Utah climbing trip

Isaac went on a climbing trip to Southern Utah with some friends. I think it was the 2nd week in October, and I think it was Indian Creek, but I'm not 100% sure because I'm insanely jealous and didn't pay too close of attention. Here are some pics, though ...

Better Late than Never ...

A few weekends ago (late Sept, I think), Isaac, Ross, Stephanie, and I climbed at Upper West Bolton. I just never posted about it until now because I was too lazy to go through the pics.

Ross started out by leading the Thorn ...
He went free as far as he could go, and then he switched to aid. Isaac then started aiding the Rose, which was just to the left.
And here's a nifty one of just Isaac on the Rose:

And now for the rest of the summer ...

Wow, somehow the summer flew by without posting for the last couple months. We put the guest room to use with visits from my dad and Isaac's mom & her boyfriend. While my dad was here, we did a bunch of fun stuff. We took him whitewater canoeing on the Lamoille river

and went sailing.
Well, I actually wouldn't say that we were doing the sailing ... we drank while the owner and his assistant did all the work. It was still a nice way to see Lake Champlain, though.

While on the boat, the assistant "joked" about throwing me off because I was wearing a Yankees hat. People here are weird about their Red Sox. Really weird. It usually seems like they are more interested in hating the Yankees than cheering for the Red Sox. I won't even wear it into a restaurant out of fear of what they might do to my food.

When Isaac's mom & her boyfriend visited, we got in lots of good socializing, enjoyed some good games, and went canoeing on the Waterbury reservoir. There was probably lots of other fun stuff we did, but I don't remember because my memory sucks and I didn't take any pictures.

We got out paddling a few times - mostly just dam release stuff because this summer was really dry. We went to the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield river, and Isaac finally paddled the Zoar Gap rapid. I went with Stephanie and Andrew to the MVP Pigroast event. We paddled the Pemi and enjoyed camping at a great hippie-style festival with $20 covering camping, all you can eat side of beef, potluck, beverage, and merriment. Isaac & Ross climbed nearby at Rumney, and joined us uf the festivities. We all climbed on Sunday. Here's Stephanie paddling the Pemi and her first time in a solo WW canoe - and a C1 as well.
There was a really big bonfire, too:

We also got out for the West River release with Ross. We paddled the lower class II section - Isaac & Ross in the Caption and me in the Detonator. Isaac & Ross swam twice - which was not fun because the water is fast, shallow, and rocky. They did well working as a team to get themselves and the canoe to shore. Even though they swam, they did a great job in the tandem - it's a tricky boat to paddle. For the first time, I seriously considered paddling the Upper West. The release was a little lower this year, so it would have been a great time to try it. I was feeling strong and confident that day as well. I couldn't find anyone who I knew who wanted to paddle it, and I didn't want to rely on people who I didn't know for my safety, so I just watched. So sad.

We also got in some climbing this summer. Isaac got in lots of climbing - I think he made it out most weekends. I made it out a few times, the most memorable of which was a trip the the Gunks where I found this Copperhead:

Another great weekend

Wow, we had yet another fantastic weekend. Isaac climbed at the Gunks all weekend with some friends, and I did a bunch of stuff. I climbed with them on Saturday, and it was my first time at the Gunks. I can't believe I've lived here for years and hadn't been until now. What a great place to climb! Here's Isaac on the Horseman:
Once I was too tired to climb, I jumped into the car and headed off to NJ to visit Grandma for the rest of the weekend. It's been too long since I saw her last, and I wanted to spend some quality time with her. Along the way, I stopped at a great farm stand. What can I say, I have a huge weakness for farmstand produce. A bunch of cherries, blueberries, tomatoes, and corn later and I'm back on the road to Grandma's.

Lots of great catching up and of course the Yankees game - can't miss that. Grandma, my mom, and my aunt were all big Yankee fans, and they used to drag my grandpa to the game on "ladies day". They'd all get in for free? cheap? ... I can't remember the story, but Grandpa was the only one who wasn't crazy about baseball, but he went anyway. Grandma still loves the Yankees, and watches them every chance she gets. Saturday's game was tied 1-1, and although we wanted to get some dinner, we also wanted to see the end of the game. It was still tied after the 9th inning, so we headed off to Matthews Diner. Luckily, they had the game on and it was a short drive so we didn't miss much. The service at Matthews was leisurely, good, and super-friendly (as always), and the food was actually good! I wish I could say the same for the Yankees, they ended up losing on Saturday after coming so close to turning it around. Oh well, I had a nice night out on the town with Grandma. We had fun and that's what matters.

Later that evening, we went through her box of bobbin lace that she made over the years. I've always really liked the dainty borders she adds to her pillowcases and sheet edges. I finally asked her what it was, and I found out that it wasn't lace, but tatting and not hard to make. She gave me her old tatting shuttle, and I can't wait to research it and learn how to make it.

Sunday morning we feasted on oats and the farm stand fruits (so yummy), then it was outside to work on the lawn. Grandma does a great job riding around on her scooter to weed and pick up debris (leaves, sticks, etc). She's got her system down, and the yard looks great. Back inside, we watched the mens Wimbledon final and it was a good match.

Finally, it was off Matthews Diner again before I had to head back home. So, it's a blurry picture, but it's what I've got.


So this on its own would be a full weekend, but it wasn't over yet. On the way home Sunday night I stopped off in the Lake George region to try out a bunch of different composite whitewater C1 boats. Adam, who moderates the cboats.net message board, kindly offered to let me try out some boats as I try to figure out what I want. I tried out a Hornet (Mill Brook Boats) and two boats by New Wave: a Viper and a Decender. All three were great ... now I see how many people can't pick just one.

I didn't get home until late - after 11 PM - but it was worth it to have a great fun-filled weekend.

Climbing & Sewing Weekend

So, I decided to give this blogging thing a try. Not sure if anyone will care what we are up to, but who knows? This weekend, Isaac, Ross, and I went climbing in the Addirondacks. Saturday morning, we climbed the Standard Route at Chapel Pond. As we were setting up, we chatted with another group who was setting up next to us on Empress, and they seemed to know a lot about the routes. At the belay for the 2nd pitch, Isaac tells Ross & me that he thinks the guy on Empress is Don Mellor, the guy who wrote the guidebook for climbing in the Addirondacks. This type of thing happens to Isaac all the time. When he first arrived in Vermont, he lived in the same apartment building as Mike Lee, and got introduced to John Sykes (established many routes in the Whites) through him. While climbing at J-Tree, we bumped into the guys who wrote the guidebook to ice climbing at Smugglers Notch.

There's a funny story behind this one. So, one of my pet peeves is how when first meeting someone, the first question they often ask is, "what do you do?" This bothers me on a couple of levels; first, because they are subconsciously less interested in what you do, and more interested in getting an idea of your status. Second, it bothers me because I define myself by so much more than my occupation of an engineer. So, back to the J-Tree story. We're chatting with a group next to us who it turns out are also from Vermont. They as us what we do in Vermont, and like the smart-ass geek he is, Isaac responds, "I climb". "No, really, what do you do?" they ask Isaac. It turns out, we were talking with the guys who wrote the guidebook to Smugglers Notch - Good one Isaac!

Anyway, back to the weekend. After the morning of climbing, I head back to Vermont to give my body a break and so Isaac & Ross could climb some stuff that is more interesting. I spent the rest of the weekend sewing. I created a pattern from my favorite skirt that is now too small, and I tried making it. I got as far as the hem, and the knit material kept bunching up under the foot of my serger at the seams. Far from the serger master, I put it aside and will ask local sewing expert and owner of the best sewing store in vermont, Gayle, about how to do this on Tuesday. I made a "Taffy Top" instead and it turned out great!