Awesome weekend in Baltimore

I spent last weekend having an incredible great time in Baltimore. I arrived on Friday afternoon and Jason met me at the airport. We headed over to Whole Foods for a late lunch as I was famished. After lunch we headed back to Jason’s place to chip away at a layer of cement in his bathroom as earlier in the week the bathroom tiles didn’t set properly. Having two hammers and chisels beaver away at the floor allowed us to nearly get the floor free of cement debris 1 2 . In the evening we headed south to Glen Echo, which is south-west of Washington for some swing dancing. Jam Cellar and Sac au Lait were hosting an outdoor dance in the old bummer car pavilion. It was a great venue and the music was good.

On Saturday, we headed back to Jason’s house and spent much of the morning scouring the bathroom floor of cement so that Em could lay the tiles in the afternoon. In the afternoon Jason grouting another bathroom and I was cool to act as a support person doing chores for Jason and Em. In the evening we headed over to Camden Yards to take in an Orioles game. It game started late as the “O’s” were playing a double-header. We had great seats and we watched a good game despite the fact that “O’s” lost.

We started off Sunday with a large breakfast (home-made waffles) at Jason’s parents place. Jason gave me some tips on how to get my Yahoo Mail on my iPhone/iPod Touch which was really good. Afterwards, we headed to REI as I had an order that needed to be picked up. I was able to buy two BPA free Nalgene bottles which was sweet. We next headed in a North-Western direction to the Catochin Mountains close to Thurmont, MD. Much of the day was spent hiking and doing some light climbing. I was happy to watch Jason scale some steep rock faces. (Note to self – I should have brought my climbing shoes and harness.) (Wolf Rock n39 38.042 w077 26.258) There was a little exciting when we were at Wolf Rock. I found a crevasse in the some rocks which allowed me to lay back and to take and get in some R&R. Once Jason had climbed Wolf Rock he set his eyes on a more ambitious goal of seeing his could climb through a rock face underneath me. He got very close to the surface only to find he couldn’t get his chest through a small crevasse. What to do? The only solution was to head back down the way he came. It was a hot day and the rocks were slippery. As he was heading down Jason lost his grips and fell 15 feet bouncing from one rock to another. It was a WOW moment. A little later we headed south back to Em’s place for an awesome lasagna dinner with family friends.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Baltimore_Sept_2008#

On Monday, Scott, Jason and I headed over to Home Depot to get some Hardi-backer flooring boards. I had estimated that we would need 14 boards by measuring the area and adding in an error factor (15%). After lunch we laid down the cement, Hardi-backer boards, and screwed in 850 screws. Having three people working on the task meant that we always had a ready-supply of cement, some putting in the screws while someone else was measuring the next board. In the evening we headed to the Austin Grill for some swing dancing. I head a great time dancing while many folks that I had danced with before. We close out the evening doing something quite memorable and that is playing wordabble on our ipod Touch/iPhone.

On Tuesday, we had a leisurely morning which was great. We exchanged gifts and I’m pleased with my JetBoil. For lunch we headed to Rosina’s which is a sort of tradition. In the early afternoon I headed back to Ottawa by way of Philadelphia.

Swing dancing--Solomon Doulglas Swingtet

The Ottawa swing dancing scene will have a special guest on Friday night the Solomon Douglas swingtet. I bought my ticket a couple of weeks ago as when we have a live band the tickets always sell out. I wasn't too sure who these performers were so I decided to check out their website and found a really useful and helpful nugget. It is a play list of songs that Solomon uses for teaching the Lindy Hop. It was a sweet find.

I had an incredible past couple of days in Baltimore swing dancing and taking in dancing workshop at John Hopkins University. Charm City Swing(CCS) organized the event had a beginner/intermediate tract as well as an advanced. I took the beginner tract and was able to develop a basic grounding in the lindy hop which I can now start building on. I really liked the depth that the instructors took to making sure we understood the basics. For example, at the end of the first triple step your body should be at a 90 degree angle from where you started the move, and at the end the first step it should be 135 degrees relative to your starting position and the final triple step is completed 180 degrees from where you started the move. It is details like this that allowed me to visualize and remember where my body needs to be at a certain point in time. The dancing weekend closed out with an hour long blues dancing lessons which was a lot of fun and quite intimate. I learned an enormous amount about swing dancing and how I can improve on the main things I already know. I would like to thank Jason and all the folks at CCS and the many local and imported teachers for a great weekend.

I'm in the midst of drafting a blog of the weekend and will post it later in the week.

Bouldering and climbing

Over the past couple of days, I have climbed twice and bouldered once. My first climbing attempt was made in Rocks State Park which about an hour's drive north of Baltimore. Jason, Dave, Emily and I arrived at the climbing site mid-afternoon which allowed each of us to get in at least one climb. There was a bit of excitement on the way to the area as Dave's water bottle went ajar and formed a leak in the bottom but was still usable. Before we could start climbing Jason climbed up to adjust the location of the top rope. (p1, p2, p3) Once the rope was in place, Emily was the first to climb. Jason gave the climb a 5.6 rating. Dave was the next to climb. As the sun was starting to set, I attempted to climb the rock face but got stuck at an outcrop which I couldn't climb over. The rock face will have to wait until next time.

On Tuesday night we went over to EarthTreks and I completed my first bouldering problem which was the "intro" problem. I tried a slightly more advanced "red" problem and nearly finished it. But since I failed to touch the final mount with both hands the climb was invalid. I spent the remainder of my bouldering working on the beginner problem trying to pause between each stage. Later in the evening, I top-rope climbed four/five problems that got successively more challenging. Having readily available chalk and my new climbing shoes were a great help in climbing a couple of 5.4 and 5.5s (I think).

Another good workout...

The weather in Ottawa has been unseasonable warm during the day we are still get high 70s which is great for training. The warm conditions are good preparation for the half-marathon. Tonight's workout along the canal took the form of a four mile warmup and 3x 2 miles on 30 seconds rest. Afterwards, we did 8 x 1 minute hard running followed by 1 minute of recovery jogging. My legs feel warm and fuzzy which means they have had a good workout. Race day: 10 days away and counting.

Climbing Shoes – Five Ten – Spire

Last week, I went bouldering and climbing at Earth Treks in Timonium. As we were chilling Jason talked about how good climbing feels when you have proper climbing shoes. I was skeptical but rented a pair to see what they were like. As well, climbing in sneakers is not cool!! I was quickly convinced that how could I not be climbing in climbing shoes. I had fun trying my first bouldering problem. My climbing started out rough but got better as the session progressed. It was weird that even with a lot of chalk my hands wouldn’t stop perspiring. It could be, I hadn't climbed in a while, seeing a tall climbing wall that scared me or a low energy balance. While at MEC today I bought a pair of Five Ten Spire climbing shoes. There is a climbing gym close to where I live, Vertical Reality so I’ll head over to see if I can do more bouldering.

A week in review - Orioles and Stoli Doli's

Last week I had a really great and fun week in Baltimore. On Wednesday, I flew from Ottawa to Chicago and then to Baltimore. Jason met me at the airport and dropped me back at the hotel. After a quick shower I walked into Canton to buy some sugar, fig newtons, and pretzel goldfish at Safeway. I headed over to Starbucks to grab some tea and spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at the Canton harbor. I met Jason at his office and saw the Apple iPhone for the first time. Next, we headed over to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles play the LA Angels. It was not a good night for the Orioles. They committed four errors in the first 30 minutes which put them at a disadvantage for the rest of the game. We had really great seats for watching the game as well as catching fly balls. Early on in the game Jason caught a ball. We snacked on goldfish and had pulled pork and really great sauerkraut. The game went to the full nine inning and the Orioles lost 18-6. The game attendance was 15,136. On the way back to the car we took some pictures 1 2 3 4.

On Thursday morning, after a quick breakfast and we headed over to Jason's new house. We spent most of the day framing the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Jason’s mom helped us position the 2x4s. I took a picture of a sign that Jason has leading from his basement which I took note after hitting my head on the way up. I was really happy to celebrate a special day in Baltimore with Jason.

In the evening, Em, Jason and I headed to the Capital Grille to celebrate all our birthdays which are close together. I had my first Stoli Doli which I enjoyed drinking. The fruity pineapple taste prepares you for the slight burn you get from the vodka. I heeded Jason’s advice and enjoyed it over the course of the meal.

Stoli Doli

Over the next couple of days, I will experience something that I have been curious about for a little while and that is, what does a Stoli Doli's taste like. Jason talked about them in a post a little while ago and that sort of sparked my curiosity. I'll consume the Stoli Doli on a special occasion which will make it even more memorable. I'm sure that I'll post a blog describing the experience.