It all started because Mitch is obsessed with Everest and Ed Viesturs.
Mitch and I have watched just about every Everest documentary / TV show / movie out there. Last year we watched all episodes of Discovery Channel's "Beyond the Limits" on Netflix. We've also seen the 1998 Everest IMAX movie, Into Thin Air, Storm Over Everest, and The Wildest Dream. We also enjoyed other climbing movies like K2, North Face, 180 South, and Touching the Void. Mitch is currently reading "No Shortcuts to the Top" by Ed Viesturs about his conquest of all 14 peaks over 8000 meters including 7 summits of Everest - without supplemental oxygen. Like I said.... obsessed.
In mid-June, when it started getting hot here in Houston, we started to plan a week-long trip around a wedding we're attending in Seattle this September. We thought a nice, long break from the heat and a change in scenery would be perfect. One of the options Mitch suggested was to climb Mount Rainier, a 14,411 foot peak in the Cascade Range. Rainier is the fifth tallest peak in the contiguous US. It is also a volcano.
Now why did Mitch get this idea to do Rainier? Well, in reading "No Shortcuts to the Top," Mitch learned that his hero, Ed Viesturs, got his start in mountaineering on Rainier. He used to work for RMI Expeditions (Rainier Mountaineering, Inc). RMI has over 40 years of experience guiding clients to the top. We decided to check and see if there was a chance that they had 2 spots left on their 4-day expedition. On Friday, June 21, they had 2 spots on the Sept 3 trip, but we decided to think about it over the weekend. Monday, June 24, the 2 spots were taken so I called and asked if we could be on the waiting list. They said that there were 2 people who had already paid for another week but were considering switching to the Sept 3 trip (our best option). They had 3 more days to decide. On Friday morning, June 28, I called at 7:30am their time, I wasn't even sure if the RMI office was open yet. But they were open, and the last two spots were ours!!
We're on a 4-day summit climb. Day 1 will be a gear check and introduction day. Day 2 will be a training day where we'll learn how to use all the gear, how to arrest a fall with an ice axe, how to use crampons (Mitch already knows how), etc. Day 3 the real adventure begins and we climb 4500 feet to the camp which is at 10,000 feet. Day 4 we'll hike another 4500 feet up and (hopefully) summit about 6am and return 9000 feet all the way down in one day. All the details are here.
Can you tell? We're excited!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
I am a Houstonian
One of my friends just moved to Houston and asked me for a list of things to do here. This is what I compiled and I thought I would share with you! Should I add anything?
Downtown:
Houston Ballet – Mitch and I have season tickets. We love it!
Miller Outdoor Theater - we go several times each summer - particularly 4th of July. It's an outdoor theater, free shows, bring a picnic!
Calendar of Events:
Annual Events:
Rodeo in March! http://rodeohouston.
Strawberry Picking in the spring: http://www.
Renaissance Festival in Oct-Nov: http://texrenfest.
Nutcracker Market in Nov: http://www.houstonballet.
Churches:
Houston Ballet – Mitch and I have season tickets. We love it!
Miller Outdoor Theater - we go several times each summer - particularly 4th of July. It's an outdoor theater, free shows, bring a picnic!
Theater District: Jones Hall, Alley Theater http://
Houston Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts Museum
Houston Museum of Natural Science – has a butterfly house!
Houston Museum of Natural Science – has a butterfly house!
Hermann Park – walking trails
Make sure you check out Houston's many Farmer's Markets - http://www.
Make sure you check out Houston's many Farmer's Markets - http://www.
Mercer Garden http://www.hcp4.net/
Rice Village – shopping / restaurants http://www.
Galleria Mall - http://www.simon.com/mall/
Buffalo Bayou - place to walk around downtown - http://www.buffalobayou.org/
Buffalo Bayou - place to walk around downtown - http://www.buffalobayou.org/
Fancy Grocery Stores: HEB Central Market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's (we are jealous that we don't have any here in clear lake)
Rock Climbing - http://www.texasrockgym.com/
IKEA
Ima Hogg House Tour: http://www.mfah.org/visit/
Food Downtown:
Greek: Niko Niko’s http://www.nikonikos.
Irish Pub Grub: McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (also has live music, but you have to pay)
Steak: Perry’s Steakhouse, Capitol Grille, Fogo de Chao (all three are expensive but delicious)
Spanish Tapas: Mi Luna (Rice Village) http://www.
BBQ: Goode Company BBQ ... note, the BBQ in Texas is nowhere near as good as STL, but this one is ok http://www.goodecompany.
Clear Lake (30 min south of downtown)
Kemah Boardwalk – shopping/restaurants http://
Space Center Houston http://www.
Rent jet skis in Clear Lake
Mexican: Chuy’s, Pappasito’s, there are really too many to list, most of the Mexican down here is very good, I crave it!
Thai Cottage
Italian: Frenchie’s
Ouisie's Restaurant (where we got married) http://www.
Mexican: Chuy’sIrish Pub Grub: McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (also has live music, but you have to pay)
Steak: Perry’s Steakhouse, Capitol Grille, Fogo de Chao (all three are expensive but delicious)
Spanish Tapas: Mi Luna (Rice Village) http://www.
Drive up and down Westheimer Road - lots of great places to eat plus there are stores like REI, etc
Breakfast or Brunch: http://www.empirecafe.com/, http://www.cocoscrepes.com/, and http://www.backstreetcafe.
Clear Lake (30 min south of downtown)
Kemah Boardwalk – shopping/restaurants http://
Space Center Houston http://www.
Rent jet skis in Clear Lake
Mexican: Chuy’s, Pappasito’s, there are really too many to list, most of the Mexican down here is very good, I crave it!
Thai Cottage
Italian: Frenchie’s
BBQ: Rudy's, Red River BBQ
Indian: Cuisine of India
Indian: Cuisine of India
Sushi: Masa Sushi or Tokyo Bowl
Steak: Perry’s Steakhouse, Texas Land & Cattle
Fish: Outriggers
Galveston (60 min south of downtown)
http://www.galveston.com/
The Historic Home Tours are fun!
Elissa – the official Tall Ship of Texas (1877)
Steak: Perry’s Steakhouse, Texas Land & Cattle
Fish: Outriggers
Galveston (60 min south of downtown)
http://www.galveston.com/
The Historic Home Tours are fun!
Elissa – the official Tall Ship of Texas (1877)
The Spot is our favorite burger place after the beach - http://www.islandfamous.com/
Olympia Grill - http://www.olympiagrill.net/
Ferry Ride (free) to Bolivar Peninsula http://www.
The best months are October through March.
Here are the places we have camped:
Enchanted Rock (5 hour drive)
Brazos Bend (great spot to see gators, very close to Houston)
Lake Somerville State Park
Surrounding Areas:
Haak Winery, Santa Fe (60 minutes from downtown)
Battleship Texas State Historic Site, LaPorte
Blue Bell Factory
Fun Weekend Trips:
Haak Winery, Santa Fe (60 minutes from downtown)
Battleship Texas State Historic Site, LaPorte
Blue Bell Factory
Fun Weekend Trips:
Austin (we go here several times a year)
Dallas/Ft Worth
San Antonio
New Orleans is only 5 hours away, we had a great time!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Eating our way through Italy
Mitch and I joined Neal and Laura for a "last pre-kids trip to Europe" from March 10-20. We flew to Florence, spent 3 nights there. Then we took a train to Naples. Daniela, my roommate from ISU, showed us around Naples - her home town. Then we went by car to Positano on the Amalfi Coast. We stayed there 2 nights. From there, we went by car to Pompeii, spent 3 hours there, then took a train to Rome. We stayed 4 nights in Rome.
From Florence to:
B: Naples
C: Positano
D: Pompeii, then back to Rome
...the view in Positano:
From Florence to:
B: Naples
C: Positano
D: Pompeii, then back to Rome
Mitch and I both took our SLR's. He used a wide-angle lens, and I used
the macro lens he bought me for Christmas. Together we took about 1700
pictures. I've had fun editing the pictures and posting them on
Facebook. I thought I would share a few here too.
The highlight of the trip for me was the food: mozzarella, bruschetta, pizza, pasta, fried artichokes, tiramisu, and gelato! We spent about 5 hours every day enjoying fantastic meals - 2 hours at lunch and 3 hours at dinner. The other 8-10 hours we spent walking to burn off all these calories! ;-)
Some of my favorite sites included:
...Florence's Duomo:
...the Ponte Vecchio in Florence:
...the harbor in Naples:
...the view in Positano:
...and the Fountains in Rome:
Florence was my favorite stop on the trip because it had such a Renaissance atmosphere. We saw the Uffizi Gallery and the Academia where Michelangelo's David stands. What a masterpiece! In Rome, we met up with Mitch and Neal's cousin Brent and his wife Katie. We went on an outstanding half-day tour of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Our last full day in Rome, we went to the Vatican where we visited St. Peter's Basilica and climbed the dome. Unfortunately, the museum, crypt, and Sistine Chapel were all closed since it was St. Joseph's Day. Luckily we were able to toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, so we're assured to come back to Rome to see everything we missed.
If you are planning a trip to Italy, I recommend Cinque Terre over Positano, even though Positano was very relaxing and beautiful too. Also, I would trade one day in Rome for one more day on the Coast. In 2 days I feel like you can see the highlights of Rome and the Vatican. Because Rome is so large, 3 full days makes for a lot of walking and seeing some things more than once. Be prepared for lots of walking in Rome until the third Metro line starts running. Many of the sites are not close to Metro stops. Be sure to check the holiday schedule before picking which day to see the Vatican. Don't forget to bring Rick Steve's Italy tour book with you! The book saved us tons of money on tours because you can use the detailed "walking tours" in the book to guide you through churches, museums, and towns like Pompeii.
That's it for now.... ciao!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
February Fitness
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to blog once a month... good thing February gave me an extra day this year! I'm cutting it a little close!
Mitch and I have really been focused on fitness lately! In January we started a 3-month fitness class at our gym. We have a 20 minute class lecture on Mondays and Wednesdays about everything from nutrition to cardiovascular health to strength training. We also receive a comprehensive fitness test at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. We are measured for aerobic index (VO2 Max), flexibility, strength, endurance, and body composition. Our instructor gives us an "exercise prescription" based on the results of our fitness test. This tells us how many minutes of cardio we need to do per week (and at what level of intensity) and how much weight to lift on each of the 18 machines in the circuit. We are supposed to do 2 days of weights and 3 days of cardio per week. Typically I have been doing only 1 weights day and 3-4 cardio days. This class has really boosted my interest in the topic, so....
I bought a Wahoo Fitness wireless heart rate monitor so I can basically use my iPhone to do most of the same things that a GPS watch can do for $80 instead of $300.
True, carrying the iPhone on my arm is a little bulkier than a GPS watch, but it's cheaper and I'm happy with all the functionality. So I've gone fitness app crazy! The first app I added was WahooFitness which captures your heart rate, location, speed, and distance during running and biking. There are many screens of data, but this one is my favorite because you can see how much time you spent in each heart rate zone.
But a better app that does all of those things is RunKeeper. That is definitely my favorite outdoor app. One big difference between Wahoo and RunKeeper is that you can select not only running and biking but also walking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, skating, swimming, rowing, elliptical and other stationary workout machines. Also with RunKeeper you can create Routes that you typically do so you can see your "track best" so to speak. My goal is eventually to do a 10k. I wanted to do that this March, but we'll be out of town the weekend of the big Houston 10k. Here is my RunKeeper profile. Below is a picture of a map generated from my longest run to date: 5.3 miles!
February 4 was the Clear Creek Community Church Crossfit Challenge (enough C's for you??). Mitch and I both competed. We have been doing informal "crossfit" type workouts with a friend of ours for several months. But this was our first official Crossfit WOD (workout of the day). The challenge consisted of pushups, jumping on a box, squats with weights, and jumping rope. We trained by doing a similar workout 3 times before the event. I was in the first heat - so nervous!! You have 12 minutes to do as many rounds as possible. I completed 4 rounds. I am totally ok with that! I was in the bottom 1/4 of the intermediate group. Mitch was in the advanced group of course and did very well. The results are posted on the link above. I would love to do Crossfit on a regular basis (if it weren't $150/month). We are trying to get our gym to create a space for Crossfit and to get some equipment. The folks that came to this competition who regularly do Crossfit are amazing...they are so strong and can totally blow you away with their strength and endurance. Another appealing thing about Crossfit is that the intense part of the workout is usually just 12-20 minutes.
Here is a video of someone doing the challenge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ufq4xti7X8
Here are our pictures from the event: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.775888192078.2194632.39701992&type=1
This is Mitch and our friend Dan afterwards..... :-)
If you have any other fitness apps that you like, I'd love to hear about them!
Mitch and I have really been focused on fitness lately! In January we started a 3-month fitness class at our gym. We have a 20 minute class lecture on Mondays and Wednesdays about everything from nutrition to cardiovascular health to strength training. We also receive a comprehensive fitness test at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. We are measured for aerobic index (VO2 Max), flexibility, strength, endurance, and body composition. Our instructor gives us an "exercise prescription" based on the results of our fitness test. This tells us how many minutes of cardio we need to do per week (and at what level of intensity) and how much weight to lift on each of the 18 machines in the circuit. We are supposed to do 2 days of weights and 3 days of cardio per week. Typically I have been doing only 1 weights day and 3-4 cardio days. This class has really boosted my interest in the topic, so....
I bought a Wahoo Fitness wireless heart rate monitor so I can basically use my iPhone to do most of the same things that a GPS watch can do for $80 instead of $300.
But a better app that does all of those things is RunKeeper. That is definitely my favorite outdoor app. One big difference between Wahoo and RunKeeper is that you can select not only running and biking but also walking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, skating, swimming, rowing, elliptical and other stationary workout machines. Also with RunKeeper you can create Routes that you typically do so you can see your "track best" so to speak. My goal is eventually to do a 10k. I wanted to do that this March, but we'll be out of town the weekend of the big Houston 10k. Here is my RunKeeper profile. Below is a picture of a map generated from my longest run to date: 5.3 miles!
My newest app is the iSpinner app. Mitch loves biking. We take a spinning class together on Tuesday nights. RunKeeper doesn't do very well with stationary activities, so I decided to get iSpinner which gives you a live intensity graph in addition to all the other heart rate measurements. I can't get cadence on the bike since we don't have sensors on the bikes, but eventually the gym is getting that equipment. Anyway, this is the type of output I can get from the iSpinner app. For this workout, I did 30 minutes on the erg (rowing machine). Every 2 minutes, I started with a 30 second sprint and then 1:30 of steady rowing. I rowed in college, so this is a typical game we play to stay engaged for long duration erg workouts. The graph really helps me push myself on stationary workouts.
February 4 was the Clear Creek Community Church Crossfit Challenge (enough C's for you??). Mitch and I both competed. We have been doing informal "crossfit" type workouts with a friend of ours for several months. But this was our first official Crossfit WOD (workout of the day). The challenge consisted of pushups, jumping on a box, squats with weights, and jumping rope. We trained by doing a similar workout 3 times before the event. I was in the first heat - so nervous!! You have 12 minutes to do as many rounds as possible. I completed 4 rounds. I am totally ok with that! I was in the bottom 1/4 of the intermediate group. Mitch was in the advanced group of course and did very well. The results are posted on the link above. I would love to do Crossfit on a regular basis (if it weren't $150/month). We are trying to get our gym to create a space for Crossfit and to get some equipment. The folks that came to this competition who regularly do Crossfit are amazing...they are so strong and can totally blow you away with their strength and endurance. Another appealing thing about Crossfit is that the intense part of the workout is usually just 12-20 minutes.
Here is a video of someone doing the challenge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ufq4xti7X8
Here are our pictures from the event: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.775888192078.2194632.39701992&type=1
This is Mitch and our friend Dan afterwards..... :-)
We have really enjoyed working out together. It's good bonding time! And besides...burning all those calories together allows us to eat meals like this together! This was our V-day meal: bacon-wrapped tenderloin from a local butcher, roasted asparagus with parmesan, my mom's chocolate sheet cake and chocolate covered strawberries! Ok maybe we overdid it a little on the chocolate.
If you have any other fitness apps that you like, I'd love to hear about them!
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