It was a good and busy weekend. Mr W and I did make it to Rocky Grass, and above is the Infamous Stringdusters. I confess I don't know enough about bluegrass music to be discriminating, and everything I heard, I thought sounded great. We were about 2/3 of the way back, and the picture is blurry because of that.
The downside of these festivals is that they favor people who know the system and have been there before. At some predetermined point, people get in line to get numbers (which are randomly assigned) to get in line to get tarp space on the lawn. Some friends of mine go every year, and Mr W and I mooched some of their hard-won space - shaded space to boot.
This is looking to my left, and the other crowd picture was looking to my right, where you can see the path that people use and dance on as well. I'd love to go again, but don't want to work so hard to get a good spot.
On Sunday, Sally and I hiked another dog-friendly trail called Young Gulch. It was hot (again), but we did the whole thing, 4 miles out and turn around at the little hill below and go back. The weird thing with this hike was that it took me just as long to get back as it did to go out. I'm rethinking the hiking shoes I got a few months ago. About 1/2 way into the hike, I can really feel the stones under the balls of my feet. I need to use my trusty old hiking boots next time and see if it's me or if it's my footwear. A good hike nonetheless.
Someone needs to get to the groomer one of these days and get a beard and eyebrow trim, but still had a good time. Here, she's waiting for part of my sandwich - such rapt attention!
Looks like fun! Once we get the logistics of respite care for our daughter worked out, DH and I might actually start being able to go on vacations like these again! Or at least go hiking or camping :)
ReplyDeleteAlison, it was fun and busy, but there's always a price to pay in terms of leaving other things undone.
ReplyDeleteWhat is respite care (if you'll pardon my ignorance)?
My daughter has autism, and would be unable to safely go on a trip like this. Respite care is, essentially, trained childcare provided by the state to parents/caregivers of people with special needs. As you might guess, caring full-time for someone with special needs is a lot more stressful than caring for your typical child (and you know how stressful even that can be!), and the state recognizes that breaks for the caregivers are in the best interests of all involved. It's only in recent years that various things have come together in such a way that our parents are no longer able to provide the occasional overnight break for us, so we're just now looking into the state respite system.
ReplyDeleteI hope that works out for you. Like you said, caring for a non-special needs child is a big job, let alone meeting the needs for one who needs more care. Getting an occasional break makes us better parents.
ReplyDelete