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Sequels are never as good
Sep. 27th, 2011 07:06 amI hate the UN, although I admit I have less tolerance for Obama's visits than I did for Bush's. (Possibly bc I was less worried about Bush sucking up to Dinnerjacket.) The only car company that had anything available was Lincoln Limousine -- which sent us a white stretch limo, but an hour late. Grr. Fortunately, our flight was delayed half an hour. NRod seemed to think being the driver meant she got to choose the route, but she was wrong and I directed her through I-64/77, which took 75mins door to door.
I thought The Loft room at the Morris Harvey was creepy when I saw it last year, but it was the only room with private bath available for this more busy weekend. At 11pm, the second bedroom was even creepier, with pastel drawings of children everywhere. NRod and I decided to share the full in the other room rather than sleep there. Finding National Geographics from 1951, the hall lightbulb burning out, and regularly bumping our heads didn't improve our impression of the room.
After we booked, we discovered it was a Chicks With Picks weekend. While I've been curious about their events, we'd be missing the Fri night dinner and they only provide a half day of climbing on Sunday, so NRod and I went on our own. We couldn't go with last year's guides, bc they were all doing the Chicks event, so we went out with Hard Rock Climbing. Jessa was inexperienced as a guide, but sweet, eager-to-please, an excellent climber/leader, and our height. ( The climbing made up for everything, from the very first morning )
The Secret Sandwich Society is no longer open in the mornings, so we had to drive 15mins back to town for lunch. The owner was a bit bitchy this year and the McKinley seemed to have more mayo? this year. My system was unhappy the next morning, like last year, although in both cases I don't know if it was the McKinley or salads at Pies & Pints. I'd still go back to SSS, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
( Classic crack )
When I packed for the trip, I noticed the rubber splitting on my only pair of climbing shoes. I thought I'd send it in for re-soling in December, before I left for Ouray, so I could take a few weeks off and not have to rent shoes. By mid-morning on Saturday, both shoes had split rubber and I could feel my feet slipping more than they ought. I asked Jessa about borrowing shoes from her company, but she said even my cracked Mythos would be better. ( Kate goes shoe shopping in West Virginia ) I have shoes by Gucci and Prada in my closet, but I love these better.
After the shoe shopping adventure, we picked up lunch and headed to Beauty Mountain, where we finally encountered the Chicks Sans Picks ( and climbed some more sweet Nutall sandstone )
This year we went to Pies & Pints on Sat night and Vandalian's on Sun, which was a mistake. P&P was a zoo, with a bachelorette party and rowdy rafters. Vandalian's was delicious as always and they served MacMurray pinot noir, one of the few wines I've ever gone back to buy more of for my cellar. Unfortunately, half a bottle was enough for me to sleep badly and wake with night terrors about the movie The Others (the only horror film I've seen in the past decade). The drive to CRW was smooth enough and we found a rest stop with a gas station on 64/77 that I should remember from the drive out. Unfortunately, NRod was snarly when I offered help backing out and then in the cab from the airport - we should've dropped her off first, but I didn't choose the order. I came back awfully grumpy considering what great climbing we had.
I thought The Loft room at the Morris Harvey was creepy when I saw it last year, but it was the only room with private bath available for this more busy weekend. At 11pm, the second bedroom was even creepier, with pastel drawings of children everywhere. NRod and I decided to share the full in the other room rather than sleep there. Finding National Geographics from 1951, the hall lightbulb burning out, and regularly bumping our heads didn't improve our impression of the room.
After we booked, we discovered it was a Chicks With Picks weekend. While I've been curious about their events, we'd be missing the Fri night dinner and they only provide a half day of climbing on Sunday, so NRod and I went on our own. We couldn't go with last year's guides, bc they were all doing the Chicks event, so we went out with Hard Rock Climbing. Jessa was inexperienced as a guide, but sweet, eager-to-please, an excellent climber/leader, and our height. ( The climbing made up for everything, from the very first morning )
The Secret Sandwich Society is no longer open in the mornings, so we had to drive 15mins back to town for lunch. The owner was a bit bitchy this year and the McKinley seemed to have more mayo? this year. My system was unhappy the next morning, like last year, although in both cases I don't know if it was the McKinley or salads at Pies & Pints. I'd still go back to SSS, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
( Classic crack )
When I packed for the trip, I noticed the rubber splitting on my only pair of climbing shoes. I thought I'd send it in for re-soling in December, before I left for Ouray, so I could take a few weeks off and not have to rent shoes. By mid-morning on Saturday, both shoes had split rubber and I could feel my feet slipping more than they ought. I asked Jessa about borrowing shoes from her company, but she said even my cracked Mythos would be better. ( Kate goes shoe shopping in West Virginia ) I have shoes by Gucci and Prada in my closet, but I love these better.
After the shoe shopping adventure, we picked up lunch and headed to Beauty Mountain, where we finally encountered the Chicks Sans Picks ( and climbed some more sweet Nutall sandstone )
This year we went to Pies & Pints on Sat night and Vandalian's on Sun, which was a mistake. P&P was a zoo, with a bachelorette party and rowdy rafters. Vandalian's was delicious as always and they served MacMurray pinot noir, one of the few wines I've ever gone back to buy more of for my cellar. Unfortunately, half a bottle was enough for me to sleep badly and wake with night terrors about the movie The Others (the only horror film I've seen in the past decade). The drive to CRW was smooth enough and we found a rest stop with a gas station on 64/77 that I should remember from the drive out. Unfortunately, NRod was snarly when I offered help backing out and then in the cab from the airport - we should've dropped her off first, but I didn't choose the order. I came back awfully grumpy considering what great climbing we had.