Wednesday, December 28, 2016

2016 - A Great Year!

What a year... what a GREAT year it has been!


My divorce was finalized in January and literally, the very next day, my life became full of sunshine, happiness, freedom and adventure! I woke up to a new life, a new me, or perhaps... the real me. I legally changed my last name to a name totally different and completely unrelated to anyone I have ever known (Thank you for finding it for me, Brit!). I needed and wanted a fresh start. I needed to be my own person and obviously my name was part of that. The meaning of my new last name: to rise again. And I have! Independence has become my thing! Every new challenge is met with an "I can" attitude. My daughter and I have fixed a lawn mower, torn apart and fixed the console in my car, and laid flooring in three rooms after learning how to put together and use a table saw, crow bars, drills, etc. I even tore apart the washing machine and replaced the rubber boot seal... MYSELF. Independence feels soooo good! :) (You can learn how to do anything you want to do on YouTube!! Seriously!)

In February, I refinanced the house and became a homeowner On. My. Own. I never believed I would be able to do it alone without a spouse. It was a very proud moment!

In March I decided to stop marathon training. I had restarted in January and even signed up to do the Vancouver Marathon in June but I quickly realized I was bored of the pavement and was always waiting for the training to be over with. I had too many other things on my mind, too many other things I wanted to do. Not wanting to give up the outdoors, I decided to trade cement for trails. I also decided that I was going to climb Mt. St. Helens!  I see Mt. St. Helens every day (when the clouds aren’t in the way) and always secretly dreamed of climbing it ... knowing that it was really just a pipe dream of mine. But I'm someone different now, right? As much as I doubted my own ability to do it, I signed up for a guided climb up the mountain!!  Why not?!  I spent the next few months training by hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge, looking for elevation gains, and enjoying time with my friend, Nanette aka Bullseye, who had also given up marathon training and hit the hiking trials with me. I blogged about some of our hikes here, here and here.

In June my daughter and I went on a 10-day Texas Road Trip! She was the “Trip Planner” and wow, she did not disappoint! There were people I wanted to see and places she wanted to go. Taking both into consideration, she put together a very FULL itinerary that basically filled every minute of every day!

We flew out very early in the morning - after only two hours of sleep - and arrived in Oklahoma City to visit our Delgado family. Unfortunately we were very tired (I won't be flying a redeye again...) so we didn’t get a lot of pictures but we had a wonderful visit nonetheless. We arrived to homemade tamales, lots of hugs and plenty of conversation. I was very happy to see all of them and I really appreciate my nieces and nephews for talking time out of their busy lives to show up and visit during the very short 24 hours we were there.


Next stop was Dallas but first we had to pass through a typical southern storm - big, dark and scary! At one point it was raining so hard that we basically stopped on the highway with everyone else. We could not see a thing. Very scary.




In Dallas we saw Kenny Chesney's Spread the Love Tour with Maranda Lambert, Jake Owen and Old Dominion. We walked THREE MILES in 90+ degrees (the stadium is HUGE and looked so much closer to our hotel) but had a blast once we cooled off and rehydrated (water first, then beer). It was an AWESOME concert! After walking 3 miles back to the hotel, we squeezed in a quick visit with a friend and his wife, Ronnie and Liz, who were in town for Ronnie's daughter’s graduation. Who needs sleep while on vacation??





Early to rise and off to the Houston area! We had lunch with some of my childhood / lifelong friends: Shari, Rebecca and Joyce. I love seeing people I grew up with and still feel close to today. It was like no time had passed at all. I missed a few that couldn't make it but... next time!


We spent the next three days in La Porte with my dear friends, Sally and Bernard. One of their grandson's was there too - Ben (such a nice young man!). The majority of my childhood memories and friends were made in La Porte and I will always call it home. Brittany and I went for a walk through my old neighborhood and I took her to the pier and told her about many, many memories that were made there! ;) It was fun sharing with her and taking her on a walk down my Memory Lane.




It was great to catch up with my friend, Tina, too!

A trip to La Porte wouldn’t be the same without going to the Kemah Boardwalk...




Or to Galveston Beach...








Next stop… San Antonio! We stayed at The Drury Plaza Hotel on the Riverwalk, which had a rooftop pool. So cool. We spent a lot of time on the Riverwalk, saw some old churches, and went to the Alamo. You know… did the touristy things we were supposed to do there.















After two nights in San Antonio, we went to Austin for two nights. We stayed in the Driskill Hotel on 6th Street (we were really living it up!). We had a wonderful dinner and drinks with two more of my childhood / lifelong friends, Stephanie and Jennifer. The next day we toured the City on a double decker bus (It was HOT. HOT. HOT.), staying on for the full tour to see what places we wanted to check out the second time around. We went to the capital, visited the University of Texas (my dad and uncle both went to college there), went to a museum (mainly to cool off, I admit), and ended up in an area called SoCo (south of downtown), which we both absolutely fell in love with. Shops, restaurants, bars and a great vibe! We wanted to spend some extra time there so when the tour bus returned 90 minutes later for the last stop of the day, we chose to miss it and walk back to our hotel when we were ready. It was a little more than a mile (easy!)… but in the blazing Texas heat it felt more like 10 miles. Spending the entire day outside in the heat and sunshine completely exhausted us. It was the one and only night we went to bed early. The next morning before leaving town, we went back to SoCo to eat breakfast.









We drove back to the Dallas area and stayed in Frisco with my friend, Lidia, who used to be my next door neighbor here in Vancouver. It was the perfect ending to our very busy vacation. We went for a walk, went out to dinner, and then we sat around in her beautiful home visiting and relaxing for the very first time in 10 days. The visits with my friends and family were all too short but at least I was able to see them. A little time is better than no time!


The next day we drove back to Oklahoma City, visited my niece, Laura, one last time, and then flew back home.

It was a fantastic vacation with lots of fun and laughter, 1800+ miles driven, great visits with friends and family, and many, many special moments and conversations with my daughter. A trip we will always remember! Thank you Brit for planning it all out the way you did. I loved it!


In August I climbed Mt. St. Helens with my brother! This was one of the biggest highlights of my year! You can read my long winded recap of the climb here. A short recap video is below. (We had no idea the camera was producing it!)




In September I went to Arizona with my sister, Cynthia, and her husband, Craig, to visit my dad and Carolin. We had a wonderful visit, did some touring, and obviously took some of our Washington rain with us! The clouds opened up one evening and IT POURED! My dad was thrilled! ;)










I also went on my seventh and probably my last SGK 60-mile walk for breast cancer in Seattle with my sister-in-law, Edith, in September. As always it was a great event but I’m ready to do other things. I probably should have trained for it (yes, I really should have...) because when the three days and 60 miles were over, I was physically exhausted with some seriously sore knees. Walking that far on the pavement is brutal, especially if you aren't used to it. It literally took me WEEKS to recover.









In October, I joined a hiking group in Portland – The Mazamas. The hiking opportunities are endless! Every weekend - during the week too - there are multiple hikes to choose from based on level, elevation, distance, etc. Hikers meet at a designated parking area, carpool to the trail head, hike together with a hike leader, and enjoy the great outdoors together! I’ve gone several times now and not once have I seen the same person twice. What I find so exciting about this, other than the hiking itself, is the fact that I AM OKAY with meeting new people, carpooling with them and spending my day with them. I have held myself back for so long… never wanting to meet new people... not wanting to deal with my lack of hearing situation. Strangely though, I have gotten past that “fear” and absolutely enjoy meeting and talking to every new face I see! It has really opened up a whole new world for me!

Some hikes have been difficult because of the elevation gains and the distances traveled, but I loved them! Some hikes have been very challenging as I've had to cross multiple rivers while balancing on logs and/or rocks (terrifying - balance is required). Luckily I made it across every time without falling into the river below and as a result, my confidence is growing and it's becoming easier. All of the hikes have been enjoyable with beautiful views and great people... and the hike in the snow (my first)... was absolutely AWESOME, except for the big cat prints we were following! haha

Hamilton/Hardy Ridge





Eagle Creek Trail to Twister Falls








One of the log crossings...









Salmon River Trail














December arrived and my son moved out to spread his wings. As his mother, it was painful to watch him go but this is all part of life. I know he is happy and doing well. I am very proud of him. My "baby" has grown up. (I love you, Matthew!)




The year of 2016 has been a great one... full of adventure, personal growth and happiness. I've accomplished more than I ever believed I could and as a result, gained confidence and belief in myself (hey... it's never too late!).  Any negative situation can be turned into a positive one and that's exactly what has occurred. (Thank you Brittany for all you have done. I love you, Missy!)

I have many more dreams to fulfill, challenges to overcome and adventures to go on in 2017 and there is no doubt that I will do my best to achieve them all.

Happy New Year!!


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