Spring weekend in January.

Look, I love cold weather. I love snow. I would prefer it to be cold enough to snow if it's going to be below 40 degrees for daytime highs. This season, however, has been a little brutal. It hasn't only been a lot of cold rain...it's been A LOT of cold rain. Rain heavy enough to keep me off my bike and curb me from walking to work as well. That is why this weekend was so awesome.

It's been rainy, yes, but it has been the kind of rain I'm used to here....drizzly rain. It's the temperatures that have been nice. Low 50s for the highs. It's been breezy. All in all it's felt really nice out.

On Friday night I took a stroll with A.R. We cruised down to Pike Place market and had some seafood lasagna at The Athenian. I was somewhat impressed. I miss seafood when I'm doing the vegan thing and this was just what I needed. After a failed attempt to find synthetic fiber underwear sans dick hole in the downtown area we swung into Whole Foods to stock up for our hike the next morning.

We went to out respective homes from Whole Foods. I was feeling like my failing to go to bed at a decent hour over the passed few years has been somewhat detrimental to my physical and mental health. See, a few years ago when I was getting in shape and feeling very positive I was hitting the bed at 9:00 almost every night. I usually woke refreshed and clear headed. That has not been the case over the last few years. So, I have made the decision to go to bed by 9:00 every night I can.....this means I'll have to leave practice around 8:00 on Thursdays. No big deal.

Saturday morning arrived to me waking ten minutes before my alarm time of 5:50. I felt awesome and quickly got ready after checking the weather. I picked up A.R. and we headed out to Gold Bar.

The hike was awesome. I've been to Wallace Falls many times in the past but after such a long, wet and cold fall Saturday was perfect for it. I quickly shed my shell. It was nice to be able to hike in short sleeves and be completely comfortable. Aside from some annoying Eagle Scout troupes it was fairly quiet out there. that was, until we got to the Middle Falls view point. Due to the rains and snow melt the falls were raging. Actually, you could feel them from about a 1/4 mile away through the ground. Here's how they looked:

We continued on to the Upper Falls and then back to the car for our return trip.

We had more seafood for lunch when we got back to town. Blackened salmon and some fried scallops really hit the spot and gave us some padding for our trips to Brouwer's and Duck Island. On a side note....hiking and biking days are going to be my drinking days. Nothing says "Reward for hard work" like an Abt 12 or bottle of Cascade Cuvee du Jongleur.

Sunday went well too. Other Coast Cafe makes their own seitan that you can get on any sammich they serve. I got the reuben. Practice went well. We came down a little in volume and played with more dynamics than we have in quite awhile. I passed on drinks and opted for a nice evening walk around Capitol Hill after hitting up PCC in Fremont for dinner.

Yeah....seems like I'm starting to take the proper steps to getting back to where I was. I'm feeling very positive and that alone makes me pretty damned happy.