Man oh man. Where do I start? Since last Sunday I have driven over 800 miles:
A week ago around this time I was heading up to Raleigh/Durham for some AIX (unix) training for work. I was pretty excited to get my learn on about something I care about. I got to my hotel around 9:30 or 10:00 and went to sleep soon there after. The hotel was pretty sweet. My room had 2 lcd tv’s and 2 queen beds. I only needed one of each but I guess they wanted to make sure I had a hot swappable backup in case either one failed. I must say that the comp breakfast was probably some of the best breakfast food I’ve eaten in a long time. Each morning I was greeted with various flavored hashbrowns, eggs and anything else you could possibly want. It was also quite generous that they offered free beer from 5-7pm. I took advantage of both the breakfast and the booze. My classes were on the IBM campus in the middle of the research triangle park. I’d never spent much time in Raleigh but the triangle park was pretty neat. I drove past GE Aircraft Engines and various other companies that balled out in the technology field. I went to the local gym, Triangle Rock Club, and had a pretty good session. It was a nice gym and I got super pumped. I also checked out some mountain biking. I went to this area called New Light in north Raleigh. Big props to trianglemtb.com for having good beta on their site! I met some dudes in the parking lot that were kind enough to let me ride with them (well, at least for the first 10 minutes until they dusted me). That trail system was freakin sweet! I’d have to say it’s one of the best trails I’ve ever been on. I finished up training on Thursday and high tailed it to Boone to enjoy a long weekend chillin with family and friends.
I was able to squeeze an evening session in at Grandmother on Thursday. We went to the long wall and we climbed a handful of problems until the rain revoked our top-out license. We sat it out and after a few minutes we were able to start working on a cool traverse. The next morning I got up and decided to test one of my goals by riding up Junaluska Rd on my mountain bike. It’s only about 1.5 miles but it’s a pretty gnarly uphill stretch (800 ft elevation gain). I surprised myself and did it without stopping. Turning around and flying down the mountain was exhilarating! After that I met up with some friends and went to Thunder Hill boulders. It was actually my first trip to Thunder Hill and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s sharp!!
Saturday I went to the lake with all of my siblings and my dad. A few friends tagged along as well. The temperature was in the low 90′s and the water was perfect. Because of Jesse’s courage we were able to drag the wake board behind the pontoon boat! It was slower than molasses but super fun and a great workout. We nicknamed my sister Page, Tread, because she was treading water like a champ! I’m talking 45 minutes without a “life preserver” as Dad would call it. I have to admit I’m not the biggest lake fan but I had a damn good time.
Here are some pictures from the past week:
Recent Comments