Wifey and I went on a recent hike on arguably the best weather day of the year. We’ve been walking as well as jogging outdoors quite a bit lately, so it was great to add some hiking to the mix.
This hike was awesome for a number of reasons. The exercise. The fresh air. The sights and sounds of nature. But most of all – the company.
Always Grateful,
~Andy
Posted in Exercise, Out-and-About
Having only briefly attended the first day of Boogie on the Bayou, we were looking forward to the second day.
Making our way to the event. Happy to have my bro’ join us.
Passing through the farmers’ market.
We arrived right at the morning start time, unlike the day before when we arrived in the afternoon. It was a lot less crowded as expected, and we got the chance to stroll by many of the food stands.
Here’s what we got:
Crabcake served over “dirty” rice.
Alligator on a stick. Tasted like chicken.
Good, ol’ Polish sausage.
Cheeseburger.
Beef brisket sandwich.
Frozen yogurt.
Beers. More of the Shock Top Belgian White from the previous day.
More walking and checking out the sights and sounds.
We arrived at an area that featured food trucks, another food stand, and live music.
We had to order some beignets.
Received a sample of garlic fries.
My brother and wifey were obviously checking out something engaging:
It was the toddler doing the boogie.
I got into the act.
It was finally time to relax some.
Wifey and the toddler went ahead to a nearby park.
Leaving my brother and I to shoot the breeze a bit.
And agree that we had tons of fun.
Always Grateful,
~Andy
We’ve returned to walking and hiking any chance we get.
Last Saturday on a warm afternoon, before we went on our usual walk at a local walking trail, we briefly attended the first day of the 33rd Annual Boogie on the Bayou presented by the city of Campbell. We had stumbled upon this festival last year, and we knew that we wanted to attend this year’s event.
We planned to go the second day but because the venue was nearby, we made a last-minute decision to briefly check out the scene before our walk.
And here’s what we saw:
Cool arts and crafts. Lots of sunshine. Lots of people.
Got a special kick out of these sights:
Some food pics.
We did order a seafood gumbo. Not bad, not bad.
And a Belgian style wheat ale, Shock Top Belgian White to be exact. Quite tasty, actually.
It was warm, crowded, and loud – great attributes for a popular festival during peak time.
But we had our walk to get to.
I was never a walker or hiker prior to meeting wifey. And now, I really enjoy these outdoor activities.
Wifey and I have great talks on our walks and hikes. Though at one point we had some doubts about returning the following day, we decided that we would. And we’re very glad that we did.
Always Grateful,
~Andy
Do I have the meaning of life figured out? Nope. Will I ever? Not likely.
There are boundless interpretations of what life is about, about what the purpose of life is. Context is involved. It’s a personal thing. It very much depends on one’s individual situation. For some, the purpose of their lives is profound and deep. Others have never really given too much thought about their life’s purpose.
I’ve only recently started getting a better sense of what my life is about. It feels like it’s taken quite a while to get to this point. There have been too many years that I should’ve been soooo much smarter and productive. But I can’t dwell on the past too much; there’s too much to look forward to.
I’m at a point where life’s good; my life is full of many wonderful moments that leave me awestruck, emotional, grateful, and hungry to learn and experience more. I am one lucky dude.
The main reason that life is good is because the things I do in life closely align with my top values of family, health, and happiness. In that order, though these three values overlap a great deal. These values also likely have different meanings for different people. I know what these values mean for me, and they’re very important. For instance, by being as healthy as I can be, I can further increase the chances of living a happy life.
Earlier this week, wifey and I realized that we kicked it up a notch in terms of being healthier. We’ve been eating more wisely, and thanks to wifey’s energy and smarts, our meals have never tasted better.
And through tough love and ass kicking (mostly figuratively), wifey has helped convince me to focus on exercising consistently and in smart ways. 
Did I mention that I’m one lucky guy?
I don’t want to obsess over what my life’s purpose is. My main goal is to be happy as often as I can be and continue actively living. I’ve never been happier.
Always Grateful (for luck and for everything else),
~Andy
Posted in Exercise, Health, Out-and-About, Work-Life-Balance
Last weekend we went out for a hike.
It had been a while since we all had gone out hiking together. Wifey was quite sick with a cold, but she was a trooper. The air was cold but so refreshing. I haven’t gotten much exercise lately, so this walk during the bright, crisp early afternoon was rejuvenating for me.
The destination of our hike was an animal farm; Wifey already posted about it here.
Towards the end of our hike, a particular giant tree caught my attention, yet again. It always does whenever we go hiking at this location.
Plus there’s an informational sign about this tree along the path.
Yup, the Umbellularia californica, with its many uses.
And what’s this? A recipe! Ooh, ooh. I’m definitely making these potatoes.
I guess it’s a sign of maturity in that I didn’t really think about plucking some leaves off the tree itself. Perhaps it wasn’t maturity, but rather that there was always a steady stream of people passing by.
Hmm… If I picked up any of the fallen leaves, could I have then actually used them for cooking purposes, or would the leaves have been too unhygienic?
The California bay tree got smaller as we continued the trek back to our car.
Wifey loves to hike. I didn’t hike much before meeting her. I now love hiking. Can’t wait to go on many, many, many more hikes.
Always Grateful,
~Hubby
Posted in Exercise, Out-and-About
