My fingers are mad at me
and a Phillies game recap
I haven't climbed in two weeks, since we left the Gunks thanks to a nasty nasty head cold. Bleck. I guess I lost a layer of calluses on my finger tips because after just a few short climbs, my fingers were screaming at me. I look forward to building them back up again. Hopefully I can get out to the gym a couple more times before the long weekend.
Sam, Elk, Mendra and I had a good time at Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night with the Phillies v Blue Jays. Citizen's Bank Park really is a nice ballpark. Its got great food, good views. I just wish it was easier to get out of the parking lot after the game. I think we get out of the Flyers games much faster.
Unfortunately there wasn't any visible indication at the game that it was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night. It would have been nice if they'd put some information about Ovarian Cancer on the scoreboard, or made an announcement about it over the loud speaker, and they didn't have any handouts to give to people, either. But maybe they didn't sell enough ticket earmarked for Ovarian Cancer night. Hopefully the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation was able to get a good-sized donation out of the Phillies though.
As for the game itself: to Mendra's disappointment, the Blue Jay's lost. If it wasn't for one inning where they loaded the bases for the Phillies with a few walks, and a few hits... it could have turned out differently. Watching the game reminded me why I loved playing so much when I was a kid. I used to love playing under the lights.
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night with the Phillies
vs the Toronto Blue Jays
Wow, talk about amazing coincidences. Mendra loves all the Toronto sports teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays. I swear I'd checked their schedule earlier this year and was disappointed that they wouldn't be playing in Philladelphia. Well, it turns out that I just can't read a schedule correctly, because they're playing a 3-game series with the Phillies this weekend.
Friday night is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night with the Phillies a portion of the ticket sales go to the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Tickets are $25 a piece + a $2 processing fee. To order, call (215) 463-5000 ext 5102. If they get 500 people to buy tickets, then they'll be able to have an Ovarian Cancer survivor throw out the first pitch. Sam's already said she won't do it -- but come on -- that'd be a great picture. I wonder if she'd get it half way to the catcher? (just kidding Miss Samantha).
My Sunday view
I love hammocks
Another gorgeous weekend. This time spent mostly trying to recover from an icky headcold. It had me pretty comatose yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today, helped no doubt, by the weather and my pretty hammock.
We've got two perfectly spaced small-leafed maple trees in our front yard. I love my hammock. Its made by Byer of Maine and called 'The Barbados'. I love it (have I mentioned that yet?). Our wifi signal even reaches the front yard, so I've even worked from my hammock before. That's when you really appreciate working from home. No work today. It's Sunday, and an absolutely gorgeous one.
We had a wonderful brunch at Braddock's Tavern, the seafood streudel is delightful. And we even stopped by a cute antique shop on the way back to the car. The afternoon consisted of my hammock-time complete with catnap, yarn, and my Yoga mat bag. I'm making some good progress, I'm half-way done with my last row of elephants. Hopefully I'll have it completed in another week or so.
A Gorgeous Weekend in the Gunks
Can't wait to go out again
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I had such a great weekend. There was gorgeous weather, awesome climbing and good friends.
Keith was on our Climb4Life team in Salt Lake City. He's a great climbing partner. He's been climbing trad for many years.... and he's a geologist. A climbing partner who's a geologist: how perfect is that. I picked Manik up in Manhattan and we met Keith at Rock and Snow in New Paltz. We went off to find a camp site and set up our tent before it got dark. It was pretty high tech camping. We had a huge 4-man tent with a screened in porch and an attic. The campground had hot showers and clean bathrooms. We didn't even cook out -- we'd just go into town for breakfast and dinner. We even had Thai on Friday night. We had a great time climbing. Keith picked out some great routes. On Saturday we did a couple "classic" multi-pitch climbs: Maria (5.6) and Shockley's Ceiling (5.6). Maria was a great first climb of the trip. It's a nice grippy 3-pitch climb with a fun crux at the end. We only did the 1st two pitches of Shockley's Ceiling. I was just too tired at the top of the 2nd pitch and didn't have it in me to pull through the ceiling itself (basically you're reaching back over your head to climb up and over the ceiling). I'd love to go back and work through that crux. I was exhausted come Saturday night. I was asleep before my head hit my sleeping bag. We all slept in late and had a nice breakfast at the local diner before we headed back to the rock. Because of our late start we got to hike up "the stairmaster" from the lower parking lot. It certainly got my heart pumping before our climbs. We did a few shorter single-pitch climbs on Sunday, but all just as fun as the ones we'd hit on Saturday. We started on a variation of Squiggles (normally a 5.4, not sure the rating on our variation) and then moved over to Double Chin (5.5). Lucky for me, Double Chin was situated directly in front of my new favorite boulder in the Gunks. This rock had the perfect shape, I tell you. It had a nice spot for me to sit, a great angle back to lie back on and a place to prop up my feet. I cat napped while Keith and Manik worked on the route. I'll certainly remember that rock next time I'm up there. I really liked Double Chin. It's so-named for its two ceiling moves. There were plenty of hand holds so it was easy to be confident as I worked through the crux, but it was still a lot of fun. Manik lead the route and got to scratch up some of his shiny new cams. I sat out of the last climb. Manik and Keith climbed "Black Fly" as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. We headed back to the car and made the drive back home. It really was an great weekend. A huge thanks to Manik for chosing some gorgeous weather to climb in, and to Keith for being our guide. I can't wait to go out and climb again. |
