We spent the weekend camping and rock climbing in Red River Gorge Kentucky with our good friends Valerie and Destrey (you’ll remember them from another recent adventure) and their adorable little girl, Carlie.

Carlie and Andrew discovered they’re practically the same person. They hate having sticky fingers, ask “is this healthy?” with a little sneer every time you hand them a snack, like Disney movies, can fall asleep anywhere in two seconds flat and get antsy on long car rides. We got along great ; )

The sights and the culture and the food was amazing. We were four hours away from home, but it felt like we were on another planet! I tried to keep up with the lingo (pumpy, trad, smearing, multi-pitch…) and fit in. But, I think my level of hygiene, lack of hiking sandals and the fact that I was wearing a bra gave me away pretty quickly. Though I did order chickpeas on my pizza. I feel that counts for something.

I climbed dozens of feet in the air, hiked over crazy terrain, gripped rough, wild rock with my bare hands, and my worst injury was from walking into the picnic table after dark. That. smarts. And ruining my nails.

The climbing itself was pretty intimidating, but felt so good once you’re at the top.  Valerie & Destrey were wonderful instructors, but when you’ve got both feet off of the ground and your palms are sweaty and you realize you’ve really got to reach for that next hold, it’s quite the adrenaline rush! I didn’t succeed every time, but I was super proud of how well the Husband and I hung in there.

He doesn’t even LIKE heights, but loves me enough to do it anyway ; )

While were were down there, we ate at Rosie’s – a little diner with dollar bills stapled to the ceiling – and Muigel’s. Rosie’s was fun and quirky, but Muigel’s was a whole new experience. It’s part pizza shop, part gear store and part campground/hangout for climbers from all over the world.

{Rosie’s dollar bills, campfire food and Muigel’s}

The list of toppings for their pizza’s, salads and sandwiches was endless: It took me FOREVER to choose, but I ended up with chickpeas, artichokes, sweet potatoes, onion, mushrooms, spinach and green pepper. Delish!

Apparently ordering an “Ale 8” is also mandatory at every stop. I don’t even want to think about how many were consumed over the weekend….but they’re good. And you can only get them here!

This was Carlie’s first climbing trip too. She was a natural! She was totally fearless climbing up rocks that made me nervous. She got a new chalk bag and shoes while we were there, and made her awesome parents so proud. We also spent lots of time making pies out of leaves, pistachio shells, cheddar bunnies we accidentally dropped on the ground, and dirt, and “baking” them in holes in the rocks ; )

While the Husband and I might not be cut out to be hard-core climbers, I think we’ll definitely take another trip. We were sore in places we didn’t know existed, but the workout felt so natural it wasn’t chore. It was a memorable adventure with great friends – Sometimes you’ve just gotta try something new(and maybe a little dangerous).