Weekend in review - part 2

On Friday morning we headed over to Jason’s place and spent much of the day framing the front window and wall. It was a fiddly task as we had to work around the heating ventilator. We built the wall on the floor and hoisted it up into position. I learned that sometimes you have to use strong tools for a simple task. The top of the wall was a tight fit with the ceiling. I thought we could use a hammer to force the wall in place. Jason retrieved a mini-sledge hammer and it took some forceful blows before the wall was flush. Once it was installed it looked great. Late in the afternoon, we headed north up to Timonium where we did some bouldering and climbing at EarthTreks. Jason convinced me to try climbing shoes and I was quickly convinced that they are an essential like you harness. I climbed my first bouldering problem which is something I want to do more of. Jason’s parents came and we spent the evening climbing. With 30 minutes to spare, we headed over to REI to get some outdoor gear. I bought another mug, a long sleeve REI jersey and an expedition-weight top. We headed to Qdoba for supper and had a filling burrito. Our next stop was back to Jason place to chill. I saw my first episode of Survivorman and enjoyed a relaxing beer. Jason uploaded ring tones to my Razr (Thanks). I was getting tired of having the Mexican national anthem as a ringtone. Jason Mraz, “Did you get my message” is the current favorite.

On Saturday we headed over to Jason’s place and hung some tracks in the bathroom. In the afternoon we headed over to the Patterson Theatre to watch some swing dance lessons. Nina is an exceptional teacher. We had pizza at Dorry and Sommers house. The evening was spent swing dancing at the Patterson Theatre with a live band (Boilermaker). I danced with a variety of people some better and worse than me.

Sunday was a more relaxing day as we got together at Claddagh for brunch. I had scrapple for the first time. It sort of looks like finely ground hamburger and has a pleasant taste. We headed over to Patterson Park for outdoor swing dancing. Jason brought along his slackline and I gave it a try. It is harder than it appears. I danced a couple of times with Sommer and she gave me some pointers for my rock step. Late in the afternoon we headed north to the Gunpowder Central trails. While hiking on the trail we were keeping our eyes peeled for poison ivy. I thought I saw a patch at one point but the stem was not thick enough. Midway along the trail found a rock overhang and Jason tried his hand to bouldering it and found that wearing his five fingers helped him get a better purchase. I changed into my five fingers and noticed how cool and light they are. We headed down to the Gunpowder River and waded into the river to see how they hold up when wet. It is liberating experience wearing them in the water. We took some pictures mid-stream. As time was running short we hiked back to the car in our five fingers. Somewhere along the trail Jason met some poison ivy which would take a couple of days to develop. Our next stop was Jason’s parents place for supper. After supper we transferred files between our laptops.