Home sweet home away from home

Thursday: San Diego to Big Spring, Tx - 1066 miles

----Slept in truck stop for 2.5 hours due to exhaustion

Friday: Big Spring, Tx to Lexington, Ky - 1168 miles

----Slept in a Wal-Mart parking lot so that I could visit Liquor Barn in the morning.

Saturday: Lexington, Ky to Slade, Ky - 55 miles

----A puddle jump

My goodness it is good to finally be back to my second home. Whether it is from a sense of nostalgia or simply the desire to not have my toes pressed upon an accelerator I am unsure, but the culminating result is the same nevertheless: It is good to be in Kentucky.

The trip was long and brought me to the brink of delirium at times, but luckily I had some good friends to keep me company via the air waves when I needed it. There were a few near mishaps and misadventures, but nothing major. I did see some fun things though. There were billboards with quotes written by G-d such as, "If you are going to curse, please take your own name in vain;" a drive-thru liquor store called "Beer:30," a trailer with "Candle Factory" spray painted on it, and a small collection of other interesting sights. I will try to post some photos from the drive in the near future.

I got in bright and early on Saturday and got to see all of my friends that I have sorely missed. Miggie and company have done a ton of remodeling since the last time I was here. It all looks awesome. I came strolling into town during the annual Rocktoberfest climbing festival put on by the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition (RRGCC) with the help of locals, sponsors and other interested parties. On a side note, if you have or will ever climb/ed at the Red or are just psyched on helping keep the Red open, check out the RRGCC's website at www.rrgcc.org and see the ways you can help keep the Red an amazing place to climb.

Last night I enjoyed the festivities with good friends and live bluegrass in the background. The party was an amazing success. There were tons of vendors, awesome food, great music, beer from Avery brewing, and so many other awesome things going on. I of course indulged throughout the evening, volunteered for a little bit & subsequently fell asleep at my buddy's cabin.

Second day in the Red, no climbing yet. I did roll my ankle a little bit while screwing around on the woody made for the dyno comp and campused on some rafters, but that is about it. Tomorrow: climbing blowout for sure. I need to get on some rock and test the current measure of my mettle. Hopefully it is high. There is, of course, only one way to find out though.