Old Glory

My procrastination has led to a long overdue recap of our recent North American extravaganza. So..........lets get on with it. As a disclaimer there were many more places and events that took place, below are merely the highlights (or what I can remember from the trip).


Katie and I have never been to the states together, in almost 3 years of being together I guess it seems odd right? Well have no fear because we have officially landed in the US, visited more states and towns than I care to count, met so many people that are important in both our lives, and of course danced our hearts out at every wedding we attended. This trip back also happened to coincide with the most epic of wedding seasons, with a grand total 8 (we only made 3 of them).

Seoul , Korea

For some reason we ended up having a 12 hour lay over in Seoul (I suspect Katie did this on purpose). Our main motivation was to eat Korean cuisine and its ever so present companion, kimchi. Within in an hour of landing our goals were met, so we walked around downtown. Korea was noticeably well off in terms of social economics. Everyone had a smart phone and was dressed super chic, though we did not make it over to Gangnam. Besides Katie getting her phone stolen in a Buddhist temple bathroom and a short emotional and physiological breakdown all went well.

NYC

Now, I have always had this detest of the east coast for some reason, don't ask me why, but there was a point when I wasn't interested in anything east of the Mississippi. Lucky for me times and ideologies have changed. We landed at midnight in New York and proceeded to the Linoleum Palace located on the upper west side. New York ended up being exactly how I imagined it to be in a lot of ways. Maybe this city is so engrained in the American psyche that it felt somehow normal to be there. I mean how many tv series and movies are set in NYC? Doesn't it make sense that we as outsiders have a unique perspective of a city we see and hear about so often? Mind blown. Besides the standard New York sites we went to Once the musical, as well as visiting our friends antique shop in China town. This shop is the oldest family owned shop in Chinatown, and multiple generations have lost their Chinese and picked up a think New Yoker accent, awesome. Our real treat was receiving the H.M.S. Buick Regal LS from Katie's' father, which would serve as our vessel between ports of call.

giant pretzels and friends

Vermont

For some reason we ended up spending a lot of time in the Green Mountain State, not in a consecutive fashion of course, too cliche. The first stop was to visit the Rev. Post, the patriarch of the Post family and a pretty amazing guy (still driving at 90!). I hadn't cut my hair in about a year and off hand mentioned that I should get it cut, at which the Rev. supplied me with the name of his barber and a ride there. Haha I couldn't refuse.

pre haircut 

post hair cut

Our first wedding of attendance took place on the banks of Lake Champlain in Middlebury. It was a nice setting, and of course the open bar and desolate dance floor (until we arrived of course) made it all the more enjoyable.

terrorism

wedding get up

Hey all you people from the NE, whats up with Heady Topper? This beer is all anyone talks about and is worth more than gold. We randomly saw a guy in the super market with an entire cart full of the stuff and decided to buy some, little did we know that this purchase would put us in the good graces of literally everyone.

heady what?

After the wedding we made our way to Burlington, VT. This is where Katie went to college and many of her friends still live in the area. The town sort of has this mountain village feel , but with a large fresh water lake nearby. Definitely a cool place to hang out and be liberal, hippie, free spirited, drunk, or whatever other state you choose. On a side note, there is a new outdoor fashion called SUPing  (stand up paddle boarding) that I missed the boat on.......it sort of looks lame duders, think I will stick to a kayak.

uni-Katie

Little know fact, Katie is a badass unicyclist. She put us all to shame then cracked a beer.

Boston

Massachusetts driving immediately crossed this fine state off of a place to live. Almost had a nervous breakdown when a cop yelled at me point blank after following his instructions, under the speed limit mind you. I had to shake off the Thai sabai sabai and get more serious. We visited Boston to see some friends and just hang out. Much of our time was spent playing Wii tennis and drinking gin and tonics. I was able to get out and boulder on some Roxbury puddingstone. Literally 5 minutes from town behind a shopping mall were some badass conglomerate boulders and rock outcrops. We spent a few days bouldering here but could have spent more.

oh Roxbury puddingstone

high balls

The Freedom Trail self guided tour takes you right past all the old dead celebrities from the late 1700's, including Mother Goose and Samuel Adams. Boston seems like it has always been doing its own thing and the rest of the US sort of just joined the wagon.

overachiever

The beer tour of the Sam Adams factory was insightful and tasty. Our tour guide even told us she was not on bath salts today, great! Little did we know that after these freedom induce celebratory libations that the H.M.S. Buick Regal LS would be found run aground, aka  I left the lights on. Luckily the Sam Adams brewery was near by as we waited for AAA. One new battery and we were back in business.

yes we are

H.M.S.  Buick Regal LS

White Mountains, NH

As we cruised ever steadily into the depths of the north east my heart began to thud harder and harder as the topography changed. Our target destinations were North Conway and then up to a family house near Randolph. Conway is known for its giant granite slabs, but unfortunately we never had time to sample them........oh well, next time. The focus was to get re-certified as wilderness first responders, and we passed with flying colors. We spent almost a week in Randolph taking in the views, playing board games, participating in our own Summer Olympics', and of course jig saw puzzles. Rough life I know, but it really was the first time our "vacation" felt like a vacation.

Other activities involved a day hike up Mt. Jefferson and then on to Mt. Washington, which is notorious for poor weather and high winds. Going up was easy but my knees and ears were hurting coming down, from both the rough terrain and the troops of girl scouts singing Beyonce. 

Every time Katie mentioned her last name someone would say with wide eyes "are you related to Bob Proudman?" Katie's' father is somewhat of a legend in the area, both for his rock climbing prowess in the 60's-70's but also for his dedication to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). He started out on the AMC trail crew and then went on to literally write the book about trail construction and maintenance.  In recent years he has been hired as a consultant for trail projects in China and Mongolia. Anyway, in the 60's Bob built a cabin near Pinkham Notch, which would later be the site of the AMC trail crew cabin. We stopped in one afternoon to check it out, very cool. He even sent me a photo from back in the day, something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

view from the porch

the true summit

this guy and Bill Murray at the summit

AMC trail crew blast from the past

AMC and the Proudman cabin

West Virginia

Our last stop on the East coast was Shepherdstown, WV, which is home to the majority of Katie's' family. The most notable attractions in the area are the Antietam Battlefield and Harpers Ferry, we visited both. We were also able to crash the National Conservation Training Center and its wide assortment of confiscated stuffed animals. As expected the area was beautiful, and as you would expect with lots of trees and rolling green fields. Our stay was brief but eventful as always.

NCTC polar bear attack

bloody lane

Harpers Ferry

North Dakota

Flying into Bismarck Katie remarked on how flat it was and how many gravel roads she saw, to which I replied "oh yah you betcha." Though rarely visited or talked about my home state holds the landscape that made me who I am. Family is close and all interconnected, making the social network and support systems broader, it's nice to be part of. This portion of the trip was mainly to visit family and generally do nothing. The highlight of the first week was getting some wood from a 100 year old barn. Our thought was to reuse and reclaim the wood for our tiny house project (more news on that later). We also found a new love for tennis, though we always forgot the score and never remembered exactly how the rules worked. 

can't beat a backyard like this

Harmon lake trail

Harmon lake

family

angry faces

granny

America bitches

loud and proud

Side note here. A good friend of ours named Max, whom we met in Chiang Mai, was named after his great grandfathers home town, Max, ND. The farm they owned was called the "Lazy S," which Max has tattooed on his arm. Small world right?

monkey tail march?

灵山－Ling Shan

I arrived in Beijing a few weeks ago to work with the Jump! Foundation, an organization that I have heard quite a bit about. Think outdoor industry bubble, and then further simplify that to SE Asia - everyone is connected somehow, sort of like the 7º of Kevin Bacon effect except is only 2º.

Beijing has always brought up distinct imagery in my mind. Having never been there before it was interesting to realize that my imagery was all off. Instead of a faded, stale communist state I found a well off vibrant atmosphere with western influences everywhere. Learning more about the history and layout of the city from Beijingers was extremely helpful, and gave me a lot more perspective. The air quality was a bit of a bummer, but hey you can't have it all.

Our project was a 45 person International Youth Award trekking spanning 4 days. Many logistics, site inspections, pre program events, and meetings later we finally got on trail.

trail head with my co-facilitators

great wall

Our route took us north of Beijing into the mountains that kept imperial China safe for centuries. We started out near Huang Cao Liang and capped the trip off with an ascent of Ling Shan (Soul Mountain). There was even time to do a slight detour to check out part of the great wall en route.The kids were super enthusiastic and more than ready to be on the trail. They had all just finished their last exams and this trek was the last thing standing between them and a few months off. 

planking

testing out some local brew on our site inspection

Along the way we had some highs and some lows. Perhaps the biggest low was the fact that our trip coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival, i.e. there were a million people on the trail with us........which was only difficult when they produced massive amounts of trash, blocked the trail, and blasted Miley Cyrus tunes (on repeat of course). But some of the best moments were spent navigating through the alpine fog, and watching the kids work together to find their way. After some wrong turns and long days we all ended up at the summit of Ling Shan (2303m). 

no reception

hard at work

Every time I do this kind of work I learn more about my own facilitation style, but also from everyone I interact with. I also realized that being out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do except teach basic trekking skills and making sure everyone is safe is where I am happiest. Perhaps it's the simplicity, or maybe its just the space, who knows?

A whirlwind of flights, taxis, and bad coffee later I arrived back in Chiang Mai. Tonight Katie and I leave for the states, which will mark the first time we do so together!

27

Another year has passed.


Yesterday marked the 27th year of my life, not much I know, but it took me a good number of those years to figure out what makes me tick. For me that motivation has led me down some dead ends, but when I found climbing I knew it would be for a lifetime.

So I got this idea a few months back, namely after a video entitled "30", that I should climb 27 routes on my birthday. Seemed like a cool idea, a bit daughnting but cool nonetheless. With a bit of pre-planning and tons of encouragement from my partner in crime I was able to finish all 27, no problem. Though the numbers don't matter to me in a bragging sense, I do enjoy the knowledge of how much rock I dealt with : 426m in total vertical climbing! And who said you couldn't find long routes in Thailand?

Well before the whole thing started I just told myself to do it, pictured doing it, and then pictured finishing........and it went exactly like that. Not only was this a great day climbing and pushing my limits, but it also has given me a renewed enthusiasm and confidence in my climbing. Best birthday present ever? #treatyourself

I figure I may as well do this little ritual every year .........until 35 that is.

the last climb of the day "Happy Birthday"- 6b

Mingalaba

Mingalaba translates as hello in Burmese , yet another language I have learned 3 sentences in, not bad right?

After our brief stint in Vietnam we headed to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, though most people know it as Burma. The country opened its borders to foreign tourists only a few years ago after the military junta dissolved after decades of rule. Aung San Suu Kyi, probably the most famous Burmese politician, opposed the military government for years, even earning a Noble Peace Prize. President Obama also visited the country a few years ago, which helped empower many of the politically active. Needless to say the country has a very tumultuous history.

We landed in Yangon and immediately started sweating. Vietnam had been cool and rainy, but Yangon , which sits a little closer to the equator, was hot and humid. The city itself is a collage of that former British colonial style. It seemed like every building the British built was still standing or barely standing, but still housed shops and apartments nonetheless. We would walk around all day and maybe see 3 other foreigners, which was very different from the backpacker infested Chiang Mai we had left. For some reason people kept pulling us aside to take photos with them.......that's cool I guess, maybe we will be hung over someones mantle.

Culturally speaking Burma was much different that we had expected. Geographically speaking the country has always been the cross roads between the Indian Sub-Continent and Asia, and this is very apparent in the wide physical appearances of people. Two other cultural things we experienced were local attire, both men and women where lungis (sarong type garments) all the time. Though I didn't get one I did admire how comfortable and cool they must be. Second thing: betel nut. As with all sensical human populations the Burmese, as well as many other SE Asian groups, have become addicted to natural substances. The betel nut is rolled in a leaf with lime paste (the activator) and then chewed upon, similar to chewing tobacco. However, the difference is in the hue, as betel nut has a deep red color and often stains the users teeth and gums a deep red. Every inch of Yangon has a red tint to it from betel nut users spitting out their depleted wads.

party time

colonial styles

one of the largest Buddhas in the world, supposedly taller than the Statue of Liberty

Shwedagon

monk with a telephoto?

We stayed briefly in Yangon before getting on a bus for Bagan. Before we go further here I do need to point out how local all modes of transport are in Burma. For instance, the bus station was not what us in the west would think of, you know one main building with platforms and ticket offices preferably centrally located in a large urban area. Not in Yangon. The bus station was a good hour drive outside of the city and consisted of small row houses, each a separate company (100+ maybe?), each going somewhere different......now this is traveling! We were the only westerners on the bus which I thought was awesome, there hasn't been enough tourism yet to warrant tourist specific transports.

Anyway, made famous for its 2000+ pagodas (temples) Bagan was the epicenter of a prosperous civilizations almost a millennium ago. We arrived at 4:30 am and then promptly hired a horse and cart to take us to one of the temples for sunrise. It's a bit hard to capture the light, the mood, and the thousands of small pagodas in the distance on camera, but we tried. Most of our time in Bagan involved riding around on bicycles and checking out temples big and small, not to mention eating tons of strange delicious foods that I never learned the name for. 

This place blew my mind. As a former archaeologist and general history / fact junky this is by far the most impressive site I have ever been to. The expanse and density of all the pagodas is mind boggling. Whats more is the such varied sizes, styles, and locations - all to venerate da Buddha. Well worth the trip. 

rolling leaves for betel nut

betel nut dealer, also known as "reds"

lots of gold

the old way

Katie got overzealous with the sauce

pagoda naps

awkward photos

The remainder of our trip we spent jumping around to recommended eateries in Yangon. Our days were dictated not by sites or attractions but rather on what are stomachs told us. I also had the pleasure to run into a young Burmese man at a temple we visited. He sort of looked like what a Burmese male model would look like in a magazine, but I digress. He sat down and asked me where I was from and we small talked for a bit, the whole time he was so amazed and happy for me to be in his country. After decades of closure he wanted to learn as much as he could from me and wanted to tell me all about his country. Long story short he was once a monk that protested the government which led to him being imprisoned and tortured for 3 years. Upon release he become a literature major at university and hopes to write the new classics. I felt privileged to have met him and will always remember the encounter, along with the handful of others that have accumulated over the years.