Semi Perfect Day

The Crew Just Before Heading Up

My Friend Also Joined Us!

I cannot remember a day after which I felt more content than yesterday.  My wife and I journeyed up to New Hampshire with my daughter and son in law along with Buddy.  My daughter, cat person that she is, endured the entire trip of Buddy breath with fair to middling calm.  We arrived at my Keene friend’s house much to the consternation of the neighborhood cat that did not seem to welcome Buddy’s arrival with a lot of pleasure.  The cat did acknowledge my daughter – obviously recognizing her non-affiliation with the black coated terror.  We headed out to climb Mount Monadnock and both my Keene friend and my wife joined us this time.  My wife has a couple of ruptured disks in her neck so she has always shied away from the climb.  This time she decided to give it a shot because I think she felt she missed out on the fun with which we described earlier climbs.  I kept a close eye on her but she did fine.  Just before starting the climb I discovered that I had left my wallet back at home.  This is something I never do and was kind of jarring for me; another indication I’m getting old.  It was a perfect New England summer day as we started the climb around 2 in the afternoon.  Because of the late start we met more people coming down than we did going up.  My friend and I brought up the rear as the young uns’ set their own pace up the hill.  My wife surprised all of us by getting far out front at times.  I could clearly hear my heart beating really fast during a couple of the really steep segments.  In the funniest moment of the climb, we were nearing the summit when my wife ran into a friend of hers from Rhode Island.  It was one of those humorous situations where you don’t expect to run into anyone you know and it takes a couple of seconds to recognize each other.  As I said earlier, my wife actually led the climb up the hill for most of the time.  She flagged a little near the top and thought about stopping short of the peak and waiting for us to come down until I promised to help her up and she finished with a lot of flair.  She was nervous about the whole effort but when we reached the top she was bubbling over in excitement.  I was so proud of her.  As we lounged around the top of the mountain she started doing yoga exercises – still haven’t figured that out.  It was an extremely fun day, especially since I was sharing it with some of the most important people in my life.  I remarked to my daughter and son in law, who made the climb with me last year, that there was a lot more noise this year.  My wife, if nothing else, was a constant source of commentary which helped pass the time going up and down the mountain.  Coming down the mountain was a little tougher on the middle aged joints and both my wife and friend turned ankles near the top of the mountain which I’m sure made their descent a little painful but they rangered on.  I think we all felt a quiet sense of accomplishment when we reached the bottom and headed back for some quick showers at my friend’s house.  My daughter’s hunger pain militated against the planned reconnaissance of the Elm City Brewery so we headed over to Margarita’s where we lucked into an outdoors table.  We were all a little worn out but that seemed to fuel the evening and we truly enjoyed a great time with each other as we watched the denizens of Keene wander past.  My friend ably attempted to fulfill his role as my filter when I started waxing on about my approval of the re-emergence of short shorts for many of the college age beauties walking by as well as our waitress or commenting on some nearby idiotic looking adolescent skateboarders trying to look like urban gang members.  It was just such a fun evening and I felt in “the zone” of total contentment.  The night ended watching the new look Red Sox for a bit and then a late night ride through the darkened New England roads to get home.  In a summer of really fun days this was the best so far.  The only thing that was missing was our son.  He and the M.E.G. are hopefully winging their way home today from their Mediterranean getaway.  I may not let my daughter and son in law leave – it’s just too much fun when they’re around.

The Wife and I in the Rock Chair

Two Really Cool People

My Wife Takes Point on the Way Up

Those Cool People Just Above the Tree Line

Mother and Daughter

Friend and Wife

My Wife Finds a Friend on the Mountain

Success - At the Top of the Mountain

The Crew on Top

Yoga Exercises - Why?

Quick - Pick Out the One With the Most Energy

On the Way Down

Seemed Like A Long Descent

At the Bottom

Perfect End for the Day