Got up this morning at 6:30 to start adventure number two. I actually pre-planned this one. I put a post on Climb Find, looking for people that wanted a partner for a climbing trip in the SF Bay area. Ended up meeting three lovely women at Stinson Beach where we spent a damp morning/afternoon bouldering along the beach. We drove down highway 1 from Sausalito, passing a zen cult along the way. We arrived at the parking lot, got coffee and answered nature's call, and headed off down the beach. Someone told us we looked like Sponge Bob carrying the crash pads, especially one of the girls, measuring in at 4'11. Height didn't have much to do with the problems we chose, she turned out to be an animal. We worked on a V0 R/X on the side of Old Man, following a flake up to a crack on a slab, then topping out and scrambling down. Would have been a solid 5.6 on a top rope, but was a bit sketchy without one. We moved to the other side of the boulder and worked on an unnamed V3 that followed a seam from bottom left to top right, ending in a cave-like hole. We cycled through and got all but the last move. It was a fun one to work on. Directly behind us on Old Woman we did a fun V2 with a top out/walk down. Back to the front of old man we finished up by working on a V4 - with a few good tries but mostly fails. Another climber came by and joined us for a bit. By then it was 2:30 in the afternoon, the tide was coming in and it had started drizzling. Conceding that the skin on our fingers was mostly gone, we decided to call it a day. Back at the hotel I took advantage of the hot tub, twisting my pinkie toe. I'm icing it now - seems to be black and blue. It's funny that out of all the things I did today I get hurt stepping into a hot tub. :-P

The best part about today by far was the company. I kept getting hit by the "Oh, I'm in California" realization throughout the day. As we were driving over the bridge on the bus, as we were winding down highway 1, looking at the Pacific... It's not that often I'm struck by the distance between myself and home, but this trip has been different in that I'm by myself entirely, and that somehow I've managed to meet more people than on any other trip. And they've all been fantastic. I'm kind of sad now that the conference is in full swing. At least now I get to indulge the science educator side of me now that the adventurer has been satisfied. Pictures to come!