Adventure Weekends

I like to think that I am adventuresome. That I heed the call of the wild and enjoy the great outdoors, whether those outdoors are filled with nature or with skyscrapers. I try to stretch my wee little bit of spending money so that I can learn new things, visit new places, and keep life exciting. I seriously get the biggest thrill whenever I try something new, even if it's just food or a drink at the bar. And one of the reasons why Alex and I work so well together is that he's pretty much the same way.

Alex and I are fortunate in that he acquires a LOT of airline and hotel points through his job. As a result, we can travel fairly inexpensively. We're not married yet, we don't have kids or a mortgage, and our jobs don't usually require us to work on the weekends, so why not see as much of the world as we can right now? Over the past nine months, in addition to the almost-every-weekend trips we make to Columbus and Cleveland to see each other, we have been to Boston, Colorado, St. Louis, Colonial Williamsburg, San Francisco, Maine, and New York City (twice). We like to call these Adventure Weekends. Adventure Weekends are when we go somewhere out of the ordinary (i.e., not Columbus or Cleveland). We try new things and go new places, even if we've been to that particular city before. The cities we visit are usually determined by what friends or family we can stay and hang out with once we get there, though every once in a while we do book a cheap hotel room and go out totally on our own.

*TANGENT*

The biggest Adventure we have had so far was when we went to Colorado over Memorial Day weekend. Alex and a friend have taken it upon themselves to summit every 14er (a mountain over 14,000 feet) in Colorado. There are 53, and I think they've done about 20. I love hiking and camping (though don't get me wrong, I love hotels too). Last spring we decided that it was time for me to conquer my first 14er, and we chose Mount Belford. Located in the Sawatch Range, Mount Belford is the eighteenth highest peak in Colorado with its summit at 14,197 feet. Trust me when I say that climbing a 14er is a physical and mental hell the likes of which I cannot properly describe. Just imagine your leg muscles burning because they are so tired, your lungs gasping for what little oxygen you can suck out of the thin air, and feeling sweaty-gross hot from all the hard work and the multiple layers of clothing but freezing cold from the frigid air at the same time. The snow that begins halfway up the mountain doesn't make things any easier either.

After many, many grueling hours, Alex and I made it to the top. I had led and he had followed the whole way, which was very gracious of him since I know I moved a lot slower than he would have on his own. I learned a lot about myself as I led us up that mountain. Only once did I turn around and say, "I don't think I can do this." And only once did he put his hands on my shoulders and reply, "I know you can do this, but we can turn back if you want." I always had the choice to go back, but I knew I had to finish even if it meant stopping every twenty feet to catch my breath and rest my legs. I had to summit and conquer the mountain. I wanted so badly to sign my name in the log and take pictures looking down on the whole world beneath me. After hiking up 12,000 feet the first day, spending the night in a small clearing, then trekking the rest of the way up Mount Belford at 6 o'clock the next morning, we reached the peak. I shed a few tears at the top because fuck, that was hard. It felt incredible though...like I could do absolutely anything in the world if I just set my mind to it (I apologize for all the corniness here).

*END TANGENT*

Anyway, THAT is an Adventure Weekend. Doing something new and crazy and different and fun (or at least worth it in the end). Even when Alex and I just go to Cleveland or Columbus for the weekend, we try to go to new restaurants, exhibits, parts of town, or anywhere else that makes life a little more interesting. (I think maybe I have a serious fear of becoming boring, but that can wait for another post.)

This weekend is an Adventure Weekend. I'm leaving for Chicago in a few hours (unless the snow delays my flight, in which case, UGHHH SNOW I HATE YOUUU! SO MUCH ANGST!). We have some really fun touristy stuff planned, and we'll see a few friends while we're there. I'm so excited! I have had Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago" and Frank Sinatra's "My Kind of Town" stuck in my head all day long. To those of you who live there, if you see a short gal in a red coat prancing around and looking sublimely happy, that's me.

Have a great weekend!