September 1st – R&R

     The sun woke me up for a minute as it rose over the trees on the far bank of the river around 8 A.M., but I happily ignored it and went back to sleep until 9 A.M. Then I decided it was time to bless the world with my unkempt hair and grumpy morning personality.

     Breakfast today came in the form of a tuna bagelwich – a meal I invented at lunch yesterday. I bought six cheese-jalapeno bagels to pair with the canned tuna that my mom kindly sent with me when I left. It is my new favorite meal!

     Next, I looked for a book to read. I brought three boxes of them with me, so it took a few minutes for me to decide. I settled upon a novel by Andrew Klavan, titled True Crime.a I spent the next three hours entranced. The story is a detective thriller, but the excitement didn’t come from the crime or the trial, as it usually does. The subject of the book is a man on Death Row who has one day left to live. A journalist is assigned to interview him; to learn what goes through the mind of a man who is about to die. But as soon as the journalist is given the assignment, he smells something fishy about the case. The details of the crime don’t connect for him and he is left with the horrible thought that this man might have been convicted falsely. This is where the story takes place. It follows the journalist as he tries to figure out what doesn’t make sense, then rushes around attempting to find solid evidence that will support his intuition so that he can stop the execution in time.

     So I spent the morning reading. But after several hours of sitting, my legs started complaining. They used the oldest trick in the book – emotional manipulation. “If you really like us, you’ll use us to go take a walk.”. I gave in and told them I’d drive to the Hoh River Visitor’s Center so that we could go hiking. That made them happy. However, when I arrived at the Visitor’s Center, I had to disappoint them. I went inside to get a map of the area but encountered other people on the way. Other people! I simply couldn’t be asked to socialize today. I was having too much fun being alone and reading.

     I apologized to my legs for the false promise I had given them and drove back toward my campsite. On my way back, I decided to check in with my family. I suppose that some people are okay to talk with and be around. In the depths of the forest, I had no cell phone reception so I drove north until I regained a signal. When the beep of incoming emails sounded, I knew I had made it. I found a shady spot to pull off the road and called home. After talking, I noticed that the place I had pulled off really was nicely shaded. I decided to stick around for awhile. First I made myself another tuna bagel-wich, then I called James – the friend I stayed with in San Luis Obispo. Finally, I returned to my book.

     With seventy pages left to go, I took a break to reassure my legs that they were still greatly appreciated. When I finished walking, I figured it would be good to go back to camp and finish my book there.

     So I did. It was a great story and had a great ending. I won’t spoil it!

     Filled with the excitement of finishing a good book, I started the one responsibility I had set for myself today – 200 pushups. Twenty-three minutes later, I was done. Now I’m three for three! California, Oregon, and Washington are all done. Next up is Idaho.

     And that’s all for today! The river is murmuring quietly beside me – I think it’s telling me to get some sleep. I’m going to stop writing and listen to it.

3 thoughts on “September 1st – R&R

  1. Your scenery makes me envious. To have the time to study
    Aesthetics. Take your time absorb the moments. Your words paint thoughts feelings and actions. You have a gift.

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