Day 13 - CDC recommends all J&J patients get a booster after 2 months

Hiking to the Griffith Observatory…

11/2/21. Tuesday 

7:00-7:15 – My alarm goes off and I allow myself 15 minutes of transition time. 

7:15-7:30 – Up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the dog, but she is really out of it.  I have to cue her several times to go outside…I’m pressed for time and a little impatient. I dangle her toy in front of her face, she grabs it, and we head outside. The yard looks so nice after all of the gardening I did last night. She finally goes potty in the red rock flower bed and we return inside: coffee for me, cheese for her.  I go upstairs with my coffee and jump in the shower.  

7:30-8:30 – Shower. Lotion. Hiking attire: black leggings, T-shirt, a sweatshirt (layers), and my old black tennis shoes. I listen to The Daily. 

8:30-10:00 – B. arrives and we drive to the Greek Theatre Box Office, the start of our Griffith Observatory hike that I purchased [$50 per person], then rescheduled on account of rain, last week. Traffic is…bad.  We’re stuck in rush-hour gridlock for most of it. I eat a pear on the way. 

10:00-2:00 – We arrive just in time and there are 6 of us: a gay couple [two young, male college students from  Atlanta, GA, celebrating their 2-year anniversary]; a 30-something, tall and lanky Nigerian doctor, in his second year of residency and visiting from New York; B. and I; and our guide, Emily, a stand-up comedian who has performed at the Laugh Factory before. I am shocked to see that Emily is wearing open-toed sandals for the hike. This tour is billed as “easy to moderate and great for families.  Children should be 5+ years of age…”, is 3.5 miles round trip, and will take 2.5 hours. I picked it because it was described as “easy to moderate.”

Only the Nigerian doctor is masked, but he takes it off 10 minutes in.  The safest place to be in this pandemic-era is outdoors; as a doctor, he must know this. 

Right away, Emily tells us that this hike is categorized as “intermediate to advanced.” Hmmm…ok. We reach the trail and I’m a little surprised to see that the majority of the hike will be almost entirely uphill.  I don’t necessarily mind as I’m probably in the best physical shape of my life right now; however, 5-year-olds were encouraged to attend. Parts of the hike are extremely treacherous…narrow trails with cliff-side drops…single-file paths…some of it reminds me of the Grand Canyon.  I would never bring a child to this particular tour.  Nevertheless, I love it!  B. likes it, too. The views are incredible, Emily is super funny, and I like the gay students.  I catch them holding hands a couple of times – they’re sweet. And it’s not all dangerous…there are a few areas where we are walking on asphalt. I have some snacks in my backpack and eat a few zucchini slices along the way.  

Note: B. will discover that the new hiking boots he bought for Ireland and is wearing for this hike in order to break them in, will be a bad fit. Within two days, two of B.’s toenails will turn completely black, after bumping the top of his shoe with each step for the 2.5 hours we were hiking, and he will have to make an emergency appointment with a podiatrist, who will insist on a complete removal of the entire toenail from B.’s right, big toe. 

After around 2 hours, we reach the Griffith Observatory, although it’s closed today. It’s hard to believe that we just hiked up the mountain! Now, it’s only a matter of walking down the paved driveway to the parking lot where we originally parked. 

2:00-3:30 – B. had the foresight to scout out a restaurant the day before and we have lunch at the Mess Hall, which is right around the corner from the start of the hike. We sit in what is best described as a kind of “green house” outside, yet encased with open windows and a view of the street. It’s the closest to sitting outside that we could get. I order a turkey burger and two glasses of champagne; the turkey burger comes with its own special sauce and is surprisingly good. B. orders…something??  The restaurant was a great pick. 

3:30-4:30 – Driving. Traffic is…better…but still congested. 

4:30-11:00 – Cocktail hour and B. and I almost finish the Maid series. B. leaves. 

11:00-11:30 – I start my nighttime routine, but take a timeout for a moment to sit in my chair and read a Money Diary when; 

11:30-1:30 – I accidentally fall asleep for two hours.  

2:00-3:00 – I go downstairs to my office and create a prompt for tomorrow morning’s Discussion Board. I also adjust course content so everything is ready for my highschoolers.  

Kitchen prep and I ready my coffee for tomorrow.  I also have the piece of pizza that I packed in my lunch bag yesterday.  In fact, I can’t stop eating. I have some of L.’s cheese puffs and cheese sticks, take the dog out, and set the alarm. 

3:00-3:30 – Bed.  Tomorrow’s class is ready and will automatically deploy at the appropriate time so I set my alarm for 9:00.