We went hiking again today, this time with the parental units coming along as well, and this time on a much longer and more challenging trail than the previous day’s trek. As opposed to our 50-minute stroll on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day we did the Bluff Spring Loop, which is a 9.1-mile trail with several relatively steep uphill sections. (Here’s a map.)

It took us just over five hours, which is exactly what the book says it should — not bad! (We usually take a good 125% or more of the recommended time.) And we saw a tarantula!

He was pretty small. Here’s a video:

Creepy crawly creatures aside, it’s a damn scenic hike. For example:

More pictures in the full photo gallery. And you can also view photos of the same loop in 2004 when just Becky, Ginny and I hiked it.

P.S. If you’re wondering why we were hiking at 9:00 AM instead of opening presents or going to church… it’s the Zak family tradition to open presents on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas morning. It’s taken me a while to adjust to this, but I’ve finally gotten used to it. :) As for going to church, Ted and Ginny went to the Christmas Eve vigil mass Sunday night — and, well, Becky and I didn’t go at all, but personally, I think spending some quality time appreciating the awesomeness of nature is at least as good a way of giving glory to God as going to church.

Anyway, speaking of Christmas presents, I got a bunch of cool stuff, but of particular note (in addition to the NCAA Tournament tickets mentioned previously) is the Apple Store gift card from Ted and Ginny, which will allow me to buy an iPod with video — my first non-Shuffle iPod ever. So, stay tuned for some giddy posts about that in the coming days. :)

Becky got an iPod, too — a blue nano, from me (but also sort of partially from Dane, since his wedding gift card helped pay for it; thanks, Dane!) — so we’ll both doubtless have tons of fun buying cool iPod accessories and such. That’s an aspect of the Apple experience that I’ve been missing out on until now, but not anymore! Woohoo!

Oh, and I also got a copy of the Spike Lee movie that I was in. Hehe.