An undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature.
An undertaking of a questionable nature, especially one involving intervention in another state’s affairs.
An unusual or exciting experience.”an adventure in dining.”
So, yesterday’s hike had the potential to be hazardous; it was a questionable undertaking and certainly unusual. Adventure defined indeed! Trouble is, I wasn’t looking for adventure. I needed to get out and exercise, but given my limited lung capacity, I wanted to take it flat and easy. My hike mates kindly accepted my inability to do any climbs, and so we planned on doing a mostly flat valley walk from Barangay Naugsol back to Barretto. Sometimes, the best-laid plans go astray, as we amply demonstrated during our trek. Here’s that story in pictures:
We took a 200 peso trike ride out to Naugsol to start our hike.A bypass highway is under construction, and we gave it a walk to check out progress.The view from the new bridge over the river.We don’t get out this way that often, and it is a nice change of scenery when we do.Where the pavement ends.And then I encountered this little hill…and it kicked my ass. That pretty much shows my current sorry physical state.Huffing and puffing all the way up.And then there was another one.“I think I can, I think I can…”And finally, we head down to the valley floor.The ass side of Easter Mountain.And then we made what turned out to be a bad decision. Instead of taking the valley path we knew, we took the one we *thought* would take us along the edge of the valley. And yes, it is going up. My poor lungs.We did encounter this old man who lives out here alone with his dog and says he loves the solitude.For a while, we had a path to follow.Until we didn’t.So, I followed the leader up a pretty steep hill in search of the missing trail.It was harder than it looks, especially for me.Here I come. The adventure was starting to look like a nightmare to me.And the trail we expected to find up top wasn’t there. That meant bushwhacking our way back down to the valley. Not fun!Steve pointed out that at least I’d have something to “post” about…And eventually, we found a path leading back to civilization.What’s this bear doing in the woods?That path that leads to Alta VistaI invited my hike mates to The Rite Spot for some refreshments.There we are enjoying some beers, chips and dip, and chicken nuggets.Only a tad over 5K, but it kicked my ass plenty good.
When the time came around to head into town, I chose to stay home instead. I just wasn’t feeling up to the trek, and why bother when I have a nice venue up on the roof?
My rocking chair and a cooler of beer to help pass the time.The sun began its downward journey.And I enjoyed some of the views from The Rite Spot, like this one of Bridge #1, which I frequently cross on my hikes.Hasta la vista, Mr. Sunshine.See you next time.Swan had been busy in the kitchen preparing meals for me and our downstairs crew.Swan’s sister Chloe, Christian, and Inday.And one with me at the head of the table.The white man’s food. The others had Filipino-style dishes featuring rice.The day definitely ended better than it began.
I did a solo 6K street walk this morning that also left me feeling tired and winded. I hope this, too, shall pass. I will be going out later to help keep the Bars of Barretto in business. It’s a thankless task, but somebody has to do it.
Today’s Quora Q&A:
Q: How have you lived in the states for a 122 years?
A: I’m a time traveler. I’ve gone back in time to the year 1900 and stayed in the USA the entire time since. A little-known fact about time travel is that you never age…I was 30 years old when I arrived here, and I’m still 30 after 122 years. It’s been quite the ride; trust me on that!
Another example of ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. And just so you know, I rarely even bother playing the Quora answer game anymore. I still visit the site once a day as there are some interesting posts about historical events I enjoy.
Today’s humor:
Just remember, you are what you eat!What I remember from my Holland days was that they put mayonnaise on french fries.I see what you did there.
That’s all for now, folks!
5 thoughts on “Adventure? Some.”
And then I encountered this little hill…and it kicked my ass. That pretty much shows my current sorry physical state.
Yikes. I’m looking at that hill and thinking that I could eat it for breakfast after all of my recent staircase work. Things must be pretty bad for you. I do hope this clears up, though—sooner rather than later. Nothing so basic as breathing.
I asked Google, “What helps open alveoli?” And the answer that came back was: simple deep breathing. Maybe try meditating while deep-breathing. While sober, of course.
And then there was another one.
Oh. I was fooled by that first shot. No, this looks like an ass-kicker of a slope, even for healthier lungs. I might be able to walk up without stopping, but I’d have to go slow and maybe switchback my way up.
We did encounter this old man who lives out here alone with his dog and says he loves the solitude.
That’s a really impressive thatched roof. Just… don’t smoke around there.
Steve pointed out that at least I’d have something to “post” about…
Morbid thought: you might need to tell Swan about your blog and give her access to it in case anything should… happen. If not Swan, then someone you trust.
What’s this bear doing in the woods?
Kind of a sad pic. I have a soft spot for abandoned stuffed animals.
There we are enjoying some beers, chips and dip, and chicken nuggets.
I hope they’re really enjoying those beers. San Mig Lite is kind of milquetoast for most regular drinkers, isn’t it?
My rocking chair and a cooler of beer to help pass the time.
A Playmate by your side. Nice.
The sun began it’s downward journey
Of the errors I let slide on my way through your post, this was most egregious. There were a few punctuation errors before this. Can you find ’em?
Watch out for them cross-eyed women. Soul-eaters.
I use the “pursed lips” breathing technique frequently, and it does help. I’ve tested it on my oximeter, and it does raise the number three or four notches in a couple of minutes.
Regarding the teddy bear, I always wonder what the back story is–how and why was it out here in the first place? There were no houses or shacks around.
Actually, San Mig Light is very popular here; I’d say more expats drink it than any other flavor. Red Horse is what the locals prefer. The Zero I drink gets some mockery for its weakness (3% alcohol), but I don’t care.
Yeah, and that Playmate by my side never asks for a lady drink!
It’s amazing how sloppy my writing gets, and my proofreading is no better. I’m going to miss a comma sometimes, but using the conjunction “it’s” instead of its (and vice versa) is worse than dumb because I know better. I made a few fixes in the original post, can’t say I caught them all.
This feels as if I’m kicking you while you’re down, but “it’s” is technically a clause (“it is” = subject + verb), not a conjunction. And “its,” without the apostrophe, is technically a possessive adjective although some grammar resources might call it a possessive pronoun.
Coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
Subordinating conjunctions: because, unless, until, if, that, before, after, etc.
There are too many subordinating conjunctions to list. They all introduce subordinate (dependent) clauses, i.e., ideas that can’t stand on their own.
A clause contains a subject and a verb. See my Commas, Part 1 for more.
We took a 200 peso trike ride out to Naugsol to start our hike.
I didn’t mention anything about hyphen errors, but phrasal adjectives that come before the noun or noun phrase they modify are normally hyphenated:
a 200-peso trike ride
I think you caught everything else!
re: San Mig Lite
I stand corrected and pronounce myself educated.
Geez, bad enough to be wrong without learning I was wrong about why I was wrong.
And now I have a headache. I think I’m too old to learn English.
The forlorn teddy bear and the unknown backstory reminded me of the time Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a short story with as few words as possible.
And then I encountered this little hill…and it kicked my ass. That pretty much shows my current sorry physical state.
Yikes. I’m looking at that hill and thinking that I could eat it for breakfast after all of my recent staircase work. Things must be pretty bad for you. I do hope this clears up, though—sooner rather than later. Nothing so basic as breathing.
I asked Google, “What helps open alveoli?” And the answer that came back was: simple deep breathing. Maybe try meditating while deep-breathing. While sober, of course.
And then there was another one.
Oh. I was fooled by that first shot. No, this looks like an ass-kicker of a slope, even for healthier lungs. I might be able to walk up without stopping, but I’d have to go slow and maybe switchback my way up.
We did encounter this old man who lives out here alone with his dog and says he loves the solitude.
That’s a really impressive thatched roof. Just… don’t smoke around there.
Steve pointed out that at least I’d have something to “post” about…
Morbid thought: you might need to tell Swan about your blog and give her access to it in case anything should… happen. If not Swan, then someone you trust.
What’s this bear doing in the woods?
Kind of a sad pic. I have a soft spot for abandoned stuffed animals.
There we are enjoying some beers, chips and dip, and chicken nuggets.
I hope they’re really enjoying those beers. San Mig Lite is kind of milquetoast for most regular drinkers, isn’t it?
My rocking chair and a cooler of beer to help pass the time.
A Playmate by your side. Nice.
The sun began it’s downward journey
Of the errors I let slide on my way through your post, this was most egregious. There were a few punctuation errors before this. Can you find ’em?
Watch out for them cross-eyed women. Soul-eaters.
I use the “pursed lips” breathing technique frequently, and it does help. I’ve tested it on my oximeter, and it does raise the number three or four notches in a couple of minutes.
Regarding the teddy bear, I always wonder what the back story is–how and why was it out here in the first place? There were no houses or shacks around.
Actually, San Mig Light is very popular here; I’d say more expats drink it than any other flavor. Red Horse is what the locals prefer. The Zero I drink gets some mockery for its weakness (3% alcohol), but I don’t care.
Yeah, and that Playmate by my side never asks for a lady drink!
It’s amazing how sloppy my writing gets, and my proofreading is no better. I’m going to miss a comma sometimes, but using the conjunction “it’s” instead of its (and vice versa) is worse than dumb because I know better. I made a few fixes in the original post, can’t say I caught them all.
This feels as if I’m kicking you while you’re down, but “it’s” is technically a clause (“it is” = subject + verb), not a conjunction. And “its,” without the apostrophe, is technically a possessive adjective although some grammar resources might call it a possessive pronoun.
Coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
Subordinating conjunctions: because, unless, until, if, that, before, after, etc.
There are too many subordinating conjunctions to list. They all introduce subordinate (dependent) clauses, i.e., ideas that can’t stand on their own.
A clause contains a subject and a verb. See my Commas, Part 1 for more.
We took a 200 peso trike ride out to Naugsol to start our hike.
I didn’t mention anything about hyphen errors, but phrasal adjectives that come before the noun or noun phrase they modify are normally hyphenated:
a 200-peso trike ride
I think you caught everything else!
re: San Mig Lite
I stand corrected and pronounce myself educated.
Geez, bad enough to be wrong without learning I was wrong about why I was wrong.
And now I have a headache. I think I’m too old to learn English.
The forlorn teddy bear and the unknown backstory reminded me of the time Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a short story with as few words as possible.
Baby shoes. For sale. Never used.