golden gate in the sun
i hit the ground in philadelphia last night at 10pm. i was back in the chemo chair by 10am this morning. what a difference twelve hours makes.
i was arriving home from a long weekend in san francisco. enjoying some of the warmest weather they'll see all summer (according to the locals) we set out to play outside and see some sights along with friends from rotten's rpi days and my monkeys from penn state. it was a stellar time and i'm left merely wishing it could have lasted longer, and not culminated in poisoning myself.
on friday morning, after a lovely lazy start to the day, we set out on borrowed bikes to tackle the golden gate bridge and golden gate park. we hit a bit of a headwall on arguello street, my first real challenge of the day, but i made my way up and rewarded myself with a giant gulp of water at the top. the ride through the presidio is rolling and offers views of both the city and ocean through huge trees smelling of pine in the sun. we stopped to take in the view and then headed downhill to the entrance to the bridge.
during the weekdays the pedestrians and bicyclists share the sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. we weaved through the tourists and saw plenty of other folks on bikes, from tourons on rental mountain bikes with lopsided helments to fixed gear hipsters to pretty pro looking skinny guys. i opted to combine the not at all pro but still skinny look with the touron move of photoging while riding. a little dangerous, perhaps, but how often do you get to ride the ggb on a 75 degree day without a cloud in the sky?
on saturday we met up with cerissa and rocco at their apartment in berkeley and headed up the hill to mt. diablo state park for some cragging. the drive was slightly reminiscent of heading to valle nevado outside of santiago; however, we weren't quite heading into the andes. the road twisted and turned over about ten miles to the top - it is a famous hill for cyclists to top out on - and we were treated to views of beautiful meadows spotted with stands of trees, along with california poppies blooming on the roadside. it was all waving gently in the wind and had i been a dog, my head would have been right out the window. i was a little nervous about dropping the camera, though, so i stayed in the car.
the climbing at boy scout rocks was fun; we got on a 5.6 crack and a 5.8-10 face that offered a bit of slabby fun. it had been more than two years since i last climbed outside and halfway up the crack i was both thankful for all my trips up el crack on those spring days when i maybe should have been in class, as well as a little nervous about my foot slipping out and rendering my face part of the rock itself. i felt much more confident on the face, and i was rewarded with a really nice view of our drive across the mountain as well as some other rocks in the distance. it felt fantastic to be outside in the fresh air all day long. the rocks themselves are well-worn and a little chaucy, but all in all, it is good to have a climbing spot that close to a big city.
we closed the day with a drive to the top of the mountain and took in the views of the east bay and hills to the north, east, and south. we didn't stay for the sunset but it was that perfect time of the day when the light is golden and pretty much anyone looks like a supermodel.
on sunday megan joined us, along with greg, silas, and becky, as we took in muir woods. we joined throngs of visitors and meandered through the woods, craning our necks to see the tops of the giants, employing a bit of trigonometry/calculus to guesstimate their height. we spoke in terms of climbing pitches and national monuments and still couldn't come to a consensus on their height. but they are indeed amazing in stature and i can only imagine being lucky enough to have their silent presence to myself, in a sleeping bag, with the bugs chirping and wind weaving through the branches. what a beautiful place.
on sunday night megan hosted a potluck at her portreo hill apartment. kj, husband julian, iron monkey and i finally had our west coast reunion and for a night i was all smiles. we joined forces with rotten's college friends and we all laughed as we ate some really delicious veggie chili, tortellini with artichokes, red cabbage and apple coleslaw, asparagus, and corn muffins. lemon cake was on the dessert list, topped by a candle lit with a propane torch. we rounded things out with a sterotypically outing clubbish measurement of ape indices (most parties involved were members of their undergrad outing clubs).
mt. diablo from the plane. just two days earlier we were on top!
lake tahoe from the plane. snow is on the way out.
i'm so lucky to have such incredible and fun people in my life. it is easy to meet new ones when i am already surrounded by them; i had a great time on the left side and even though the jet lag will toy with my sleep cycle and stomach workings for a few days, on top of routine chemo issues, it was worth it. i feel relaxed and happy and full of life. thanks to all involved in the weekend. it was tons of fun.
now, dinner time. the steroids are making me hungry!
i was arriving home from a long weekend in san francisco. enjoying some of the warmest weather they'll see all summer (according to the locals) we set out to play outside and see some sights along with friends from rotten's rpi days and my monkeys from penn state. it was a stellar time and i'm left merely wishing it could have lasted longer, and not culminated in poisoning myself.
on friday morning, after a lovely lazy start to the day, we set out on borrowed bikes to tackle the golden gate bridge and golden gate park. we hit a bit of a headwall on arguello street, my first real challenge of the day, but i made my way up and rewarded myself with a giant gulp of water at the top. the ride through the presidio is rolling and offers views of both the city and ocean through huge trees smelling of pine in the sun. we stopped to take in the view and then headed downhill to the entrance to the bridge.
during the weekdays the pedestrians and bicyclists share the sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. we weaved through the tourists and saw plenty of other folks on bikes, from tourons on rental mountain bikes with lopsided helments to fixed gear hipsters to pretty pro looking skinny guys. i opted to combine the not at all pro but still skinny look with the touron move of photoging while riding. a little dangerous, perhaps, but how often do you get to ride the ggb on a 75 degree day without a cloud in the sky?
on saturday we met up with cerissa and rocco at their apartment in berkeley and headed up the hill to mt. diablo state park for some cragging. the drive was slightly reminiscent of heading to valle nevado outside of santiago; however, we weren't quite heading into the andes. the road twisted and turned over about ten miles to the top - it is a famous hill for cyclists to top out on - and we were treated to views of beautiful meadows spotted with stands of trees, along with california poppies blooming on the roadside. it was all waving gently in the wind and had i been a dog, my head would have been right out the window. i was a little nervous about dropping the camera, though, so i stayed in the car.
the climbing at boy scout rocks was fun; we got on a 5.6 crack and a 5.8-10 face that offered a bit of slabby fun. it had been more than two years since i last climbed outside and halfway up the crack i was both thankful for all my trips up el crack on those spring days when i maybe should have been in class, as well as a little nervous about my foot slipping out and rendering my face part of the rock itself. i felt much more confident on the face, and i was rewarded with a really nice view of our drive across the mountain as well as some other rocks in the distance. it felt fantastic to be outside in the fresh air all day long. the rocks themselves are well-worn and a little chaucy, but all in all, it is good to have a climbing spot that close to a big city.
we closed the day with a drive to the top of the mountain and took in the views of the east bay and hills to the north, east, and south. we didn't stay for the sunset but it was that perfect time of the day when the light is golden and pretty much anyone looks like a supermodel.
on sunday megan joined us, along with greg, silas, and becky, as we took in muir woods. we joined throngs of visitors and meandered through the woods, craning our necks to see the tops of the giants, employing a bit of trigonometry/calculus to guesstimate their height. we spoke in terms of climbing pitches and national monuments and still couldn't come to a consensus on their height. but they are indeed amazing in stature and i can only imagine being lucky enough to have their silent presence to myself, in a sleeping bag, with the bugs chirping and wind weaving through the branches. what a beautiful place.
on sunday night megan hosted a potluck at her portreo hill apartment. kj, husband julian, iron monkey and i finally had our west coast reunion and for a night i was all smiles. we joined forces with rotten's college friends and we all laughed as we ate some really delicious veggie chili, tortellini with artichokes, red cabbage and apple coleslaw, asparagus, and corn muffins. lemon cake was on the dessert list, topped by a candle lit with a propane torch. we rounded things out with a sterotypically outing clubbish measurement of ape indices (most parties involved were members of their undergrad outing clubs).
mt. diablo from the plane. just two days earlier we were on top!
lake tahoe from the plane. snow is on the way out.
i'm so lucky to have such incredible and fun people in my life. it is easy to meet new ones when i am already surrounded by them; i had a great time on the left side and even though the jet lag will toy with my sleep cycle and stomach workings for a few days, on top of routine chemo issues, it was worth it. i feel relaxed and happy and full of life. thanks to all involved in the weekend. it was tons of fun.
now, dinner time. the steroids are making me hungry!
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