elevation

EL-EV-AT-ION

high, higher than the sun

you shoot me from a gun

i need you to elevate me here

at the corner of your lips

as the orbit of your hips

eclipse, you elevate my soul

[~U2]

Hoppy Easter! (So says my part-time Easter bunny bf...read this and you'll know what I'm talking about.) I was lucky enough to be able to spend the weekend in Richland with Brad and Kim, Laura and her hockey-playing BFF Sam. Getting off work at 11am on Fridays was especially nice this week, so I could start the 240-mile drive through the mountains and through Washington's wine country. 

Arriving before the Sawatzkes returned home that afternoon (they had ventured off to a Bavarian mountain town for the day), I had a sudden urge to run up a mountain. Considering this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime feeling, I decided to act on it. Conveniently, the Badger Mountain trailhead was a quarter of a mile from their house. Garmin, shades, iPod and sparkly white (which needed to change) running shoes donned, I started to run up the mountain. Less than a minute later, I realized how unrealistic of a goal that was, given the fact that I'd run a total of 5 times since my surgery, hadn't run outside since last fall, and had never run up a mountain. Too stubborn to quit just yet, I turned my uphill jog into five 45-second "hill" sprints, bringing back the glory days of Ole hockey captain's practices at Thorson Hill. Needless to say, I no longer had the urge to run up a mountain. Problem solved. (New problem: my legs were crying.)

The rest of the weekend was significantly more successful, as we visited Terra Blanca winery that night, where I've pretty much decided I want to get married, or at least go to a wedding one day. O.M.G.Gorgeous. Though it was too chilly to eat our flatbreads and enjoy our wine (for me, a deliciously sweet '05 Chenin Blanc Ice wine) outside, we certainly got some pics with the sunset as our backdrop. Saturday, we decorated dozens of Easter eggs with some of the Sawatzkes' Richland friends, in what had to be the most extensive and elaborate decorating effort I've ever been a part of-- I'm talking silk, stamps, toothbrushes and  acrylic paint, in addition to the traditional dyes. That night, we had Brad's boss and his wife over for Kim's chicken saltimboca, perhaps my new favorite dish, after which Sam, Laura and I decided to hike partway up Badger in an effort to see the full moon (which we couldn't...because it was cloudy...which apparently we didn't think to check before we left). 

This morning, we celebrated Easter morning by hunting for our baskets-- lucky me, I got two! My absolute faaaavorite late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Bookwalter Winery from Brad and Kim (plus lots of candy, and of course, nail polish), and a selection of my favorite guilty pleasures from Clay because he's only the most thoughtful person I know (caffeinated Crystal Light, Hot Tomales, Peeps, Sour Patch Kids, and Reese's bunnies). We headed to the First Lutheran Church of Kennewick for a 10:30 service, complete with a choir that sounded like they belonged in the Duomo in Milan-- bravo. After Kim took us on a drive next to the Columbia River and we devoured a late morning breakfast courtesy of Brad, we participated in an egg hunt put on by more Richland friends. Very reluctantly, I headed back to Tacoma in the early afternoon. This was the first Easter I spent away from my family-- freshman year of college, Dad and Ben visited me in Maine and Mom and I celebrated on a cruise ship a few years later-- and though I missed our traditions in Minnesota (including Grandma's incredible Easter brunch), it's always fun to try something new, and it was a blessing that although I was halfway across the country, I was able to spend the holiday with what's turned into my second family. 

In an effort to make me feel a little better for having to leave such a beautiful city (I semi-like Tacoma, I really like Seattle, but I LOVE Richland), the sun followed me home and the drive couldn't have been smoother. Podcasts helped me pass the time during the first half of the drive through wine country, while I drove through the mountains jamming to "Drunk on You" on repeat, dreaming of summer and lazy days on the lake. Though it was annoying at first, Washington is smart to outlaw cell phones while driving because some of those passes require two hands on the wheel and lots of concentration on the curves of the road. Nothing like signs that say "ROCKS" and ever-changing computerized speed limit signs to keep you focused on the road. 

For my next entry, I promise to write more about the whole reason I started this blog in the first place: school (including the presentation idea that I'm hoping will land me my top pick of sports residency programs...), but right now I'm on too much of an Easter/chocolate bunny/sugar high to think about work. And as I sit facing the mountains of candy I brought home, I find myself looking forward to my workouts this week, though at the same time wondering if they'll do me any good. Time for a Skype date with Clayton... Night, all!