Birthday Hike

[Oceanbeach]

I don't usually have birthdays, we had planned on spending the day on the river in my canoe but brrr to cold    to the Armstrong Woods State Park...    We spent most of the day on the Pioneer Trail where some nice people were happy to take our picture.  Our next planned outing is next month at the Russian River Blues Festival    Have the best day
Michael

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[thunter34]

What gives?  I didn't see you listed on the May birthday list.  Is it your birthday?? 

If so....

[Oceanbeach]

What gives?  I didn't see you listed on the May birthday list.  Is it your birthday?? 

If so....

It has been a secret until now    Have the best day
Michael

[Ann]

Happy Birthday, Michael!

How did you two manage to sit sideways for the photo? That's a pretty cool trick.

[anniebc]

Dearest Michael

I hope YOU had the best day...

Hugs
Jan

[Andy Velez]

Well, belated happy birthday and best wishes for lots more of them, Michael. Sounds like you had a sweet one.

Cheers,

[Peter Staley]

Ditto -- happy belated birthday, Michael!

xoxo

Peter

[Snowangel]

Happy Birthday....that is exactly what I would like to do on mine!
Glad you had a nice day!  What are you sitting on? Looks painful?
Snow

[BT65]

Happy birthday, Michael!

[bear60]

Happy Birthday Michael.

 Secrets?

Have a great day.
Joel

[Robert]

Happy Birthday to a real rock star ~~~

That's so typical about the weather.  Last weekend it was 90" and blue sky.  Perfect for a boat ride down the river.  This weekend we're in the 60's and it's a cloudy day. 

Did Kaiser join you for the hike?

robert

 

[Winiroo]

[Oceanbeach]

Thank you all for your wishes    I had the best day

Having gone to modeling school, I learned to dress and undress really fast and how to sit sideways on old fallen redwood trees. You may recall Brooke Shields began her modeling career with Jordashe in extremely uncomfortable positions  Of course, I didn't graduate from modeling school, they moved the class upstairs right before graduation and none of us could find the new room 

Kaiser didn't get to go on the hike because his arthritis has been pretty bad lately so he stayed home to guard the house.  Walter's dog Gracie didn't get to go either, she is also very old and blind so she stayed in San Francisco with her Uncle Steve.  She did send a cake from Schuberts Bakery which has been creating special cakes since 1911...    Kaiser spent a couple of days making Chasens Chili so the human companions ate well.

Sitting under one of those gigantic redwood trees, Walter and I finally started talking about HIV and how it has affected and changed my life.  He wanted to know about everything I have gone through in the past 12 years and what was wrong with my legs (PN w/foot drop).  We decided not to talk about HIV and get to know each other first.  I think that was about 3 months ago and all of that is in Living With HIV under the topic of beating the disclosure topic into the dirt.

He also didn't know the day we met for the first time, in person, I had just put out a cigarette before he came up the steps at DeYoung and I have quit smoking since I met him.  What a surprise, he had quit smoking 8 years ago with the transdermal patch and welbutrin and if he was to smoke today, it would be 2 packages a day for life.  We are going to talk about Advance Directive, Medical Power of Attorney and all the paperwork sitting in my file cabinet for all these years.  Basically, all the paperwork and crap that people in the care facilities have been giving me hell about for all these years will be completed this year.

We got in trouble with some of the Park Rangers yesterday, one of them walked past us with the look on his face that we had been smoking some of the green.  He didn't say anything but the look on his face told it all    Later my legs were hurting and Walter was cold so we stepped over a low fence to sit in the sun for a few minutes.  That Park Ranger, got out of her truck to talk about breaking the posted rules of the park.  She accepted our apologies and drove on.  We talked a little later about joining the protest to keep the park open.  Governor Schwartzenegger has cut $3.3 million from the State Park budget and this park is supposed to be closing.  There was a protest where about 300 people went by bus loads to Sacramento.  It would probably not hurt the forest to be closed to the public like for maybe, 1 year but indefinately is too much strain on the local economy as the Armstrong Woods Park draws 800,000 visitors per year.  The park is free but those people use the resorts, the restaurants, the shops, they are the economy of the Russian River.

So anyways, I, no, we had a great day if this is the start of another year and living with HIV, I hope to have more days just like it.  We are going to the Blues Festival next month and I asked him yesterday, since he was from Texas, does he ride horses?  He said, not since he left Texas (over 20 years).  There is this dude ranch place in Half Moon Bay where you can rent horses by the hour or specific trail/beach rides, we may do that later...  I like this guy, every date is a dream date 
Have the best day
Michael

[BT65]

Michael, it sounds like a delightful time.  So, are the rules of the park that you can't stop and sit down for a few minutes?  I didn't quite understand that.

I hope you have many, many more good years.

[Jeff G]

Happy belated Birthday Michael

[Oceanbeach]

Michael, it sounds like a delightful time.  So, are the rules of the park that you can't stop and sit down for a few minutes?  I didn't quite understand that.

I hope you have many, many more good years.

Betty Dahlin,

The rules are Do Not Enter, Keep Out    We as park visitors are expected to stay on the marked trails, the rest areas and not to cross low fences.  The benches were in the shade and the sun was in the fenced off area    Have the best day
Michael