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Se llama chica rapida. Me llama chica loca.

Regardless, today husband and I went climbing at exit 38 for some fun in the sun. I’m so glad summer has reached Seattle. I’ve missed the sun and all that Vitamin D. We’ve been climbing on and off this past summer, interspersed with Lindy Hop dancing and aerial classes. But cirque slows down every summer as my teacher tours with her own performing groups. And I already miss the intensity of aerial (as do my abs) but honestly, I’d rather be at the crags when the weather is this nice than be inside a warehouse. Plus it’s practically free to climb outside, just the gasoline.

We were off to a good start today, hiked up to Overhaul Wall and we warmed up on the Chain Gang (5.8). Then husband led an incredibly long, pumpy 5.10a called Rhino Relief. There were ELEVEN bolts and it’s a 3 star in the book. Which means it’s fun. And it was. Lots of sidepulls and good footholds the whole way up. It was really enjoyable. Whenever I follow Matt’s leads I’m always amazed that he doesn’t freak out. He just goes right after it and climbs away. There were a few overhanging sections that I definitely enjoy on toprope, but when the bolt is below me it becomes a different story. I’m still building confidence in leading–sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s not. I always enjoy following and I enjoy cleaning the gear, it’s very zen-like. When I’m focused while climbing it becomes such a meditation for me. I’m trying to have all my climbing experiences be like that, just me and the rock. Not all this psychological mumbo jumbo.

Husband encouraged me to lead a route on the Motherland crag and I was hesitant but tried it anyways. And my brain took over my body. I don’t even want to go into it, but my brain won. I’m lucky my husband is so encouraging and supportive. I would have thrown rocks at myself up there, more than halfway to the anchors and scared like a little bird. Frustrated but stubborn as always, we headed to Gritscone after finishing the route at Motherland. I filled my head with lots of positive thoughts and zoomed up 99 Grit (5.9) with a pause at the crux. I know I could have redpointed it but was happy to be leading and enjoying it. Gritscone has a bunch of short, mostly vertical climbs that remind me of the gym. It’s easy to just do a bunch and then move on to another wall. Husband and I tend to take our beginner friends here because it’s in the shade and there’s a variety of levels to choose from to make everyone happy. It’s usually crowded but when we set up our rope, we were the only ones there. Husband took a turn and redpointed 99 Grit.

Then, feeling inspired by the name of the climb, I put on my shoes and took on Chica Rapida (5.10a). I made it to the crux no problem while husband sang the ninja turtles theme song. I had a little problem at the crux and took a break just below it. Then, with one swift move, I was over it and up on my way to the anchors. I didn’t fall during the route at all so I could pretend it was a redpoint, but the technical people would say otherwise b/c of my break. I don’t care. I’ve never lead a 10 before and it was fun! I’m looking forward to more sunny days of climbing with the husy this summer. Maybe we can rope some friends in to come along as well.

So for those of you who don’t know, I take circus classes. My class along with some SANCA students and some professionals will be putting on a benefit show this weekend at Magnuson Park in Seattle. It’s going to be wonderful and I will be in all three shows. After regretting not doing a solo last year, I’m sucking it up and will be doing a solo and a doubles routine with a friend. There will be live music for both Saturday shows, the afternoon is kiddie friendly and the evening show will be more adult oriented. More details about the show can be found at our myspace here.

Ever since Matt took me to Teatro Zinzanni 3 years ago, I have fallen in love with circus arts, particularly aerial business like rope, tissu, trapeze, hoop. Rope was what sucked me in, seeing an amazing routine at Zinzanni. I felt like I was up there and I was no longer content to watch and cheer. I needed to be up there, feeling the rope between my feet, making the crowd ooh and ahh. After a year of letting my desire develop, I talked Matt into taking a SANCA class with me and I couldn’t get off the rope. At the time they didn’t have any classes solely on rope and I was referred to Lara Paxton, founder of Circus Contraption and the Aerialistas. I can’t seem to stop taking classes and my body has enjoyed the workout…I haven’t seen ab definition on me since I was on the wrestling team.

So, if you’d like to see how my abs have developed or want to support two super cool charities or join the auction and try to buy one of my amazing vegan cakes at the cake walk or for any other reason you can think of, come on down!

I know I’m not a circus professional, nor is this foto of me being professional, but I am very proud of this moment. So ignore the ugly loose hand and appreciate me, hanging by one hand like so. I think it looks muy nice. I was honored to be asked to do a little ambient cirque at a yoga warehouse sale in Seattle about a month ago. So there I was, in the middle of clothes racks and such, climbing a rope and tooling around on a hoop.

I used to give blood on a regular basis because my college and high school had giant signs and made it easy for me sign up. It was a social event, free egg salad sandwiches and cookies. Since I graduated UConn, I seem to have forgotten about donating blood. So I have decided to stop being lazy and I found a blood bank in Seattle. They have a website and a current list of blood drives, times and locations in the city. You can sign up on line and have them send you an email reminder. I’m glad I took two seconds to look for a blood drive because there’s plenty of drives happening every week to my surprise. It’s amazing how passive one can get if there aren’t signs and people approaching you to donate. It takes a lot of effort to be a grown-up sometimes. The red cross has a website with searchable blood drives as well, although they are not in Seattle.

Perhaps you don’t give blood on a regular basis, or used to but have slacked like me. Here’s a few reasons why you should hurry up and make an appointment to give blood.
1. You can save someones life. There isn’t a substitute for human blood. Isn’t that enough? A pint of blood can help up to 3 people.
2. Selfish: it’s good for your body to blood let and replenish your blood supply with fresh blood.
2. Every 2 seconds in America someone needs blood.
3. If half the people who donate one time a year were to donate a second time, the Red Cross wouldn’t have shortages of blood.

So I’ll get off my soapbox now. Perhaps you are encouraged to be a little more altruistic for yo fellow peeps.

Matt and I spent last weekend backpacking on the Pacific coast. Since the weather is very unpredictable, we packed for rain and we got clouds and occasional sun instead. I couldn’t have asked for better weather (although a part of me wanted hot and sunny so I could jump into the ocean) We hiked to Cape Alava late Friday night, where I learned that my headlamp needed batteries a bit too late. Luckily the trail is basically a boardwalk through a marsh the whole way and Matt bought a headlamp that day (his favorite one is mia). So we got to the coast and couldn’t find a campsite except the one directly across from the pit toilet…very smelly. So we quietly set up camp near some guy’s tent, hid the food in the bear lock box, and fell asleep. Poor Matt was cold the whole night–I attributed it to his 50 degree bag and my well-ventilated tent. The next morning we discovered it was because his pillow was comprised of the bite-valve for the Platypus. He was sleeping in a few inches of water.
But no worries, we broke camp around 7am, I found some campers on their way out and we got a very nice campsite all to ourselves, complete with perfect tree to hang best hammock in the world. But we weren’t alone; an island just off the coast was the party zone for the local seals and they barked all day and all night!
Saturday we hiked along the coast, explored some tide pools, waded in the water, and took a nap in our hammock, at another perfect hammock spot. Our Treehugger hammock is the best purchase I have made in years. It fits both Matt and I comfortably and is only 19 ounces. We had to wait out the tide to cross Ozette River, it was about 5 feet deep at medium tide. Waiting wasn’t boring, since we made friends with a cud-chewing deer and a sandpiper who had no fear of predators. We just sat and watched them do their thing until the tide went out. You definitely can’t hike as far as you think you can when it’s rocky and the tide controls YOU.
Sunday we hiked south on the coast to Wedding Rocks, which included over40 petroglyphs such as whales, faces, and lots of fertility symbols carved into the rocks. After that, we hiked back to camp, packed our packs and hiked out. I’ve always wanted to camp out there, and it was beautiful, rugged, and remote. Now I want to do a traverse from Shishi Beach south down to Rialto Beach, where Matt and I got engaged. For that, we will need more than 2.5 days.