Florida Wedding Odyssey, Day One

We're down here in Florida attending my cousin James' four-day wedding. Today was the BBQ, tomorrow's the rehearsal dinner, Sunday's the wedding and Monday's the brunch. First stop as always was The Crab Trap, which overlooks a lake containing actual gen-u-wine gators. You'd think there'd be alligator on the menu, but instead you have to settle for Three Crab Soup, which is just about the tastiest thing you could imagine.

Somehow I managed not to get a good shot of the bride and groom, so look for a shot of James and Laura later.

Here's a slideshow of some photos from The Crab Trap and the BBQ.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

My youth is passing into history as the yawning abyss of 30 rolls forebodingly toward me from just over the horizon. Nevertheless, I maintain the ability to act like a total goofball, with the always-essential assistance of Jami, who bought me the birthday-cake hat.

Many thanks to the many friends who made my party at The Watering Hole such great fun. To the many other friends who didn't hear about the party because it was put together at the last minute -- sorry. I'll make it up to you with another party mid-summer, and probably yet another when everybody gets back to Lincoln this fall from points far and away.

Look for a slideshow of photos soon. Here's a slideshow of photos.

Comments Back Open

After a long hiatus, comments are now open again. WordPress 1.5, my blogging software, appears to now have fairly bulletproof comment spam management built in. If all goes well, there will be no more ads telling you to sprout horns and pop a Levitra (no prescription required).

Shelf Road 2005: 60 Degrees, Then 60 Inches

This year's Shelf Road trip went great on Day 1, with 60-degree-plus temperatures and bright sun-shiny conditions. Then the freak snowstorm (which wasn't really 60 inches, more like 16 -- which is still nuts!) hit, and Day 2 got canceled. Consequently, not a lot of photos to share. Someone needs to remember to buy Mother Nature another round of drinks before next year's Canon City conclave.

Thanks for the Mountains

Credit for the pretty mountains header image goes to "pguler," whoever he or she is. Found the image on Digital Westex Image Gallery.

Ack! What Happened to the Orange and Green?

Gentle five readers, you may be looking with trepidation upon johnfulwider dot com sans its gorgeous Orange and Green color scheme. Never fear, it shall make its return in somewhat different, but still shockingly handsome, form once my long-overdue upgrade to WordPress 1.5 is complete.

Red Rock Canyon and First Flatiron

Chris, Devin, Jon and I took a great early-season climbing trip to Colorado the weekend of March 4.

Day One was some challenging slab climbing in a new area near Garden of the Gods called Red Rock Canyon Open Space. I led three 5.9's, which felt like 5.10's owing to the almost complete lack of hand- and footholds. Jon, our calendar boy for this update, took more than 30 minutes to lead a 5.10b and cried like a little girl most of the time. We all had a great time doing the running dyno start to a small jug on the last route of the day.

Day Two featured my first climb of the First Flatiron, a 1000-foot face that took us eight pitches. Free soloists were passing us constantly, but we stayed roped up. It got a tad chilly on the summit ridge, with sustained wind speeds of 30mph+. I'd do it again with a lot less gear on a much warmer day.

Here's a slideshow.