Inn At Long Trail 1707.3 (zero miles, 681.9 total miles)
I woke up very well rested at Platinum’s house, though my allergies were acting up a bit. I slept till 7, and laid around till 8. In the kitchen, Jedi had made a few large dishes of sweet potato hash, which were in the oven, and we all prepared a few dozen eggs to scramble.
When all was said and done, we had everything to make burritos and tacos out of the eggs, hash, cheese, taco sauce, and toppings. It was all incredibly good.
After breakfast, I had a good soak in the hot tub with Plat, QT, Tater, Workboots, and Speedgoat. The jets felt especially good on my feet and back, along with the hot water. I love to take baths at home, and hadn’t had the opportunity in almost two months. After the hot tub, I took a shower and a nice nap. I was living the life.
We had some very fun yard games to play for most of the day. There was Kan Jam, ladderball, and badminton. I played a few games of badminton, a couple one-on-one with Jedi that got quite competitive, and another with Neon and I against Pinata and Charlie. We didn’t keep score on that one.
After a perfectly timed lunch break of sandwiches, chips, and ice cream, a wiffle ball game ensued. There was an actual field at the bottom of the hill in the backyard, complete with bases.
I started off catching, but ended up actually doing a pretty good job of pitching for three out of the four innings we played. Our team ended 11-14, and I had a great time playing.
After that I took my second shower of the day and changed clothes, reveling in the convenience and comfort that had been afforded to us.
I hung out on the deck for a while, eating appetizers and having drinks with the rest of the Cult, Plat’s parents, their friends, and her best friend. Dan, Plat’s dad, grilled up steak and chicken kebabs and sausages.
Dinner was an absolute feast, with the additions of lots of veggies, broccoli salad, and tater tots. A huge table had been set up in the dining room, and a few people sat at the kitchen island because there were so many of us.
After dinner, almost everyone ran up to the third floor for a game of “around the world ping pong”. I’d never heard of it but ended up being immensely fun.
A dozen of us stood around the table, with four paddles. We had to keep one ball in play, and run around the table, passing the paddles to the people behind us after hitting the ball.
Everyone got three lives and was eliminated one by one until someone won. I wasn’t any good at it till the third game, but it was almost as fun to watch as it was to play.
After we worked up an appetite again, we were treated to pound cake with strawberry rhubarb, blueberries, and whipped cream, and an absolute confection of a homemade ice cream cake that Nance’s friend had made.
Right after dessert, it was time for fireworks, which we’d all been looking forward to. They are legal in New Hampshire, so Dan had been able to stock up on some very good ones.
With his friend and Jedi’s help, they put on a great show of five rounds of fireworks that we watched sitting on the lawn. It was our own personal fireworks show. Fireworks have a way of making me feel the present moment very deeply ever since I was a kid, and I always enjoy that feeling.
We all turned in soon after that, and it had been a most excellent and fun day. I marveled over the fact that a day of enjoyment seems to go by so much faster than a long day of hiking in the woods. I wasn’t ready for the fun to be over, but life keeps moving. It always does.