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.
:-)