It was a very, very busy weekend last weekend. In addition to the Murderbot party and the trip to Nowhere on Saturday, I had an event to attend on Sunday afternoon, too. My hiking group was hosting a large meet & greet to help people get to know each other. They’d rented a pavilion at Walker Ranch Heritage Park and we all brought food potluck-style. There was a short presentation, but mostly the afternoon was food and games and chatting.

I brought my camera with me, so I got to take a lot of nice portraits of folks. Several of my favorite photos from April came from those portraits. But it also meant that I could take a really nice group photo with the entire gathering, including me (running from my camera to the tree for this photo was the most running I’ve done in awhile, but a timer only lasts so long, ha! Shoulda brought my remote!).

I haven’t done much hiking over the last 18 months. I’ve struggled with mobility, and the longer I stay away, the more I get stuck in my own head. When I look at the available hikes, I wonder if I can do them. When I see the women signed up, I think that they must all know each other, but they’re not folks I know, and I feel like I’ll be an odd-person-out. This meet & greet helped to remind me just how friendly and welcoming and safe my hiking group feels. It was definitely something I needed, and I hope I’ll be able to get back out on the trails again soon.