Storm King

One advantage of waking up very early? This morning, I checked my email and saw that some friends were going hiking. I was able to get my lunch and gear together in time to join them!

It was a hot day, and S-Y set a brisk pace up a sometimes steep ascent. There were blueberry bushes, but the berries were small and a bit hard and tart. Not quite ripe.

Here's the view from our lunch spot:

View of the lunch spot:


Back at river level, with kayakers:

Afterward, we went back to the city. The rest of the gang had BBQ at Daisy Mae's, but I splintered off to catch Joel's second musical improv show. It was really funny and well-done. The musical was set in Antarctica (based on audience suggestion), and the students quickly set up a conflict ripe with comic possibilities: a group of lonely male scientists; a group of women (some played by men) who'd come to Antarctica to meet men but had somehow gone astray and not managed to find anyone at all; and two bears, madly in love with each other and ready to take Antarctica back from the humans by force.

Since this was a one-time-only performance, I don't feel bad about giving spoilers here. The denouement involved a bear-human showdown, with a male scientist tied to a chair. The bears have made him talk so they can gain necessary intel for their planned bloodbath. But he talks his way into their sympathy when he expresses his desire for one last liaison with a human female. The rest of the humans arrive. A tense situation is defused when the humans promise to leave, AND agree to leave one of their group for the bears' feast. In fact, they exchange one of the females (played by a man) for the male scientist hostage. Yes, they sacrifice the most annoying and expendable member of their group to buy their freedom. Beautiful improv.