Yesterday we started our day by getting food at a deli on our way to Costco. My food, unfortunately, made me ill. It passed fairly quickly, though. We got toilet paper and allergy meds at Costco, then headed home to get the puppies.

We piled the puppies into the car and headed to Red Rock Wilderness Overlook in Leesburg. The first trail we headed out on (the white trail) turned out to be thick with mud right away. I am pretty squeamish about walking in mud for some reason, and asked to turn around and pick another trail. So we headed out on the green trail and then caught the white trail all the way around the rest of the loop. I really enjoyed the hike – despite Benny’s over-excitement. I did have to have Danny hold both dogs’ leashes during two steep declines. I am bad enough at keeping my balance going downhill, let alone with a 75 lb dog pulling me faster than I want to go. That made it a lot easier for me. The inclines were easy! Benny pulled me right up them. 😛

It was nice getting out into the fresh air, wearing sandals and no coat, being active again… The dogs (and us!) are out of shape after a long, cold winter, and it was a nice first walk of the season. I feel like a slug after hiding inside for months, but it’s been so, so cold. I can’t wait for spring and summer!

After our hike, we went home and watched “Into the Wild” from NetFlix. It was very good, but very sad. I’d like to see Alaska…

When the movie was over, I changed clothes and we headed to Arlington. We stopped for dinner at Silver Diner (it was the first place we came to), then it was off to IOTA. Our friend Doug was playing his last gig with the band Tone. They were preforming with MASERATI and Imperial China. I was looking forward to some very loud music, and I sure got it! My ears are still kinda ringing, oof! It’s a good thing I don’t listen to my music loud too often anymore – I’d be deaf. I used to listen way too loud in the car, but I keep it low with Benny in the car. And, I no longer go to clubs twice a week, which helps! The show was great though – lots of good music and impressive playing. It was nice to see our friends – we hadn’t seen them since their holiday party. Plus, Doug kindly put us on the guest list, so we didn’t have to pay!

We stayed through all three bands and waited while Doug got his gear loaded up, then we all headed to the 24-hour IHOP a few blocks away. It was 1:30 am at that point, and I totally had flashbacks of going there after clubbing. There were some girls half passed-out at a table near the bathroom. They were sitting right next to a table with two cops, which was amusing. Thankfully, we had already made it back to our table across the restaurant when our server told us that the sudden crowd was due to one of the girls loosing her pancakes. Ew.

I watched my cell phone clock skip right over 2 am as we paid the check – stupid Daylight Savings Time. It’s certainly annoying to loose an hour, but I do like that it stays light later in the summer. But, is that even related? I get confused when I try to figure it out.

I probably got to sleep at 4 am or a bit after, ears a-ringing. I woke up at 9:50 am, which was a treat. I normally wake up at the same time every day, no alarm. Typically 7:30 am – 8:30 am. I showered the laid on the bed in my robe catching up on internet stuff until I forced myself to get dressed and take the dogs out at noon.