Labor Day Weekend

So, my last day of work came and went relatively uneventfully. It was sort of like when I defended my Masters thesis--I had longed for the conclusion for so long, I was expecting the completion to be this exhilirating moment, but it really wasn't. I'm wondering if most things in life are relatively anti-climactic? Do our extreme joys and excitements fade as we get older?

Friday evening, I packed up the girls' and my stuff, and we set out for a campground a few miles from the house. Some of Janice's coworkers had reserved some campsites and invited us three girls along, so we made the most of it. Sitting under the stars that night, chatting with folks over a campfire, I realized there was no better way to celebrate the end of the field season. We camped alongside the Umpqua River, with a pair of great blue herons, a soaring eagle and many hungry ground squirrels to keep us company. What a wonderful experience.

The following day was the BLM/Forest Service Spotted Owl crew's end-of-summer bbq. It was located at the same park that we had camped at, so the girls and I woke up early, walked around and chatted with some of the other campers (and their dogs; Kika managed to rough up a Chihuahua puppy before 8 am) before getting ready for the bbq. I got a chance to meet many from the owl crew I hadn't yet encountered this summer, as well as the guy who passed along my housing request to Janice this past May. Thank goodness for Pete, or else the girls and I would have been up a creek this summer! After lots of scrumptious food, my failed attempt at volleyball, and Kika jumping out of the window of the car, it was time to pack up. The girls and I camped a second night, then got up early the next morning to pack and go home. I was hoping to catch Adam's phone call at the house but alas! I missed him yet again.

At the bbq on Sunday, I met a friend of Janice's who's retired and has several horses on his property. He was lamenting that all of his friends still work during the week so he never has anyone to go riding with. One woman said she'd go riding with him if he paid her. He laughed and said all the pretty ladies want to be paid to go out with him. I love horses, and thought I'd risk being rude, so I said, "I'm out here for another 3 weeks and you wouldn't have to pay ME to go out with you...." He looked at me and told me to show up Monday morning for a ride. So Monday morning, Janice and I drove a little ways down the road and met up with Dave and some friends for a 2-hour ride through the hills. It was wonderful. It was the first non-tourist horse ride I've ever taken, so I had to be in constant control of the horse. She was a little frisky, even at 19 years old, and she wanted to take off several times. I had to learn how to make her calm down, slow down to a walk, and recover from incidents with the other horses. I felt a little "western" that day. Once Janice and I got home, I noticed that I was having a weird reaction--the entire right side of my face was breaking out in a rash, and my right eye had swollen shut. I was also starting to have a difficult time breathing. I don't think I"m allergic to horses, but I don't know what else could have triggered this reaction....Janice raced to get me a Benadryl and I washed my face off. I just remember passing out on the floor for several hours after that; I kept waking up with a bad headache. Janice cancelled her plans to go into town to keep an eye on my condition. What a roommate, huh? So that was my Labor Day weekend. It was great!