Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's already 2010! To begin with, 2009 was a great year for me. I graduated college, together with my mother, which was a pretty unique experience. This year, I was able to spend more than the usual three months on the road, since I didn't have to come back to school. The trip took me to the Amazon, which was something I wanted to do for a long time. And, I have officially taken up rock climbing, which is both challenging and really fun! (Don't worry, I'm still playing the cello!)

2010 is an extra special year for me because it marks the ten year anniversary of my traveling. Adding up all of my trips, I have spent five of the ten years away from home! I have been to 13 countries, in countless places both big and small, and have met incredible and inspiring people from all over the globe, many of them right in my backyard.

In my last post, I expressed some of my doubts regarding what to do next. I've decided on a couple of things. Like I mentioned, I have taken up rock climbing. Fortunately, I am blessed to have a lot of really strong and talented climbers as family and friends, so I have been training with some of the best teachers around. In May I am planning to take a trip to Peru with a good friend and my main training partner, Jeff Boni. We are going to spend three months rock climbing and bouldering (climbing without rope), attempting the summit of Ticlla (the tallest mountain in the Cordillera Central at 19,642 feet!), trekking and surfing. So... until we leave, we are doing a lot of training in just about everything (climbing, hiking, yoga, swimming, running, etc)!

I have also decided to write a book. I've been talking about it for a long time and now I am going to put my words into action. Anyone who knows me knows that I rattle off stories all the time, so I'm hoping that I can just put those stories into writing. It's difficult for me to focus on writing in front of the computer, so if you'd like to send a word or two of encouragement, or discouragement for that matter, it would be greatly appreciated! I'm hoping to put up a couple drafts up here too and any feedback is welcome. Of all the things I have considered myself to be, I never considered myself to be a writer, but I do love to tell stories.

With all that said, here is a little photo recap of the month and a half that I've been home.

I went out to Arizona for my brother Ryan and Shira's wedding and was surprised to meet up with several friends from Ohio who are traveling around the States now. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and I loved Arizona! Here are Shira, Ryan, Ryan's friend Patrick (?), Jessica and Mike, sitting on a BIG rock outside of Phoenix.

Ryan and I on our early Thanksgiving Day hike on the Peralta Trail in AZ. We started before the sun came up! What a beautiful way to start Thanksgiving!

Sunrise over the Superstition Mountains:

Another scene from the Peralta Trail:

Back in Akron, meeting up with my long-time best friend, Johnny Sloan and his cousins:

Taking Auggie hiking on an unusually warm day in December:

A scene along Mingo Trail:

This was my most favorite New Year's Eve celebration of all time. I drove to Chestnut Ridge, West Virginia with a lot of good friends and my brother Aaron. We all stayed the night in an old one-room schoolhouse that now houses a small bouldering wall. There was a big party at a lodge in the park, filled with many musicians. I learned how to play Old Timey music by rote and jammed out with about twenty musicians. We ate lots of good food and drank a little wine to bring in the New Year.

By Sunday, the only people left were Jeff and I. The weather was really cold and snowy up on the ridge, but we stayed busy every day with rock climbing, hiking, cross country skiing, snowboarding, sledding and most importantly... hot cocoa! Here's Jeff... well, being himself:

The night of January 1st there were only a few people left in the campground, but Jeff, Megan, Nate and I were invited to the Stone Cabin for a small jam session (guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass and two cellos) and some wine. It was great to celebrate the new year with new friends, old friends and a wood-burning stove! Here's Nate taking a little break from guitar playing:

Me enjoying a little wine:


...and a Happy New Year to all!