Happy Birthday Dad

'We are the people there isn't any doubt

We are the people they still can't figure out

We are the people who love to sing"Twist and Shout"

We are the people our parents warned us about'

Jimmy Buffett

Want to start off today wishing my father a happy 70th birthday. There is no question that we are all products of our environments and all products of the influences we had growing up. So just a special thanks to my dad for helping me be who I am today. Stop sign hike on Monday seemed like it would be much worse than last week as the winds howled unmercifully Sunday night. Fortunately the winds died down early Monday morning and the hike was fairly warm and wind free. I shaved five minutes off last weeks time but still above my personal best. I jogged much of the first mile and when I hit the 2.5 mile mark I was almost 15 minutes ahead, but the jogging took its toll on my legs and I sort of limped home. one good thing about having 62 campers is that it's much more likely some of them are slower than me and happy to report a couple people behind me. Also got to make a political statement at the top :)

Working on the volleyball game in the pool. You can see the net hanging in the background and coop the orange volleyball in the air. I get a lot of joy out of watching people who are afraid to join in because they haven't played in forever, jump in and be part of the fun. And lets face it volleyball in the pool is a hoot.

My Tuesday morning hiking group. We hiked Anastazi's Ridge which is a challenging fitness hike that takes you out to an overlook of the valley and tons of old Indian carvings. It is amazing to share these moments with the fellow campers. It has taken me a full year before I have felt comfortable on these group hikes but they really make the day so interesting. And believe me if I can do these anyone coming to the ridge can.

When examining ancient Indian carvings it is always important to note the amazing detail of their work.

I don't have any new food pictures for Monday or Tuesday as we had some repeats. Breakfast seems pretty well set with the bacon and egg english muffin on Mondays and the muffin on Tuesday. We had the turkey sandwich for lunch and the chicken with purple mashed for dinner on Monday. We had pizza and enchilada lasagna Tuesday. Speaking of food I'm hungry this morning. I also need to give a shout out to Sheila the massage therapist here at the ridge. My quads and hammies were about as sore as I could imagine and she beat the hell out of them last night. Good as new this morning. Everyone has their favorite in spa area and mine is without a doubt Sheila. Do yourself a favor if you are coming out here and book a session with Sheila.

I would be remiss if I did not congratulate the new General Manager at Fitness Ridge, Mr. Eric Jackson. I have been known to shake my head at some of the executive decisions here at the Ridge. Not this one. This place will only better and more appealing with Eric at the helm. He deserves it and it will be fun to watch this place grow bigger and better under his watch. Again congrats to my good friend Eric. And I really agree with his first big marketing plan :) sorry inside joke. I hope everyone has a great day. I'll be home again in a week and than back at the Ridge sometime soon. Peace, Jim