Transitioning to North America

Apparently we've been neglecting the blog since embarking on the North American part of our trip. There is something about travelling overseas that makes blogging more enticing. Even if only to assure our families that we are alive and well. The novelty of travelling somewhere new does it too. You are presented with all sorts of cultural situations and exotic landscapes, as well as the conflicts of emotion presented by each of these situations. The greatest moments of cultural exchange prove to be some of the hardest bits, maybe even the ones that provoke you to keep moving on....

But all that is a memory now. (For more photos of Africa though, see Kelly's facebook page. Easier to post there.)

We've been back in the USA for a month and a half now. We talk about Obama a lot less here. Although the focus of our trip has shifted from travel to climbing, our identity as dirty bums has not seemed to change much. We are still mostly living out of our tent and going days between showers. But we are a lot more fit. Walking around loads while travelling, coupled with the occassional bike rental, is okay. But it just doesn't compare to spending all day climbing and hiking, almost every day of the week.

In order to jumpstart this change in fitness requirements, we knew we were going to have to get into shape. Our running shoes had been stolen in Madagascar, so it had been a long time since we'd hit the pavement. Michiel was getting really amped, pounding his fist in his hand when he talked about our upcoming workouts. But we do have different styles in this respect. A few days after getting home, we had already flown across the country to Vermont for our friends Marion and Ethan's wedding. We decided to hit the hills around the farm for a morning run. (One of the things I miss about college is the amazing running on Vermont farm roads.) We lace up and quickly realize that the only option from the farm is downhill to the left or downhill to the right, which of course means that the long haul uphill comes at the end, always a little daunting. We take the left route. We jog downhill at an even pace, but by the time that I'm ready to turn around, Michiel hasn't gotten enough out of it so far. So he decides he's going to sprint uphill all the way back to the barn, while I jog back up at my slow but steady pace. He started off strong, leaving me in a tiny cloud of dust. But guess who made it farther uphill before slowing to a walk?

So...by the time we get back to Washington he's of course so amped for some climbing that it's almost unbearable. I 'let' him go out with another buddy in order to get a little fix. That gives us a little more focus as we take a couple days to see families and friends and get all of our gear together to prep for the first roadtrip of the summer.

We're currently in Seattle for a couple of days, but since Vermont, we have spent a week warming up in Washington's mountains, then headed east for another fun wedding in Montana over the 4th of July, then down for two awesome weeks in Colorado to hang out with Michiel's brother Sebastiaan and his girlfriend Jamie, and get lots of climbing in. We came back for another week in the North Cascades of Washington. The next stop is British Columbia. Our plan is to continue posting onto the blog occassionally with some pictures and climbing trip reports. More details on Colorado and the North Cascades forthcoming.....