Some people think long holiday weekends are for relaxing...apparently Mitch and I don't know the meaning of the word!
Friday: Work all day (which meant driving to Boyne Falls and back, then spending some time in the office), bachelorette party all night! Lindsay, a friend from high school, was getting married on Sunday so it was time to celebrate her last weekend of singledom. I met the group at this fun country bar way out in Shelby Township called Coyote Joe's, and though I had to drive home and couldn't join in some of the festivities, it was pretty cool. Actually, I'd love to take all my college friends there (we'd be on the mechanical bull all night!), but it's really far away. After that bar, we went to a place in Rochester called Main Street Billiards, which was also cool. My favorite thing was people-watching...especially this one group of guys who were staked out next to the entrance to the dance floor, overtly checking out every girl that walked by! The evening went 'til about 12:30 am, but then I had an hour drive home. So tired...
Saturday: At 8:30 am, my dad was in my room, waking me up like old times. He said he had a surprise for me and was really excited, so I pushed off the urge to drift back to sleep and dragged myself up. Turns out he bought me a whole new front sprocket for my mountain bike! Last time we were down there, we discovered that my front gears measure 28-38-48 instead of the standard 24-34-44. Smaller front gears would help me climb hills better (I'm horrible at climbing hills), but Mitch and I thought it would cost a lot to get new ones based on the prices we saw at REI. Turns out it wasn't that much at all, and Dad thought I should have them. What a guy!
Since we had to wait for Mitch to finish work and get down to SL before we could bike, I went out to the lake with Mom and Dad to clean up the cottage and get it ready for the annual family Memorial Day party. Mitch got there about 3:30 pm, we put my new sprocket on my bike, and headed out to Island Lake. We planned to ride the nine-mile blue trail, then break off and ride the six-mile yellow trail, but I rode blue a bit too hard to do the second leg. See, there were these guys, and we passed each other about three or four times before I got sick of it and decided to stay ahead of them for the rest of the trail. Turns out I didn't need to ride as hard as I did, because I was finished, packed up and on the road before they returned to the trailhead. Still, I was pretty beat.
Sunday: Mitch went to work with Bobby and Dad had to mow the lawn, so we didn't get out on the trails until 11:30 am, by which time it was over 80 degrees with a heck of a lot of humidity. This time we went out to Brighton Rec, where Bobby and Mitch tackled a tough five-miler called Torn Shirt while Dad and I opted for the longer but easier nine-mile Murray Lake Trail. My legs were pretty tired from the day before, and the heat didn't help, so I kind of felt like crap for most of the ride. Still, it's a fun trail and I look forward to going back in better conditions. Needless to say, I was dripping by the time we got done, and the dive off the dock in my biking clothes was amazingly refreshing.
Lindsay's wedding was late that afternoon, so Mitch and I hurried to grab some lunch at the lake before returning home to get ready. I am proud to say that even in the heat, I still blew my hair dry and straightened it. I had a sexy black dress to wear and didn't want to half-do anything! Anyway, the wedding was nice but we didn't stay long. Mitch didn't really know anyone and the atmosphere was really strained between me and a friend who's suppose to be my best friend but seems to forget I exist many times. We were happy to be home by 10:30 pm, watching Braveheart in the nice, cool basement.
Monday: When 7:30 am rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was go out biking again! But we had promised ourselves three days on the trails, so up I rolled. Mitch and my dad's friend, Dan, wanted to ride the Potowatami in Pinckney, but that's a pretty long, hard ride, so Dad and I left them to punish themselves while we rode the yellow trail back at Island Lake. Even in the heat, I felt great! I passed more people (two guys and two girls) and, to borrow my dad's words, my tank was not empty after the ride.
For the rest of the day, we lounged around at the lake. I have a bit of a sunburn to show for it, but it was great. Adrienne and Kyle came out, somewhat surprisingly, and it made me feel a bit better about the state of our friendship. We swam, took my cousin and her friend tubing, swam some more, ate great food, swan some more, and just had a great time with family and friends.
And now I'm back at work, but only 'til about 3 pm, when I'll leave for Alpena to present some scholarships to a couple of students. This week promises to be fun, with our first official beach volleyball game tomorrow evening and a great Friday night with Ray and Kristy. They're coming over for dinner and then we're all going to see the new X-Men movie.
Well, I guess I better get something accomplished this morning. I hope everyone out there had as much fun over the holiday weekend as we did!
"So take this broken offering and make me whole,
Set my feet upon the road that leads me home,
let me walk as one fixed upon the goal,
even though I've got a thousand miles to go..."
Set my feet upon the road that leads me home,
let me walk as one fixed upon the goal,
even though I've got a thousand miles to go..."
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Dreams
I have three recurring dreams I would like to share with you:
The first is that I can run forever. Sometimes I'm running from danger, but most times I'm just running, all the while thinking I should be getting tired - but I never do.
The second is that I can breathe under water. Usually in this dream I am swimming for whatever reason, and I'm underwater and know I can't make it to the surface in time. I take an experimental breath, and WOW! I can breathe without any trouble at all! That makes for some fun adventures.
The third - and best - is that I can fly. Not like Superman flying...more like I take a few steps, jump, and I get to soar around for a little while before I glide gently back to the ground. Each time I have that dream, I seem to be able to stay airborn for longer and longer. Usually I'm alone in this dream (sometimes people are watching me) but the last time I had it, Mitch was flying with me. In my last flying dream, I also told people that I used to have dreams about flying and couldn't believe it was real this time.
I don't attach any special meaning to these dreams - they are just really fun to have. If I could pick a superpower, it would come out of one of these three dreams, depending on the situation. Does anyone else have recurring dreams and if so, what are they?
The first is that I can run forever. Sometimes I'm running from danger, but most times I'm just running, all the while thinking I should be getting tired - but I never do.
The second is that I can breathe under water. Usually in this dream I am swimming for whatever reason, and I'm underwater and know I can't make it to the surface in time. I take an experimental breath, and WOW! I can breathe without any trouble at all! That makes for some fun adventures.
The third - and best - is that I can fly. Not like Superman flying...more like I take a few steps, jump, and I get to soar around for a little while before I glide gently back to the ground. Each time I have that dream, I seem to be able to stay airborn for longer and longer. Usually I'm alone in this dream (sometimes people are watching me) but the last time I had it, Mitch was flying with me. In my last flying dream, I also told people that I used to have dreams about flying and couldn't believe it was real this time.
I don't attach any special meaning to these dreams - they are just really fun to have. If I could pick a superpower, it would come out of one of these three dreams, depending on the situation. Does anyone else have recurring dreams and if so, what are they?
Friday, May 19, 2006
Bitterness
Around Easter I posted the lyrics to a song called "The Story" by Caedmon's Call. Part of the song goes:
And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy
When he's standing in its light.
Those lyrics have stuck with me since the first time I heard that song. I interact with so many bitter people, like coworkers and even some dear friends and family members, and their bitterness truly saddens me. They think there is so much wrong with the world, with their lives, whatever, that they just exude this constant sense of cynicism. They see all that is bad with the world: all the dishonesty, the cruelty, the lack of compassion. They fail to see the generousity, the kindness, and the beauty of our world and of the human race. In their own lives, they experience hardship and decide there cannot possibly be a God because bad things are happening to them and those they love. They can't see the little everyday miracles that can't possibly be explained by chance or coincidence - what sad way to go through life.
We all have our ups and downs, our days when the bad seems to overwhelm the good, but I don't know what to do with these constantly bitter people. All I can do, I guess, is to be visibly hopeful and optimistic, to see the God's grace and show it to others when I can, and to never let negativity weigh me down. They may call me naive for this hope and faith in the inherent goodness of life, but I'd rather live like this than be miserably blinded by bitterness.
And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy
When he's standing in its light.
Those lyrics have stuck with me since the first time I heard that song. I interact with so many bitter people, like coworkers and even some dear friends and family members, and their bitterness truly saddens me. They think there is so much wrong with the world, with their lives, whatever, that they just exude this constant sense of cynicism. They see all that is bad with the world: all the dishonesty, the cruelty, the lack of compassion. They fail to see the generousity, the kindness, and the beauty of our world and of the human race. In their own lives, they experience hardship and decide there cannot possibly be a God because bad things are happening to them and those they love. They can't see the little everyday miracles that can't possibly be explained by chance or coincidence - what sad way to go through life.
We all have our ups and downs, our days when the bad seems to overwhelm the good, but I don't know what to do with these constantly bitter people. All I can do, I guess, is to be visibly hopeful and optimistic, to see the God's grace and show it to others when I can, and to never let negativity weigh me down. They may call me naive for this hope and faith in the inherent goodness of life, but I'd rather live like this than be miserably blinded by bitterness.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Finally, photos!
I'm boycotting work right now, and took advantage of it to put up some photos from Dan and Vicky's wedding, finally! Go to my Yahoo site to see them (hint: click the link on the right that says something like "My Photos on Yahoo").
So why am I boycotting work? Because I'm a hardass. Not to put too fine a point on it, but yesterday I really felt like my coworkers were being broke-dicks yesterday. That's Mitch's description, anyway. The situation would take a long time to explain, but suffice to say, I cover for a lot of people and no one was willing to step up and give me a hand, though they had no excuse not to except their own personal comfort. When I asked my boss to bring up this issue at our meeting this morning and described the situation, he agreed, then made a wishy-washy announcement about us all pitching in when our student staff is low.
Personally, I think there are definitely situations where a general announcement should make those to whom it applies feel guilty and uncomfortable. This was one such situation, because the issue has been ongoing. It makes for a stressful working environment and it just makes people bitter. If anything like what happened yesterday occurs again, there's going to be some honest confrontation, and not any more of this biting my tongue.
Onto more pleasant things, a good chunk of our beach volleyball team, the True Scots, got together last night and practiced at the rec center. We did drills and worked on areas of weakness, and I think everyone is more confident in themselves. Our first game is next week, and I have to miss it because of work, but I really look forward to hearing how it goes.
Meeting time in 10 minutes. I don't think it's going to be very fun. Is it Friday yet?
So why am I boycotting work? Because I'm a hardass. Not to put too fine a point on it, but yesterday I really felt like my coworkers were being broke-dicks yesterday. That's Mitch's description, anyway. The situation would take a long time to explain, but suffice to say, I cover for a lot of people and no one was willing to step up and give me a hand, though they had no excuse not to except their own personal comfort. When I asked my boss to bring up this issue at our meeting this morning and described the situation, he agreed, then made a wishy-washy announcement about us all pitching in when our student staff is low.
Personally, I think there are definitely situations where a general announcement should make those to whom it applies feel guilty and uncomfortable. This was one such situation, because the issue has been ongoing. It makes for a stressful working environment and it just makes people bitter. If anything like what happened yesterday occurs again, there's going to be some honest confrontation, and not any more of this biting my tongue.
Onto more pleasant things, a good chunk of our beach volleyball team, the True Scots, got together last night and practiced at the rec center. We did drills and worked on areas of weakness, and I think everyone is more confident in themselves. Our first game is next week, and I have to miss it because of work, but I really look forward to hearing how it goes.
Meeting time in 10 minutes. I don't think it's going to be very fun. Is it Friday yet?
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Michigan Weather
Not that I'm complaining, but I thought it was supposed to rain all week around here. Last night we had a nice enough evening for a bike ride, and this afternoon it's sunny! Glorious.
Last weekend was nice...we spent it at my parents and celebrated Mother's Day by taking my mom to the zoo. We dropped off some flowers for Grandma, too. I know it made my dad sad, but he concentrated mostly on telling us stories of his grandparents and an uncle who are all buried there. This weekend, I'm looking forward to wine tasting and general merriment with Jon and Miriam.
There's really not much to write, I guess. Work is work, and it's a bit depressing because our numbers aren't panning out as expected. Thankfully, no one's pointing fingers or putting an insane amount of pressure on the staff. We just keep chipping away with different strategies, hoping something will stick. So much for the predictability of yield and conversion rates. Obviously even with the strongest of efforts, X number of accepted students won't automatically convert to Y number of deposits, as our consultant would have us believe.
Last weekend was nice...we spent it at my parents and celebrated Mother's Day by taking my mom to the zoo. We dropped off some flowers for Grandma, too. I know it made my dad sad, but he concentrated mostly on telling us stories of his grandparents and an uncle who are all buried there. This weekend, I'm looking forward to wine tasting and general merriment with Jon and Miriam.
There's really not much to write, I guess. Work is work, and it's a bit depressing because our numbers aren't panning out as expected. Thankfully, no one's pointing fingers or putting an insane amount of pressure on the staff. We just keep chipping away with different strategies, hoping something will stick. So much for the predictability of yield and conversion rates. Obviously even with the strongest of efforts, X number of accepted students won't automatically convert to Y number of deposits, as our consultant would have us believe.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Meant for Two
My grandpa eats dinner alone now.
I can see him clearing half the kitchen table
and meticulously preparing his meal
as carefully as he used to pour our milk and cereal
that one spring.
(I imagine he sometimes forgets
and pulls two dinner plates from the cupboard.)
He's sorting through years of accumulated stuff,
unearthing old college papers
letters from his children
yellowed newspaper clippings,
but my grandma's toothbrush still stands by the sink.
Does he ever sit in her armchair
because he can't bear to look over
and see it empty?
I can see him clearing half the kitchen table
and meticulously preparing his meal
as carefully as he used to pour our milk and cereal
that one spring.
(I imagine he sometimes forgets
and pulls two dinner plates from the cupboard.)
He's sorting through years of accumulated stuff,
unearthing old college papers
letters from his children
yellowed newspaper clippings,
but my grandma's toothbrush still stands by the sink.
Does he ever sit in her armchair
because he can't bear to look over
and see it empty?
Thursday, May 11, 2006
New pet peeve
Wow, am I getting tired of hearing people say, "I heart this" and "I heart that." Heart is a noun, not a verb!
I'm going to start responding with other body parts from now on. "I pancreas you, too."
I'm going to start responding with other body parts from now on. "I pancreas you, too."
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Photos
I forgot to mention that photos from the climbing trip are up on my Yahoo site (see the link over there --->) if you want to check them out.
In other news...there is no other news. I need some motivation to study for the GMAT so I can hopefulyl begin graduate school next fall, but that's hard when the weather is so gorgeous that I just want to hop on my bike every single day.
Oh yes, the trip to St. Louis is finalized - we bought plane tickets and everything. Tim and Anna, here we come!
In other news...there is no other news. I need some motivation to study for the GMAT so I can hopefulyl begin graduate school next fall, but that's hard when the weather is so gorgeous that I just want to hop on my bike every single day.
Oh yes, the trip to St. Louis is finalized - we bought plane tickets and everything. Tim and Anna, here we come!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
West Virginia Trip
I'm finally getting around to posting about our awesome climbing trip!
Friday: Departure
Mitch, Gabe and I left Mt. Pleasant around 4 pm - two hours earlier than expected! The drive itself was uneventful, as I slept a good portion of the way. We arrived at our usual camping spot around 2 am and were excited to find that it wasn't raining, so we prepared to set our tent up down by the river. Unfortunately, someone was already camped there and I was reluctant to traipse through their site to find somewhere else, so we resigned ourselves to sleeping in the car. In order to make room for all of us, we stuck the camp stove, a camp chair and the boys' shoes underneath the car and settled in for the night. Within a few moments, Mitch decided it would be more comfortable - due to the incline - to turn the car around. Great idea...CRUNCH! We ran over the campstove! I grabbed my shoes and scampered out of the car to retrieve the sad piece of equipment when a car pulled up to me. This local started asking me all these questions: mainly, were we drinking? No, but the guy was insistent, telling us we'd be better off camping by the river because, "The law's out tonight." Eventually he left, but I was perturbed that Mitch and Gabe just let me talk to this stranger by myself. For the next half hour, laying there in the car, I was convinced every approaching set of headlights was another local coming to bother us. So, since it was humid and stuffy in the car, and since at least Mitch and I weren't going to be able to sleep, we got a hotel. Yay us.
Saturday: Setting up camp
It was raining when we woke up on Saturday morning, so we waited until about noon to go back to the campsite find somewhere to call home for the next week. Luckily, the previous inhabitants had left, so we promptly set up three tents and a nice, big tarp. The river was really low, so we spent lots of time playing on the rocks. Actually, Mitch and Gabe did most of the playing and I plopped myself down on a big, flat boulder to enjoy some peace.
Sunday: The group arrives
Last Saturday night, Brian and Katelyn rolled in and crashed in the tent we set up for them. When we returned from our morning visit to the Visitor's Center, the rest of the group was there. Some were sleeping but most were up and about, excited for a fun day. We took a good-sized group up river to the Hawk's Nest Dam for some bouldering, and after lunch most people went over to The Pinnacle, somewhat of a multi-pitch climb with a 90-foot rappell at the end. Mitch, Brian, Katelyn and I decided to head over to Junkyard and boulder a bit instead, but we all had a great time.
Monday: Summersville
In my opinion, Summersville Lake is the best place to climb in the whole entire New River Gorge area. In one section, there are numerous 5.7s, 8s, 9s and 10s - not to mention a huge, clean lake for swimming and bathing. While the climbing was awesome, the most memorable part of our day was the pirate ship. A few years before, Jon, Jeremy and Ben jumped in the lake and commandeered a floating log as their pirate ship. Determined to resurrect the tradition, they experimented with a few logs close to shore before spotting a huge one floating in the middle of the lake. With our encouragement from shore, they swam out to it, played a bit, and then became convinced the wouldn't be able to bring it back to shore. So a determined contigent, including me, stripped down, braved the chilly water, and brought the pirate ship ashore. Most of you reading this will never see them, but Gabe took some very hilarious photos of the voyage. Let's just say most of the people in the water will never be able to run for public office...
Tuesday: Bubba City (Beer Wall)
Bubba City is also a great place to climb, and we spent all day Tuesday out in the hot sun climbing routes like St. Pauli Girl, a 5.10c and arguably one of the best climbs in the Gorge. I led the same route I did last year, and reminded myself why I don't like ledgey climbs. Everyone had a great time...until we got back to camp and it was pouring rain! Five people were heading out for Spring Term and sports, but the rest of us decided to screw hanging out in the rain and went back into town for dinner at Pies and Pints. It was all-you-can-eat pizza night, and they didn't just have regular pizza; they made pies with gorgonzola, rosemary and grapes, or pesto, or figs, or jalepenos...you get the picture. Mitch, Gabe and Jerry decided an eating contest was in order, and promptly stuffed themselves. Mitch wolfed down 18 pieces and Jerry and Gabe each had 21. Boys.
Wednesday: Endless Wall and night bouldering
Wednesday was dreary, and we were afraid it would be nasty all day, but it dried up enough for us to head to Endless Wall for some slabby climbing. This is one of my favorite types: you don't really have any handholds, but the wall is slightly angled in and the rock is very grippy. So you just find a place for your feet and slowly stand up. Sounds like fun, huh? Anyway, I climbed one route and was lead-belaying for Brian on a second when it started to rain. We gave up on that in a hurry and hiked out, but the rest of the evening was dry enough for night bouldering at the dam. Once it got dark, a bunch of us grabbed our headlamps and tackled some really great problems. This was my crowning achievement for the trip: I topped out a 20-foot boulder on a not-super-easy route. In the dark. Yeah.
Thursday: Bubba City (Sandstonia)
This area was formerly known as Tattoo Wall and has just been recently developed. Actually, the guys went here last year while us girls were at Beer Wall. I'm not sure about this place, though. The guidebook made it look like there were a ton of climbs of all abilities, but I think the routes were rated low. Gabe led a 5.10 that took him 15 feet to the left of his bolt - not safe. Jerry attempted a 5.9 on lead but took a whipper and cracked his shin on a ledge. The only good climb was a 5.7 Brian led at the end of the day, and I was the only one who climbed it after him.
Friday: Bouldering (last day)
The Climbing Club bought a guidebook for bouldering the the Gorge, and while we could have taken a whole day clambering up big rocks, we decided to save it for the last day and spend the morning instead. We went to Bridge Area, which is mostly trad climbing, and found this huge bouldering with a ton of problems. From what we could see, I climbed a couple V-1s and the boys worked on a few V-2s and 3s. It was a ton of fun, and standing on top of the boulder, the last thing I wanted to do was put on a suit and come back to the office.
Once we got back to Michigan, it was a whirl-wind of showering, sleeping, cleaning gear, driving back to Mt. P, and attending Vicky and Dan's wedding on Saturday. What a glorious celebration! They got married in the Alma chapel, with Christine, our on chaplain, performing the ceremony. The reception was a blast and Van Dusen never looked more elegant. Tim and Anna came up for the event and stayed with us, then on Sunday morning we had brunch at the Embers with lots of good friends. Definitely a great end to our vacation week!
Friday: Departure
Mitch, Gabe and I left Mt. Pleasant around 4 pm - two hours earlier than expected! The drive itself was uneventful, as I slept a good portion of the way. We arrived at our usual camping spot around 2 am and were excited to find that it wasn't raining, so we prepared to set our tent up down by the river. Unfortunately, someone was already camped there and I was reluctant to traipse through their site to find somewhere else, so we resigned ourselves to sleeping in the car. In order to make room for all of us, we stuck the camp stove, a camp chair and the boys' shoes underneath the car and settled in for the night. Within a few moments, Mitch decided it would be more comfortable - due to the incline - to turn the car around. Great idea...CRUNCH! We ran over the campstove! I grabbed my shoes and scampered out of the car to retrieve the sad piece of equipment when a car pulled up to me. This local started asking me all these questions: mainly, were we drinking? No, but the guy was insistent, telling us we'd be better off camping by the river because, "The law's out tonight." Eventually he left, but I was perturbed that Mitch and Gabe just let me talk to this stranger by myself. For the next half hour, laying there in the car, I was convinced every approaching set of headlights was another local coming to bother us. So, since it was humid and stuffy in the car, and since at least Mitch and I weren't going to be able to sleep, we got a hotel. Yay us.
Saturday: Setting up camp
It was raining when we woke up on Saturday morning, so we waited until about noon to go back to the campsite find somewhere to call home for the next week. Luckily, the previous inhabitants had left, so we promptly set up three tents and a nice, big tarp. The river was really low, so we spent lots of time playing on the rocks. Actually, Mitch and Gabe did most of the playing and I plopped myself down on a big, flat boulder to enjoy some peace.
Sunday: The group arrives
Last Saturday night, Brian and Katelyn rolled in and crashed in the tent we set up for them. When we returned from our morning visit to the Visitor's Center, the rest of the group was there. Some were sleeping but most were up and about, excited for a fun day. We took a good-sized group up river to the Hawk's Nest Dam for some bouldering, and after lunch most people went over to The Pinnacle, somewhat of a multi-pitch climb with a 90-foot rappell at the end. Mitch, Brian, Katelyn and I decided to head over to Junkyard and boulder a bit instead, but we all had a great time.
Monday: Summersville
In my opinion, Summersville Lake is the best place to climb in the whole entire New River Gorge area. In one section, there are numerous 5.7s, 8s, 9s and 10s - not to mention a huge, clean lake for swimming and bathing. While the climbing was awesome, the most memorable part of our day was the pirate ship. A few years before, Jon, Jeremy and Ben jumped in the lake and commandeered a floating log as their pirate ship. Determined to resurrect the tradition, they experimented with a few logs close to shore before spotting a huge one floating in the middle of the lake. With our encouragement from shore, they swam out to it, played a bit, and then became convinced the wouldn't be able to bring it back to shore. So a determined contigent, including me, stripped down, braved the chilly water, and brought the pirate ship ashore. Most of you reading this will never see them, but Gabe took some very hilarious photos of the voyage. Let's just say most of the people in the water will never be able to run for public office...
Tuesday: Bubba City (Beer Wall)
Bubba City is also a great place to climb, and we spent all day Tuesday out in the hot sun climbing routes like St. Pauli Girl, a 5.10c and arguably one of the best climbs in the Gorge. I led the same route I did last year, and reminded myself why I don't like ledgey climbs. Everyone had a great time...until we got back to camp and it was pouring rain! Five people were heading out for Spring Term and sports, but the rest of us decided to screw hanging out in the rain and went back into town for dinner at Pies and Pints. It was all-you-can-eat pizza night, and they didn't just have regular pizza; they made pies with gorgonzola, rosemary and grapes, or pesto, or figs, or jalepenos...you get the picture. Mitch, Gabe and Jerry decided an eating contest was in order, and promptly stuffed themselves. Mitch wolfed down 18 pieces and Jerry and Gabe each had 21. Boys.
Wednesday: Endless Wall and night bouldering
Wednesday was dreary, and we were afraid it would be nasty all day, but it dried up enough for us to head to Endless Wall for some slabby climbing. This is one of my favorite types: you don't really have any handholds, but the wall is slightly angled in and the rock is very grippy. So you just find a place for your feet and slowly stand up. Sounds like fun, huh? Anyway, I climbed one route and was lead-belaying for Brian on a second when it started to rain. We gave up on that in a hurry and hiked out, but the rest of the evening was dry enough for night bouldering at the dam. Once it got dark, a bunch of us grabbed our headlamps and tackled some really great problems. This was my crowning achievement for the trip: I topped out a 20-foot boulder on a not-super-easy route. In the dark. Yeah.
Thursday: Bubba City (Sandstonia)
This area was formerly known as Tattoo Wall and has just been recently developed. Actually, the guys went here last year while us girls were at Beer Wall. I'm not sure about this place, though. The guidebook made it look like there were a ton of climbs of all abilities, but I think the routes were rated low. Gabe led a 5.10 that took him 15 feet to the left of his bolt - not safe. Jerry attempted a 5.9 on lead but took a whipper and cracked his shin on a ledge. The only good climb was a 5.7 Brian led at the end of the day, and I was the only one who climbed it after him.
Friday: Bouldering (last day)
The Climbing Club bought a guidebook for bouldering the the Gorge, and while we could have taken a whole day clambering up big rocks, we decided to save it for the last day and spend the morning instead. We went to Bridge Area, which is mostly trad climbing, and found this huge bouldering with a ton of problems. From what we could see, I climbed a couple V-1s and the boys worked on a few V-2s and 3s. It was a ton of fun, and standing on top of the boulder, the last thing I wanted to do was put on a suit and come back to the office.
Once we got back to Michigan, it was a whirl-wind of showering, sleeping, cleaning gear, driving back to Mt. P, and attending Vicky and Dan's wedding on Saturday. What a glorious celebration! They got married in the Alma chapel, with Christine, our on chaplain, performing the ceremony. The reception was a blast and Van Dusen never looked more elegant. Tim and Anna came up for the event and stayed with us, then on Sunday morning we had brunch at the Embers with lots of good friends. Definitely a great end to our vacation week!
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