Friday night, Amy and I just spent the evening at home, not doing much of anything worth blogging about. Yet that’s precisely what I’m doing now. I find myself treasuring this time more lately, enjoying not doing much but catching up on life and spending a quiet evening at home.

We’ve been watching Freaks & Geeks on DVD, and I wish it had run longer than one season. It’s painfully realistic. If you were on the outside of the cool crowd in high school, you’ll get it.

On Saturday, we went on a hike with our friends David and Dante. Mt. Pilchuck is supposedly the easiest peak to summit in the Cascade range (yes, the dishwasher detergent is named after the mountains).

We found it satisfyingly steep, and the 6-mile round-trip was just about what we were looking for in a hike. It was crowded with northwesterners as well as European students, but only toward the top. The four-hour trip was strenuous on the way up, and not too bad on the descent.

The summit, though, was something to write home about. Here’s Dante and me on the summit, just below the lookout tower:

More pictures

We were literally above the clouds, in what felt like a Lord of the Rings set. The photo ops, for the brave, were nearly endless. It was a magnificent day.

This was our first hike in months, though we used to hike all the time. We have pledged to get back into hiking now that we’re out of grad school, and this was a great re-introduction to the sport.

We drove home, stopping for food and espresso in nearby Granite Falls. As on Friday, we spent the evening just doing stuff at home, and I don’t think any adventure could have compared. It’s great to be at home with Amy.