Finals ended and graduation took place without a hitch, so I found myself looking at six weeks of summer before HP got their grip on me. Okay, okay, they already had me with paperwork and relocation issues. Nonetheless, I was trying to maximize my summer. Randy was too, so he went to Hawaii. Since I couldn't join him I decided to break into his house and take over for about two weeks until he returned.

I didn't just take over their house, I threw a party! These four girls (Lindsey, Laurel, Cari, and Shannon) joined me for the first few days. We went swimming every second of the day. I thought I was going to be water logged. On the second day, we decided to figure out what was the largest thing we could strap to the roof of my car without getting pulled over. The canoe worked quite well, and we stopped pushing our luck there after a few laughing comments at the beach.

Saturday night we had another four people join us (KT, RT, Shane, and Kristin). That made for a total of nine people showing up at Big Trees Community Church. Just a few more than they were expecting from the Bowersox household.

My weekend was full of activity: a little hike in Big Trees State Park, swimming in the river, swimming in the lake, swimming in the river, and of course: canoeing in White Pines Lake. We were in the sun or the water all day long and enjoyed lounging the nights away at the house. As Sunday came around people slowly started getting called back to their city lives, except me! I was looking forward to a nice relaxing week. Shane and Kristin stayed around one more day to tube down the flume and after that it was just Morgen and I.
Yep, just me a dog. Morgen and I bonded early on in with some jogs in the morning and evening. I just couldn't tire her out. She was excited when I had my bike out, so I raced her up and down the street. That slowed her down for awhile. She ran so fast, she wore her pads off her paws. So we were out of commision for a couple days. I took the opportunity to do a little mountain biking, reading, and driving. An alpine thunderstorm kept me out of the high country for a day, but left the house untouched.
Once Morgen recouperated from her injuries she was ready to go full speed again. We went for a three mile hike up to Inspiration Point. Caught some incredible views of Alpine Lake where the trail started out. And on the other side were views of the Sierras, Spicer Resevoir and a variety of nearby lakes. Morgen pulled me up the hill and tried to pull me off as she chased after a bird. As you may be able to see, I started to grow a beard out for my mountain days. It was probably my last opportunity to do it, where else better but in the mountains.

Morgen and I decided that we were going to get back down the hill and explore Highway 4 over Ebbitt's Pass. There was just enough sunlight left in the day to make it all the way over to South Lake Tahoe and back. I must say, that drive was worth it. And now I know where I'd end up if I didn't turn west toward Kirkwood on my next ski trip. It is one of the most beautiful drives I have even driven. I'd definitely recommend wondering out there, just avoid the 4^th of July weekend.

That pretty much ended my quiet week in Hathaway Pines. The last weekend I had a few more visitors. Janel, Cristina, and Irene came up to explore the rivers and enjoy Bowersox home for Friday night and Saturday. After that, I had the last couple days to clean up and say goodbye. And I was off to the bay area for the fireworks show.