Meetup

Ok, I confess that I was shocked that D.I. challenged us to use the Internet to meet with someone in person. Argh. The Internet is great, but it's also a super scary place. You have to be careful. So, I hung back and watched my classmates take the lead on this one. Most of them were joining meetup. So, I took the plunge and joined the Triad Hiking and Outdoor Group on meetup. Huge group! They have over 800 members and they use the site a lot to organize events.

I decided to take the plunge and go indoor rock climbing with this group. I posted my plans on Facebook and my friend Becky wanted to join me. Why not? So, on a Wednesday night, the two of us ventured into the Ultimate Climbing Gym in Greensboro. This place has been here almost 20 years, but it has been on my mental radar less than a week. I RSVP'ed on meetup and went for it.

Brad (red shirt in photos) was the organizer for the event and the person at the gym that I knew to find first. He helped Becky (green shirt) and I (purple shirt) do our first climb. We climb like newbies. We want to pick up one foot, place it somewhere and then lift the other. We were muscling the wall too much with our arms and not our legs. We weren't sure how much to trust the belay. If you looked around the room in contrast, people were diving, bouncing, standing on one foot, etc. These fears kept us from reaching the top during our first climb.

After our first climb, Becky and I stood back and stared at the amazing strength of the people in that room. Two of the photos here are of a man climbing the CEILING. Yes, he is upside down. I call him, "The Stud". After I took my final photos of him, he literally dangled from the ceiling with one arm. (Ladies, that sight was worth the price of admission alone.)

Brad introduced Becky and I to Sara, a relatively new person to indoor rock climbing. She has been doing this for 1 year (though her arms say much longer). She's a mother - her son can be seen in the first shot in the background in brown climbing the wall. She had such patience with us and told us exactly where to place our feet. With her help, we made it to the top of the wall and rang the cowbell. It was amazing!

I thought Brad was going to be my "person that I met" for this assignment, but it was Sara. She is the one who really talked me through how to do it. My photo of her is at the very end.

Now, I am glad that I had to do this assignment. I am really planning to attend several hiking events with them once school is over and work calms down. My next adventure with them must be riding the zipline! I want to do the super fast one in Asheville this summer.