Adventures by Alan and Melanie
We thought that we’d be short on light when we arrived at around 7PM to the airport at El Calafate. However, after taking a bus to town, walking and checking in to our hostel, and going grocery shopping, we still caught the sunset at 10PM! Our time in this beautiful town was short and sweet – limited basically to our night at the hostel and a visit to the Perito Moreno glacier.
Our four days in Buenos Aires were filled with great food (empanadas, pizza, pasta, dessert!) and lot of beautiful parks and plazas. We wandered the busy streets and quaint neighborhoods (and got a bit sweaty because it was HOT). We stopped to watch tango dancers in a plaza (a milonga), and strolled through a gorgeous rose garden. Buenos Aires has many theaters, and we enjoyed an outdoor showing of the ballet Sleeping Beauty on the plaza of Teatro Colon (at least until our stomachs started grumbling). We also visited a theater which had been converted into a huge bookstore! Before leaving for the airport on our last day, we visited a local bouldering gym, where the friendly owner demonstrated tricky beta in his flip flops. After working up an appetite, we stopped in a cute cafe and shared an eggplant milanesa sandwich! The owner asked us for a note on his brand new white lockers, and we left a bit of Venice for him. All in all, we had a great time in the capital!
Four weeks of friendship and downsizing have passed, and we’re on our way to Argentina! Our time in between established life and definitive fluidity featured trips along the Eastern Sierra and also to Goodwill and the Post Office. Throughout this time, we were constantly reminded that we have a family in Los Angeles that we will miss dearly during our time away. Through this blog we hope to share our experiment in love, adventure and simplicity with you.
Stay amazing friends! See you all soon 😃
We returned to the scene of the crime (aka proposal spot!! <3) this year with a group of 10 incredible friends! Our mission: to climb long sport routes on limestone cliffs and eat as many tacos as possible. Aside from the awesome climbing, we enjoyed making new friends at the margarita truck, churros round two, and the local hot springs! On the first two days we ended up warming up on climbs on “Las Agujas” and in “Los Lobos” canyon, and sending Time Wave Zero on our second day.
About six months ago, our friend Ravi invited us to Red Rocks to do some rock climbing. He introduced us to the magical world of traditional climbing and we’ve been hooked ever since! This weekend we went with a SpaceX climbing crew and had a splendid time climbing some moderate multi pitch classics. It was one of those that makes me super grateful for the friends we’ve made in LA and for the awesome sport of rock climbing.
Nobody in their right mind climbs for 24 hours straight. When Melanie told me that she and her best friend Joanna were going to register for 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell, I thought – have fun! But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered what it would feel like to push at the boundaries of physical activity (and consciousness), soI recruited a buddy and the four of us entered the lottery.
On August 12th, 2017, we agreed to be adventure buddies for life! Wedding day was awesome. Surrounded by friends and family, we said “I do” among the trees near Twin Lakes, and giddily arrived at The Mill (a ski lodge transformed into our reception spot) to celebrate. We ate, drank, and danced under the stars – thrilled to be spending forever together, and also a bit shocked that we managed to pull the wedding off! The days and weeks leading up to the wedding were tough – planning a wedding is no joke! But the hard work was completely worth it, and has helped us to appreciate what wonderful friends we have. Without their help, the wedding wouldn’t have been possible!
July 30th, 2017
From the moment I first saw a photo of the massive granite formation overlooking gorgeous glacial lakes, I have wanted to climb Temple Crag. Alan and I had already requested Monday off to take our engagement photos in the evening, so it was the perfect time to head into the eastern Sierras to conquer the climb over the weekend. We drove to Lone Pine on Friday night to camp under the Milky Way and wake up early to snag overnight permits.
Per the modified plan, this post should have been called “Hike to Little Yosemite Valley”. With a shorter distance to cover (or so we thought), we got a later start, following a footpath in the snow through a beautiful valley. At one point we stopped to listen to a symphony of frogs cheering us on as we hiked.
After an incredible night’s sleep, we awoke in Lyell Canyon ready for a more mellow day of hiking. We began by walking through the lush river valley, stopping often to admire the wildlife and scenery. Eager to see what the trail had in store for us, I took the lead and nearly walked into a deer casually grazing feet from the trail. One of us was startled, and it wasn’t the deer!
