Ben's Bachelor Party

On the weekend of May 22nd, 13 close friends piled into a 84' x 16' houseboat to gather for Ben Denlinger's Bachelor Party. Lake Cumberland is over 101 miles long, contains 1,255 miles of shoreline, covers 65,530 acres and is the 9th largest reservoir in the U.S. The deep coves make it great for exploring, house-boating and also offer solitude for an otherwise busy lake. The dancing girls never made it to the boat, but the drinking feats that occurred could have only been accomplished by a crew of this stature.

The main quarters

The upper deck complete with hot tub

Ben and Travis warming it up

Ryan Nixon, trip coordinator, he made it all happen!

Ben exploring the coves for some big fish

Mark brought his boat down to bootleg supplies and recon honey holes

The stare down, watcha got?

Let the games begin... one frisbee and a lot of alcohol

The bachelor getting what he deserves

Brad stepped up his acrobatic skills on this trip

good form

Luckily no one got hurt, well except that one guy who went streaking and jumped off the back...

Rendezvous Rewind

Last weekend marked the 8th Annual New River Rendezvous, "Ocho Loco."  Eight years ago the festival started as a fund raiser for the New River Alliance of Climbers and a way to centralize climbing communities on the east coast.  Now the event has morphed into the best climbing festival in the country.  Below are some pictures from the festival.

Rendezvous website
DPM Link about the event
The Joy Trip Link about the event

                                                                Dessertapalooza!

Artistic Jamnation

Erin teaching Yoga

Fayetteville's finest, John Avrete, in the "Dare to Wear Lycra" contest

                                                        Gettin' funky with Freak Bass

Gardening

After a long and rugged winter, the arrival of spring has brought many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Recently I have taken up a new hobby, gardening.  I have been helping my girlfriend (Erin) develop 4 acres of property that she owns just outside of Fayetteville in the country. Rather than call it a hobby, it has turned into an addiction.  There is something special about working the land and reaping what you sow. Below are some pictures of a garden plot we have been working.  Last weekend, while visiting Erin's grandparents, we stopped at "Edible Landscaping" and picked up 2 Paw Paw trees, 2 Persimmon trees, 1 Cherry Tree, 1 Reka Blueberry bush, and 3 strawberry plants.  Edible Lanscaping is located near Afton, VA and their nursery is amazing.

Starting to build 4'x4' boxes for "square foot gardening"

Leafy green plot - chard and lettuce are already getting ready to pick!

2 freshly planted Paw Paw trees