I got back to Los Angeles from the east coast this week.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to tear myself away from my friends – or the unbelievably cheap microbrews ($2 a pint!) – long enough to tackle anything too deep in the Adirondacks.

Luckily, the Saratoga Springs Spa State Park was easily walkable from my hotel room. While the park doesn’t have any supremely challenging trails, I did manage to stumble on a cross-country skiing path that led to some pretty thick forests.

I hadn’t been back to the east coast for spring in almost 4 years, and honestly, I’d forgotten how many trees are out there. I’d gotten used to enjoying the novelty of the occasional sycamore and high-elevation pines, but the sheer carpet of freshly-budded green was a refreshing surprise.

After a short walk in the woods, my friend Christinia and I followed the glorious sound of rushing water to Geyser Spring – a small, steadily flowing spray of carbonated spring water gushing out of a tufa in the middle of the river.

There are springs all over the place – hence the name of the city, I guess. Some of the springs are shooting out of rivers, others are housed in small buildings with spigots.

All the water is free. Some of it even tastes good … but most of it tastes like salty soda. Not necessarily something you’d want to drink a bottle of.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the wedding was beautiful (outdoors!), the reading I did got a few laughs, and I spent the vast majority of three days full of alcohol.

Great, great trip.