Windy Hill

Today started off very early and I'm not sure why I'm not in bed yet, but I got up to take my car in for one of the normal service appointments at 6:45am.  I had already arranged to meet up with Cat for a hike so it worked out perfectly as she picked me up one block away from where I left my car. It was really, really cold out this morning so I was dressed in layers in an attempt to stay warm.  We had the heat on in the car but could only keep it on in spurts because it would get really stuffy (but then really cold again).  We picked up Allie and drove through a bit of Portola Valley before reaching the start of the trail known as Windy Hill.  I'd never been up this particular path but I know people who have, including Cat; I had heard it was beautiful at the top so I was excited to get going.  We walked for about an hour up steep, muddy hills but took breaks along the way to look around us.  Everyone I talked to was right and the views were pretty breathtaking, especially on such a clear morning.  We didn't spend much time at the summit because it had dropped about 10 degrees with the elevation and we were wanting to move and stay warm.  In total we were gone for a little over a couple of hours but it was a fun and different way to begin the day.  We picked up a warm drink and stopped at a pastry shop on the way back to my house.  I grabbed everything I would need for the rest of the day and then Cat brought me to her house so I could help her prepare lunch (we had our weekly date this afternoon).  Her meal of choice was Vietnamese spring rolls and they were delicious!

I picked up my car on the way to work and was forced to finally give in and buy new brakes.  I knew it was coming but shelling out the money is never fun...but I guess 50,000 miles is adequate mileage for the first set.  They also put in a couple of new filters which is good and I should be set for awhile.  At the gym I had a private for an hour and then it was off to Stanford for the first Game Day for the Twisters optional team.  Allan has been working with SWG twice a week, has gathered up a lot of things, and is now sharing them with his own team.  He decided that competition would help the girls and would break up the monotony of the workouts, making things exciting and fun.  The girls decided that it would be patriotic-themed in honor of the election on Tuesday and came dressed in red, white, and blue, and even used eyeliner to write "'merica" on the their arms.  It was a great practice and I think the girls really enjoyed it and are looking forward to next week.  As they start to piece sequences together we'll do more and more but it was nice to hear the girls cheering for each other and really pulling for one another to do well for the team.

Tomorrow is the beginning of level 5 state championships so best of luck to our team!  I'm staying back to hold a practice for the kids who still have a week of training left before their final competition but from what I hear the coaches and many of the girls have safely made their way up to Folsom for the meet and will hopefully have a successful weekend!