Malibu Creek take 2
MST take 1
Stoney Point take 9
New York: The Gunks
Stoney Point take 8
Echo Cliffs take 2
Tick Rock take 2
Malibu Creek take 1
Stoney Point take 7
Stoney Point take 6
Tick Rock take 1
Stoney Point w/Joe
Echo Cliffs
Indoors at UCLA
Stoney Point take 4
Stoney Point take 3
Point Dume
Stoney Point take 2
Stoney Point take 1
Climbing at Malibu Creek, then Tara's Birthday
Rock climbing at Power Wall, in the Century Lake area of Malibu Creek, then, quite literally, rushed home, showered, then off to Lucky Strike in Hollywood for Tara's birthday.
Didn't get to Malibu Creek quite as early as we did the last time, plus it was slightly warmer than the last time, so it worked out. Hopping the fence to get to the climbing area was interesting, but I'm told it was much better than hiking through the poison oak in The Ghetto to get to Century Lake. There was too much water to climb Little Cheops, so we shifted over to Power Wall.
Did Powder Puff Girls (5.9) to warm up, then Power Ranger (5.9). The rock here is awesome; geologically not too different in composition than the surrounding stuff, but it's got huge huecos (holes) in it, and amazingly, it's not a chossy mess like so much of the rock is in Los Angeles. Powder Puff Girls was pretty easy, Power Ranger has a tempting move by the 2nd bolt that fooled Dan and then Sophia. A nice hold straight above it looks lovely, til you pull on it and find that it's got a crack in it and is about to fall off. YIKES. Going to the left instead of straight up at that point makes it much easier rather than impossibly hard.
Shifted to Electric Eye (5.10b/c) next, where Bill and Dan got crushed. I got crushed too... then Bill and Sophia immediately figured out that Bill had screwed up by struggling to hold an undercling instead of just reaching all the way up....... oops. Bill and Dad were able to finish it afterwards. I made it past the crux, reached high, hit the hold, and then felt like I was going to peel off the wall. Not so good. That tells me I've been taking too many vacations and not climbing enough. *grrr*
Sophia did Power Grid (5.10b) next-- long, sustained struggle. I had previously eyeballed the chimney and it looked good, but not as much fun as Power Station (5.10b) just to the right of it did. Bill, however, had done Power Grid before and said it was good, so Sophia did it... and she redpointed it! Woohoo!!!!
Literally got home from climbing, had time for a shower and to clean off the climbing gear, then off to Tara's birthday.
6:30pm... where is everyone? Running late. As people trickled in, we wandered over to the bar to look for drinks and food. As the first customers of the night (not quite sure what that means), we ended up with a round of Sex with Alligators shots courtesy of the bartender. Tasted like candy-- pure sweet. Buttload of appetizers arrived a while later, then, finally, our lane opened up. Met a whole bunch of Tara's friends, most of whose names I've already forgotten. (anyone want to help me out?)
We bowled two full games, although some people were distracted by the pool table for a while, and a few people had to leave early. Heather cleaned up the first game, then my Wii bowling skills did the impossible and kicked in for the second game; I have no other plausible explaination since I bowled my usual 98 the first game.
I had no idea a bowling alley could be so crowded, even one on Hollywood and Highland. They did have a complete menu, it was very nicely run, the almost-full-bar was nice, a few areas to lounge, they even had an attendant in the bathroom. o_0 It's not a bad place to hang out if you want to do more than just drink at a bar, but need a break from clubbing. It's just not what I would have expected to find!
We waited for a few more people to show up after bowling-- I think that's what Eugene said-- but whoever they were, they never made it. Oops...
Tara's Birthday
the bar |
Sex With Alligators |
happy birthday! |
Tara and Rob |
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p1430733.jpg |
Tara and Becca |
Tara, Heather, Carrie |
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