I have been thinking about "THE ONE YEAR POST" for two weeks, then forgot to write it.
Awesome.
I wasn't sure what to put into it honestly. Would it be full of deep thoughts? Tears? Would it be REALLY long, brief, detailed, vague..no wonder I forgot to write it..stressful. I know it should open with a great big THANKS to all of you who have been keeping up with us over the last year. Especially to my family and Jake's family for coming out to visit...you too Richard. Nice to be able to show you all what we are doing out here and why we are out here. I am sure you all wonder! I also really appreciate everyone going to the trouble of keeping up with our antics over e-mail, phone, text, blog reading, whatever. It really does make it feel less far away when I get to chat with you all. I appreciate the effort from all of you!
We have done really well over the past year with new challenges with work, culture shock and trying all sorts of crazy new things (triathlon and grits are the major ones). I have been pretty homesick a few times, but that is to be expected this far from home...hence the name. It is cracking me up that sometimes I get all deep and wonder if I am trying to "find myself".. and then I fall in a bush with a bike and realize that I already know who I am no matter where I live.
Know that you are all in my thoughts everyday and I love that you are part of Jake and my adventure!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Laundry Goddess I Am Not!
It was bound to happen sometime in my life I guess. I had made it for 12 years of doing my own laundry without turning anything pink, but Wednesday I turned EVERYTHING pink (of Jake's that he likes). I put a beach towel that had been washed 100 times in with the "white load" and it bled all over everything. I can't say I take all the blame for it because I had no idea it had happened until it came out of the dryer. Jake was helping me and switched the laundry from washer to dryer and with the help of his trusty color blindness/lack of detail skills didn't notice that the laundry was PINK...not just a little either. Some of it was Pepto. In this load were several of Jake's most favorite things: shirt from our first 5K this summer, triathlon top he wears in all of the races and almost every pair of socks he owns. I don't know how I got lucky, but I did. So scroll down the blog to the pic of us after the first triathlon and picture his meshy, semi-gay shirt with the meshy stuff now a great shade of light pink....even gayer. He can't wear that or all the other guys will make fun of him.
So that leads me to today. I called Nikki for help guessing that the fashionista that she was she had dyed something at sometime. She was too busy laughing at me dying the top pink to begin with to be of any assistance. So, I am stirring a pot full of black water for 30 minutes in hopes that Jake's tri-top will emerge a semi-acceptable manly shade of something. He found the process fascinating and was looking around the apartment for anything else that needed dying. Luckily we decided we like Ike as a blonde and our bed comforter would be entirely to Emo in black so we restrained ourselves.
Wish me luck! Laundry Goddess signing off!
So that leads me to today. I called Nikki for help guessing that the fashionista that she was she had dyed something at sometime. She was too busy laughing at me dying the top pink to begin with to be of any assistance. So, I am stirring a pot full of black water for 30 minutes in hopes that Jake's tri-top will emerge a semi-acceptable manly shade of something. He found the process fascinating and was looking around the apartment for anything else that needed dying. Luckily we decided we like Ike as a blonde and our bed comforter would be entirely to Emo in black so we restrained ourselves.
Wish me luck! Laundry Goddess signing off!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tri #2
*No pics yet. There will actually be a website with some "action shots". Should be funny.
Build Up- We decided to do the Greenville Sprint Triathlon but I didn’t get into the race initially. It was full when I tried to sign up 2 hours after Jake. I was wait-listed. I was also baffled that there was a wait-list. It seemed like a lot. I later found out this is the biggest triathlon in South Carolina. There were 600 people signed up. Again, that seemed like a lot. I was really intimidated and secretly hoping I would not get signed up. Asheville was fun and I enjoyed it, and I thought if I did one that was too intimidating I would not enjoy it as much and it might turn me off of the whole triathlon deal. Yeah I managed to get this worked up over a silly voluntary sport….don’t you all know me at all? Anyway, I was a little stressed when I actually got in. “Oh well, I am sure there will be a nice t-shirt”..that is what I thought to myself to convince myself to actually do it.
Pre-Race- Our alarm went off Saturday morning at 4:00. That is a ridiculous time to get up to do a voluntary exercise activity by the way. We got our stuff together the night before and headed to the car with our bikes and bags full of Lycra/goggles/heart monitors and other essential geek gear.
We drove along in the dark arguing because Jake thought I was packing him breakfast (which I DID NOT say I was doing Captain Misunderstanding, I am not your mother) when I turned and said “is that lightening?” “Holy crap yes” was the appropriate response as the sky opened and turned the highway into a hydroplane-a-riffic mess. Hhhmmm, the weather forecast yesterday said 78 at race time with a 10% chance of rain later in the day. It said nothing of deluge, lightning and insanity at 5 a.m. This is not optimum conditions for changing clothes outside, riding a bike and running…FYI.
We got our chips, got body marked (Some lady writes on you with a marker. FYI #2 Kathy, I was just “body marking” my sisters back in the day and deserved none of the punishment that was doled out my way!) and then stood around forever. FOREVER. We were waiting for them to decide if we could use the pool or not. Apparently they don’t like hundreds of people in a pool, even if it is inside, during a lightening storm. I think I respect that. If the pool part had been called off we would have just had to bike and run. That wouldn’t have been as cool at all. So we stood around. Did I mention if was FOREVER?
Usually you set up all your clothes by your bike, mess around with stuff and chat folks up, but it was raining and I decided to just change out of my backpack so there was nothing to set out. So instead I was bored and nervous. That is not an annoying combination for poor Jake at all. Luckily some of our triathlon pals from the last race showed up to distract me. It is fun to hang out with people and compare notes and be nervous together. Makes me feel not as crazy. PS: Changing out of my bag would be a triathlon no-no as the changing gets factored into your total time. But the idea of running in wet shoes and socks seemed to outweigh an extra few minutes. Jake was tough and set his stuff out. I am not tough….no lie. I know my limits and wet socks are one of them. I am not a total dummy….Oh if I had only known what a lie that statement would be later.
Swim- I got to met the lady I was starting beside beforehand which was really fun. She was super nice and it was only her second triathlon too. We discussed how neither of us was an awesome swimmer or minded if the other one passed. She did not mention she was Wonder-Triathlon Woman with an invisible set of gills and wings on her feet so I had a false sense of security that she was a rookie “like me”…Yeah, “like me” only a whole lot better.
Once I jumped in the pool I wasn’t nervous anymore. It is like taking a final. You are a mess the 3 days beforehand, but once you hit the chair you are fine. I had also already done this once before, so come on…It is also a little known fact that lots of people pee in the pool before the start. That keeps your mind off of being nervous and puts it squarely on DOING ALL YOU CAN TO NOT GET THE WATER IN YOUR MOUTH.
It was our turn (“GO #416”), we took off and suddenly I was just trying to stay in her wake. You can draft in the swim and not work as hard if you stay “in the bubbles”…You just hope that all the bubbles are coming from their turbulence…not from last night’s burritos. Anyway, so I am happy in the bubbles until some random lady wants in on the bubbles and doesn’t see me so she runs me clear out of the lane. I got T-boned while swimming. What the hell, I am huge and wearing a giant hot-pink shirt with ORCA on it!? I am a killer whale in hot pink for Pete’s sake, stay the hell out of my bubbles!
Anyway, I ended up falling 30 seconds behind her coming out of the pool, but was really happy when I looked at my watch and saw 9 min 36 sec, which was at least a full 30 seconds faster than my Asheville time. I RAN across the WET pool deck, out the door on the WET concrete sidewalk through the WET asphalt parking lot…all barefoot, violating all of the rules about running on wet surfaces I have ever heard. I would totally scream at a patient for being stupid enough to hurt themselves doing exactly what I did.
Transition 1
So in the haste of the lightening storm I did not pay attention when I was racking my bike. I have a mountain bike (aka: I am the kid driving the pinto at the prom..seriously) so there is only one way for it to get “racked”, by the seat. That means that the bar I put it on has to be high enough to get over my seat or handlebars. I was the first one to hang up my bike so I didn’t pay much attention that the clearance was a little short until I ran out to my bike to get on it and couldn’t get it off of the rack because it was too short somehow. HOLY CRAP, I am in a hurry and am carefully trying to lift up the ENTIRE bike rack with 5 other really expensive bikes on it to get my crappy bike out. Can’t remember exactly what happened, but I got out on the road.
Bike- I am pretty good on the bike and had a really nice ride. I got a ton of water on my face from the wet road (which is something you don’t really ever think about) but the course was easier than Asheville and I really enjoyed my 15 miles. I was totally relieved when I turned the corner into the transition area because there had been a lot of wrecks on the wet road and I had survived.
I had my feet halfway out of the pedal and was thinking about the run. A big crowd gathers in that area because you can see everyone come in and take pictures of them. I was thumbs upping and smiling because I had a great ride on my kick ass Pinto (it was 52:20 for a 17+mph average). I knew I had to get off my bike at the speed bump but wasn’t paying attention as I came around the corner and the line came sooner than I thought. That is when I clamped down on my wet brakes…then Physics and Gravity showed up and kicked my ass. I stopped on a dang dime and tried to get off my bike on the right side…except my left foot had slid back into my foot cage due to the sudden stop and was now stuck in the pedal.
Transition #2- So I am hopping on my right foot trying to free my left foot while slowing falling backwards down the incline behind me. I almost saved it like 10 times, but then my right foot hit the curb behind me and I fell into a bush…with my bike…with my left foot finally out the pedal. Luckily there were 150 people standing there to see it. I jump out and take off like it was no big deal (because it wasn’t even in the top 5 falls of the past five years...if only these silly people knew about my sick falling skillz) and took off running with my bike to get ready for the run…covered in mud, leaves, and bush. I am pretty sure there is a picture of it out there in Internet world or on YouTube. Fabulous.
Run- My near death experience with the bush was not nearly as traumatic as my shoes and socks full of water after the bike. I didn’t think about that happening as the water was shooting all over me during the bike ride. Running is really my least favorite part. I am just bad at it. Fact. The last course was flat for the run and I made it in 34 minutes and I was hoping to do the same. The bike course had been 3.5 miles longer, so I knew my time would not be as fast in total, but was hoping to break 30 minutes in the run. Amazing that I was excited to do that in June at the first 5K I ran..that was without swimming 400 meters and riding a bike 15 miles beforehand! Then the run course loomed ahead.
It was a hilly mug with some trail running after a huge rainstorm. It was rocky and scary and “uphell”. It was also a two loop course. I had to run past the finish line to run the second lap… Yuck and depressing.
I did get to see Jake and some of our pals cheering me on. I totally forgot that I was muddy, leafy, and bushy until I ran past and heard Jake say “Why are you so dirty?” I turned around and yelled “because I fell off of my bike” and just kept going. His face was hysterical. I can’t imagine what everyone running by me thought had happened. Anyway, the uphill junk was evil so I had to walk a few times and knew my run time would be terrible. I didn’t have anyone to race against to the finish, but still heard Jake yelling “stride it out”...Still don’t know what that means. I ran across the finish line and hit my watch and almost died of shock. I ran that nasty course in 30 min 59 sec. Pretty darn good.
Whole Thing- I ended up doing the whole race in 1 hour 37 minutes. The Asheville one in 1:32 but the bike was 3.5 miles shorter so I really did better only it took longer. Weird. Jake did his in 1:22, but he is more awesome than I am at all the events. He is just lucky that being really, really good looking is not an event or I would totally kick his behind in the whole thing.
The field at this triathlon was about one million times tougher than the Asheville one. I did much, much better and placed much, much worse. The fastest lady did it in 1:05, the slowest in 2:08. I fell right in the middle. I improved all my events though and feel really good about the whole thing. The next one is in October, and I definitely have some ideas on how to improve! But, I now know what it is like to race with 600 other people and can say that I competed in the largest triathlon held in South Carolina. As I sit here and think about it, my time was really not bad at all after you take into account I dressed out of my bag, got my bike stuck under the rack, and fell into a bush. All in all a really solid day…and all of this before 9:20 a.m.
Build Up- We decided to do the Greenville Sprint Triathlon but I didn’t get into the race initially. It was full when I tried to sign up 2 hours after Jake. I was wait-listed. I was also baffled that there was a wait-list. It seemed like a lot. I later found out this is the biggest triathlon in South Carolina. There were 600 people signed up. Again, that seemed like a lot. I was really intimidated and secretly hoping I would not get signed up. Asheville was fun and I enjoyed it, and I thought if I did one that was too intimidating I would not enjoy it as much and it might turn me off of the whole triathlon deal. Yeah I managed to get this worked up over a silly voluntary sport….don’t you all know me at all? Anyway, I was a little stressed when I actually got in. “Oh well, I am sure there will be a nice t-shirt”..that is what I thought to myself to convince myself to actually do it.
Pre-Race- Our alarm went off Saturday morning at 4:00. That is a ridiculous time to get up to do a voluntary exercise activity by the way. We got our stuff together the night before and headed to the car with our bikes and bags full of Lycra/goggles/heart monitors and other essential geek gear.
We drove along in the dark arguing because Jake thought I was packing him breakfast (which I DID NOT say I was doing Captain Misunderstanding, I am not your mother) when I turned and said “is that lightening?” “Holy crap yes” was the appropriate response as the sky opened and turned the highway into a hydroplane-a-riffic mess. Hhhmmm, the weather forecast yesterday said 78 at race time with a 10% chance of rain later in the day. It said nothing of deluge, lightning and insanity at 5 a.m. This is not optimum conditions for changing clothes outside, riding a bike and running…FYI.
We got our chips, got body marked (Some lady writes on you with a marker. FYI #2 Kathy, I was just “body marking” my sisters back in the day and deserved none of the punishment that was doled out my way!) and then stood around forever. FOREVER. We were waiting for them to decide if we could use the pool or not. Apparently they don’t like hundreds of people in a pool, even if it is inside, during a lightening storm. I think I respect that. If the pool part had been called off we would have just had to bike and run. That wouldn’t have been as cool at all. So we stood around. Did I mention if was FOREVER?
Usually you set up all your clothes by your bike, mess around with stuff and chat folks up, but it was raining and I decided to just change out of my backpack so there was nothing to set out. So instead I was bored and nervous. That is not an annoying combination for poor Jake at all. Luckily some of our triathlon pals from the last race showed up to distract me. It is fun to hang out with people and compare notes and be nervous together. Makes me feel not as crazy. PS: Changing out of my bag would be a triathlon no-no as the changing gets factored into your total time. But the idea of running in wet shoes and socks seemed to outweigh an extra few minutes. Jake was tough and set his stuff out. I am not tough….no lie. I know my limits and wet socks are one of them. I am not a total dummy….Oh if I had only known what a lie that statement would be later.
Swim- I got to met the lady I was starting beside beforehand which was really fun. She was super nice and it was only her second triathlon too. We discussed how neither of us was an awesome swimmer or minded if the other one passed. She did not mention she was Wonder-Triathlon Woman with an invisible set of gills and wings on her feet so I had a false sense of security that she was a rookie “like me”…Yeah, “like me” only a whole lot better.
Once I jumped in the pool I wasn’t nervous anymore. It is like taking a final. You are a mess the 3 days beforehand, but once you hit the chair you are fine. I had also already done this once before, so come on…It is also a little known fact that lots of people pee in the pool before the start. That keeps your mind off of being nervous and puts it squarely on DOING ALL YOU CAN TO NOT GET THE WATER IN YOUR MOUTH.
It was our turn (“GO #416”), we took off and suddenly I was just trying to stay in her wake. You can draft in the swim and not work as hard if you stay “in the bubbles”…You just hope that all the bubbles are coming from their turbulence…not from last night’s burritos. Anyway, so I am happy in the bubbles until some random lady wants in on the bubbles and doesn’t see me so she runs me clear out of the lane. I got T-boned while swimming. What the hell, I am huge and wearing a giant hot-pink shirt with ORCA on it!? I am a killer whale in hot pink for Pete’s sake, stay the hell out of my bubbles!
Anyway, I ended up falling 30 seconds behind her coming out of the pool, but was really happy when I looked at my watch and saw 9 min 36 sec, which was at least a full 30 seconds faster than my Asheville time. I RAN across the WET pool deck, out the door on the WET concrete sidewalk through the WET asphalt parking lot…all barefoot, violating all of the rules about running on wet surfaces I have ever heard. I would totally scream at a patient for being stupid enough to hurt themselves doing exactly what I did.
Transition 1
So in the haste of the lightening storm I did not pay attention when I was racking my bike. I have a mountain bike (aka: I am the kid driving the pinto at the prom..seriously) so there is only one way for it to get “racked”, by the seat. That means that the bar I put it on has to be high enough to get over my seat or handlebars. I was the first one to hang up my bike so I didn’t pay much attention that the clearance was a little short until I ran out to my bike to get on it and couldn’t get it off of the rack because it was too short somehow. HOLY CRAP, I am in a hurry and am carefully trying to lift up the ENTIRE bike rack with 5 other really expensive bikes on it to get my crappy bike out. Can’t remember exactly what happened, but I got out on the road.
Bike- I am pretty good on the bike and had a really nice ride. I got a ton of water on my face from the wet road (which is something you don’t really ever think about) but the course was easier than Asheville and I really enjoyed my 15 miles. I was totally relieved when I turned the corner into the transition area because there had been a lot of wrecks on the wet road and I had survived.
I had my feet halfway out of the pedal and was thinking about the run. A big crowd gathers in that area because you can see everyone come in and take pictures of them. I was thumbs upping and smiling because I had a great ride on my kick ass Pinto (it was 52:20 for a 17+mph average). I knew I had to get off my bike at the speed bump but wasn’t paying attention as I came around the corner and the line came sooner than I thought. That is when I clamped down on my wet brakes…then Physics and Gravity showed up and kicked my ass. I stopped on a dang dime and tried to get off my bike on the right side…except my left foot had slid back into my foot cage due to the sudden stop and was now stuck in the pedal.
Transition #2- So I am hopping on my right foot trying to free my left foot while slowing falling backwards down the incline behind me. I almost saved it like 10 times, but then my right foot hit the curb behind me and I fell into a bush…with my bike…with my left foot finally out the pedal. Luckily there were 150 people standing there to see it. I jump out and take off like it was no big deal (because it wasn’t even in the top 5 falls of the past five years...if only these silly people knew about my sick falling skillz) and took off running with my bike to get ready for the run…covered in mud, leaves, and bush. I am pretty sure there is a picture of it out there in Internet world or on YouTube. Fabulous.
Run- My near death experience with the bush was not nearly as traumatic as my shoes and socks full of water after the bike. I didn’t think about that happening as the water was shooting all over me during the bike ride. Running is really my least favorite part. I am just bad at it. Fact. The last course was flat for the run and I made it in 34 minutes and I was hoping to do the same. The bike course had been 3.5 miles longer, so I knew my time would not be as fast in total, but was hoping to break 30 minutes in the run. Amazing that I was excited to do that in June at the first 5K I ran..that was without swimming 400 meters and riding a bike 15 miles beforehand! Then the run course loomed ahead.
It was a hilly mug with some trail running after a huge rainstorm. It was rocky and scary and “uphell”. It was also a two loop course. I had to run past the finish line to run the second lap… Yuck and depressing.
I did get to see Jake and some of our pals cheering me on. I totally forgot that I was muddy, leafy, and bushy until I ran past and heard Jake say “Why are you so dirty?” I turned around and yelled “because I fell off of my bike” and just kept going. His face was hysterical. I can’t imagine what everyone running by me thought had happened. Anyway, the uphill junk was evil so I had to walk a few times and knew my run time would be terrible. I didn’t have anyone to race against to the finish, but still heard Jake yelling “stride it out”...Still don’t know what that means. I ran across the finish line and hit my watch and almost died of shock. I ran that nasty course in 30 min 59 sec. Pretty darn good.
Whole Thing- I ended up doing the whole race in 1 hour 37 minutes. The Asheville one in 1:32 but the bike was 3.5 miles shorter so I really did better only it took longer. Weird. Jake did his in 1:22, but he is more awesome than I am at all the events. He is just lucky that being really, really good looking is not an event or I would totally kick his behind in the whole thing.
The field at this triathlon was about one million times tougher than the Asheville one. I did much, much better and placed much, much worse. The fastest lady did it in 1:05, the slowest in 2:08. I fell right in the middle. I improved all my events though and feel really good about the whole thing. The next one is in October, and I definitely have some ideas on how to improve! But, I now know what it is like to race with 600 other people and can say that I competed in the largest triathlon held in South Carolina. As I sit here and think about it, my time was really not bad at all after you take into account I dressed out of my bag, got my bike stuck under the rack, and fell into a bush. All in all a really solid day…and all of this before 9:20 a.m.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Stupidly Nervous
Jake and I have another triathlon this weekend. It is in Greenville. It was full, but I got in off of the waiting list. A race with a waiting list? The race is HUGELY big with like 600 folks. Yikes. I am not racing in the new person division, instead I am going with people my age. I feel good about it. I think racing with people that know what is going on will help me...if I am not too depressed they are all passing me all over the place. I need to keep that in mind. It is going to increase the amount of stupidity I feel riding my mountain bike, but I will get over it. Everyone else has a "road bike" which is built for speed. Road bikes are tons lighter and let you get into a more aerodynamic position as compared to the mountain bike..that is built to drive on a mountain and is about as aerodynamic as a sailboat.
My first race went so well that I am really nervous to do it again. That seems silly, but it is one of those things where if I never did it again I would only have a good experience. I have never been good at dealing with the unknown outcome. Maybe I will do even better...hmmm.
I get nervous. I was nervous before the damn suitcase race in 7th grade at Play Day. I was nervous before 7th grade basketball camp. Seriously it is just stupid, but I can't stop it from happening.
I am a dork. I am nervous about a race I do for fun that has no bearing on my actual exsistence and does not have any sort of impact on the rest of my life...with the exception of maybe making me fitter and having a reason to wear spandex in public. Like I needed a reason.
My first race went so well that I am really nervous to do it again. That seems silly, but it is one of those things where if I never did it again I would only have a good experience. I have never been good at dealing with the unknown outcome. Maybe I will do even better...hmmm.
I get nervous. I was nervous before the damn suitcase race in 7th grade at Play Day. I was nervous before 7th grade basketball camp. Seriously it is just stupid, but I can't stop it from happening.
I am a dork. I am nervous about a race I do for fun that has no bearing on my actual exsistence and does not have any sort of impact on the rest of my life...with the exception of maybe making me fitter and having a reason to wear spandex in public. Like I needed a reason.
Fear the Viking Tour
Jake and I got to spend the weekend with my folks and some of their friends (Viking Tour Group to be exact) in Williamsburg, Virginia. We drove the 7 hour trip on Saturday, stopping only in Durham to get a look at Duke. It is a beautiful campus, but much smaller than you would think it is. All of the campus buildings (student loan, different specific studies) are just old houses they have converted and slapped up a sign. They are nice houses, but still not what I expected.
Williamsburg was tons of fun. It was great to see my folks, but 36 hours is just not quite long enough! The weather could not have been better and the company wasn’t bad either. The first night we ate at the Fat Canary and had fantastic food and great wine. I had sturgeon on truffle mashed potatoes with a topping of scallops and lobster…Yeah, it was just as good as it sounds. PS: The wine’s name was Bleasdale mom. We got to sit outside and enjoy the stars and then we went to the witch trial. Yep, I said witch trial. We were late to it (shocker) and I didn’t realize just how serious it was going to be. They were actually putting some lady on trial. The evidence was overwhelming and I voted to burn her…what? She “floated in an unnatural position” when she was tied up and thrown in the lake.
The second day the lady folk were to shop while the men golfed..But instead we found a great wine and cheese bar around noon and pretty much hung out there for 4 hours. It was fun to catch up while relaxing outside with a procuitto and provolone sandwich while munching in cranberry cheddar cheese…and a bunch of wine. Good stuff. We got cleaned up and went to dinner at the most imposing seafood restaurant I have ever seen. It was a huge buffet with something for everyone and giant masts/booms/etc above the buffets. Crazy.
The guys and some of the ladies played golf on the third day, and the remaining ladies managed to keep out of the wine all day. Everyone should be impressed. I had a wonderful run through the old part of Williamsburg and the College of W&M around 6:45 in the morning. Of course I got really lost and ran for 50 minutes, but it was a really enjoyable 50 minutes! It was a great morning, no traffic, and the scenery was perfection. I can see why you would want to live somewhere with such beauty and historical significance. W&M is a college founded by a President, just miles from the first settlement of the US, and full of Civil War and Revolutionary War history. Yeah, but there are a billion people there. That is enough to turn me off.
We said our sad goodbyes as I looked around at the most exhausted group of 50 year olds I have ever seen. It must be what the kindergarten bus looks like on the way home from a fieldtrip. Jake and I then took off for home….the long way.
Williamsburg was tons of fun. It was great to see my folks, but 36 hours is just not quite long enough! The weather could not have been better and the company wasn’t bad either. The first night we ate at the Fat Canary and had fantastic food and great wine. I had sturgeon on truffle mashed potatoes with a topping of scallops and lobster…Yeah, it was just as good as it sounds. PS: The wine’s name was Bleasdale mom. We got to sit outside and enjoy the stars and then we went to the witch trial. Yep, I said witch trial. We were late to it (shocker) and I didn’t realize just how serious it was going to be. They were actually putting some lady on trial. The evidence was overwhelming and I voted to burn her…what? She “floated in an unnatural position” when she was tied up and thrown in the lake.
The second day the lady folk were to shop while the men golfed..But instead we found a great wine and cheese bar around noon and pretty much hung out there for 4 hours. It was fun to catch up while relaxing outside with a procuitto and provolone sandwich while munching in cranberry cheddar cheese…and a bunch of wine. Good stuff. We got cleaned up and went to dinner at the most imposing seafood restaurant I have ever seen. It was a huge buffet with something for everyone and giant masts/booms/etc above the buffets. Crazy.
The guys and some of the ladies played golf on the third day, and the remaining ladies managed to keep out of the wine all day. Everyone should be impressed. I had a wonderful run through the old part of Williamsburg and the College of W&M around 6:45 in the morning. Of course I got really lost and ran for 50 minutes, but it was a really enjoyable 50 minutes! It was a great morning, no traffic, and the scenery was perfection. I can see why you would want to live somewhere with such beauty and historical significance. W&M is a college founded by a President, just miles from the first settlement of the US, and full of Civil War and Revolutionary War history. Yeah, but there are a billion people there. That is enough to turn me off.
We said our sad goodbyes as I looked around at the most exhausted group of 50 year olds I have ever seen. It must be what the kindergarten bus looks like on the way home from a fieldtrip. Jake and I then took off for home….the long way.
"Elbow Room Cried Daniel Boone"
The title is a direct quote all Toll children are aware of. It is what you say when you want people to scoot over. Kind of a precursor to the shove or slug that you know is coming. I have no idea what it really means in it's originial historical text. I digress.
So, the “long way home” involved driving from the ocean to the mountains. We took off across North Carolina and ended up in Boone. It is a neat little town. Boone is allegedly the old stomping grounds of Daniel Boone, and home to Appalachian State University. ASU is of course home of the Mountaineers that knocked off Michigan in the Big House last year, and old stomping grounds of Coach Prince. Hopefully we can channel the ASU spirit we got in this area and give the Wildcats some good juju from SC so they can get it together.
The campus is gorgeous. I expected hillbilly shanties and liquor stills by the creek. Yep, I was wrong. They are building like crazy, all the buildings have the same brick style, and the area is picturesque. We stayed at the campus center that is part hotel on the hilliest campus I have ever seen. I am not lying. We went on a run and I first almost died falling down the hill, and then almost had a heart attack on the way back up. It was ridiculous. They have a campus shuttle to drag folks around so they can get class to class, it is that tough. I would be fit, with a capital F-I-T if I were a Mountaineer. If you aren’t, you are either not going to class or need to lay WAY off the Ding Dongs.
We drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I totally recommend, and went to Grandfather Mountain. We did some hiking to a swinging bridge that I crossed without issue. Impressive as I have paralyzing fears of heights and general mechanical failures of all bridges, planes, cars, guardrails, elevators, and ski lifts. There are all sorts of signs with the jist of “KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DAMN KIDS” and “IF YOU HIKED UP HERE, THERE IS NO RIDE TO THE BOTTOM FATTY”.
We were sure tired when we got home. It was a ton of fun though. We are pretty good at being really great sight-seers that don’t take good pictures. Hope I use my words well.
So, the “long way home” involved driving from the ocean to the mountains. We took off across North Carolina and ended up in Boone. It is a neat little town. Boone is allegedly the old stomping grounds of Daniel Boone, and home to Appalachian State University. ASU is of course home of the Mountaineers that knocked off Michigan in the Big House last year, and old stomping grounds of Coach Prince. Hopefully we can channel the ASU spirit we got in this area and give the Wildcats some good juju from SC so they can get it together.
The campus is gorgeous. I expected hillbilly shanties and liquor stills by the creek. Yep, I was wrong. They are building like crazy, all the buildings have the same brick style, and the area is picturesque. We stayed at the campus center that is part hotel on the hilliest campus I have ever seen. I am not lying. We went on a run and I first almost died falling down the hill, and then almost had a heart attack on the way back up. It was ridiculous. They have a campus shuttle to drag folks around so they can get class to class, it is that tough. I would be fit, with a capital F-I-T if I were a Mountaineer. If you aren’t, you are either not going to class or need to lay WAY off the Ding Dongs.
We drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I totally recommend, and went to Grandfather Mountain. We did some hiking to a swinging bridge that I crossed without issue. Impressive as I have paralyzing fears of heights and general mechanical failures of all bridges, planes, cars, guardrails, elevators, and ski lifts. There are all sorts of signs with the jist of “KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DAMN KIDS” and “IF YOU HIKED UP HERE, THERE IS NO RIDE TO THE BOTTOM FATTY”.
We were sure tired when we got home. It was a ton of fun though. We are pretty good at being really great sight-seers that don’t take good pictures. Hope I use my words well.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Thong at the Gym? Really?
I spent a terrifying 45 minutes at the gym earlier this week watching a lady's rear end try to eat her pants.
It almost got it done. She was on the StairMaster and every step she took was one step closer to the WORLD BIGGEST WEDGIE....I have given my share of wedgies to my siblings and was pretty mean about it, but I never would have intentionally pulled any one's underpants up their keester that far for fear of mortally wounding them or causing them to never be able to sit again without a blow up doughnut. But it didn't phase this lady. She was getting it done on the StairMaster while I squirmed on the exercise bike trying to stop the northbound progression of her underpants with my mind. It was a train wreck, I couldn't look away. I finally had to cut my workout short and switch to a different machine before I lost it and jumped on her to picked it out myself in order to save her life.
Ike the Flake
I love my dog. Everyone knows that. He’s my workout partner, my protector when Jake is out of town, and my best furry friend. He is also the really big flake.
Today we were running in a really nice subdivision that has a large lake in the middle. South Carolina has been in a severe drought over the past two years so the lake is not so much a pristine, crystal blue oasis as a stinky, murky mud pit. But, it was really warm out and the dog was panting and slowing down so I thought I would let him jump into the lake for a quick dip. He was thrilled with the idea and proceeded to do the regular Ike in the water routine that involves lots of acting like he has never seen water before and he is totally out of his gourd excited about the experience. All’s well until he shoves in face under water to rub it on the dirt and comes up with a six inch tall mud pie on his snout. He is totally in shock and not happy. He jumps out of the water and runs over to me and looks at me like “aren’t you going to do something about this” and just stands there. It has to look ridiculous. Some stupid lady in workout clothes when it is too hot to work out standing next to some dog with a mud pie on his head. I know I am an exaggerator, but I am not kidding when I say it was a six inch tall pile of mud on his snout. Sticky, stinky, bottom of the lake mud. I coax him back into the lake and try to get him to put his nose underwater to clean it off, but that is not going to happen in Ike’s world. He knows the last time he put his face underwater it was not fun so there is no way he is doing it again….he is also not going to let me do it. He is all about cause and effect and has a better memory than me. We put him in the bathtub ONE TIME in Manhattan and he still will not get within 5 feet of a bathtub, not even a bathtub full of steak. So he is standing in the water just out of my reach and whining, while I am trying to toss water on him as he is trying to dodge the water…and looking at me like I am trying to abuse him. That is the look I get all the time from that dog. I was giving him a bath in the car wash area (people who wash their cars there have to love me doing that) of the apt complex afterwards and you would have thought I was trying to put acid on him. Flaky, ridiculousness.
You know they say dogs are a reflection of their owners….poop.
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