So yeah, last Saturday afternoon was nonstop-action, more or less, and it was an incredibly fun day. Unfortunately, the few photos I have don't properly detail what I went through that day, so I have to try to explain.
First, I hiked a tough mountain trail with a good friend, and it was one of the most fun and memorable things I've ever done. For perspective, my hometown is 4000 feet above sea level. The end of the trail that I climbed is at 8000 feet. In addition to that, the trail is less than three miles long. And I covered the distance in what seems to be considered a blazing speed of 105 minutes. In fact, at several points, I was literally running up the hill, and my friend who completed the trip with me said even when I was barely trudging that he hadn't counted on going nearly that fast. All told, the round trip took four hours, and it was possibly the best I've ever felt about doing one thing for so long as that.
When we finally made it all the way back down, we went straight to his house, where our return was celebrated and our adventure told to admiration at our speed. But that was not the best part. The best part was when my friend put me behind the wheel of his family's go-cart, which they drive on a makeshift dirt track in their backyard. It was actually the first time I'd ever tried to steer anything bigger and more dangerous than a bumper car on a track, and it was awesome. My friend was thrilled at my drifting and my hairpin turns, and I eventually became so confident in my driving that I tried to drive an infinity loop (ka a figure 8) and I almost managed it, but on the last turn I turned too soon and wound up driving head on into some straw bales sitting in the track as a marker, which was actually the best result because I didn't have the presence of mind to take my foot off the gas and probably would have been stuck in drive mode until I crashed anyway pr used all the gas in the tank, which would have been embarrassing.
And after that, my friends took me along to a hangout hosted by another of their friends, which for personal reasons was less fun than what had come before. But I still had fun, because it became a singing party and they gave me a turn. After an awkward pause while I tried to remember a song, I gave them a rousing rendition of a tongue-twister of an Irish folk song which had everyone dancing. And then I raised the bar by following through on a claim that I could increase my speed. At the end of the night, at the urging of most of those present, I took the mic again and delivered a somewhat dramatic performance of a sad song that they specifically requested. That concluded, I told them enthusiastically that I would jump at the next chance to sing at a party. Then I had to leave.
It was literally midnight when I finally got home, and it was undoubtedly the wildest and most fun day I have experienced in far too long...
