Spring Climbing near home

Thanks to Parker and Kathy, this epic pitch was climbed.  Just to make sure I had a reason to come back, I made sure to fall after the last bolt (13th). 

Miranda and Becca go to Cabo, Mexico

My sister, Becca,  and I decided last year that we wanted to take a warm, winter vacation this winter.  We talked about various places, such as Belize and Costa Rica, but ultimately settle on Cabo, Mexico when a dear friend offered her time share for a ridiculously low price.  For those of you who don't know, Cabo is at the very southern tip of the Baja Peninsula.  It is a huge vacation destination because of it's near perfect weather and location on the Pacific Ocean.  For sport fisherpeople, it's the ultimate destination.

Becca on a panga taxi, heading out to parasail.

Doesn't she look like she's on the end of a fragile string, that could break and she'd float away?

View from the hotel roof-top bar near sunset.

Our time there consisted mostly of relaxing on the beach and poolside. There are lots of great restaurants, and we enjoyed sampling a few. Becca was able to enjoy a few cocktails, but I had to be satisfied with non-alcoholic beverages. Turns out I really like limonadas, and had several each day.

We rented a kayak one day and paddled over to a more remote beach, where Becca snorkeled. The water was too cold for me, about 68 degrees.

Becca heading off to snorkel.

Sassy snorkeler!

She dove off this rock a few times.

I had lathered up with sunblock that morning of kayaking, but turns out I either missed my feet or it got washed off. I got the worst sunburn of my life (and I've had quite a few). My feet actually swelled up, and were purple in color. They hurt and walking barefoot was difficult, much less with shoes. This put a cramp in my week, but I just had more time to read. I finished The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, Volume I, which is 900 pages (anyone have volume II?), and another book. This picture here of my feet is actually 2 days after they were burned and they looked better at this point.

There were some rocky cliffs called Lands End, with a famous arch. We took a sunset dinner cruise one evening past it and I got some great pictures in the soft light. We also happened to see a whale shortly afterwards which was so exciting!

We rented a car one day and drove about an hour up the coast to a little town, Todos Santos. It's a town where a lot of artists have settled and so we had fun browsing galleries and shopping.

Chic woman.

Yummy, iced coffee refreshment.

Hmmmm, which tequila to buy?

Towards the end of our week, we took a little tour on a partially submersible submarine. We saw a few fish, but honestly not as many as we'd hoped. Our consolation was seeing a colony of sea lions.

One of two pictures in which I appear from my camera (Becca send me yours soon, please!)

A last few parting shots of Mexico...

Baby update:

For those of you who haven't seen me in the last few weeks...  I now look very much pregnant.  When Becca sends me some photos (with prominent belly) I'll post those.  I can't believe how big I already am at only 18 weeks! Rich is predicting an 11 pound baby. I've been feeling baby move for about 2 weeks, which is fun. Other than my belly, which is starting to get in the way, I'm feeling pretty good. Now if I could just find some cute, petite maternity pants!

N. Cascades Winter

Stable snow and good weather have made for a great winter so far. 

The big kids from the West side came and we skied this line.  

It was steep.

Blue Bird day with Chris, Josh and Dani

Shadows

The bottom of our run

Next is a beautiful day in Silver Star basin, starting at 11:15 am with a mad dash to catch up with Wyatt and his friend from Oregon.

They must be close, right?

Time to break trail

and boot pack

Burgundy Spire Col

Heaven, and just enough light to ski down.