So an update from the "other side!" My buddy Claydon and I arrived in LAX at 4:30 PM on July 4th. We met up with a former MUAC member and long time climbing buddy named Gregor Cork, who had offered to "show us around So. Cal a bit during our 3 day lay over. We immediately drove to his aunts's house for an exellent independance day BBQ. We got to watch proper USA style fireworks (which were awesome) and have a good feed with great people. The next day we headed out to Black Mountain (in the range just outside of Joshua Tree) to do some higher elevation (and hence cooler) summer bouldering. The rocks were big, beautiful and made of perfect granite. On the way up to the hills, we made sure to stop off at In and Out Burger (as that Clay NEEDED to see if the food there is as good as everyone says).
After 2 days of HARD bouldering, we headed back towards LA. Along the drive back, we looked for "the dodgiest Mexican joint" we could find so Clay (and I) could get a bit of some REAL mexican food...... it was every bit as good as I remember from my LA days! We got back with plenty of time to kill, so we hit the beach breifly and then got one more meal at In and Out before hoping on the plane. Although the weather had been pushing 107 degrees while we were there.... we had a great time.
We touched down in Boston on Saturday morning. We were picked up by the full Natti clan and drove straight back to Gloucester. After a light lunch at the house, Claydon played on the big boulder in my parents front yard for a bit and then we fheaded down to my cousins for a well deserved Sauna.
After Claydon had officially MELTED, the Natti's took the whole group of us out to dinner at Jalepeneos (a KILLER good mexican joint in town) to celebrate my brother's and my birthdays. Sunday we met up with the "Holmes" crew and had a SUPER good sushi dinner.
For the following week we did a bit of climbing here and there, did a bit of tree work, visited my sister in Conneticut and then headed to New Paltz, NY for a few days of climbing in the Gunks (one of the East coasts premier climbing destinations).
Although our first day at the Gunks was VERY rainy, we managed to find some dry spots to climb and opted to stay in a hotel for the night rather than camp. The next 2 days were picture perfect and we had a blast. On Friday, we headed to Western Mass for MORE climbing.... and I made sure to bring Claydon to Bub's BBQ, which is just about my favoritye BBQ joint in the WORLD!
After that, we headed back to the North Shore, just in time to catch another sauna at my cousins. The rest of the week, so far, has been a mix of local climbing and more tree work (to help pay for all the fun we've been having)! At the end of the week, we plan on heading up to New Hampshire for a solid week of rock climbing and the EAGERLY antisipated Holmes Safari!