Rocktown Abbreviated

We left Ohio after New Years which was a bit later than we had originally planned. The weather just wasn't cooperating and we figured it was better to sit inside, sip excellent flat whites (that's an extra strong latte for you americans)! Hopefully our Aussie and Kiwi friends are saying to themselves "see americans can learn to have some good taste in coffee". That being said Holy Crap the coffee in america sucks! wow it is really really bad. I guess you only really see things for what they are when they are compared to something else. Unfortunately this means that I will now be ranting about American coffee like one of those know-it-all travelers who thinks that just because they've seen a little of the world they are given free license to tell everyone how crap the stuff they like is, and how much better it would be if you just made it like they do in insertcountryhere. I also made some grocers at a supermarket in Columbus quite confused when I asked if they had any Vegemite. Unfortunately no, they did not.

List of items we now like that are basically impossible to find in the usa

flat whites
vegemite (Val, thanks for getting us hooked on this!)
cured meats (uncooked)
good cheese
crackers (good)
biltong
good bread (yes, ours is sweet)
cheap good chocolate
$1 good french wine (okay it probably wasn't that good, but it tasted good to us)
meat pies
fresh fruit shakes, coconut, mango
street food (SE Asia)

Okay, so moving on to the climbing. We arrived in Rocktown after what amounted to about a month off from climbing. We knew the first week would be a struggle, and it was, but we did manage to find some gems that we were able to struggle up such as El Bano directt v4, Pythagorean v4, Standard v3 (should be called Comet), Breadloaves v5, and to top it off Golden Shower v5 (yeah it's a pretty crazy name)

Just as we were starting to feel like our strength was returning the weather forecast changed to a solid ten days of rain. Not worth sticking around for, so we're headed to Heuco early where it should be sunny and dry. There are a lot of great problems here that we were hoping to have a shot at, but we're sure Heuco will not disappoint either. Hopefully we'll be able to get back here someday when it is cold and dry for a while.

Cassie working the very thin and crimpy Standard v3

We're now in Arkansas on our way to my stepdad Don's place in Eureka Springs. We'll stay there for a couple of days and then go to Hueco where we now have almost a month of climbing before we have to be back in Utah for jobs. That doesn't mean we won't be doing work stuff though as the house/apt hunt is under way. We're really hoping to find something that suits us and are considering living downtown as our desire for civilization vs quiet solitude has reversed somewhat on the trip. I expect that to change over time again, but for now a bit more of a cityish life sounds like of good.

So, as far as the jobs go, I'm talking to DTI (my old job) about coming back to work for them. Hopefully they will have something for me to do, though it will be different than before because I've gotten accepted to the University of Utah and will begin classes in May. Finally time to grow up and get a degree I guess. Cassie has accepted her old job at the state of Utah and begins work March 4th. I suppose we lose some points on the exciting scale for going back to our old positions, and old location, but I gotta say that after doing all the traveling we have, Utah is pretty much the best we've ever seen for what we like. One of the best parts about moving back to Utah is getting to see our friends again. It's been quite a while since we've seen them, and being on a trip like this really makes you appreciate them more.

Can't wait to be back (this might not sound too strange, but two years ago I couldn't wait to leave and could barely imagine really wanting to go back). We are even excited to go back to work (now that really does sound crazy).

Hope you enjoy this video from Rocktown, features an amazing v5 called Golden Shower. One of the best climbs I've ever done.

The final push. Home?

Well it's been quite a while since we posted. It's now January 1st 2013 and our last post was at the end of November 2012 from New Zealand. After leaving New Zealand we had 2 great weeks of travel in Thailand where we relaxed on the beach and went on a 3 day snorkeling trip. It was a much needed rest and the only thing we wanted to do more was sit at Owl Creek Farm and relax. So, when December 18th arrived and we flew back to New York City we were more than happy to be on our way home. We stayed at Cassie's brother's house for a day or two, then caught a flight back to Columbus, Ohio and spent a few days spending time with my sister Elyse. After that we headed to the Farm (Howard, OH) and began our trip recuperation. We've done almost nothing except eat good food and watch the fire, or soak in the hottub.

If you had told me before the trip started that we would be happy to be done with our international travels I probably wouldn't have believed you, but there's no place like home and I guess traveling really shows you that. Christmas was the best this year, and is the first time in 6 years I've been back to Ohio for it. On top of that everyone else was around which made it extra special. Much joy was had and shared.

As I write this blog my mom is making us eggs and bacon with muffins and that's about the best thing in the whole wide world as far as I'm concerned. Pretty sad to be leaving the comfort of home again, but new boulders await and our month off has renewed our energy for climbing. Today we head to Dayton to visit some friends of mine and then tomorrow we do the real push to Rocktown Georgia (La Fayette, GA). We stay there for about 3 weeks or so, then head to Arkansas to visit Don (my step-dad) and then off to Hueco Tanks (El Paso, TX) for about 3 weeks.

After that things are kind of up in the air. Sorry can't be much more specific than that, but there are job possibilities that may, or may not come through and I don't want to say anything until they do. Hopefully we'll know by the end of the week, (but we were pretty sure we'd know in early-November about this same job and you can see how well that's worked out :)

So, expect some more posts fairly soon about the excellent sandstone bouldering in Georgia, and hopefully our strength will return in time for some hard climbing in Hueco.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our friends and family out there. I hope we see you all again soon!