Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Ice in HI & Mountains in the Desert!

(Julie, Aaron, & Shannon ready to hit the ice in HI!!!!)

Sorry for the delayed post, but life here has been quite busy.  I didn't get this post out last night because we hosted another party at our place.  Time at work has been extremely boring, as not many people are buying luxury SUVs with the current economic situation.  Julie has been busy teaching windsurfing and taking out kayak tours lately.  She also designed some new paint schemes and a new logo for the outrigger canoe company she paints for.  Julie and I have both been working hard to get back in shape and shed a few pounds.  Julie has been doing better at it than I:)  I've gotten out kiteboarding a few days, but the winds haven't been very good lately.

Julie, Aaron, Shannon, Umut, my manager Dave, and I did all get out ice skating in HI!!!  Yes they have A ice skating rink here in HI.  I do have to say that the ice is absolutely horrible, but still tons of fun:)  Dave and Shannon showed us all up as they both play or have played ice hockey before.  I made the mistake of working hard all night to learn to hockey stop.  On my first full speed attempt I crashed hard onto the outside of my knee.  Needless to say that was swollen and painful for a few days.

(Bryon & Julie atop Red Rocks.)
(Bryon working on a 5.10c.)

(Julie flashing the final climb of the day, 5.10b.)
(Julie climbing out of the Dark Corridor at Red Rocks.)

The big news from that past few weeks was our vacation to Las Vegas!  My parent had invited Julie and I back in September to join them for a week in Vegas for their 37th wedding anniversary.  It is funny that our only vacation out of HI has been to what the locals call the 9th island.  The trip was tons of fun with great food, great shows, lots of gambling (for me), and great company.  We saw a standup comedy show, Blue Man, and "O".  "O" was absolutely amazing and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  We also ate dinner one night at Smith and Wolinsky's steakhouse.  It was by far the best meal that I've ever eaten.  I lost a few dollars gambling, but had tons of fun and did quite well at the poker tables.  Those blackjack tables are what took my money:(  Mom and Dad did quite a bit of geocaching, which turns out to be quite interesting.  We all had a good day out in the desert near Mt. Charleston looking for cashes.

The adventure part of the trip was a day out at Red Rocks rock climbing for Julie and I.  I arranged for a guided trip based out of the local climbing gym.  Our guide was Bob Cons and I highly recommend this guy for any rock climbing trip.  He turned out to be a local legend and a true professional out on the rocks.  We managed to get in 5 climbs.  The first was my first multi-pitch.  The climb was called the Great Red Book, had a hanging belay, and was rated at 5.8.  It was an easy climb, but was a great warm up and provided amazing views of the entire area from the top.  For the rest of the day we stayed in the "Dark Corridor" climbing: 5.9, 5.10b, 5.10c, and 5.10b.  Julie and I both did quite well for not rock climbing since October.  Julie even managed to flash the last climb of the day, a 5.10b.  We both hope to get back to this spectacular area climbing and hiking again soon.

(Julie, the cowgirl, in front of Paris, Las Vegas.)
(Bob & Paulette Dorr celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary at Smith and Wolinsky's.)
(Julie, Bryon, Paulette, and Bob at the Bellagio before "O".)
(I played a lot of poker, but none at Binion's on this trip.)

Vegas was tons of fun and a place I could see spending some time.  Granted I can see getting in trouble there as I like to play a lot of poker.  Julie was not a fan of Vegas in general, but enjoyed the shows and Red Rocks.  Maybe someday we can organize a big group to party and explore all the possibilities that Vegas has to offer.

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