There's nothing like a few days with my daughter to get recharged.
I flew in to Knoxville, TN a week ago. We had such a great time - as always. Doing the mom/daughter stuff - coffee shops, bookstores, cupcakes, fabric store, doing the science stuff: visiting the Oak Ridge museum of science and energy, visiting her lab to look at the nematodes she's studying. Doing friend stuff: good food, movies, music and a few beers.
And my favorite - an 8-mile hike up into the Smokies. She had planned a hike up Ramsey's Cascades - a lesser known hike in an otherwise crowded park. We came across maybe 12 other people on the trail. This was a long, difficult hike for an out of shape, over-weight woman like myself, but damn if I didn't do every single mile. The falls at the top were beautiful. The plant and wildlife was amazing. And 7 hours later my muscles and joints were screaming. But I did it.
On our way home, we stopped in Pigeon Forge for a huge plate of well deserved sushi. (yes, Pigeon Forge - what a hoot of a town - and hoot is the exact word for it.)
So now, I'm home. Work has been a little crazy, but I'm taking it in stride (for now.) My legs have finally stopped hurting.
Now - if that Tucson thing would just come through, life would really be perfect, eh Stadude?
