Happy Birthday:)

Sometimes, life gives you lemons. And sometimes, life hands you a lovely, rich yet fluffy slice of lemon cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some fresh in-season raspberries and a good strong cup of coffee. Or the non-culinary equivalent.

My birthday weekend has so far, been the latter. Usually I have a terrible cold. Not this year. It's usually grossly and unseasonably hot and sticky. Nope, not this year. It was in the 40's when I ran this morning, with the clearest of blue skies.

Friday evening, my husband came home and announced that we were going treadmill shopping. That's my birthday present. I know, I would be jealous too. I am SO excited, though, to not have to go out in the dark and snow and/or ice to run on the weekdays this winter! Or just go on hiatus like I did last year and have a l-o-n-g way back into shape in the spring.

Saturday, we trekked to a part of the Adirondacks we haven't been to for a hike! We tried to find a hike that would be uncrowded, and we succeeded. It's peak color there right now, and last year ridiculously packed until the rain showed up. This year, we had clear blue skies and 50 degree temps, which is perfect climbing weather. The color was gorgeous. I might post all the pics on Facebook, because I am one of those not tech savvy and lazy bloggers who does not know how to put more than 5 pics on her blog.
Mason Lake. One of those beautiful little mountain lakes that are abundant in the Adirondacks. We had to drive in six miles on a dirt road that required a 4-wheel drive with a high wheel base. (Thanks, Subaru!) We passed this little gem on our way in.
Pillsbury mountain is over 3,500 feet. The hike was 4 hours. Yay for my awesome kids who handled this beautifully. Actually, the harder the hike, the more they enjoy it. This was the trail. Very steep, often requiring use of hands, and resembling a creek bed as the heavy rains we've had made the trail a temporary stream.

The summit didn't have great overlooks, but if you went up in the fire tower, the most beautiful panoramic views were the reward. None of our pictures did the color or vista justice. Testament to how uncrowded this hike was: we ate lunch in the fire tower! Usually, you have to wait in line to get a view up in the fire tower on other mountains in peak season!

Molly Dolly and the view.

The girls and I at the summit. And Biscuit. It was REALLY COLD and windy up there. That's why I kind of look like the uni-bomber. Molly didn't want her hood on in the picture. 7th grader. Check out how muddy Anna is. She got even muddier on the return journey.

This was probably a really boring post, but it will help me remember this happy, happy birthday weekend.