- Arnold (the town) and Big Trees (the State park) are a mere two hour drive from Merced, even though Google Maps says it will take three.
- I can hike for four and a half hours without incident, aside from the occasional burning sensation in my hips and having to replace conversation with laboring-to-suck-in-air during hill ascension.
- “Without incident” would almost be funny on Day Two as my shin and calf muscles scream at me, if not for the recollection that Day Three is usually worse.
- There is such a thing as frozen meatballs you simply nuke in the microwave then plop on to your spaghetti. And they even taste good. Eureka!
- Thanks to my friend Astrid and her Cranium Hoopla “Soundstage” clue (think: Charades,) I will never be able to watch a Pillsbury Doughboy commercial with a straight face again.
- Some vacation rentals require you to bring not only your own towels (!!) but your own bed linens, too. WTF? Then you find a mysterious, locked closet you just know contains towels, bed linens, and dry goods.
- I am not very quiet when I find myself wide awake and bored while other people are trying to nap before dinner after a hard day of hiking. I should have brought better reading material.
- Two identical plastic laundry baskets are better than one plastic one and one wicker one that snags clothing and sheds twigs. Why I did not buy a second plastic one years ago is beyond me. Must be vestiges of growing up in a house where two of anything you had to pay cold, hard cash for was an unnecessary luxury.
- The cats will not wither away and die if I leave them alone for two nights in a row, as long as I fill their food and water bowls to overflowing and leave the toilet lids up, just in case.
- Laundry still does not wash itself while I am away. Dammit.
Technorati Tags: 10 things
