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This afternoon we took a walk up a hill to check out the view. On the way back we ran across a large beetle.

On Sabbath afternoon we went hiking at Forest Falls – normally you can make it across the rocks all the way up to the actual falls, but the water was too deep to get everybody across without wading, and our attempts to build a bridge were unsuccessful. Rachel, looking for a place to rest her head, found a hollow tree – Giselle would be so proud. Heather brought some chocolate eggs and we got a few pictures of them nested around the woods. The trip culminated in a visit to the brand-new Five Guys that opened up nearby.

That’s right, a Five Guys is finally within easy reach, with another one scheduled to open up even closer. It’s about time – In-n-Out is certainly better than most, but it just can’t beat Five Guys (sorry West Coasters). We had been craving Five Guys cheeseburgers and fries with malt vinegar for so long, especially since we didn’t get to eat there the last time we were in Maryland.

On Sunday we had a big Easter dinner with a bunch of our friends who also weren’t otherwise occupied for the holiday, complete with an Easter egg hunt and Starburst jelly beans. We certainly miss all of you back in Maryland – hope you had a good Easter too!

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Yesterday a bunch of us took a boat out on Lake Perris. Perhaps because it is still technically winter, there weren’t that many people there. We were able to take our picnic out to the island and have it all to ourselves. On the way back, we sent the first group of people back to shore, only to discover that as they disappeared into the beautiful sunset, the boat broke down.

Now stranded on the island, my half of the group decided to explore while we waited for the park police to rescue first the boat, and then us. We managed to hike around a good part of the island in the dark, and even got to see some constellations. After living in Baltimore and now Loma Linda, a sky full of stars is kind of a big deal. I only had my cell phone camera with me, so all the good pictures came from my friend J’s camera. I’m reposting a few of the better ones for the folks back home.

It’s kind of amusing that even while stuck on a little island, having cell phone service all but eliminates any potential anxiety. We could easily communicate with the people on the boat and find out what was going on, alert the park police to our presence, and update our social network status over the 3G network. Kids these days. ]]> http://mistypedurl.com/2011/03/lake-perris-island-adventure/feed/ 2 http://mistypedurl.com/2010/02/snowmageddon/ http://mistypedurl.com/2010/02/snowmageddon/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:28:12 +0000 SteelWolf http://mistypedurl.com/2010/02/snowmageddon/ Wow. Baltimore got 26” of snow, and here on the edges of the city I think we got closer to 30”. This is definitely the biggest snow I’ve seen in Maryland in my life, and when you add it to the other 1-2′ snow we got a few weeks ago, and all of the “normal” snows, I’m hearing that it’s one of the heaviest winters on record for the state.

Rachel and I managed to dig out both of our cars in just three hours, though I’m sure our backs will be punishing us for that tomorrow. Thanks to the massive amounts of snow I had to shove off the roofs, I ended up trying to move through piles that rose past my waist. Said moving consists of something between flailing and swimming, horrible at preserving grace but excellent at filling one’s clothes with snow. The maintenance people trying to clear out our parking lot brought in a Bobcat to help shovel, and as of now the only plowing on our road is the path they carved to get here.

When I came in and started peeling off layers my whole body started steaming. Water and lemonade, sweet nectar of life! It turns out we got incredibly lucky, as all of the apartment buildings north of ours in our complex lost power sometime yesterday and only just got it back while we were outside. Being snowed in isn’t nearly as fun without electricity-dependent conveniences.

I took a few pictures during the storm yesterday. The one with Rachel in it should help put the scale in perspective. I know some of you northerners deal with this on a daily basis and all, but this is a big deal around here. After all, it was dubbed snowmageddon by the President himself.

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The steep hill makes for an excellent ride thanks to gravity alone, but the powdery consistency of the snow added even more speed. It also meant we didn’t have to waste precious trips back up the hill packing the snow into a track. Trudging up there is great exercise but the incline and length put a low ceiling on the number of repetitions one can enthusiastically perform. The picture is taken from the parking lot and the hill is just across the street.

There isn’t much space between the end of the hill, the drainage gulley, and the road, so the end of the line typically involves bailing, slamming into the far side of the ditch, or hitting the fire hydrant. My less-than-smooth bails earned me a few sore spots on my butt.

It looks like we’re going to get yet another decent snow this weekend, so all of our friends who were lame and didn’t come over have a second chance. Get your jollies now: after all, we might be moving to California.

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