Blue Moon hike

The weather here in Bellingham was predicted to be rainy this afternoon but not raining in the morning, so we Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center (17 of us!) to get an early in-and-out hike. We went to the North Shore of Lake Whatcom, 7 miles out and back on the North Shore trail, and we were done with lunch and back at the trailhead by noon! The lake was unusually smooth and glassy (shown above, click any picture to enlarge), and the weather was in the mid-30s and dry.

We walked faster than usual, since there is no elevation gain, and stopped for a quick lunch a half mile out from the trailhead at a nice beach. That's Linda looking very Blue Moon-ish. She has convinced me that I should join her other walking group tomorrow morning at Lake Padden, where we will celebrate the new year with hot chocolate and (for me) a new group of friends. I'll go, of course. This is where the Polar Bears Club will jump into the lake at noon, and I can't help but think of the picture possibilities!

I'm here at home now, writing this Blue Moon New Years Eve post, and it's raining hard out there. We managed to get back to the Senior Center just ahead of the rain, and now I can hear the rain hitting the roof and making quite a racket. After having caught up on my blogging buddies' New Year's Eve posts, the idea of looking back, a retrospective of the past year, is intriguing.

Last New Year's Eve, I had not met most of you who will be reading this post. I didn't know about all the wonderful friends I would make: Rae, Judy, sas, Connie, Whitney, Nancy, Tiff -- I can't even name them all, but those pop up (oh, and Janine, Lily, Joan). Please don't be miffed if I forgot you since I can't possibly name everyone; in the heat of the moment these bloggers come to mind. All of you, named and unnamed, have enriched my life in ways I could never have predicted a year ago. Thank you again and again! (You too, Lucy and VB, and I am resisting going back and removing all these names for fear of forgetting someone who has changed my life.)

I traveled to Macedonia with my old boss in April, which was a truly wonderful experience, and I met some fantastic people who are now Facebook friends -- oh yes, Facebook came into my life this past year, too! The trip also made me realize how full and meaningful my life in retirement has become, and how little I miss all that international travel. One more Blue Moon picture, this time of my friend Peggy, and I'll call it a post!

I used my handy-dandy fill-in flash to take this picture a few hours ago, Peggy in front of Lake Whatcom, Blue Moon, New Year's Eve 2009.

:-)