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rootofnewt) wrote2001-11-19 10:40 am
rootofnewt) wrote2001-11-19 10:40 am
how to worsen a case of CFIDS, or... WOW
okay... so it was an intense weekend.
on friday, i went shopping for some stuff we don't have--thermoses, bag pads, good socks, etc. i used to have all that stuff, but no more. then, i went to meet boy for dinner.
we went to med deli. it was awesome. it's one of my favorite little restaurants. yummy lebanese food. i had my usual veggie combo (baba ganouj, salad, hummous, lobieh, + falafel that goes to boy), lentil soup, and lemonade. boy was full, so he ordered leek soup, fettoosh, and lemonade. we took our time eating, then walked over to Hudson Trail and Outfitters for a very small camper's stove.
after walking back to the car, we drove to AU for yet another film screening. this one was "Disco Vampires," yet another student film for which boy wrote the score. :) it rocked. it's an interesting horror/action film. i like the director, too, he's a sweetie with an undergrad degree in russian.
we jetted from the film as soon as it was over (okay, boy took a few minutes to network) and headed for the metro. i wasn't about to park by the black cat with my new (to me) car--it's too big for me to nicely parallel park just yet.
we got to the club in the middle of Syrup's set. this band was weird. synchronized guitar dancing. western shirts. cowboy hats. sunglasses.
i think they still practice in their mom's garage.
anyhow, Tomahawk eventually came on and the set rocked. :) i had to stay seated, but that was okay. it was good hard rock music with lovely vocal sounds emitted by mike patton... and one of the encore songs was quite loungey. very nice. :)
we were headed home when we realized that our friends' cars were towed. after thinking about what to do, they hopped a cab to the tow lot, boy and i headed to the metro. we then got in the car, drove to the market to pick up some food, and went home. went to bed way too late--three to four am.
and i woke up at 10am on saturday.
i got up after half an hour and did useful stuff like pack. i tossed in blankets, an extra change of warm clothing, and lots of food. then i made boy get up and got him dressed warmly. then we loaded the car and drove.
and drove and drove and drove.
until we got to spruce knob, the highest point in West Virginia and arguably the darkest area in our region. we got there just after sunset (we drove for a long time--left at a quarter of one) and hiked up to the summit, just to see how the walk was. it was short and very easy, so i wasn't too worn out, despite my lack of sleep.
we sat on top of the observation tower, watching the crescent moon set as satellites wizzed over us. we saw a few gorgeous meteors. the milky way was resplendent in its glorious detail. we could make out all details of orion and several other dimmer constellations. then we went back to the car to get some food.
while there, boy scowled at the thought of sitting on top of a mountain until 4am. so i drove us back down the mountain (it took one hour to ascend, so this was no small choice). well, about halfway down (it took 20 min, different route), we encountered a bunch of firetrucks dousing hot spots. we waited for twenty minutes, ate some tangerines, and then we all moved on. the trucks let us pass when we came to a switchback. it took five more minutes to get down the mountain. we then followed some roads (i love using my intuition--turn here, here, there. woohoo! civilization!) until we found a hotel. we got a room and sat for a bit.
boy decided he wanted to sleep til midnight or so, so we crawled into bed. after 10 minutes, i crawled out, dressed, and went out to the car to find my asthma inhaler. then i climbed back into bed for 15 more minutes and crawled back out when i realized my nasty case of hives wasn't going to disappear unless i washed. so i got up, washed in the stinky WV water, and dried off. then i got dressed and read until 11:30.
folks, if you have guests or run a hotel, don't use scented detergent and fabric softener. those things are EVIL.
boy rolled over then and seemed to be awake, so i got him dressed and out into the car.
we drove back up the mountain and lugged our bags, sleeping pads, and water up to the tower. we were the only ones there at midnight, but a couple of guys joined us within twenty minutes. soon thereafter, hikers trickled in and bedded down in mummy sacks.
the wind was blowing by now (spruce knob is infamous for its wind) and i commented to boy that i now understand various lore about the "wind/spirit that comes in the night".
some more folks trickled in, including a guy attempting to get some cellphone reception. we were seeing a lot of streaking meteors as leo rose. jupiter and saturn were already up in their respective constellations (gemini and taurus). the view was incredible. i especially loved watching the fog settle over the valleys below us.
a baltimorean showed up with his camera and cold weather gear. as other folks fell asleep, woke up, fell asleep again, he and i started talking. it turns out he works for the same company as boy! we chatted off and on, discussing our lives, educations, and birthplaces (we're both midwesterners).
sadly, boy had to go back to the car because he got too cold. i walked him back, tucked him in, and told him to turn off the car when he got warm again.
we saw some incredible lights... i saw a minimum of one meteor/minute from midnight on. i usually saw 3-4 on up to 10/min. around 4am, the show REALLY started cranking and the shower became a storm. we stopped counting. it was incredible--we could not watch them all at once. it was as though the stars were becoming rain. as leo rose overhead, we were able to watch meteors spring out in all directions.
there were a few fireballs and i counted about a dozen non-leonid meteors over the course of the evening. as sky brightened, the photographer and i packed up our stuff, watching venus rise. we kept delaying as we saw more meteors, but the show was slowing down to shower level. ;) watching stars fall into the brightening sky was incredible, though.... i've never seen meteors against a light blue sky. that was cool.
we walked back to our cars, exchanged cards, and drove down the mountain. the valleys were still foggy and i was tired. boy and i crashed at the hotel (i slept in my bag to avoid another asthma/hive attack). we woke up around 10:45, packed up, and started driving home. boy drove after we got to new market, VA. he was awake enough by then, he said. :)
it was a long day. we got home, showered, and i went to bed around 7pm. i woke up at 10:30am today. wow.
i really can't do the storm justice.
now, however, i need to go wash my once-white car.
and i have a feeling the alignment i paid for last week was a waste of money.
no matter.
it was worth it.
on friday, i went shopping for some stuff we don't have--thermoses, bag pads, good socks, etc. i used to have all that stuff, but no more. then, i went to meet boy for dinner.
we went to med deli. it was awesome. it's one of my favorite little restaurants. yummy lebanese food. i had my usual veggie combo (baba ganouj, salad, hummous, lobieh, + falafel that goes to boy), lentil soup, and lemonade. boy was full, so he ordered leek soup, fettoosh, and lemonade. we took our time eating, then walked over to Hudson Trail and Outfitters for a very small camper's stove.
after walking back to the car, we drove to AU for yet another film screening. this one was "Disco Vampires," yet another student film for which boy wrote the score. :) it rocked. it's an interesting horror/action film. i like the director, too, he's a sweetie with an undergrad degree in russian.
we jetted from the film as soon as it was over (okay, boy took a few minutes to network) and headed for the metro. i wasn't about to park by the black cat with my new (to me) car--it's too big for me to nicely parallel park just yet.
we got to the club in the middle of Syrup's set. this band was weird. synchronized guitar dancing. western shirts. cowboy hats. sunglasses.
i think they still practice in their mom's garage.
anyhow, Tomahawk eventually came on and the set rocked. :) i had to stay seated, but that was okay. it was good hard rock music with lovely vocal sounds emitted by mike patton... and one of the encore songs was quite loungey. very nice. :)
we were headed home when we realized that our friends' cars were towed. after thinking about what to do, they hopped a cab to the tow lot, boy and i headed to the metro. we then got in the car, drove to the market to pick up some food, and went home. went to bed way too late--three to four am.
and i woke up at 10am on saturday.
i got up after half an hour and did useful stuff like pack. i tossed in blankets, an extra change of warm clothing, and lots of food. then i made boy get up and got him dressed warmly. then we loaded the car and drove.
and drove and drove and drove.
until we got to spruce knob, the highest point in West Virginia and arguably the darkest area in our region. we got there just after sunset (we drove for a long time--left at a quarter of one) and hiked up to the summit, just to see how the walk was. it was short and very easy, so i wasn't too worn out, despite my lack of sleep.
we sat on top of the observation tower, watching the crescent moon set as satellites wizzed over us. we saw a few gorgeous meteors. the milky way was resplendent in its glorious detail. we could make out all details of orion and several other dimmer constellations. then we went back to the car to get some food.
while there, boy scowled at the thought of sitting on top of a mountain until 4am. so i drove us back down the mountain (it took one hour to ascend, so this was no small choice). well, about halfway down (it took 20 min, different route), we encountered a bunch of firetrucks dousing hot spots. we waited for twenty minutes, ate some tangerines, and then we all moved on. the trucks let us pass when we came to a switchback. it took five more minutes to get down the mountain. we then followed some roads (i love using my intuition--turn here, here, there. woohoo! civilization!) until we found a hotel. we got a room and sat for a bit.
boy decided he wanted to sleep til midnight or so, so we crawled into bed. after 10 minutes, i crawled out, dressed, and went out to the car to find my asthma inhaler. then i climbed back into bed for 15 more minutes and crawled back out when i realized my nasty case of hives wasn't going to disappear unless i washed. so i got up, washed in the stinky WV water, and dried off. then i got dressed and read until 11:30.
folks, if you have guests or run a hotel, don't use scented detergent and fabric softener. those things are EVIL.
boy rolled over then and seemed to be awake, so i got him dressed and out into the car.
we drove back up the mountain and lugged our bags, sleeping pads, and water up to the tower. we were the only ones there at midnight, but a couple of guys joined us within twenty minutes. soon thereafter, hikers trickled in and bedded down in mummy sacks.
the wind was blowing by now (spruce knob is infamous for its wind) and i commented to boy that i now understand various lore about the "wind/spirit that comes in the night".
some more folks trickled in, including a guy attempting to get some cellphone reception. we were seeing a lot of streaking meteors as leo rose. jupiter and saturn were already up in their respective constellations (gemini and taurus). the view was incredible. i especially loved watching the fog settle over the valleys below us.
a baltimorean showed up with his camera and cold weather gear. as other folks fell asleep, woke up, fell asleep again, he and i started talking. it turns out he works for the same company as boy! we chatted off and on, discussing our lives, educations, and birthplaces (we're both midwesterners).
sadly, boy had to go back to the car because he got too cold. i walked him back, tucked him in, and told him to turn off the car when he got warm again.
we saw some incredible lights... i saw a minimum of one meteor/minute from midnight on. i usually saw 3-4 on up to 10/min. around 4am, the show REALLY started cranking and the shower became a storm. we stopped counting. it was incredible--we could not watch them all at once. it was as though the stars were becoming rain. as leo rose overhead, we were able to watch meteors spring out in all directions.
there were a few fireballs and i counted about a dozen non-leonid meteors over the course of the evening. as sky brightened, the photographer and i packed up our stuff, watching venus rise. we kept delaying as we saw more meteors, but the show was slowing down to shower level. ;) watching stars fall into the brightening sky was incredible, though.... i've never seen meteors against a light blue sky. that was cool.
we walked back to our cars, exchanged cards, and drove down the mountain. the valleys were still foggy and i was tired. boy and i crashed at the hotel (i slept in my bag to avoid another asthma/hive attack). we woke up around 10:45, packed up, and started driving home. boy drove after we got to new market, VA. he was awake enough by then, he said. :)
it was a long day. we got home, showered, and i went to bed around 7pm. i woke up at 10:30am today. wow.
i really can't do the storm justice.
now, however, i need to go wash my once-white car.
and i have a feeling the alignment i paid for last week was a waste of money.
no matter.
it was worth it.
no subject
no subject
I'm so glad you got to watch the showers, it sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience :)
-- Andi
and now you know...
i really need to go wash the car. ugh. must find a real car wash. none of that "touchless" crap.