Thursday, December 14, 2017

Christmas hike and party

Some of today's trail walkers
Today many of the "half-fast" group met at the trailhead of what is now called the Hertz Trail, on the north shore of Lake Whatcom, to make a 6.2-mile round trip before heading off to Sue and Jim's home for our annual Christmas potluck. The weather was fine, cool and mostly clear, the last nice day for awhile, it seems. Rain is headed our way, but not today.
Ward, Linda, Louann
Some people arrived a little late to be in the picture, but I always have a soft spot for Ward and Linda and got this picture of them before we turned around to head back to the cars (there were nineteen of us in all). Louann is one of our newer hikers, and I was happy to see her joining us for one of our easier and shorter hikes.
Chris, Melanie, Peggy
You can see what a nice trail this is; it was a railroad grade (information is available in the link above) and I hear there are plans to make it longer at some point. It's relatively flat and well maintained and mostly well shaded by abundant trees.
Some of our incredible desserts
Then we made our way to Sue and Jim's to join the other group (the "relaxed" hikers) to have a wonderful potluck. The desserts were outstanding, and I must admit I tried almost all of them. Bob and Melanie brought cranberry tortes, simply delicious. Of course I ate too much, but there was also a wonderful vegetarian chili and plenty of salads, which I enjoyed before digging into the desserts.
At the long table enjoying a feast
There were between thirty and forty of us, scattered among several rooms, where we managed to eat our fill, with festive and joyous chatter and lots of laughter. If you took your plate to the kitchen to refill it, your place at the table was usually gone by the time you returned. No matter; there were plenty of places to sit and visit with others.
Victoria back from Whoville
And our very own Victoria with her whimsical headgear, always photogenic, wishes all of YOU, dear readers, a wonderful and wonder-filled holiday season. Now that I'm home and the post written, I need to take a bit of Alka-Seltzer.
:-)

13 comments:

  1. Nice to hear you indulged in dessert! I certainly have a weakness for them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great group of friends, it looked like a lot of fun and fellowship !
    Those desserts look amazing :)
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Year end wind ups are always a blast! I can tell you're a fun group.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks wonderful. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy it the calorie free way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Potluck holiday parties are the best! What a great time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your last line made me smile.

    That trail lloks great and the day sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a big, companionable, happy group!! Wonderful! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. That trail looks my speed. Re-purposing old rail tracks is so smart. Looks like it would also be fun to bike. I always smile at the name of your group. Priceless. You really had a great turn out for the pot luck.

    ReplyDelete
  9. An indulgence every now and again is allowed. That food looks so yummy, I know I couldn't have resisted.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your tradition of the potluck Christmas meal. Those desserts looked yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like the old railroad beds for walking -- cleared, and nice and flat. Sounds like a great party!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks like your group can bake too! I am glad you had a good day:)

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! If you see a word verification box here, just ignore it. I don't use the darn thing and Blogger is trying to get us to use it, I guess. Ignore it and your comment will still appear.