News Flash--The Earth Is Round, Too!

I don't think they really needed to do a scientific study to confirm this, most obvious, fact.  Routine, real world observation should leave no doubt in anyone's mind.

Not My Kind Of Marathon

I know I used to be a swimmer and everything, and I even like an occasional foray into the open water, but something like this does not appeal to me in the slightest.  It just goes to show that no matter how extreme the endurance event someone's warped mind can concoct, people will want to do it.  Indeed, they will have to turn people away.

Progress Is Being Made

The project continues.  Now they are starting to build things, not just tear them down.

Squirrel's Revenge

This one is for Uncle Rob, although I'm sure something like this would never happen in Arlington, as the squirrels there are far too well fed and pampered to go on such a rampage.

Baseball

Last weekend was the end of the regular baseball season for David and Stephen.  They both had great years, improved their games a lot, and had plenty of fun.  David was selected for the league's 9-year old all-star team, which will be playing teams from other towns around the area.  He is thrilled to have made the team and is looking forward to playing with a bunch of kids who love baseball as much as he does.  It's a huge commitment, though.  For the next 6 weeks, he will be playing three games per week and practicing three times per week.  That's a lot of baseball.  It's starting to seem a little like swimming . . . although a baseball game is still nowhere near as long as a swim meet!

Anyway, I finally remembered to bring my camera to the games and got some pretty good shots.

Cathy's 60th!

We had a lovely -- but, as always, too short -- trip to the D.C. area the weekend of June 2-3 for Cathy's 60th birthday.  Despite some initial skepticism from some quarters, the family picnic for Cathy's birthday celebration was a huge hit.  We packed up some good food, drinks and games and headed for Cabin John Park in Maryland for a fun-filled day.  We set up at a site equipped with a grill, some picnic tables and nice shelter from the sun.  There was even room to set up our badminton set and croquet course (is that what you call it, a "course"?)  Finally the day ended with a ride on the train for the little ones.  Here are some of the pictures I got.

Project Update

These are now a couple of weeks old.  I'll post something more up to date soon.

Big lesson from the initial stages of the project:  Jackhammers are even louder than you think they are.

That's A Whole Lot of Kids When We Get Together

As many of you already know, John, Jennifer and the kids are vacating San Diego for the Summer (why not? it's no different really from the Winter) and heading to Hungerford, England for three months where John will be on a work assignment.   During their voyage over, they stopped here for four fun-filled days in northern New Jersey and New York City.  I was absolutely amazed at the schedule they kept (TWO Broadway shows, and more) while still remaining coherent.  We showed them a good time in Mountain Lakes which, while no New York, has its charms.  The kids had a great time together and their ability to entertain one another gave the adults some relief and some time to catch up.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit -- if you look at the pictures here and those on John's blog (linked above and in the margin), you can almost feel like you were there, only without the noise. 

Columbia Triathlon

The weekend of May 19 and 20, I traveled to the Washington, DC area to participate in the 26th annual Columbia Triathlon -- along with 1800 of my closest tri friends!  This is one of the most well-known and popular Olympic Distance triathlons in the U.S.  The course is extremely challenging, and the race draws a deep and competitive field of triathletes from up and down the East Coast and across the country. 

Longtime followers of my triathlon exploits will also know that this race has been the scene of some very tough times for me.  Indeed, of all the triathlons I have done, there have only been two times I have failed to complete the race, both at Columbia.  A few years back, a flat tire took me out before I could even really get started on the bike.  Then there was the year I had to pull out due to hypothermia brought on by wind, rain and temps in the 40s!

This year added another chapter to my book of horrors from this race.  The weather was cool and rainy at the start.  After a very solid swim (out of the water in second place in my age group), disaster struck on the bike.  About 4 miles in, I entered a roundabout and, although I slowed down, it was not enough to stop the wheels of my bike from skidding out from under me.  Next thing I knew, I was on the pavement sliding across the road.  Fortunately, neither bike nor rider were seriously hurt, and after regrouping and checking all equipment, I got back on the bike and forged on.

Although the crash took some of the wind out of my sails, and my bike time certainly was not what I wanted, I managed to put together a solid run, and wound up 4th in my age group (out of about 175) and somewhere around 70th overall.  I also have a nice souveneir in the form of an impressive strawberry and bruise on my left hip.  Race results are here if your interested in the details, and race pictures of me along the course can be found here.