Go 'Merica!

Celebrating Independence Day in our nation's capital was a truly unique experience.  With two hundred year old buildings lining the streets and tourists buzzing in multiple languages, it is easy to understand why DC is the place to celebrate the fourth.

I met up with a couple of friends on the National Mall and beat the heat in the shade of the Washington Monument until dusk.  The fireworks show over the Reflecting Pool was by far THE BEST FIREWORKS SHOW I have EVER seen.  My chest was booming and I kept whispering oohs and aahs as the bombs burst in air.

The only thing that was missing was my picnic on the lawn of the White House.  Barack must have lost my invitation in the mail.

Mardi Gras N'Awlins style

I learned a great moto from the Johanson's this weekend:

If you're traveling and don't want to hang like they do in Rome,

You might as well just stay at home.

A weekend in New Orleans in review:

Incredible food eaten at:

-beignets at Cafe du Monde. Now that's a breakfast of champions!

-Po Boys at Johnny's.

-my first hurricane, turtle soup, gumbo, and banana's Foster at The Court of Two Sisters.

-brunch (including my first Bloody Mary and second banana's Foster) at Brenan's. My family's coat of arms is on their giant map of Ireland.

- lunch at Cafe Grenada and a trolly ride back to Canal St.

Lots and lots and lots of beads from:

-The Carolina alumni reunion at the Garden District parade. Richard and I met up with fellow grads Meg, Kemper, Whitney, & Sam to watch the floats. Little did we know that Dook would lose in basketball later that night-- now that's a celebration!

-The St Barkus parade

-Bourbon St. For those of you who have not witnessed the mayhem that is Bourbon St. during Mardi Gras, it's a perfect combination of Franklin St. on Halloween mixed with the NC State fair, minus the rides, add public intoxication, throw in a tranny directing traffic.

flashback friday

Girltalk in The Red edition:

I learned about Girl Talk from my buddy CWJ (second from the right) who was a dj at WXYC while we were in college at UNC. His taste in music was impeccable and I wished I could be as cool and nonchalant about it as he was. He busted GT out on a road trip to Kentucky as we were headed to go climbing in the Red River Gorge.

Last night was Girl Talk's show in Raleigh at the Disco Rodeo. Imagine Top 40 hits from the past 20 years mashed with a thumping beat, glowsticks, confetti, and 2000 of your closest, sweatiest friends dancing in their favorite sequined spandex. Needless to say, it was amazing. It went a little something like this:

I got a little nostalgic for my days of being a climbing bum and heading to a destination crag somewhere in NC, WV, KY, or another distant land in search of rock. Of all the places I've climbed (and I've climbed in 7 states from Washington to New Hampshire, as well as Peru), The Red is my favorite.

Besides having really sweet people (who would drive 30 minutes to return your forgotten gear), great food (Ale-81), and a climber-friendly place to crash at Miguel's Pizza, the Red has the most variety of rock I have ever seen.

This is Miguel's:

There's slabby granite, sandstone, overhangs, huecos, and giant plates. It's been a while since I've climbed, due in part to an injury that I'm still recovering from and also to my busy life of grad schooling and living in Africa. This route was called Special K-- it was my first 5.10b lead.

Rock on.

United State of Happy New Year!

Happy New Year townies! I'm off to Mac's New Year's Eve Carrburrito party before heading downtown to party like it's... well... 2010. I hope everyone has a safe and celebration and helps ring in 2011 with sequins and glitter!

You obviously know my love of music videos and my secret love of the top 40 (shout out to my fellow love Toewsy!). This is the culmination of 2010's best music in a mashup by DJ Earworm called "Don't Stop the Pop".



New Year's cheers to all those friends in different time zones who aren't celebrating on Eastern Standard Time: Costa Rica, Tanzania, Hawaii, and somewhere in middle America road trip.

Bring it on 2011!