After pizza, we all headed for Reno, where we spent the night at the Peppermill hotel and casino. A nice steam shower did wonders towards making me feel human again, after a week of being encrusted with alkaline dust. After showers, it was time for drinks, then slot machine lessons from Rex, a.k.a. "How to lose $20 as slowly as possible (while getting free drinks)". When we finished losing our money for the night, we headed back to the room, had a few more drinks, and one by one, crashed out....
I hung around Reno for one more night, with a few other stragglers, then did laundry, and headed out for California on Wednesday. I hadn't decided yet, what I was doing, so I drove, more less toward Yosemite, taking California Highway 88 through Eldorado National Forest. I stopped near the edge of the forest to camp for the night.
In the morning, I decided to contact my good friends Robert and Angela and see if I could stay with them for a few days at their home in San Rafael. They said sure, so I headed there. I really wanted to get my blog caught up before I headed to Yosemite, and also needed to have access to wi-fi on Sunday for the annual Raven's Loft Hockey League Entry Draft.... Just smile and nod. You really don't want me to explain it.
I arrived at Robert and Angela's Thursday evening. Friday night, I talked to my friend, Matt, who moved to San Francisco from St. Louis about a year ago, and we decided to go climbing on Saturday. I drove down to his apartment and picked up him and his friend, Jess, and we headed for Castle Rock State Park, south of San Jose. We got a couple top-rope climbs in, but the heat did a number on us, and we wore out quickly, and headed home.
For some reason, my car was really struggling on the way back. It stalled out several times, and going up hills was a real ordeal. I'm not sure what was going on.... I can't imagine that it was just the extra two passengers, but, everything seemed fine again on the drive from Matt's back to Rob and Angela's. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Last night, Rob and Angela hosted a "budget gourmet" French night. Some friends of theirs came over, brought fabulous French food, and we all hung out, ate, drank wine, and played Mille Bounes, and Taboo. All-in-all, a great night with friends old and new.
So, I guess that's it! You are all finally up to date on my life! Enjoy it while it lasts. :-)
Tomorrow, I head to Yosemite!
Route List for 9/12:
- Triple Overhang (5.9) (TR, clean on second attempt...a pretty hard 5.9)
- "Jess's Route" (5.7-ish) (TR, clean, not in the book...a little TR improv)
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I know what you mean about the steam showers! They do make you feel human again; especially after lots of activity like that :) I have this Steam Shower Unit at home and use it every night after my work out. It's a life saver!
ReplyDeleteJust a thought on your car stalling: have you checked your air filter? I bet it's clogged with dust.
ReplyDeleteI did replace my air filter, and it seemed to help.
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