new pants, new shoes, new dice?

I totally butchered that movie quote.  Get over it.

My friend decided I needed a proper vacation and scheduled a million things for me.  Okay, not a million, but for someone who has learned that it's best to do only one thing a day and chillax the rest of the day, it felt fun but overwhelming.

We had a lovely breakfast again, more black pudding.  Yum!

We left in the morning and hiked to the top of a hill (which any Floridian would call a mountain, just saying).  I was attired in my brand new hiking pants and hiking shoes bought specifically for this trip.  Both of which were great purchases in hindsight. My previous ones were last millennium's technology.  The new pants were stretchier, and the new shoes had just as much gription but way lighter.  I have since donated my previous two pair of hiking pants but haven't been able to get rid of my older two pair of boots yet.  Baby steps.

At the very top, there was a fun marker which I photographed at great personal risk in uncharacteristic gale force winds.  Apologies for not getting the whole thing in frame.  I was slightly scared I'd blow off the side of the mountain (hill).

The views from the top were spectacular.

When we got to the bottom, the view back up didn't look as impressive as the hike actually was because it's hard to get perspective.  There's a large whalebone sculpture at the top that maybe you can see if you zoom in.

We meandered back through town and made our way home for sustenance.  Then back out again to a different cliff overlooking a different beach.   It was all gorgeous.  Then back home again to change for a dinner party at their friends' house.  The food was exquisite (no photos because they were all my age and older and don't photograph their food like those young heathens do).   We had homemade salmon pâté, lamb shanks from Marks and Spencer (who knew they sold food?) cooked to perfection, homemade tiramisu with Malibu rum, followed by the ubiquitous cheese dish of so many cheeses who knew what they were anymore.  The drinks were plentiful, although I barely partook.  The conversation was interesting, at least that which I understood (that fucking accent).  However, after such a long day and strenuous physical activities (for me), it triggered a hefty migraine.

And back to my usual dilemma -- suck it up and pretend it's all fine or ruin their night and ask to cut it short.  Of course I did the former.  I used all of my techniques to not focus on the pain.  We got home around midnight, which might have been the only time I saw darkness.  They have long spans of daylight in the summer.