones just to say I
 surf in Hawaii.  My dad rented me a board at a friendly shop near Kahalu'u Beach Park.  There, I learned that the bottom is incredibly rocky, full of coral, and swarming with creatures, not all friendly.  Getting to the break requires walking carefully (read: awkwardly stumbling over lava rock of deceptively varying heights) out until at least consistently waist-deep water so as not to damage the board on the rocks, then swimming a good 250 yards to the break against the waves.  I was instructed to belly flop whenever falling off in order to avoid the dangerous bottom.  Slightly different conditions than wading into the soft, beachy sands that I'm used to and taking breaks in waist deep water whenever I feel like it.  By the time I got out there, I was exhausted.  Then, the break was itty bitty.  Being a novice surfer, when the waves are small, I stay shallow and then jump into them to catch them around low tide when they're still semi-rideable.  250 yards out in who-knows-how-deep water, that strategy wasn't going to work.  The break was so tiny I just couldn't catch anything.  I was too tired to paddle fast enough to catch any break that wasn't right on me, which none of them were.  So I floated for a bit.

"Surfing" in Hawaii

The water was incredibly clear, so I could see a ton of brightly-colored fish under me in the rocks and coral, definitely a different scene from cloudy San Diego beach water.  The other surfers there seemed pretty experienced, but even they weren't catching much.  They were just messing around on foam boards, which may have been the only way to get up in those conditions.  They did give me a shaka and an "Aloha" as I paddled up and were friendly and fun, so even though I couldn't catch a wave, I enjoyed visiting the Hawaiian surfing community.  My brother had much better luck with snorkeling in the area, seeing a barracuda, a sea turtle, and several other creatures.  I would have taken a turn but by the time I got back in, I was nauseous from riding the swells and staring down or back.  It was still worth a try though!  Thanks for renting me a board, Dad, and to the rest of the Krones for coming with me!

#53 - Stand Up Paddle Board

Corry & me loving our jobs

I cannot believe it has taken me so long to try out this very pleasant outdoor activity.  While I do not have direct access to the necessary equipment, it is incredibly easy to rent in San Diego, I have a
friend who owns a board, and I've lived here three years.  Silly.

I finally had the opportunity shoved in my face when my job forced me to spend a Sunday afternoon on the bay, hanging with athletic college students, with free access to a variety of aquatic sport equipment.  That's right.  I had another opportunity to hang at the fantastic Mission Bay Aquatic Center (earlier this summer I took Advanced Sailing), and this time I was paid to do it.

Most of they day was filled with lectures, workshops, and round tables with the SDSU Sport Club presidents, but at the end of the day, the gang had two hours to play on or near the bay: grass volleyball, sailing, kayaking, and yes, stand up paddle boarding (also known as paddle boarding or SUP).

The water-loving students rushed out and grabbed all of the boards and stayed out on the water FOREVER.  I later learned they were doing fun studenty things like cramming everyone onto one board, lining the boards up and attempting to run across them, and mid-water trading equipment with the kayakers.  I love my job.

Killin' it

I played some grass volleyball with the remaining students, stupidly turned down a ride on the Hobie Cat, and impatiently watched the cluster in the middle of the bay, hoping they'd come back in time for me to take a ride.  (I kept my complaints to myself as much as possible because this event was for them, not me.  Playing on the bay is just a perk of my job.)

Once they came back, I took a board out and was surprised at how easy and pleasant paddle boarding is.  It felt like taking the most calming walk in a breathtakingly beautiful place.  I paddled into the bay, admired the beauty of Mission Bay and its shores, and paddled back.

I cannot wait to go again.





UPDATE


My next SUP session was in Hawaii!  One morning we headed over to the Marriott to take advantage of a deal one of the rental companies has: $35 for 4 hours of any of their water activities.  Chris, Casey, and my mom quickly formed the Snorkel Squad: "Snorkel Squad looks out for each other."  I told them Dad and I would be the SUP Squad.  I turned around and Dad was already heading to the boards.  "SUP Squad: Every man for himself."  We paddled.  It was pleasant.  The water was a little rougher than when I first paddled in San Diego Bay but still fun.  At one point a sea turtle swam right under me.  Casey soon joined the SUP Squad though the rental folks gave her a really skinny board, so she had a rougher transition.  I eventually tried her board out and quickly fell in.  It was a lovely morning.

A few days later, my buddy Nicole Green had arrived.  We tried to go SUPing on her second day there but the rentals were expensive and the weather was not cooperating.  We managed to squeeze in about an hour before she had to head to the airport the next day though.  The entry and exit were a little rough, but the paddling was nice.

If I were planning to stay in San Diego, I'd definitely be investing in a board.  It's just so dang pleasant.

#85 - Visit a New National Park

National Park #1: Los Padres National Forrest

I planned my west coast road trip for the beauty.  The area around Big Sur and Los Padres National Forrest is the most beautiful strip of road I have ever seen.

I was ready to rough it at the Pfeiffer State Park camp grounds.  Erin had lent me her tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and JetBoil stove.  I had packed plenty of hiking and camping food, my headlamp, and a few other wilderness necessities.  Most of the gear was completely unecessary.  I had a private camp site, surrounded by dozens of other campers.  Within a mile's walk was a lodge with a full restaurant and cafe.  I set up my tent, placed everything in a place I'd be able to find it in the dark, changed into my hiking boots, and set off for adventure.  

It turns out I should have planned out this adventuring a little better.  I could not figure out where I should go and which hikes would require the packful of snacks and gear I had prepared.  Within the park, I did a hour-ish hike to some waterfalls, which are more like water sprinkles thanks to the devastating drought we've been experiencing.  It was beautiful, and I seemed to be followed by this blue woodpecker-type bird that I convinced myself was a mockingjay despite it's lack of voice.

One of the reasons I wanted to stop at Big Sur was because of this fantastic waterfall I'd seen photos of.  However, I had completely neglected to look up the name of the falls or where they might be.  I just assumed they were so incredible that I'd be able to find the information easily once I arrived.  No one seemed to know what I was talking about.  I searched through books on Big Sur in the gift shop, and finally found that it was called McWay Falls.  I then saw that it was in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the entrance to which I had pulled into on my drive, thinking it was the Pfeiffer Campgrounds.  I debated going in the morning, when I knew I'd have plenty of time, but then decided to at least do part of the hike, see how far it was, and I could just turn around if the sun started to go down.

I parked, tightened my hiking boots, and set off down the trail... about 20-30 yards, and then emerged at the cliffs above the falls.  I seriously took about 5 minutes.  Although I didn't have to work hard for it, McWay falls may be the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life.  The marine layer was still hanging, so at first, my pictures were foggy and the view wasn't as spectacular.  But every few minutes, the fog would clear, and the colors of the scene were breathtaking.  A white stream of water fell from the rocky, treed area onto the sandy beach, where the light blue waves lapped at the sand, rolling steadily in from the deeper blue cove, surrounded by trees and rocks.

A little further down the cliff trail were the remains of an old house, information about the falls and the house, and another view of rocky cliffs rising out of the ocean in the fog.  The original owners built the house so that the bedroom window faced McWay falls.  When the Pfeiffer family bought the property, they eventually decided it was selfish to keep such beauty private, and opened the area to the public.  Eventually the state of California tore down the house and dedicated the state park to Julia Pfeiffer Burns.

The other interesting bit of information was that originally the falls fell directly into the ocean, but several years ago, down the coast from the area, a huge mudslide crumbled a cliff face into the ocean.  All of the sand then washed up in the cove and created the beach at McWay Falls.

Since the hike didn't take nearly as long as anticipated, I drove slowly back up the coast and stopped for a glass of wine and a snack at Nepenthe, a quirky, naturally fit resaturant at the top of one of the mountains.  The patio overlooks the coast and has incredible views.  I ordered some wine and asparagus (way fancier than I had planned for dinner that night) and enjoyed the view.  I realized it was almost a perfect scene, so asked the women beside me to watch my things and ran back down to my car to retrieve my second favorite book, Catcher in the Rye, from my car.  However, when I returned, instead of reading, I struck up a conversation with the 2 women, who were visiting from Tahoe and chatted with them throughout our breathtaking happy hour.

I finally made it back to camp and prepared the camping dinner I had brought because, well, because I brought it and had spent a good deal of time pumping myself to camp "alone."  It took me a little bit of time to figure out the JetBoil and to get it going.  I sipped some wine, built a campfire, which my pops taught me to do back in 2011, and waited for the water to boil.  The dried, packaged, camping pasta dish I'd bought was very simple to make and was fairly tasty.  I sat by the campfire and read before retiring to my tent and realizing I had forgotten to pack a pillow.  I had to settle for a towel rolled up in a stuff sack.  It wasn't the most comfy night's sleep, but I was well rested enough for the next day.

The JetBoil process did not go as smoothly in the morning.  I'm still not sure what I did wrong.  So I went and bought myself some tea in the lodge cafe and paired it with some summer sausage, cheese, and crackers for a nice, hikers' breakfast.  I packed up and then headed to the rangers' station to see if there were any other hikes I could do before driving to the bay area.  I checked my map, and it looked like there were 2 on the way north.

I stopped at the first one and did a little walk through some meadows and woods to a beautiful beach.  It was cold and windy, but it was quite lovely.  There were these little driftwood houses.  An 8 year old took my picture next to one.  On the way to the beach, a woman told us that she and her friends had picked up some ticks when they sat to take their shoes on and off when crossing the creek, so on the way back, I just waded through with my Nike Frees, changed into flip flops and headed north.

National Park #2: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Taking a trip to the Big Island wouldn't be complete without a trip to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.  Nicole and I took the scenic south island roads around to the park while the rest of the Krones took the Saddle Road to the volcano.  We must have traveled through 5-7 different climates and finally found ourselves on Kilauea Volcano, an active volcano and an eerie place.  At the visitor's center we learned that air conditions were poor and that seeing actual lava would be tough.  Nicole, my mom & dad, and I drove to the caldera overlook while Chris & Casey walked.

The caldera

Steam vents.  Weird.

It was incredibly foggy, so it was tough to see anything in the caldera.  Sometimes when the fog cleared, we could see steam vents in the caldera, but other than that, it was cooled lava, dirt, and some sparse vegetation.  Oh, and a couple nenes.

On the way back towards the visitor's center, we stopped to see the steam vents, which have clearly been consistent in recent history as there is a turn out, and there are railings around the large holes where steam continuously escapes.  The weirder part was that across the street there were 10-16 steam vents continuously belching steam into the air.

We had a picnic lunch where I realized I have clearly learned my Leave No Trace principles and my family made fun of me for about 15 minutes straight.  Then we drove through the rainforest area of the park to walk through the Thurston Lava Tube.  When lava flows, sometimes the outside cools, forming a solid tube that liquid lava continues to flow through.  This particular tube is large enough to walk through easily, as long as you watch your head for one low-hanging da kine.  (My dad has a scrape on the top of his head to prove that point.)  It was weirdly wet inside.

Since seeing any actual lava would have taken planning for some long hikes and possibly a night in the park, we headed out for waterfall viewing and dinner in Hilo.

Inside the Thurston Lava Tube 

#10 - Go to a New State

I started 2015 having been to 29 of our 50 US States plus DC and Puerto Rico.  I manged to hit 30, 31, and 32 between April and November.  Each new state had new adventures and old friends.  Stories below.

State #30: New Hampshire

I'd like to thank our country's founders and line drawers for the very small states of New England.  Once I was already out in Boston, hitting up a new state was no problem, especially since I was visiting my ultimate list competitor, Angela Mioglionico.  She's been hanging around second place for years, and this visit gave her the resolve to steal that coveted #1 spot that hasn't changed since the list started.

The easiest choice would have been Rhode Island, which would have been nice, because I am fond of Rhode Island.  My second favorite hockey player of all time is from Rhode Island.  (My favorite hockey player of all time is from Michigan.)  The problem with visiting nearby Rhode Island is that I know I like it because I've already been there.

So instead, we took about an hour's drive to New Hampshire.  We may have barely cross the border, but we did sit on the edges of a salt marsh and formed an opionion on the epic regional battle for supremecy between Brown's and Markey's, two little lobster shacks just across the border of Massachusetts and New Hampsire.  We shared a lobster roll, clam strips, and clam chowder.  They were delish.  Brown's clearly won the battle... mostly because Markey's isn't open yet for the season.  

We then drove a couple blocks to see the ocean.  It's strange how different one ocean can look from another.  It made me miss home.  Partly because it was cold and there was no way I was touching that water, even in a full wet suit.  

Then we drove the hour home, contemplating the logistics of salt marshes and the origins of cranberry bogs.

That's 31 (or 33) of the 50!  (I honestly cannot remember if I've ever been to Connecticut or West Virginia.  And I'm counting any state I've touched foot to ground.)

"Do most places not have lobster tanks like this?"
"No, Angela.  Most of the time I can't just touch the lobsters."
"Don't touch the lobsters."

State #31: Oregon

I scored yet another state this year!  My road trip and determination to visit Eugene, Oregon brought me to... Oregon.  I think I did Oregon.  I think I've always known I would.  Since this is an update post instead of it's own item, I'll save the details for my Eugene and road trip posts.  Here's a quick summary of the 2 nights and 1.5 days I spent in Oregon.

I left the bay area around 9:30am.  I was trying to leave after the majority of rush hour to get back to the 1, so I could drive up the coast until the sun set.  It turns out there's never a good time to leave the bay area, so it took me forever to get out of the area.  Plus, the GPS in my phone really doesn't understand the subtleties of northern California.  I actually looped around once because it assumed I'd know to take an immediate, unmarked, sharp left turn instead of the easy, obvious right curve across a bridge.  So that didn't help.  I had a map, but trying to navigate a map alone in a city with that many highways just wasn't going to work.

Eventually I made it to the coast and had another fantastically beautiful drive.  There weren't as many places to pull over for photos, and I decided that despite the incredible beauty, I'd just have to take mental pictures and focus on driving.  The windy road first took me along the coast for views of the deep blue ocean and rocky cliffs, but then it would jut inland and I'd be coasting around my favorite kind of roads: curvy, mountain roads surrounded by thick, thick forrest.  I'm used to driving the winding roads in the Adirondaks, but these roads were lined with redwoods.  I was amazed about how much the light could change from one mile to the next depending on the density and elevation.

Two human things really struck me on this drive.  1) I have never seen so many hitchhikers as I did on this stretch of Jefferson.  What is that?  I was a little tempted to pick up a couple, but being a single woman travelling alone with no one who would notice my lack of arrival late at night in Eugene, I thought that was probably a stupid idea.  But it also felt heartless to just drive by these people who purported to only need a seat in my car that I was only using to house my books on CD and some snacks.  2) As soon as I entered Oregon, there was a butterfly sanctuary and then across the street... a tiger ranch.  I mean, WHAT.  Just down the street, homes where clearly children live.  No, thank you.  I persisted awhile after that before stopping for dinner.

I wanted to stay on the 1, but I eventually just GPS'ed the quickest route to Eugene because I was several hours in and still had several hours to go, and I was exhausted already.  The country roads took me inland through beautiful farmland and horse farms.  I eventually ended up in Grant's Pass (which I only looked up today) and had a great meal at Taprock with the company of a very kind bartender.

When I went to pay for my grilled Caesar salad (awesome) and glass of wine (which he had upgraded at no charge when they were out of the house red), I couldn't find my debit card.  He insisted I just go check my car and he didn't need any collateral.  I couldn't find it in the dark.  With tip, I was a dollar short.  Even though he was having a tough night with some jerky customers who would surely short tip him, he waved off my problem, shook my hand, and told me that the universe would pay him back.  I felt better and worse all at once.  Until I got back to my car and realize I'd actually tipped him over 20%, and my initial math was just bad, probably due to the 11 hours I'd spent alone in the car up until then.  I was relieved I only had 2 hours to go and thankful to Grace Bagunu for chatting with me for awhile to perk me back up.

I had a great almost-24 hours in Eugene, which is blogged here.  Christian took me all around, so he gets credit for this one too.

I then took off for the coast to stay at the Sylvia Beach Hotel, which is hands down the coolest hotel I've ever stayed in.  If you ever get the chance to go to the Oregon central coast, go.  If you are a book lover, you need to book yourself a trip to Oregon.  I'll detail that experience in the road trip post because it deserves a little more attention than under an "updated" post.

After that fantastic stay, I made my 9 hour drive to Sacramento.  I was on a lot of back roads for the first 2 hours because I had not realized that my phone GPS was set to "walk," and my phone wanted to keep me off highways.  I knew I should have followed the map.  Always follow the map.  The drive was going to be another long one, so I was hoping to short cuts around the traffic back ups.  Nope, follow the map.

Oregon is a really beautiful state and I only met kind people along the way.  I hope to visit again soon.

State #32: Hawai'i


I hate my birthday.  I've hated it since I turned 17.  That year, I was a senior in high school and nearly all of my friends were freshmen in college.  My birthday always falls just before Thanksgiving (and never on Thanksgiving).  That year, I was looking forward to seeing all of my friends who were coming back to town for the holiday, but then I was crushed when not a single one of them remembered to wish me a happy birthday the week before.  My boyfriend at the time even blew it off.  I was sad but also wanted to be happy when I saw everyone.  Then the Friday after Thanksgiving, I went to my friend Heidi's house, and there, they threw me a surprise party.  It was an extremely well-intentioned gesture, but I spent my actual birthday alone and feeling forgotten, and then the party itself was more about everyone seeing each other than my birthday.  I also now hate surprise parties.

Rainbow Falls in Hilo

It wasn't a traumatic event.  But it wasn't a fun birthday either.  And that's how the week leading up to my birthday always tends to go for me.  Just lots of little bad luck, like last year I had to park really far from work and when I got back to my car late at night, it had gotten hit hard, so now the back left corner is dented and scraped because I can't afford to fix it.  Nothing life shattering.  Just bummers.

Dad & me at Pololu Valley

I can handle a little bad luck.  I can even make fun of myself for it.  The real issue was that I started having so much anxiety about my birthday each year that whenever there was a gathering attended by most of my friends, I still didn't enjoy it because I was so focused on who wasn't there, whether they were late or ditching out, or who forgot to call or text.  There could be 99 people fully out celebrating with me, and I would be distracted by the 1 who wasn't.  I was spending all my energy on the people who didn't show up in my life instead of appreciating those who did.

In 2009, I decided to make a change.  Three girlfriends and I booked a trip to Las Vegas.  We had a fantastic time.  Leaving town, I knew exactly who would be there, exactly who wouldn't (or so I thought: 2 of my college friends who live in San Diego surprised me), and I could have fun with the people I was with.  In the following years, I took 7 friends with me to Louisville, 2 to Kalamazoo, visited 2 friends in LA, 4 with me to Puerto Rico, and 4 to Catalina Island (yes, that Catalina Island, Step Brothers fans).

Why am I telling you all of this when the sub-title of this section is Hawai'i?  Because this year, I was trying to plan a vacation with my parents to the Pacific northwest.  The plans weren't going smoothly.  I really wanted to drive up the coast, but it would be easier to fly and meet them and then drive around.  So on one of the calls, my mom said we could do something else.  I said, "Want to go to Hawaii for Thanksgiving?"  She said, "Okay."  I had wanted to continue the island birthday getaway theme, I wanted to go to Hawaii, and this is definitely the closest I'll ever live to Hawaii, but I didn't expect her to say yes just like that.

Nicole & me stand up paddle boarding

My parents made the travel plans.  My brother and his wife decided to come along.  And then, one of my oldest and favorite friends, Nicole Green decided to join us for a few days too.

Waipi'o Valley

We ate seafood, did some stand-up paddle boarding, "surfed," snorkeled, took some scenic drives, stood on a volcano and walked through a lava tube, saw some waterfalls, had lots of Kona Brewing Company beer, laughed ourselves silly at Big Island Brewhaus (possibly due to the elevation-alcohol combo), saw lots of sea creatures like sea turtles and fish, and had Thanksgiving dinner at Macaroni Grill.  (That last one wasn't quite in the plans, but we couldn't make a decision about the limited places to eat and chose Macaroni Grill for the price and convenience.)  All in all, it was a lovely, relaxing week.

For anyone planning a trip to Hawaii (any island) without a very knowledgeable local guide, I highly recommend the Hawaii Revealed series AND mobile phone app.  Both helped us find some great meals and sights!

#66 - Help Someone with Her List of Goals

Well, this was convenient.  Casey Jordan had "shoot a gun" on her list of goals too, so that last one was a two-fer!  I finally got to help someone else with their list.  I'm looking forward to checking more things off with Casey next year!  (And I'm also hoping to meeting up with Sarah and Molly!)

#25 - Shoot a Gun

Getting some instruction

I sneaked a few extra list items in the last few days of the year just for good measure.

When I posted a draft of my new list, my brother said I was welcome to come over and shoot a gun while I was back visiting Michigan.

So...  I drove the 10 minutes over to the other Krone house in Ann Arbor.  We walked a few dozen yards back into the property.  And we shot cans off a bucket.

I nailed a can on my first try but after that was fairly inconsistent.  I could at least consistently hit the bucket.

It was fun but not so crazy fun that the pacifist in me will probably override any long-term hobby.

It was a quick trip and activity, so I'll keep this post short too.

The can I killed.

Thanks, Chris & Casey!

#8 - See Cristiano Ronaldo Play Live

When I added this to the list, I thought it was pretty far fetched.  I make a grad student salary (negative), so unless the best player in the world (yep) happened to find his way nearby with an affordable ticket, I was out of luck.

But then.  There was a rumor.  And then it wasn't a rumor, it was an announcement.  Real Madrid and Manchester United were playing

AT THE BIG HOUSE!

(That's Michigan Stadium for those of you who don't worship the gods of college football.)

Cristiano Ronaldo and friends would be playing against my team in my hometown, in my home stadium.

Then I feared I wouldn't be able to get tickets or they would be too expensive.

Wrong again.

Reiko, Nicole, & me loving life

$35 got me a seat with a chunk of friends who were as excited as I was.

Then there were the injury rumors and the absolute FAIL of a World Cup for both Spain and Portugal.  But I held on.  He'd be there.  Right?

Gareth Bale before his penalty kick.

Then the roster came out and there were a lot of names missing from the list...  Sergio Ramos, Casillais, Chicarito...  AND RONALDO.  NOOOOO!  I'd already seen Rooney  play.  I wasn't flying all the way to Michigan to see Rooney.

But then a few days later, an article came out that said he was injured but would be meeting the team in LA but not playing (good thing I didn't buy one of those tickets) and then would be off to Ann Arbor to play at the Big House.

Ann Arbor got pretty jazzed up, like it did for the NHL game in December.  Shut down Main Street.  Stages, bars, food...

The Krones had dinner at Aventura Friday night.  Our server told us they were on hold to host REAL MADRID later that night.  I freaked out a bit.  We gave up, knowing we'd get kicked out if they showed up anyways.  Rumor is they did eat there later that night.  I ate at the same restaurant as Ronaldo just an hour apart!

So happy that Billie & Steve made the trip too.  That was a nice surprise!

Saturday was magical.  I got up a little late, headed to the tailgate my lovely friend Nicole set up, played some games, saw some friends I didn't expect to see, and headed to the game, ignoring the texts from Al that Ronaldo would not be playing and what a "jerk" he was.  (I'm giving Al credit for being there even though I never saw him.  He texted me when he was outside my gate but I was already in the stadium and there was a line to get back into the section.  He didn't want to wait in the line and risk missing first touch.  I didn't want to go out and then have to wait in the line and miss first touch.  That's real friendship there.  Live on different coasts but would never expect the other to miss a minute of a soccer game at Michigan Stadium.)

Whatever.  Ronaldo was there.  In my stadium.  The closest I'd ever been to him.

Nicole and I were on Cloud 9 from the start.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Ronaldo walk across the field.  Luckily my Ma lent me her binoculars...  which also made me look a little silly because I started freaking out about subs walking across the field until I could fully communicate that it was RONALDO.  He sat in the stands and I have to admit, I watched him almost as much as the game.  Whatever.  I was there to see him, playing or not.

Brother hug

The Fray played at half time.  That was random.

I walked down a few rows to visit the brother and friends.  Walked back up.

Then... it happened.  A cheer went across the crowd.

RONALDO WAS WARMING UP.

That's Ronaldo.  At midfield.  Ready to sub in.  At Michigan Stadium.  Ahhhhh!

And warm up he did.  For real.  I watched it.  Through the binoculars.  Oh, at this point, Rooney and Bale had scored some goals.

Then he was at midfield.  Then the referee let him in.

Ronaldo ran around.  Did a little fancy footwork.  Chicarito scored a goal.  Ronaldo jogged a bit.

It was bananas fun.  Life changing.

I miss him already.

Chicarito cooling down with the "winners" of the game.  I say "winners" because obviously I and the others freaking out all day were the real winners.