Happy Independence day!

To celebrate, I went hiking, independently. I drove the MINI up to Cape Flattery and walked the Shi Shi Beach trail.

It was a lovely day in the Puget Sound area, predicted to hit 80+, but on the coast it was 60 – perfect for hiking. Parts of the 4.5 mi trail were deep rainforest, parts were sunny boardwalk, and parts were misty ocean bluff – totally gorgeous.

The first 2 miles of the trail were easy, wide trails and gradual incline. The last ¼ mile, though, was the killer – about 300 vertical feet, scrambling up and down steep switchbacks, and using tangled tree roots like irregular stairsteps. The view at the bottom was worth it, though!

There are more pics on Flickr, which all these images link to, of the day’s scenery.

Even though Maggie the MINI is fun to drive, the drive was a bit long – three hours each way. The last 45, though, was pretty much perpetual S-curve and hairpin turns, as fun to drive in the MINI as a roller coaster ride.

I’m glad I got out and pushed myself!

This weekend, Independence Day appropriately enough, I will be flying solo for a few days. Not only is it the first time since losing Bryan – but really, the first time in a very long time, with the exception of business trips.

The boys are taking their first road trip south to Portland. Zach is driving. Of course I’m a nervous mom, but I’m also very proud of them – independence and flying the nest is the goal, isn’t it?

The boys have been wonderfully supportive to me since losing Bryan, patient, helpful and just plain good company. They give me hugs whenever I ask, wait up for me after business trips, adventure outdoors with me, and are willing to chat into the late hours of the night.

With them out of town, I have several options on how to handle the long holiday weekend. I can go visit family or hang out with friends. I can go to the coast, or to the mountains, for a solo lodge adventure. I can go camping.

After some reflection, I’ve decided just to hang out at home. Partially it’s because I’m cheap; I don’t want to pay for a room somewhere plus dog sitting. But more importantly, it’s because embracing being alone, making friends with my solo self, is something I need to do.

It won’t be easy. I’m sure I’ll have sad moments and anxious moments. But learning to live happily by myself is essential, now.

I’m going to try to make a mini-retreat out of it. I’ve been to retreat centers where I’ve had time to relax, re-focus, find my center, and I think I can do that here at home as well, as long as I don’t get distracted with non-essential stuff. For example, I’m going to attempt to stay offline – I may not be 100% successful, it’s a wicked habit, but it’s worth a try.

I’m going to focus on getting plenty of rest, meaningful reading (and fun reading too!), yoga, meditation, hiking and creative projects. I have a LOT of creative projects queued up – some metalsmithing, a quilting/fabric art project, writing, some redecorating, even painting. In spite of all that, I’m also going to try to stay relatively unscheduled, rather than over-commit myself.

I may blog; I may not. That would be the exception to my intention of staying disconnected. Otherwise, I will be off net.

Happy Independence Day!