Hanging On

Waiting in the Denver airport under
the powder coated steel Denver Lily

I have a new favorite hobby: hanging on the top of a climbing wall. Well, the parts I really like are the climbing and rappelling; the view from the top is more like receiving a participant medal at the end of a race.

But more on that later.

At the start of the summer I wasn’t in the best mood. The end of last semester left me feeling ground down and I was not anxious to grind my way back up. That’s when my dad concocted a plan to surprise my mom by flying me to Colorado for a family vacation.

With a little help from my six-year-old niece (involving some unexpected ad-libbing), we pulled off the surprise and my family was all together for a few days of fun in Boulder and Denver. I followed that up with a few days at home in Salt Lake City, a week and a half back in Virginia, another week at home, and finally a cross-country drive with my cousin and his wife (and my aunt) to help them move to Virginia for medical school.

When I was dropped off back in my apartment in Williamsburg at the end of all that vacationing, I felt very different than I had at the beginning of the summer.

Being with my family has several predictable outcomes: I eat much better (my family members all either cook much better than I do or know the good restaurants to go to); I shop more (it’s not very exciting to shop alone, so I rarely do; they also know where to find outlet stores); I see several movies I haven’t seen (Inside Out, Avatar, Lincoln); and I read books I otherwise might not get around to (The Fault in Our Stars, the Divergent series).

All of those things happened this summer.

But the important thing that happened was being with my family. The time I spent with them worked a world of difference on my feelings and outlook.

Which brings me back to climbing. Our last activity before I left for Virginia was putting my dad’s new climbing gear to use. Mom and Dad spent a few hours belaying while my brother and I scrambled up various sides of an indoor climbing wall – and fell off a few others. Despite the exertion, it was relaxing and fun; not because someone was below me holding a rope to keep me from falling, but because we were there together.

That’s what mattered for me this summer, just being together. Thank goodness for the influence of a good family.

_______________________

Guess where we went . . .

Other summer developments:

• The big event of our Colorado weekend was the Ironman 70.3 in Boulder. While my brothers swam, biked, and ran, the rest of us played games, napped, ate, and participated in brief outbursts of cheering whenever our guys were within calling distance. My favorite part of the weekend was getting a hug from my brother after he crossed the finish line, exhausted but triumphant. The family that races together stays together, you know.

It was a chilly morning before the triathlon started,
but it was plenty hot later. (I came back very sunburned.)

• Looking for an adventurous hamburger? Try Crave Real Burgers. The Wise Guy is very tasty. My nieces and nephews are big fans of the fried pickles (yes, I tried them; yes, they were sort of good – I’m no longer decidedly opposed to pickles).

They're all pickle kids.
They must get it from their mom, because she's the
only one who liked pickles when we were little.

• Speaking of good food, we highly recommend sweet rolls from the Denver Biscuit Company. Fair warning, there are about four servings in one sweet roll, or two servings if you did a half-ironman the day before.

These are big. And tasty.



I can't help feeling this
seating choice was a
little unstable.

• We spent one afternoon in the Denver Downtown Aquarium. Best attraction there: spitting fish. They allowed some of the patrons (including my nieces, nephew, and sister) to hold crickets over a tank of archer fish. The fish responded in true archer fish fashion by knocking the crickets down with streams of water and eating them for lunch. The aquarium also boasts a nice shark tank, some entrancing jellyfish (moon jellyfish are neat-o), and an octopus that was pretty good at hiding in plain sight. And, in a bit of a non sequitur, a tiger.

• My nephew and I tried to hold our breaths while driving through a tunnel, but didn’t make it. Alas. (It was a long tunnel.)

• The drive to Salt Lake City with my brother was nice. After we managed to scrape into a gas station on an almost empty tank of gas (his truck holds 21.1 gallons; he bought about 21 gallons – when we say fill the tank, we mean fill the WHOLE tank), we spent the next few hours on a range of philosophical topics. He’s my go-to guy for discussions like that.

• Walking into my parent’s house in SLC can be summed up in the emotional and mental contentment of the phrase I’m home.

Finding a good seat
somewhere along the trail 

• My mom, sister, grandma, aunt, and I spent one day in Utah as a girls’ day out. We walked to Bridal Veil Falls, visited Pres. Packer’s art exhibit at the Bean Museum (my favorite piece was The Bishop’s Team), and got shaved ice from Hokulia (thanks for the treat, Grandma!). In case you’re wondering, Hokulia makes the best shaved ice ever. It’s just yum. You should eat some.

• Climbing is not only my favorite new hobby, it is also my Dad's favorite new hobby; and it's quickly becoming a family pursuit. I've been told that my oldest niece is a regular monkey when it comes to climbing, my youngest niece has some fearless bouldering skills, and my nephew would happily rappel off almost anything. Note to self: next time bring chalk and rent climbing shoes.

Showing off their mad bouldering skills.

This is Balanced Rock. Unlike the
formation in Arches, this one has
a concrete stabilizer. But that was
probably a good idea given its
precarious position above the road.

Me with Grandma, Mom, and my sister at
Bridal Veil Falls
(my aunt was taking the picture)