Tri A Threesome

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter - that's try a threesome as in swim, bike, run. I saw this on a t-shirt last weekend during Curt's first half Ironman competition in Clermont, FL just outside of Orlando. We stayed in a cabin at Lake Louisa State Park with friends, Diana and Marc, as Marc was competing in the same race. Curt's parents were on their way home from a trek across the country in their new motor home and were on hand for the weekend's events also.

We settled in the cabin on Friday which was complete with two bedrooms and two full baths. It is perfect for couples plus there is a sleeper sofa for two in the living room. There's a fireplace in the corner but someone's blocking the view! ;) We had a beautiful view of the lake with two single rockers and a double rocker on the screened porch.

But wait...what's this? Ding Dongs???? Geez, who can't leave home without these? All the comforts of home, really...

We all went out to dinner Friday night at a little place in Kissimmee called Bruno's. The guys always enjoy a little carb feast the night before a race and Italian food seems to fit the bill. While we were there, a man overheard us talking about Southpark and soon delivered a Kenny balloon to our table. It was too cool. We watched as the balloon man worked the crowd and made creations for other patrons. Kenny turned out to be a great marker in the transition area. Marc and Curt had no trouble finding their bikes with Kenny tied to the rack. Btw, nobody killed Kenny while we were there. He is dead now, however. Just ran out of air, I tell ya. Poor little guy.

Race day was Saturday morning and it was miserable. It was so cold that wetsuits were legal and it was raining so hard that I didn't bring my camera or cell phone with me. We actually missed the guys getting into the water but we were there when they finished their swims. I didn't get any pictures of that but later retrieved my camera and got a few of the guys running and biking. It was a 1.2 mile swim, a 58 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. Curt's goal was to finish in just a little under six hours and that's exactly what he did. It's hard to see from this picture of the lake but they had to run around the entire lake.

The next picture is Marc getting ready to dismount and you can tell because he's barefoot. My camera doesn't take action shots very well since it's only a point and shoot. Diana, on the other hand, has a very nice camera as you can see in the picture with the Ding Dongs. So it's worth checking out her race recap for more pictures as well as Marc's blog.

I like this particular picture of Curt running because his eyes are closed. More proof that this is something he does so much that he could do it in his sleep!

The Reel Story

Billy S flew to FL to celebrate his 50th birthday. And what did he want to do for his birthday? He wanted to go fishing, of course. So I found a bass fishing guide, Jay Turner, near Kissimmee, FL. We spent the night before our trip in Kissimmee since we had to meet Jay at 6:45am. That's right, 6:45 in the morning - OMG! I haven't seen the sun rise in a loooooonnnnngggggg time but it was definitely worth it when you look at the picture. The next picture, taken with my brother's camera, shows a silhouette of me on the dock. I thought it was a pretty cool picture.

The sun finally came up and we got down to business with the help of our Fish Whisperer, Jay. I swear, if there was a lull in the action, Jay would summon more fish by calling for them to bite. First of all, we were very fortunate to be fishing on a private lake called Hinden Lake in Narcoosee, FL just outside of St Cloud, FL. I didn't see another boat on the water all morning except for someone water skiing and we were out there from about 7 to 1:30 or about 6-1/2 hours. In other words, we were competing with NO ONE for the fish which was just awesome. We began by taking pictures of every single fish we caught but after catching about 20 fish we had to stop. It was taking time away from our fishing! We initially went out with 4 dozen shiners but had to go back into town for 2 more dozen. We're pretty sure we caught between 30-35 fish and that's a conservative estimate. Most of them were large-mouth bass but we also hooked a few gar, pickerel, and a soft-shelled tortoise. All of them were released.

Yours truly with her big catch. BTW, size does matter! ;) And, last but not least, my brother's "Kiss my Bass" shot!

Billy described the day as one of his best days ever. That's exactly how I felt on my 50th birthday when I was joined by family and friends for a canoe trip down the Hillsborough River. Happy Birthday, Bro!

And, oh my gosh, I almost forgot!! My brother spent at least three hours detailing my car the night before he left. I couldn't help but think it was how I feel everytime I get my hair done and that is that it's never going to look like this again!

The Monkey and the Penguin

Ok, ok, ok, I'll get to my posts on the bass fishing trip I took with my brother last week and Curt's half Ironman this weekend but in the meantime, here's a filler. Best. Costumes.Ever. Donna made these costumes for the boys in 1986 - wow!!!! Joe's the monkey and Tom's the penguin. Cutest.Kids.Ever. I can't even think of any costumes I wore when I was kid. How about you guys? Happy Halloween...