Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Killer Bees

The past three months most of my days have been spent like this:


wake up
eat
break camp
hike
eat
hike
setup camp
eat
sleep


Most of our time was spent hiking and free time was practically non-existent. These past few days I have had an overabundance of time and I thought I was going to get bored pretty quickly. But it turns out taking naps and doing nothing takes up a lot of time! Well it has not been nothing, I have been amusing myself with many a things from video games, reading, watching movies, eating, playing on the computer, etc., but I guess I have not been really active. I would like to do some light hiking up at Blue Hills and perhaps camp up at Monadnock so I don't lose this awesome physique I have. Ha, awesome physique, like being overly skinny with long hair and a gnarly beard is what people want. I just want to keep my stamina and trail legs. I can't let 3 months of exercise go to waste!


Anyways....


I got to take the bike out for a ride yesterday with Joy. The first real ride with insurance and full gear on. I was to drop Joy off at her friend's house in Lincoln, then pick her up later. But of course I could not really remember a good way to get there so I ended up going through Providence...where there was plenty of traffic. Nothing like going on your first real ride and being in stop and go traffic with a passenger. Then on my way home I start seeing dark clouds everywhere. Then the rain starts. Then I see lightning and even hear thunder. Yes, I get a little wet, but it doesn't pour and I don't get zapped so I figure its all good. Riding is like hiking I think to myself. It could be beautiful at the beginning of your hike/ride but the weather could change in an instant. And you can either stop and wait it out, or just keep moving, because you are going to get wet anyways. Although I suppose on a bike you can always park under an overpass or run inside a business. When we were hiking we had trees, but when it started to pour or hail, they didn't protect you for long. If we were lucky, which was almost never, there would be a shelter in sight. But that is the way of the true traveler and you have to learn to enjoy the road (or trail) under all circumstances.



So the bike was out for the return trip. I pick up Joy and head to the gas station before jumping on highway. I swipe my card, open up my gas tank, and see a wasps nest. Yes, yes, for some reason these insects love making their nests in dormant cars. And although my car has been driven a few times, it obviously sat long enough. I immediately flash back to my latest wasp encounter, a week and a half ago, and do not want to get stung again. But my car needs gas so I arm myself with an ice scraper and start the dirty deed. My ice scrapper is the really short one so I lunge at the nest and jump away so as not to get stung. The people at the gas station must think I am an idiot. After a few lunges the nest is still in there, but a wasp emerges. He appears to be in a stupor and is not protecting his nest very well. I stab him with the scraper and he goes down hard. This may be easier than I thought. Another emerges and he joins his comrade on the ground. I finally get the nest out and do some reconnaissance. I don't want any surprises while pumping gas. Sure enough, there is one left, but he soon meets the same fate as his friends. Phew! I pump my gas, happy that they didn't put up much of a fight, and hope that Joy's car doesn't have the same issue... 

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