The great hiking boot search of 2007

After the pain and agony of the blister on my heel from last week's hike, it was time to replace my 12+ year old hiking boots. So DH and I set out on our search this morning with a goal and budget in mind.

Our first stop was to Hudson Trail Outfitters in Gaithersburg. They didn't really have much of a selection, although what they did have was quality stuff. I tried on three pair of boots from the same brand (Vasque) - a high top, mid top, and low top. I was pleased with the fit and feel of the mid top - but really wanted to compare a couple of brands to see which offered the best fit.

Next stop was Dicks Sporting Goods, also in Gaithersburg. I really expected that they would have a nice range of brands at less-than-boutique prices. Boy was I wrong; I might as well have gone to Sports Authority or Modells. They had maybe 2 brands in the type of shoe I was looking for, including the shoe I had just tried on at HTO. Nevermind that the same show was priced 20% higher at Dicks either. Now... if you looked at the men's selection, it was pretty extensive. DH asked one of the shoe jockeys whether they had any better selection for women, and the guy let us know that what we saw was what they had. Total bust!

I really, really, didn't want to go all the way down to REI in Rockville, but frankly, I had no choice. The traffic on Rockville Pike was as bad as expected, same goes for Montrose Road. I hate it down there. Anyway, we went in and while their selection was still pretty limited (man... if I was male I would have been so much better off!). I tried on three brands - a Merrell, a Keen, and the same Vasque I had tried on before. At least this time, I could compare the fit. The Keen (mid-top, light duty) fit terribly; the arch was in the wrong place for my foot, it was too square, too much heel movement, so it was right out. The Merrell was a real light duty mid-top... more sneaker than boot with lots of movement. It was super light and really comfortable, but lacked the structure and support of the Vasque. I literally walked around the store for 30 minutes wearing both pairs of shoes, and spent another 30 minutes with two salespeople talking about the pros and cons of both. Vasque: a little heavier, about 30% more expensive, not a topline sole but sturdier, waterproof and Gore-Tex'd, and likely to transition if we got into heavier duty hiking. The Merrell was lighter, very comfortable in a sneaker kind of way, cheaper, but not waterproof and really only good for light trail hiking.

I finally ended up buying:


Vasque Ion Mid Women's multisport.

If we end up doing all the hiking we anticipate doing (this fall we're hoping for Harper's Ferry, Shenandoah, and other, local hiks) plus with trips we're hoping to make to Costa Rica, New Zealand, and back to St John, I'll be glad that I bought the more solid boot. In particular, I expect to be glad that I have the waterproofing - because I just know as soon as I bought a boot without it, I would have stepped into a great big puddle or something.

I did also buy a pair of Smartwool medium weight wool socks (so did DH) and silk liner socks. Those things really work; I wore the liner, socks, and boots to go grocery shopping at TJs, and my normally very sweaty feet were dry as a bone.

So we're set for tomorrow. I also bought a small first aid kit, some moleskin, and granola bars at TJs! Bring it on Catoctin!

He gets new toys... I get bubkus!

So I came home today and was going about my normal routine, which included running upstairs to the bedroom to change out of my work clothes. I noticed DH acting a little suspiciously; all this week he's been home early because of "network outages" at work, and now he's trying to block me with his lil' body.

Lo and behold I get the bedroom and there, on the desk, is what he's trying to sort of hide from me.



A brand new 22 inch rectangle shaped monitor! We he admits was ordered and delivered from New Egg that day.

Now, to be fair, he had told me he was interested in buying a new monitor over the weekend. We went to Best Buy to simply look at it (he had no intentions of actually buying anything there) and I told him he had my "permission" to go ahead.

Typically, it takes him weeks, even months, to go ahead with a purchase. So seeing the monitor sitting on the desk was quite a surprise. He wasn't in trouble or anything, but clearly he knew that I was going to be a little shocked.

Then! I spied with my little eye something else new on the desk.



Now I don't remember being told about an external hard drive! Hmmmm... isn't it easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

Of course, we probably won't be able to get away for a little Thanksgiving trip - but DH will enjoy his nifty new monitor and external hard drive! ;)

Owie... and lame!

DH and I drove up to Catoctin Mountain National Park to go hiking today. Happily the weather was considerably less humid than yesterday, and we had planned to hike to Cunningham Falls, then up to Hog Rock, Thurmont Overlook, Wolf Rock, and Chimney Rock.

Well, we got as far as Cunningham Falls before we realized that the pain in my heel wasn't simply my shoe being too big without thicker socks (at that point I had three layers of socks on) but rather the padding on the heel of my left hiking boot had worn away and all that was left was the support structure. I had a blister the size of a half-dollar forming, and by the time we got back to the car (about a 1.5 hour hike round trip) changing into my sneakers wasn't going to help.

So, we aborted our hiking plans and instead resolved to buy me a new pair of hiking shoes.

To add insult to injury (literally!) the "falls" were a trickle of water over some fairly big rocks. If I had poured my water bottle over the side, it would have practically doubled the water flow. I guess the lack of rain has diminished the amount of water flowing. Pretty lame.

Weak!

I love my car!

Yesterday, DH and I drove to the Leesburg Outlets to do a little shopping, and of course we drove the NBC. It was a little hot driving there... but we took back roads through the country that were so pretty, then took White's Ferry across the Potomac over to VA.

The ride home, however, was spectacular. DH drove home; I was feeling a little hot and tired. We drove the back roads home, and the sun was setting over these very pretty horse farms. The air had cooled and it was just so wonderful. We drove through the mini-town of Poolesville, and there was a restaurant by the side of the road with an outdoor patio; everyone sitting at those outdoor tables was watching my car drive by! And watching the sun set over the farms and rolling hills, I felt like I was living a car commercial.

It was awesome. I love my car.

I am a weak woman

Today, I saw a post on TWOP that YahooTV has the newest episode (first of the season) for my beloved TV show, Friday Night Lights. I wasn't going to watch, because it's a streaming feed that gets a little jerky at times, but I simply couldn't resist.

The episode does a fantastic job of getting us reacquainted with our favorite characters and yes, I cried. There's one storyline that I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of, but we'll see how it plays out before I make a final judgment. I mean, FNL is the greatest show on TV right now, but even the near perfect 1st season had some missteps (El Accidente - the Bobby Reyes storyline, and the racial tension storyline in Black Eyes, Black Hearts had a less-than-satisfying conclusion).

Anyway, just try not to check it out. WWRD?

On being in love...

DH and I will have been together for a whopping 10 years this November, and tonight, like most nights, there's something little that happens that makes me laugh, realize how well our lives have been integrated into one anothers.

Tonight, it was DH telling me that he was going upstairs to get the kitty food bowls to bring down and throw in the dishwasher. I had just loaded it up with tonight's dinner dishes, and it should have been a 3 minute dash up the stairs, grab all the bowls, and then back down the stairs. Ten minutes later, still no DH.

I spring upstairs to see what's up, and as I get to the top of the stairs I hear the sounds of ceramic bowls clinking together. I peek in the room and see his desk chair literally spinning. A-ha! I had caught him! He came upstairs to play on the computer, not to get the kitty bowls. I laughed and told him I caught him, and we laughed a little together, tossed some loving insults back and forth, and he ran downstairs with the kitty bowls and I jumped on the computer.

There's really nothing in this world - for me - so reassuring as spending your life with someone with whom you're completely enmeshed. We finish each others sentences, know what the other is thinking before we even say a word, make fun of something that happens with nothing more than a look. We have built our own history, our own vocabulary, our own set of cliches and silly references and inside jokes.

He knows my insecurities, my neuroses, my hang-ups, my obsessions. And he still loves me (that's a big one). My successes make him happy, rather than making him insecure.

So, because I saw the spinning chair and we both laughed, because he's outside right now taking out the garbage and watching the TV that I left on - which annoys him to no end - and because he'll yell and scream at the TV tonight and I'll yell at him to stop getting so mad about a game (and then he'll laugh at me when I cry during Friday Night Lights), I'm inspired to right this little post about how happy I am to have him, how the past ten years have flown by, and I can't wait for the next ten!

Tragedy of epic proportions

My NBC! It's been....


rained on!

Look at those raindrops, carrying their paint-oxidizing poisons!



And the top! My god, not the soft-top!


I've been a very, very bad Bug-mommy.

Shows that wreck me: Friday Night Lights

So Ray and I just finished watching the Pilot episode of Friday Night Lights (many thanks to CC and Jeffro) and I am a total emotional wreck. Knowing the storylines that follow this episode, where the characters go and what develops... and the innocence of the Pilot.... man, what can I say. I'm just wrecked.

Do yourself a favor - go out and buy the DVD of the first season of Friday Night Lights, pour yourself a glass of wine, and keep the tissue box nearby. This show takes the utterly ordinary and draws an extraordinary portrait of small town Texas life and football that will leave you breathless.

Or, tearless, since you will certainly have cried for at least 15 minutes an episode. It's so cathartic!

Darnitall!

I have been studiously avoiding driving the NBC when it was raining or forecast to rain; I want to keep the car as nice as possible for as long as possible. On top of that, I just washed the car for the first time this weekend.

This morning, the forecast called for rain this evening, with a slight (30%) chance of rain this afternoon.

It's 4:00, and this is what the local radar looks like.


I just wanted the rain to hold off until 6:15-6:30, so I could get the NBC in the garage before the heavens emptied. I don't think I am going to get my wish.

Curses! I knew I should have just driven my Saturn!

RIP LP

I was so sad to hear that Pavarotti died this morning in Italy. He's simply one of the most moving, emotional singers I've ever heard... and he's particularly good at enunciating while singing Italian, so I can understand what words he's singing.

I cry when I hear his Nessun dorma (on my iPod), I weep when I hear his Ave Maria, I laugh when I hear his La donna e mobile (on my iPod).

I remember watching him sing at the Opening Ceremony of the Torino Olympics - and even though it wasn't as strong as he was in his prime, the beauty of the tone of his voice still rang through.

Ciao Luciano. Maybe now I'll remember to pronounce your name like Bruno taught me.