Want to find out how out of shape you are? Trying hiking 1.5 miles up a mountain. That’s just what Jessie and I did yesterday. I’m sure the mountain wanted to kill us, but we beat back the pangs of death and made it to the top and back down.

I’ve hiked up Cowles (which is pronounced “coals”, not “cow-ellz”) many times, but it’s been a few years. Jessie had never been, so we decided it would be a nice early evening hike – and a chance to get some exercise. Between neck pain, side cramps, toe cramps, and a bum knee, I was afraid I’d have to call a helicopter to rescue her off the mountain. But, as your can see from the photo above, she made it to the summit. In fact, she’s still there right now. Yup, I had to leave her there. There was no way she was going to make it down.

At 1592ft, Cowles mountain is the highest peak in the city of San Diego. Once you get to the top, you’re treated to a beautiful 360-degree view of the city. On a clear day, it’s said you can see hawaii. Ok, not really.

Ready to try it for yourself? Check out this site for a little more info. Oh, and if you see Jessie up there, tell her I’m on my way up to get her.

Sick of American Idol? Bored with all those reality shows? Then you’re in luck, my friend. Turn your TV dial over to your PBS station and start watching the documentary series called “Carrier.”

Carrier was filmed over six months in 2005 on board the aircraft carrier Nimitz (which happens to be based in San Diego). It probably can best be described by this sentence from the website:

Addressing larger themes as family, faith, discipline, patriotism, love and war, the rites of passage and the war on terror, the series closely follows a core of characters, from the Admiral of the fleet to the elite fighter pilots to the lowliest scrubs.

Ok, so maybe it’s not the best sentence to describe the series, but it was all I could find. I’ve only seen three hours of the documentary so far, but in those three hours, it has given me a different perspective on the sacrifices people in our military make to protect our country. Imagine being away from your family for six months, or missing the birth of your first child.

So, if you have a chance, I encourage you to start watching. You can find the schedule on the documentary’s website. For those of you without a TV, it looks like you can watch on the website also.