Dog Beach: Downs Park

After the debacle of last week's hike, I am starting a new quest to find the best dog beaches in the area.  Unfortunately they will all be in MD, at least couple hour's drive.  Still, at least beaches will be cool for Millie, the water won't be so nasty, and it won't require much exertion on my part.  So the first beach I checked out was the dog beach at Downs Park.  It's a good 2 hours from Ashburn.  I picked up Milinda since she's in MD, and the three of us were on our merry way.  Once at the park, we had to pay a $6 fee to get in (kinda steep for a park).  There are no signs to the dog beach until you reach the end of the road, park, and get on the trail.

The beach itself was very small and nasty.  When it wasn't so crowded, it was find, but there were waves of humans and doggies coming and going often.  The beach was nasty because there were lots of dead fish here and there.  The water was also clogged a bit with kelp or something.  Then there's the dogs doing their business on the beach.  Nasty nasty nasty, but Millie had good time fetching the ball out of the water.  The one nice thing about this beach is that there is shade.  We brought some fold out chairs with us and enjoyed just being near water.  I spent most of my time attending to Millie though, either playing with her or making sure she doesn't eat some of that nasty fish here and there.  It was a worthwhile visit to give Millie the exercise she needs and to spend some time outdoors.  I may do it again, but I will look for a better dog beach first.

Pros: shade, rinse station

Cons: small, dead fish

Point of Rocks and Poison ivy

My interest in hiking in this area has waned quite a bit since starting Jiu-Jitsu.  The main problem is I am usually too pooped once the weekend rolls around to venture on a long hike.  Then there's the hike quality.  While I enjoy being outdoors in general, the hikes around here pale in comparison to places like Alaska, Switzerland, and New Zealand.  Add to that the bugs, the heat, humidity, the yucky waters that make Millie sick, and the cons are starting to outweigh the pros of getting out and about.  Still, I need to give Millie her exercise so I started to look for some new trails that were easy, shaded, and absent of stagnant water.  Someone mentioned there was a nice trail at Point of Rocks, MD.  I had driven past the signs countless times before going up route 15 but never stopped there.  I knew the C&O tow path went through there, but never thought to check it out until now.  Flat walks were what I was looking for.  Well, this trail sucked balls.

The trail was easy and in shade, so that was good.  It was also long and wide and probably would make a nice walk under normal circumstances.  However, there were few things going against this trail: 1) too many bikers on this trail, which meant I had to keep Millie on a leash; 2) there was nasty stagnant canal water near the trail, which was another reason to keep Millie on a leash; and 3) shit loads of mosquitoes attacked me. I disliked the trail from the get-go but kept at it since I was already on it.  The only thing remotely interesting was a lock house  just a short way down the trail.  You can actually stay in one of these lock houses overnight by reserving your stay through http://www.canaltrust.org/quarters/.  Anyway, we turned around perhaps 30 minutes in, for an hour's walk.  I don't think I'll be going back there any time soon.

So not only did the trail suck, it left me with an unwanted present: poison ivy.  I have no idea how I got it.  I knew I had been bitten by bunch of mosquitoes, so when I saw bunch of red welts I thought they were mosquito bites.  When they started spreading and got worse, I thought I had developed an allergic reaction to mosquito bites.  You may laugh at this stupid theory, but I had an incident last year that led me to believe I have some weird tolerance for bug bites.  You see, I got bit by something last year, and the bit spot had swelled up into something crazy.  I had guessed I was bit by a spider and would turn into Spider Woman.  My dreams of being able to shoot out webs from my wrists got crushed when rings started forming around the bit.  Then it became a lyme disease scare and I stared a course of antibiotics.  Tests later showed I was negative for lyme, and the antibiotics surely killed all hopes of becoming Spider Woman.

Getting back to my current situation, I had gone over a week without knowing what the hell I had.  I worried about bed bugs, though not all indications pointed to that.  After suffering itchy sleep last night I went to the doc today who suspected it was poison ivy or something similar.  Well, I guess it kinda makes sense even though I don't remember brushing up against any vegetation.  Supposedly all it takes is a nick and rashes can develop anywhere.   I wish I had thought of this sooner though to save me a week of itchiness.  This was my first ever poison something encounter so it didn't even cross my mind.  Now I'm on steroids and should start feeling better in couple of days.  The hydrocortizone also helps too.  Lesson learned: wear long pants on hikes.

Journey and Foreigner Concerts

My New Year's resolution for 2013 was to get a life again after leaving Alaska.  One of the things I said I would do along with game nights, karaoke, etc. was go to concerts.  Well, I finally got around to going to couple this month.  One June 1 I went to see Journey and the Steve Miller Band with a colleague.  This past Friday I went to see Foreigner, Styx, and Don Felder with Milinda.  Both were at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow.
I'm probably not into music as the average person, so I never put much effort into going to concerts before.  As I get older I'm starting to realize a lot of the bands that played my favorite music from the 80's are getting old and will die soon.  I already missed out on seeing the greatest artists ever alive (MJ) in concert.  Although I can't really spend hundreds of dollars going to all sorts of concerts all of the sudden, I did want to go when possible.

Journey was a birthday present from Michiko.  Originally we were supposed to go together.  She was a big fan, and got me into them.  She ended up moving back in May though, so I had to find someone else to take.  I didn't find anyone who was as a big of a fan as her, but I did at least find someone who appreciated the 80's and Journey.  We had lawn seating so we got there early to stake out a spot.  Getting in took a little while (but getting out took even longer).  We took a blanket and got comfortable, but it seemed like a long time before the main bands started playing.  I didn't care for the Steve Miller Band that much, so I was a little disappointed they played so long.  Journey was a blast though.  I especially liked Mother, Father, which was sung by the drummer.

Getting in and out of parking for Foreigner went much smoother.  Maybe because there was less people, or maybe because we showed up a little later (at 7pm, since we had seats) and left a little early (right before what I think was the last song).  Don Felder was already playing by the time we got to our seats.  He was the lead guitarist for Eagles so he ended with Hotel California with help from Tommy Shaw (Styx).  Styx didn't do much for me, but some drunk crazy guy next to me bought us some wine which helped.  Foreigner was awesome though.  Every song was a hit - Double Vision, Cold as Ice, Waiting for a Girl Like You, Feels Like the First Time, Urgent, Juke Box Hero.  We left as they started playing I Want to Know What Love Is.  The only song I didn't hear that I would have liked to, and maybe they played it after we left, was Say You Will.

Bahama Cruise

Carnival Sensation

The weeks following my birthday were busy with a flurry of family events.  First my #1 niece graduated from high school.  I went down to Virginia Beach for the ceremony and family dinner.  She graduated with honors, and will go to nursing school through votech before attending college.  I'm very proud of her!  But damn... sure makes me feel old. After the kids were done with school, the whole family - brothers, wives, kids, Dad - went on vacation together.  We met up in Orlando, spent a day at Animal Kingdom, and then went on a cruise to the Bahamas.  Rachel's dad and his wife also joined us for the cruise.

I was never really keen on a cruise, but figured I had to try it once.  Plus, it seemed like a good family thing to do.  I tried to come up with various other ideas, but it was difficult trying to plan something everyone would enjoy.  I think the cruise worked out pretty good.  There were lots of activities on board for everyone - shows, comedy, karaoke, night club, piano bar, mini golf, gym, trivia games, pool, hot tub, gambling, etc.  I tried to participate in lots of things and didn't really get around to doing everything I wanted to do.  It also didn't leave me with much relaxation or sleep time.  I got a cabin with balcony, but I didn't spend much time in the room.  I caught couple of comedy shows with my brothers, an 80's dance show, participated in some trivia and games, learned how to dance to Thriller, played bingo with my brothers, lost a few bucks at slots, went to the gym couple times, and listened to the sucky singer in the piano bar, among other things.  If I had more time I would have liked to do some karaoke (assuming I could get in there early before there's too much of a crowd).  If I had gone with friends I may have gone into the clubs.  Some of the singalongs at the piano bar sounded fun too.  

Pool deck

We had two days in Bahamas - a day in Freeport and a day in Nassau.  It rained on the morning we arrived in Freeport, so we didn't really do a whole lot there.  Rachel and I wanted to take a tour, but the guys didn't seem to want to.  In Nassau though, we all took a private tour of the city.  For $40pp the 2.5 hour tour took us to see the residential areas to see how the upper class, middle class, and lower class lived.  We drove by governor's mansion and some beaches.  We saw the fort and Queen's staircase.  They took us somewhere to shop, and also to Atlantis.  In the afternoon, we walked over the the nearest beach (Junkanoo) and enjoyed a bit of time in the sun while the little ones went swimming.  Stupid adults didn't wear their swim suits.

View of our ship from the fort

Our cruise was for four nights, and our last day was totally at sea.  Although there are many things to do on a cruise ship, the number one activity seems to be eating.  It is all you can eat, and there's all sorts of food.  Food food food food food food.  You can eat all day.  You can eat all sorts of food.  Fine dining options are available for breakfast and dinner, as well as buffet and grill options.  Temptations surround you and for someone who had decided to start eating healthy and in moderation, it was a difficult environment to be in.  I made my best effort to eat healthy, but I think I had a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream almost every night.  Really though, it is amazing just how much food there is board.  You could feed a starving nation for a day with what's on a cruise ship.  I can only imagine the waste.

Deserts

I never really saw the appeal of a cruise before since I figured you can do everything on a cruise on land and you don't get much time at the destinations.  I still think so, but must admit I had a pretty good time.  I'd definitely be open to going on another one if the opportunity arises.

Turning 40

Two weeks ago I had my 40th birthday.  It was a day I had been looking forward to with mixed feelings. On one hand, nothing good comes from getting older, especially as a single woman.  There's the societal pressure on women to look beautiful, which is hard to do when grays, wrinkles, and cellulite start to appear. There's also the societal expectation of women my age to be married with children.  Men look for youth from a biological stand point: younger women are more fertile.  It's a tough age to be looking for men.  Those in my age range are typically already married with children.  If I go a bit younger, I'd have to find one who doesn't care to have children.  If I go older... well, I suppose that's an option.  In any case, after about 6 months of dating various men last fall through winter, I got a bit fed up with it all and am taking a break.  So now my focus is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where getting older also does you me good.  I'm coming back into working out after about a 5 year blank.  I started off barely surviving classes twice a week.  Now I can go three times a week but usually I am pretty burnt out by the time the weekend rolls around.  Although I'd like to think my flexibility, reflexes, and speed hasn't deteriorated much, I have to wonder how much better I would or could be if I had started when I was younger.  Say it takes me 10 years to get my black belt.  I will be a whooping 50 years old when I get it!!!  It's bad enough I'm a white belt... a female white belt.  If some of the younger folks in school knew my age I might be treated as the "old white belt lady".  As of the moment my age is a hush-hush, but a few of the older folks now know.  Hopefully they will keep their mouths shut.

So I said I had mixed feelings, but there's very little joy to be had from turning 40.  The only good I can think of is that I have an excuse for looking older.  However, in some sense, this milestone birthday has brought some sort of peace of mind with it.  I've long gave up on having a family.  It was not something I ever actively sought so I'm not planning on trying now this late in the game.  That leaves me free to do whatever the hell I want!!  I doubted myself for a bit around my birthday about whether I should be putting so much energy into BJJ instead of finding a mate.  Well, if BJJ makes me happy, why the hell not?  That's more than can be said of most men.  So now I've got a plan for the next 10-20 years.  The next 10 years will be spent pursuing my black belt in BJJ.  It's not as if I can travel much with Millie anyway.  By then, Millie will sadly have passed, or will soon.  Then I'll go work abroad again, perhaps Germany or Japan.  Japan now grants permanent residency after living there for only three years versus 10 before.  Maybe I'll make plans to retire in Japan where I can sit in an onsen daily, hike beautiful mountains, and eat great food.  Who knows.  In any case, I will work abroad, take some time off to travel, and make plans to retire at 60.