Ocean City 2009

Literally minutes after the Regatta wrapped up (see below), we loaded up the van for our annual expedition to Ocean City. We had a really terrific week. The weather was pretty much perfect all week, with only a little rain toward the end. And mighty Hurricane Bill passed by the East Coast at the optimal distance, such that it did not disturb our weather at all, but did generate some very large surf. The body surfing was some of the best I've ever experienced.

The kids had lots of fun on the beach, of course, but we also made our traditional mini-golf outing, and even added a day at a water park this year.

The photo above shows Stephen heading into the surf on one of the calmer days we had. Lots more pictures here.

Sailing

So our major new activity this Summer was sailing. There is a long tradition in Mountain Lakes of kids learning to sail on the lake. The vessel of choice is the Sunfish. There is an extremely devoted group of men and women in town who organize and run a six-week sailing camp each Summer to teach the kids the ropes. And on Saturday mornings, a guy who grew up in town, but now lives in New York City, comes out to Mountain Lakes to give free racing lessons to any kids who are interested. This year, both Nina and David went to the sailing camp, and had a fantastic time while learning a great deal. Lisa spend a significant amount of time repairing boats -- first our boat, and then several of those belonging to the sailing club.

In late August, David capped off his first year of sailing by competing in the Sailing Association of North Jersey Lakes (SANJL) Sunfish Championship Regatta, right here on our own Mountain Lake. The competition involved five races, and the sailors earned points based on their placing in each race. It was David's first regatta, and he came through with a very impressive second-place finish in the 13-under division.

Here are the sailors lining up for the first race of the day (David is in there somewhere):

All in all, sailing was a great experience for the kids. We will surely be back for more next year . . . although Lisa might look to decrease her boat repair workload somewhat.

This Is Why I Open Windows In The Winter!

It's always nice when science confirms something I've been saying all along. Now excuse me while I go turn down the thermostat.

I'm Back!

After a slight delay due to my encountering a "bump in the road", I've now raced my first two triathlons of the year. The results were encouraging. On July 12, I kicked off my racing season with a second place finish overall at the Randolph Lake Triathlon. This is a great race for me to do because it's only 20 minutes from my front doorstep! Full results are here. Then, two weeks later, I headed down to Princeton, NJ for the New Jersey State Triathlon. I had another great finish on a very warm and humid day -- 8th place overall, and 1st in 40-44! Results here.

All systems seem fully recovered from the accident.

Business, Not Pleasure (Unfortunately)

I recently made a trip on business to the beautiful island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. I have a series of cases pending in the courts there involving some issues at the massive Hovensa refinery, and the court ordered the parties to participate in a mediation process in an attempt to settle one of the cases. I was there for two days and, unfortunately, saw much more of the inside of a law office than I did of the more scenic portions of the island. However, at the end of my first day of work there, I managed to get out the beach just before sunset, and started snapping pictures. My favorite is this one.


If you are ever in St. Croix, I can definitely recommend the Buccanneer Hotel, where I stayed this time around. Very nice rooms, good service, and beautiful beaches.

The good news is that we managed to settle the case at mediation. Perhaps even better news is that it looks like I will be going back in early September for mediation in another set of the cases! It certainly beats where I will be in early August: a chemical plant in Metropolis, Illinois.

Wear Your Helmets, Boys And Girls!

As many followers of State of Nature already know, back at the end of April, I was hit by a car while on a cycling training ride. I was taking a left turn and was broadsided by a driver who ignored a stop sign and pulled onto the road right into me. I was taken from the scene by ambulance to a nearby hospital to learn I had sustained a fractured rib, and to get three stitches above my eye. Fortunately, after about a month, I was mostly recovered, and now am fully back to normal.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my bike. As you can see from the pictures below, the impact of the accident snapped both legs of the fork clean in half.


In addition, the frame had a large crack down one side.


This latter damage rendered the bike beyond repair, and it was totaled. Fortunately, a very reasonable insurance settlement has allowed me to replace the bike.

So the bike has been replaced, and my injuries have healed. But the extent of the damage to bike and person in what was a pretty low-speed accident highlights how much worse it could have been. Be careful out there, and WEAR THAT HELMET!

Not To Make Excuses, But . . .

Okay, I know I have been way behind on the blog . . . very few updates, and when they come, they're a month or more dated. So our schedule for a recent weekend may help explain the blog neglect. Here was our day on May 16:

8:30-10:45 - Stephen lacrosse tournament
11:00-1:00 - Matthew T-Ball

12:00-1:30 - Stephen baseball game
1:30-3:15 - Stephen goes to birthday party
2:00-4:30 - David rec baseball game (extra innings!)
4:45-5:15 - David travel baseball batting practice
7:00-9:00 - David travel baseball away game

This was an extreme case, but actually somewhat representative of our weekends over the last month or two.