Cousin Kait Visits LA

Alas it was a very overdue vacation for Miss Kaitlin McDonough. A rising college Junior and a workaholic to boot, my cousin Kaitlin wasn't asking much out of her week-long vacation to La La land.

"Heather, just give me a bed and point me to the beach in the morning and I'll figure out the rest," she explained.

Well that's easy, I thought. But I wanted to do something a little bit more exciting. Afterall, she's one of my only two biological first cousins and Megan's graduation picture (Kait's younger sister) had already made it on to our fridge (it's the only picture we have on our fridge.) Kaitlin needed some royal treatment - relaxing treatment, yes, but I wanted to give her a real LA experience.

I decided that this experience wouldn't include much "touristy" behavior. Sorry, Kait - no trip to the Chinese Theater, but if I had it my way she'd be treated like a celebrity.

The first order of business - a full day at a spa outside of LA proper. After spending a few days lounging at the Santa Monica beach, Kait and I loaded up the car for her surprise visit to the Glen Ivy Day Spa where we were to have massages, facials and plenty of bathing in mud and other fine mixtures.

At one point we covered each other with clay and laid out in the sun to dry. There was also the Grotto where we took a private elevator down into a cave and were painted with a green aloe mixture.

That evening we met up with Kevin and headed to Malibu for the yearly "opening party" that the Malibu guys throw. We ate Todd's awesome food - Todd has recently started a catering company called Laurel Springs Catering, so now he's legit, but we've always known his food was to die for. We hung out by the bonfire where Kait was introduced to "Danny the Fire Man." Danny is one of the guys who rent the Malibu house in the summer, the manager to John Stamos and Bob Saget (to name a few), and also the guy who keeps the bonfire roaring (hence his name.)

Later that week, after Kaitlin had returned home, I received a text from her. "I just saw Dan the fire man on the roasting of Bob Saget." It took a minute to figure out what she meant, but once I figured it out I knew I'd done my job in connecting Kait to the Hollywood stars. "Well, I have a face to remember," Danny later explained.

The following day we got up early to meet Justin at the Santa Monica airport where we got in a plane and flew to Catalina Island. What a way to travel! We had breakfast, sat on the lawn and listened to a band, and scooted along some rocks for some pics.

We also had a lot of fun making fun of Justin's obsession with the "Submarine."
"It's not really a submarine," he ranted. "It's a glass bottom boat and they pack everyone in and they're all like 'oh we're going underwater,' but do they put them underwater,? No, they just ride them around in the glass bottom boat all like ' oohh look at the pretty fish."

We've decided Justin was traumatized by Disney's version of a "submarine" and no one will ever live it down.

We also enjoyed making fun of the classic "Slippery when Wet" sign.

We flew back to the mainland later that afternoon and enjoyed surfing and dinner in Manhattan beach. Kaitlin caught her first wave and, I must say, very well!!

"No one really taught me what to do," Kaitlin explained when we asked her why she stood on the board like a gymnast who had just completed a perfect landing. "I didn't know where to put my hands or anything."

The truth is, short of telling Kait which leg to put forward, I didn't give her any instruction. Instruction hasn't done much for my other friends who are learning to surf. I figured, Kait's related to me - she's a tough cookie and she'll follow our lead.

That she did. The first wave I went to catch, I turned back and looked over my shoulder and there is Kait being pummeled by a wave - smiling the whole way.

Kevin made guacamole that night and burgers that were to die for - or so I hear. I filled up on so much guac that I literally couldn't fit more than a bite of the famous burgers. Kait didn't stop raving about them though. I trust her.

We also took Kaitlin to a few cool restaurants. She experienced Rock Sugar - the new Pan Asian Century City craze that all the industry pros are talking about, and Busby's where she and Justin exchanged dietary insights about doughnuts. Apparently the more you eat, the better off you are. News to me.

Kevin took Kaitlin in to Beverly Hills one day so she could walk around, go to cafes and visit the expensive Rodeo drive shops. That evening we all met up for a hike at Runyon Canyon so Kaitlin could get a shot of the Hollywood sign. She wore a skirt. That's all I have to say about that one. :)

Needless to say, it was an awesome week. I know I felt like a Hollywood princess and hopefully it was a vacation worth remembering for Kait!

Celebrating the 4th

"It'll just be a quiet weekend at home."

I think those are my famous last words. While Thursday evening was indeed a quiet night at home for me and Kevin, the rest of the Independence weekend proved to be slightly more eventful.

On Friday morning Kevin woke up early to go surfing. "I need some exercise," I thought to myself, so I headed down to the Santa Monica stairs. The Santa Monica stairs consist of two sets of staircases in between 4th and 7th Street in Santa Monica. Both sets of stairs descend drastically down the side of a hill and while walking down one set, you can actually see the ocean. This spot has become an exercising mecca for many of Santa Monica's fit-fanatics. Men weighed down by weight jackets, sweaty old-dudes, the fake-boobed, the fit and the middle aged all gather at the Santa Monica stairs... and then there was me.

After doing my fare share of ups and downs on the stairs, I headed home.

That night Kevin and I got together with our friends Lori, Ali, Andy, David, Danielle and David number 2 (Lori's date). We walked to Abbot-Kenny to eat Sushi and then down to the pier for fireworks - fantastic.

Oh, and btw Kevin and I rode our bikes to and from Lori's place - hey, our own little contribution to not drinking and driving.

On Saturday Kevin headed out to surf again. I met up with Lori, Ali and Manaz for some hiking in Malibu. We went to Solstice which has recently reopened since the fires. We climbed the rocks, I swam (briefly) in the falls, and then we headed to the beach.

El Matador beach is incredible. It has a lot of rocks and caves and very few people. It was a relaxing day with the Ladies.

Here are some pics -

My One True Love

All I can say is I'm addicted to water skiing like crack.

I finally got my fix the weekend of June 14th. After spending the evening at Ali's parent's house in Carlsbad - where the girls so kindly helped me celebrate my birthday - we headed to Carlsbad lagoon and did some serious skiing. I also learned to wakeboard! I'll be returning in July.

Durango Days

It was going to be a big event... Kevin was introducing me to Durango...his Durango...

Kevin went to undergrad in Colorado and during his time there he managed to experience every aspect this amazing town. Though small in size, Durango packs a bigger punch than any town I think I've ever been exposed to... and though I've traveled there before, this time it punched me right in the gut... no seriously, I have the bruises to prove it.

I couldn't have had a better tour guide, for between his own knowledge and the knowledge of his diverse group of friends, I managed to squeeze more activity in to these four June days than an ADHD child on his first day at summer camp.

We left Wednesday night and drove through the night - me taking the first shift and Kevin taking the second. I tried to get some rest as the sun rose over the Arizona landscape... but who can sleep through a sunrise like that!?

Three hours of half-ass sleep later, we arrived in Durango and stopped in at Kenny's place. Kenny immediately introduced me to his Wii (Not even sure I'm spelling that right) - a video game system which I had only heard of. We played Mario Cart. But the virtual experiences were not enough for the Durango dudes, so Kevin and Kenny quickly loaded up "Old Trusty" (Kenny's Nissan) with Kenny's raft and we headed for the river.

Though there are no pictures of this experience, I can assure you that I swam! Dressed comfortably in my wet suit, I didn't have time to think before the cold Colorado water hit me. I had gone overboard backwards and all I could envision was my head hitting a rock. That didn't happen thankfully and my head emerged quickly - my first sight - Kevin reaching for me to pull me back in... or was he reaching for the beer cooler top that had also jumped ship!!? I struggled to get back in the boat, stopping first to swim after the wool hat I had been wearing (not mine) so that it could be thrown to its owner in the boat. Then I was blocked from raft entrance by the cooler. I finally got back in the boat though and quickly announced, "That was incredible!!"

On Friday a group of guys met at Pete's house to load up for our ski down Cinnamon Mountain. Now this isn't your average ski-lift ski. No, we'd be "earning our turns" as the guys call it. The boys put skins on their skis (a friction causing strip that aids in climbing the mountain with skis on) and I strapped "fun sized" mini-skis to my pack and donned a pair of snowshoes up the hill.

At the top, we took a break for a moment, eyed our prize (an incredible view) and headed down the mountain. The boys, in their normal-sized skies, did an unsurprisingly fine job carving turns down the mountain. I on the other hand looked like a newborn giraffe on roller skates struggling to maintain my balance on my new set of foreign skis.


It wasn't pretty but I made it down. Marley, who had accompanied us to the top had an expression of "It's about time you made it!"

So then we went home and slept.

We'll, you'd think so right?

Ha ha -

We actually met up with Kevin's friend Cory who probably bikes 20 + miles a day and headed up yet another mountain on our bikes. Yes, these pictures were taken the same day...talk about a change of wardrobe!! Needless to say I was a bit tired by the end of our day, but very thrilled with everything I had seen and done.

The remainder of our trip involved more white water rafting (no man overboard this time), more bike riding, a bit too much drinking, some camping outside of town... and even a visit with Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Marylin (who has a house in Durango).

Durango - it's Colorado's best little town with some pretty big adventures!

Mt. Whitney Climb

Well, Survive the City Blog Readers, I've been out of commission for a while now working on SurviveTheCity.com, but the fact is (and this is just my humble opinion), nothing beats some of my original La La Land stories - that is, of course, when the adventures are big and the funny moments are plentiful.

So, Kevin and I climbed Mt. Whitney this past weekend with a friend of Kevin's from work (Danny) and a friend of Kevin's from Chicago (Justin) who we will lovingly call "Clutch" from here on out. Let's just say that aside from the cold nights and being in a constant anaerobic state for 60 hours, it was a blast. So let the stories begin...

We're Going to Use the Proper Terms

We arrived in Lone Pine - the quaint town at the base of Mt. Whitney - on Thursday evening and stopped at the local climber's store, "Elevation." Here we would be loading up with the remaining gear we needed like snow shoes, helmets and cramp-ons.

Danny practices his self-arresting skills

The "mom-and-pop" establishment was owned by a climbing couple each equipped with lengthy outdoor resumes and accompanying egos to boot. They had a way about them that seemed to say, "We're going to resent you just a little bit b/c while we're "living the dream" in our shop, you're out there actually living it." Nonetheless, they had an excellent selection (and better clothing than any outdoor shop I've been in). They were extremely helpful in outfitting us with our gear and didn't hesitate to offer up advice.

When Danny asked about the route we'd be taking and referred to it as "the shorter route," the owner promptly corrected, "We'll call it by its proper name - the Mountaineers Route".

Okay then.

So we left the shop, prepared for our journey (as best we could) and ready to climb the Mountaineers Route of Mt. Whitney - the tallest mountain in the continental US.

Don't Drink and Drive

After escaping Elevation, we picked up a bottle of Gentleman's Jack and decided to head up to the trailhead (or at least the snowy road leading to it) to "acclimate" ourselves and check out what was ahead of us. Videos of the event will show us laughing and giggling as we ride up the icy drive and then, quick, a cut to us stuck in the snow about 25 yards past the "Road Closed" sign.

See the Elevation owner had suggested it would be okay to drive past the "Road Closed" sign -after all, the further we got up the road, the less we'd have to hike. Well, we didn't get far.

After about a half hour of pushing the car, revving the gears and digging out ice and snow with our pic axes, we finally removed the car from its wintery fate and returned to town to check in to the hotel.

Creepy Justin and Old Bottles

As we pulled into the hotel parking lot I noticed a young man starring out the window at us in a very "Hannibal Lecter" manner. A few moments passed before I said, "Wow, he was super creepy."

A sigh of agreement passed over the lips of my traveling partners as they returned, "Oh yeah, did you noticed that too?! Soooo creepy."

We entered the hotel and as "creepy guy" was with a customer we retreated to the back sitting area of the lodge which was decked out with John Wayne memorabilia and a very interesting ceiling fan with which Clutch was very familiar. The fan kept us entertained as we waited for "Creepy Guy" to become available for our check-in.

After checking in Kevin returned to explain that "Creepy Guy's" name was Justin and while he didn't fancy climbing huge mountains like Whitney, he did enjoy excavating old outhouses (and the deep holes below them) to uncover artifacts like.... old bottles.

And that's when Clutch randomly decided that "Old Bottles" was a great name for a cat. From then on out we had a "cat" in our group. "Oh, Old Bottles... you silly ol' cat you...."

And we couldn't even blame it on the altitude.

In the hotel we dined on the first of many "Chef Kevin- meals" and packed our packs for our trip.


The Mother Load?

Friday morning found us seated around a four-person table in a local cafe. The menu read "For the Hungry Climber." Well clearly that was us! Considering the fact that these particular selections must have been expertly designed with a climber's needs in mind, we each selected the meal called "The Mother Load."

The waitress suggested we move to a larger table that could accommodate the size of our selection.

12 eggs, 2 pancakes, 16 pieces of bacon, piles of hashbrowns, toast and buscuits later we left, stomachs full, and ready for the assent!

What's Brown and Sticky?

Friday morning we awoke to the sound of Danny's chirping cell phone. Seriously, what's with the cricket nosies for an alarm?

We headed up the road to get started on the hike, only this time we made sure to stop before the "Road Closed" sign. We parked the car and unloaded. What a trip we had ahead of us!

The road was undrivable four miles away from the trailhead, so our hike started with an uphill hike along the switchback. We moved steadily along the ridge watching our car become matchbox-sized as it faded into the distance. The snow was thick, but the sun was hot. We soon realized that layering and delayering would become a common ritual for the weekend.

As we walked along single file, Clutch decided it was an appropriate time to begin telling jokes. He started with one about a Muffin, then there was one about some Nuns and of course your typical "guy walks into a bar" jokes (only in Clutch's case, the "guy" was a string). Then I told what later became the "joke of the weekend."

"What's brown and sticky?" I asked from the back of the lineup. No one answered.

"A stick!" I exclaimed.

So what is brown and sticky Clutch?

I got the best reaction from that joke than ever before.

"A stick, a stick," Clutch laughed. And that was that. From then on, any time we ran in to someone one the trail (all of about three people), someone would ask the person, "Hey, what's brown and sticky?"

After a few hours, we finally reached the start of the trail and we were ready to head up the mountain!


Climbing - Day 1

There was so much snow that I led the group right past the entrance to the trail, but once we found it, we began to climb up into the beautiful mountains. We stopped for lunch early on plopping down into the snow and leaning against rocks on the trail.

Clutch quickly located the fatty slice of sausage from the "doggy bag" Kevin had packed us for our ration of lunches and breakfasts.

It's amazing what you'll eat when you're eating for energy. "My legs are thanking me," Clutch said as he swallowed the sausage.

For me, climbing was definitely a challenge. It required an extreme amount of endurance as we climbed higher and higher carrying our heavy packs.

Eventually we stopped to put our snow shoes on and then continued to climb up to camp.

The views from the mountain were breathtaking. You don't say much as you climb. It's so quiet and peaceful on the mountain that all you really hear is the sound of your own breath as you exhale heavily. Climbing to the "top of the world" really is an incredible experience. You push your limits and though you aren't alone, you spend a lot of time with yourself.

Each time the climb got steeper, I'd have to talk to myself. "Just move to the top of this section and you'll get to rest," or "Come on, you can do this. One step at a time." It was very rewarding because the further we went, the more beautiful the scenery got. The mountain was ours and the views were our reward.


At Camp
By the time we reached camp, the thought of climbing any higher was unbearable. We pitched our tents upon rocks so as to avoid having to dig out areas in the snow. We struggled to stay warm as Kevin cooked us a dinner of El Gratten potatoes and Lobster Ravioli. Luxury in a pot.

It was only about 6:30 when we headed off to bed, but staying awake would most likely mean sitting outside of the semi-warm tent, so we opted for early to bed, early to rise. We had a summit to reach!

Kevin and I lay awake in the tent studying the map. We determined it was about a mile to the summit, but a mile, in these shoes, was going to be a huge distance. We'd be lucky to make the summit by 3pm at which point we'd have to turn around or risk having to descend in the dark.

This is the view we woke up to Saturday morning. We'd be leaving some of our gear behind and hiking up to the summit which you can (almost) see from this picture... you get the idea.

It's cold in the tent

The Climb - Day 2

Breakfast was an afterthought as we headed out on Saturday morning. We had to reach the summit no later than 3pm. We left our tents and sleeping bags along with some of our gear back at the campsite. Our packs were lighter but the climb was far from easy.

Up, up, up we climbed. Each time I thought I couldn't go any further, we'd break just long enough for me to regain some energy. Then finally one last steep hill really got me.

I called to Kevin saying I'd be hanging back. It had already been determined that we would probably not make the summit, but even though I'd said I was going to stop, I kept going until finally I didn't have any more in me. I took a rest on a rock for about 45 minutes while the guys continued. Then I heard Kevin in the distance returning back over the hill. His knee was giving out, so he had turned around leaving Danny and Clutch with about two hours of time to continue.

After another nap, Kevin and I turned back towards camp. We descended down the first hill and rested at the bottom, looking up occasionally into the sun and hoping to catch a sign that the guys were returning. Finally, we saw two dots rising over the hill. We followed the dots as they went down the hill, but soon they stopped right on the trail. Their summit attempt must have been tiring, as they rested on the hillside before descending again to camp.

When we had all returned to camp, Danny and Clutch had a video for us. They had made it to the summit, so they claimed. But the video revealed an excited Danny waving a t-shirt around...and then you could hear Clutch's voice: "Hey Danny, what's that?" he asked moving the camera to reveal the the actual summit.

Well, they didn't make it to the top, but they sure did do it in style!



The Decent

That night we ate dinner and discussed the various ways we might have improved our chances of summiting: Leaving earlier in the morning, extending the trip, not having to walk 4 miles just to get to the trail!!..... they were all options, but we were still happy with our experience.

Sunday morning we woke up and packed up our camp. Our bags, now back to their heavier weight, were thrown on to our tired backs as we headed back down to civilization.

Clutch pointed out that Kevin reminded him of the little "Mountain Climber man" on that game on The Price Is Right. We all laughed in agreement.

The downhill of the trip was quite a change of pace. However, I never realized how tiring going downhill could actually be. It was a tad bit more fun though. The guys rolled around and jumped off rocks and I slid on my butt a few times as it was much more fun than climbing down.

When we reached town, exhausted and ecstatic, we headed strait for the town's pizza parlor and ordered the biggest pie they had. Then, we returned to the motel for a hot tub soak before heading home to LA.