Sometimes a good proxy for how much fun you have over a vacation or even just weekend can be measured by how many injuries you inflicted upon yourself.

By that measure, I had a LOT of fun last weekend.

On Saturday, we took a long drive from home through San Jose, up Mt. Hamilton, down Mines Road all the way to Livermore and then back home. It was a nice 116 mile drive on a really beautiful day. Of course we picked up some caches along the way.

At one particular cache, I was doing some completely unnecessary rock climbing and I slipped and fell about about two feet. I fell on my chest and got up immediately. I felt a little funny after that. I figured I just knocked the wind out of myself. Eventually I found the cache and we headed on, with my chest feeling a little sore.

Later on my chest, paricularly my left bottom rib, still hurt. It got pretty painful and sleeping was tough. I think I actually broke a rib or at least bruised it pretty badly.

Everything I read about broken ribs says that there’s really nothing a doctor will do for you other than tape it up unless you’re having trouble breathing (which I’m not). So for now I’m toughing it out unless it doesn’t go away.

On Sunday Anne was busy, so I went for some hikes by myself. It was another great day, so I headed up to Skyline Boulevard, hooked up my headphones to my Treo loaded up with a Gig of music, and hiked in a part Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve of that I hadn’t been to before. The a cache was way at the end of what used to be Page Mill Road.

The trail near the end was pretty overgrown and had lots of poison oak. I tried to avoid it, but didn’t worry about it too much. I know I’ve touched the stuff a bunch of times in a the last few months but haven’t gotten any rash. Maybe I’ve become immune?

Fat chance. Today I’m feeling itchy all over, especially on my legs. Yes, I was wearning shorts and I didn’t bother with Tecnu. Dumb. Tonight will an exercise of trying to sleep on my back while trying not to feel itchy. I should probably just find a book.