11 Hours

That's how much I slept last night without waking! First time in a long time. I was exhausted from snowmobiling yesterday. It was my first time on one of those machines, & I had a blast. Lots of fun. We went up past Marblemount on Hwy 20. I had a few scary moments, but it was mostly a whole bunch of adrenaline. I think the most frightening incident was when I hit a series of small hills --I guess they were there for jumping-- at a fairly high rate of speed, nearly flying off the machine.


The snow covered everything from the top, and there was even a frozen waterfall. When we got to the turnaround point at 33 miles out, we went down a trail that led out to an overlook. Out there we encountered 2 'camp robbers,' which I had never seen. These birds are also known as 'grey jays,' and they are agressive in obtaining food from humans. I got them to land on my hand to grab the food I held. I hope I don't get avian flu! Towards the end of the day, it was harder going back b/c the sun had gone behind the mountains, creating large shadows on the path. I really had a great time out there.




Here's one after it landed on my hand and took off with the food.


So I finally got a new computer from Best Buy under Washington's lemon law. I kept taking it back in for the same problem over & over, so I'm glad that they replaced the broken one. I'm really diggin' this new laptop.


Last weekend I went hiking around Deception Pass with Eric. He took me to some caves I didn't even know were here. He told me later that they were used to hold Japanese prisoners in WWI. I am more inclined to believe that they might have been used for that during WWII, but he got the info from a local yokel, so I guess it's possible. Either way, the area is intriguing b/c there are big concrete blocks surrounding the cave entrances, which indicate something of importance was located there. I really enjoyed getting out -- the weather was starting to get nice then, and it was great to be outside.


Deception from a distance.


This guy is Nickel, Eric's Jack. He's got his head buried in a meal bag.


Here's Eric climbing up into the caves...I didn't have the gumption to go up there, but maybe next time.

I also went to the Coupeville Mussel Festival with Erica. I ate a plate full of mussels steamed in some sort of garlic butter sauce. I thought they were delicious until Erica opened one up and pulled some yucky-looking green stuff out and showed it to me. It looked like mussel poop. I don't know what it really was -- whether it was the digestive system, liver, or what, but after that, I'm not sure I want to eat any more mussels!


I went for my first checkup on Wed since my surgery. Everything went great, according to the doctor. He says I'm right on track for healing, and that I'm seeing right around 20/20. I'm stoked about my progress. Seeing great!