In a free republic a great government is the product of a great people. They will look to themselves rather than government for success. The destiny, the greatness of America lies around the hearthstone. If thrift and industry are taught there, and the example of self-sacrifice oft appears, if honor abide there, and high ideals, if there the building of fortune be subordinate to the building of character, America will live in security, rejoicing in an abundant prosperity and good government at home and in peace, respect, and confidence abroad. If these virtues be absent there is no power that can supply these blessings. Look well then to the hearthstone, therein all hope for America lies. — Calvin Coolidge
Good ice cream in Wallingford.
At the LA Galaxy game with Jared.
Today I hiked Bandera Ridge. I didn’t make it to the top of the mountain because the snow was too deep and no path had been made yet. Trudging through knee deep snow up steep mountain slopes is pretty tough.
Click on for more photos and a Google map of the trail.
Picked up the keys to our new apartment. Caewyn and I are pretty excited about it. It’s small but modern and has a private patio. It will be an upgrade for me in every way. An apartment with a dishwasher and in-unit washer and dryer! How futuristic!
Yesterday I attended a certification class to become a certified BBQ competition judge! The class was sanctioned and ran by the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association and hosted by the McKinley Springs Winery (they have a very nice late season dessert wine). The class was about 6 hours long including a general lecture on BBQ judging, and a considerable amount of time spent actually tasting the four primary meat types, putting our rapidly expanding BBQ judging knowledge to work.
In any successful attack on freedom the state can only be an accomplice. The chief culprit is the citizen who forgets his duty, wastes away his strength in the sleep of sin and sensual pleasure, and so loses the power of his own initiative. Among a nation healthy at its core . . . no state can subvert the principles of justice without meeting the people’s strong moral resistance under God. — Abraham Kuyper, 1880.
True then. True now. As we steadily lose our freedoms to an ever-expanding state with an ever-expanding scope, we the citizens bear the brunt of the blame. Especially so in a democracy, where we continue to elect the grasping, gasping leeches who live off our labor.
My fiancé and I found our first shared apartment today! Just down the road from where I live currently. I’m excited to be living in a place that isn’t old, noisy, and generally lame. I’ll actually have a dishwasher! Of course my rent will go up significantly, but that’s the price of progress.
Today I hiked Mailbox. Snow on the upper third of it, so I was glad I brought my crampons!
The Mailbox climb is easily the most strenuous and treacherous day hike I’ve done in Washington. It’s strenuous because the trail ascends nearly 4000′ in 2.8 miles. It’s treacherous because the trail is often wet with a tremendous amount of exposed roots, which can be slippery and cause a hiker to trip (especially on the way down).
Google map of my hike:
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Sunset the first day.
