Apps, First Day Hike

The future is now!

Paul has had a sore lower back lately. I talked him into having his very first massage. He came home raving about the experience and thanked me profusely! No, not really. He seemed underwhelmed. Great! More massage $ for me.

One thing he did say was that the masseuse pushed him to drink more water. It's true. Both of us are bad at hydrating. He said Joan Collins (the masseuse, not the actress) asked him about his "daily intake". He listed off what he drinks - such as coffee, and she said "dehydrater" and wine, "dehydrater". Uh oh. He does have his trusty water glass but apparently doesn't utilize it enough.

I don't do much better. I'm not as much of a coffee hound as Paul Goldsmith. He apparently inherited the gene from his parents who could drink that beverage 24- hours a day without any effects to their ability to sleep. I can wave caffeine under my nose after noon and stare at the clock well past midnight. I take my trusty water bottle to work (I try to avoid drinking Wallace Building water which has been known to be brownish in the morning) and caffeine-free tea at home. But I kinda nurse it - definitely not a chugger. I'm just not that thirsty.

I read recently that there is a personal wearable device that along with everything else it measures, tells the wearer if they are hydrated enough. DRINK! I relayed this story to Paul and we began riffing about what is coming. A wearable that tells us when we are full! "Stop Eating Dammit!" One that sets off an alarm when we have reached .08 alcohol content. I imagine that happens faster that we'd care to admit! I'd like one that fills in the words and name I can't come up with. I always think of them later...#myharddriveskips

Paul and I started out 2017 right! We were asleep. We did go to the Cyclone Men's basketball game the night before. The team came from behind for a victory and we won the postgame celebration with our friends the Ehreckes, Kevin, and Kari, with their daughter Kasee and her honey Tanner. We enjoyed supper at the local Irish joint with them after - a fun night.  New Year's Eve was low-key - just watching football. Shoutout to our future son-in-law, Corey. His Clemson Tigers were dominating in their win over the Big 10 darling Ohio State.

On the first day of 2017, we did something new - Iowa DNR's First Day Hike at Walnut Woods in the flood plain of the Raccoon River on the southwest side of Des Moines. DNR and parks across the country held similar events. The weather was chilly good. I bundled up yet even with the Hot Hands (courtesy of a booth REI had at the event) my fingers got chilly. We hiked with over 100 fellow enthusiasts at the event put on by DNR and Friends of Walnut Woods, a volunteer group that supports park activities. The ranger, Terry Manning, kicked off the event with a few words about the park and the First Day history. He's a bird man who especially loves purple martins. That morning he'd rescued a goose with a broken wing. It was waiting in his truck to go to a rehab center.

Ranger Terry fills us in. Note the free walking sticks! We each got one. 

After a group photo, we were off on a 2.5-mile hike. Paul and I chatted excitedly the whole time about what we are looking forward to. There is one big event coming up of course - Amy and Corey's wedding in Denver in August. We can't wait to see Jud and Kara's new home. We also talked about other vacations to come and hiking, biking and kayaking in Iowa in 2017. We haven't been to the NE part of the state to kayak the Upper Iowa for a few years...and it's gorgeous! (Iowa's little secret) Of course I made my honey stop for a few pics. I didn't make any resolutions to stop doing selfies, sorry, not sorry.

Iowa - a good place to be. Just dress warmly. 

Back at the Walnut Woods Lodge, cocoa, coffee, and breakfast awaited! It was a super way to ring in the New Year.

I'm nervous and excited about the coming year. Stay tuned.