Today was a criss-cross day. Cara and Jessie settled into their Boston visit while Jake returned home. Sister Alice and Rabbi Chris (he does look like a Rabbi with the beard, but does he still have the beard?) must feel like they're running a hotel for the Marshfield branch of their adoring family. Alice told me I'd have to ask Jake about their "decadent" lifestyle; but I didn't have to do that, because Jake volunteered that he was ready to go back to being a plant eater--even turned down my offer to defrost his Tidemill Farms steak. Well, anyway, I am so happy to have Jake back. We had some salad and some bean soup and watched some football. It's between games right now, so we're taking a breather, but I must confess I have no higher ambition than to spend a good portion of the weekend staring at the flat screen.
I did, however, earlier today go for a nice little hike on a dirt road skimmed with snow (now already melted) where I continued to ponder my future as it relates to the Appalacian Trail. I've gone back and forth regarding whether I would ever complete a thru-hike, but have come to the conclusion that I would most definitely like to hike the whole trail, albeit mostly in section and day hikes. Before happening on the blog I mentioned the other day, I really only conceived of the trail in terms of backpacking, but the day hike option adds a dimension (namely including partners who don't necessarily fancy sleeping on the ground) that puts the odds of completing the trail solidly in my favor.
Anybody up for a drive down South in February?