I have no idea what came over me, but I have taken up running. Not some piddly "I'm gonna go out and run a mile today because I am bored crap," but for real, like I want to be able to actually run a full race kinda run. I can't quite run a whole race straight, and I despise hills, but I am getting out there, and improving my time a little.
So far?
9/12/09: Hog Jog (my first 5k) and I finished in 41:08. Pretty much at the back of the pack. I later found out that the course was incredibly hard (lots of HILLS throughout), but hey, I finished.
9/26/09: Hit the Brixx. I randomly registered for this. I think out of sheer boredom from running in the neighborhood and the draw of free pizza (eh, not the best) and beer (Yummy Carolina Blond Pumpkin). I can tell you, life's not too tough when you have just run/walked 3.1 miles, had some pizza, and a large cup 'o beer, all before 10am. Took a nice long nap after that one. Course wasn't as bad as I had heard, but the run back up 7th was not all that fun (steady, long uphill battle). Time? 40:24 (hey, small improvements, right?)
Coming up? This is where it gets a little crazy. I started registering left and right. Yes, I know that these things cost money, but that's ok.
10/3/09: Susan G. Komen Race for the cure. Heard the crowds impeded on running time. I am looking at this as a save the boobies run more than improve my time run. I plan on running with the camera, so I should get some great shots of Charlotte, the crowds, and most importantly, the true heroes - the survivors.
10/17/09: LungStrong 5k. Jim's dad will be here that day for the NASCAR race, so I figured I need to escape the craziness that is Speedway (err Bruton Smith) Blvd and head up to Cornelius for a good cause.
10/25/09: Capital Region Special Surgery Race for Hope. Yep, you heard me. Heading up to good, old smAlbany for this race. Oh and to see my family! Looking forward to a cooooold run!
10/31/09: My pre-Halloween going out run. I am SO looking forward to this one. It's the Runway 5k...yes, on a runway. First, no HILLS! Second, how cool is it to run on a runway? With planes?? Jim will be sure to get some good shots.
11/7/09: Dowd YMCA 5k. I really don't know much about this one. I needed a race in November, and when I registered, this is all I could find for November at the time. But its good practice for the big one (haha) in November.
So, I still need to register for:
11/21/09: Either the Lake Normal Jingle Jog or the Santa Scramble. Not sure which one yet. I like the thought of the SS because it starts off the holiday parade. We will see, I have until the end of Oct. to decide.
11/26/09: Yes, Thanksgiving!! Time for the Turkey Trot 8k. Eek, yeah, its only a little under 2 miles further, but that's pretty huge for me. As the days go by, though, I am more convinced that I want to do it. Plus, then the guilt of Turkey Day indulgence can GO AWAY!
And rounding out 2009 (maybe??)
12/12/09: Charlotte's Thunder Road Jingle Jog. Not the marathon, or the half. We're talking 5k. With Jingles on your shoes. Fun.
My first 5k was supposed to be the Komen this weekend. I have done 2. My second was supposed to be in March of 2010. I have 7 scheduled. So, yeah...I've been motivated.
Coming up in March is the Disney Princess 5k. Yes, Disney. As in Florida. SO excited.
Now, if I could only motivate myself to finish writing the cruise review!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 28: Can someone direct me to the nearest bank?
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Today we woke up to a gorgeous day and the room service server pounding out the door. I had decided that rather than the obnoxious wake up phone call, I would go with coffee, croissants and bananas. Good thing, since I was kind of sick the night before. I guess the wind rocked the boat enough that it had an effect on me. Note to self: Dramamine at night. I had woken up in the middle of the night and managed to hold down a Dramamine (finally!!) I didn’t get the best sleep, but I was excited about the day. After my small meal, I began to feel better, so we lugged ourselves and our stuff up 3 flights of stairs to Lido (we had made a pact to use stairs as much as possible!) for a light breakfast.
Grand Cayman is a tender port, and we were told to meet at Deck A mid. Well, no one tells you that you have to take the stairs, or else you just end up having to climb to Rivera and get in line. Luckily, since we do stairs, we found this out. Although the line looks long, it moves fast, and the dock is not too far off from the tender stop.
I was a little worried about my stomach and the whole tender process, but all was well. We were rocking a little but I felt nothing, and we were on a small tender. I did take a Dramamine again this morning since our whole excursion was on a boat…but I was fine.
So we got on the tender and I was able to get some shots of some of the ships we shared port with today.
Valor:
Liberty:
Legend:
I love this shot of the pirate ship coming near the Legend. Are they going to try to take over?!?!?
I was really disappointed with Grand Cayman to be honest. Maybe Jim and I were spoiled by the beauty of Jamaica, with its mountains and terrain, but GC was just – flat! Oh well. We made the best of it and checked out the shops – tasting Rum Cake and Rum Cream at the many liquor stores. We avoided, at all costs, the many many many jewelry stores. We also saw a lot of banks!
We had scheduled our excursion with Captain Marvin’s. We decided to venture out and find the shop before looking around. The directions that they provide are ok, and after accidentally going to the next pier over, we found it and paid for our tour – Stingray City, Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef.
We then decided to take a look around some more. First, we learned a little about Big Black Dick.
Then we went to a coffee shop to get some caffeine in our bodies. Coming out of the shop, we saw chickens. Jim was quite excited.
We decided to go down to the water and just relax a little. Here we caught a glimpse of Disney (Magic? Wonder? I don’t know).
About 10 minutes before departure we headed back to Capt. Marvin’s shop to get situated.
We hopped on the bus and headed out. I was pretty used to the crazy driving and the “wrong” side of the road thing from Jamaica, so I just sat back and enjoyed learning a little about GC.
Once we reached Capt. Marvin’s house, we were taken to our boat and introduced to our crew. Yes, Capt. Marvin is a real person. I think he’s something like 95 and was waiving to us from his porch. His business is run right out of his house. We also had a photographer with us, who took pictures of us with the rays, processed the photos on the boat and we had photos at the end of the tour (additional money).
Exiting the causeway, we had to go slow – I had no idea that iguanas can swim!!!
Our first stop was Coral Gardens. Snorkeling here was nice. The water was a bit choppy and we ended up drinking a lot of saltwater and expending a good amount of energy. We stayed out for about 20 minutes and then got back on the boat to rest and get the salt water taste out of our mouths.
Next, we were supposed to go over to Stingray City, but it was quite busy so our guides drive us over to the barrier reef for our next snorkeling trip. Since Coral Gardens and the Barrier reef are only about a 5 minute boat ride apart, I didn’t really feel like we had enough time to relax and reenergize before hitting the water again. Before we headed in, our guide gave us a briefing on where to swim and not to swim, and said those dreaded words – “fire coral.” Ugh…this made me stay just a little father away from the coral than I wanted to, but oh well. I tried to stick by the guide here because he was diving around and showing people things. He pointed out various fish and a lobster (mmmmmm), and then coaxed a stingray (missing its sting) over to us to see. By far, this spot was better than Coral Gardens.
Lastly, we headed over to SC. It was still pretty busy but we were able to back into a spot. I was just amazed at the beauty of this spot!! You have all of this darker blue water around you and then – green and clear and just perfect. Even if you did not get off the boat, you could see the rays right in the water. It was nice here, too, that the water was not too deep. I was pretty tired from snorkeling and did not want to swim anymore.
We hung around SC for maybe 45 minutes. Our guide placed a bucket in the water with whole squid and we were free to feed the rays at will. Such a weird feeling!! They have no teeth so they just suck it out of your hand! They are also really cool feeling – rough on top, really really soft on the bottom. They also really like to rub against you. I was really pretty disappointed in the treatment of the stingrays, honestly. On of the rays that came up to me had a huge gash on top, with fresh blood coming out of it. I asked the guide about this and he said there must have been an accident. I saw other rays with scabs on their backs as well. I am thinking that really, its from the boats backing into SC in the shallow waters and not paying attention to the rays, running them over with the rudders. I can’t be sure, but that’s my opinion. Sad.
Here, we were asked in our own groups to come over to our guide and photographer. The guide helped us hold the ray and then we were able to each kiss it.
When we were chilly and tired, we got back on the boat to dry off and sun.
I was starting to get a little worried about time here because I knew it would take at least 30 minutes to get back to Capt. Marvin’s house and then additional driving time – and the photog was asking the guides to drive slow so she could process all the photos (and make her money!!!). The guides were also letting the younger kids drive (holy crap –scary – one of them kept driving towards the path of another boat!!!)
Well, we finally made it back to the causeway, and we pulled through a “driveway” to get a better look at more iguanas. They were everywhere!
We made it back to Capt. Marvin’s and hopped back onto the bus for a leisurely trip back to port (for some, for me I was still worried).
We got back, said our thank-yous and walked towards our tender area. You could tell how much larger Valor is by the number of people in like to tender back to her. I was worried that was our line, but thankfully I asked. We made it over to the Legend line, and by now, we were overly hot, slightly sunburned (we applied and re-applied!!) and hungry (we had not eaten all day and forgot to bring a snack). Jim ran to try and get us some ice cream but the guy was out (booo) so he went to the liquor store and got us a few Rum Cake samples and a soda. This barely held me over, but tendering went fast since we had a large tender back.
As soon as we set foot on ship we hightailed it to Lido to grab a snack (mmmm 5pm Sushi!!!). Tonight we had a later dinner since we were dining in the supper club. We were able to take our time getting ready and headed to the casino for some donation time. Here was where the magic and excitement happened! Jim and I were slowly becoming addicted to the “pusher machine.” Hours ‘o fun, very little money. Well, we popped quarters in and the stack of $50 in 1’s kept moving closer and closer. Well, it was teetering on the edge and finally….it dropped!! Big winners!!
Jim and I took our large winnings (and quickly spent them) up to the best dinner we wound have on the ship. First, the supper club is not a quick meal (it states that in every day’s capers – 2-2 ½ hours!!). Second, it is $30.00 per person and well worth it! We had a team of servers take care of us and they were more than attentive.
We started with an Amuse-bouche, both of which were fantastic (yes I ate both!) Next, I had the Lobster Bisque while Jim had the Beef Carpaccio. I went into dinner knowing that Jim would really only like the salad, entrée and dessert, and really – that’s all you need!! But I really enjoyed my soup – it was amazing. Jims beef was delicious as well. Very very fresh.
Next, Jim had a garden salad while I had the Caesar salad, prepared tableside. Much better than what is served on Lido or in the dining room (although those are not bad).
During the salad course, we were treated to an amazing sky. We also saw the Captian jogging (eek who is driving the boat?!?!)
Next came entrées. Prior to ordering, a cart was wheeled out showing the cuts of beef and Lobster tail. I had never seen a tail that large! So what am I to do? Order the Lobster tail, or course! Jim ordered the 24 oz. Porterhouse with baked potato. We shared creamed spinach. The entrées were amazing. Unlike in the MDR, these meals are prepared and cooked to order, so hence the long dining time.
And for dessert – Jim had a mango cheesecake while I had a sampler of different chocolate tarts and mousses. Everything was SO good and filling.
After dinner, we headed to the Follies to watch the Unbelievable Lubo followed by Ronnie Bullard. I didn’t think that Lubo would be great, but geez, that guy can balance a lot of stuff on a rocky boat!! He was actually very good. Ronnie was also pretty funny. We thought about attending the late adult-only show but decided against it and headed, instead, to the casino for a little slot fun (Jim might have been playing BJ…) and then went to bed.
Tonight’s friend:
Lazy…dog??? Again?? We thought this might be a bunny too.
A few words about GC. We were SO excited about this port. We knew in many cases that it does get missed if weather is bad. Other than SC, we could have missed this port and not been sad. I was kind of disappointed, really. The highlight was Stingray City. I have done better snorkeling in Jamaica, right off the shore. I think if we ever make it back to GC, it will be a beach day.
Up next….Cozumel, Mx!!
Today we woke up to a gorgeous day and the room service server pounding out the door. I had decided that rather than the obnoxious wake up phone call, I would go with coffee, croissants and bananas. Good thing, since I was kind of sick the night before. I guess the wind rocked the boat enough that it had an effect on me. Note to self: Dramamine at night. I had woken up in the middle of the night and managed to hold down a Dramamine (finally!!) I didn’t get the best sleep, but I was excited about the day. After my small meal, I began to feel better, so we lugged ourselves and our stuff up 3 flights of stairs to Lido (we had made a pact to use stairs as much as possible!) for a light breakfast.
Grand Cayman is a tender port, and we were told to meet at Deck A mid. Well, no one tells you that you have to take the stairs, or else you just end up having to climb to Rivera and get in line. Luckily, since we do stairs, we found this out. Although the line looks long, it moves fast, and the dock is not too far off from the tender stop.
I was a little worried about my stomach and the whole tender process, but all was well. We were rocking a little but I felt nothing, and we were on a small tender. I did take a Dramamine again this morning since our whole excursion was on a boat…but I was fine.
So we got on the tender and I was able to get some shots of some of the ships we shared port with today.
Valor:
Liberty:
Legend:
I love this shot of the pirate ship coming near the Legend. Are they going to try to take over?!?!?
I was really disappointed with Grand Cayman to be honest. Maybe Jim and I were spoiled by the beauty of Jamaica, with its mountains and terrain, but GC was just – flat! Oh well. We made the best of it and checked out the shops – tasting Rum Cake and Rum Cream at the many liquor stores. We avoided, at all costs, the many many many jewelry stores. We also saw a lot of banks!
We had scheduled our excursion with Captain Marvin’s. We decided to venture out and find the shop before looking around. The directions that they provide are ok, and after accidentally going to the next pier over, we found it and paid for our tour – Stingray City, Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef.
We then decided to take a look around some more. First, we learned a little about Big Black Dick.
Then we went to a coffee shop to get some caffeine in our bodies. Coming out of the shop, we saw chickens. Jim was quite excited.
We decided to go down to the water and just relax a little. Here we caught a glimpse of Disney (Magic? Wonder? I don’t know).
About 10 minutes before departure we headed back to Capt. Marvin’s shop to get situated.
We hopped on the bus and headed out. I was pretty used to the crazy driving and the “wrong” side of the road thing from Jamaica, so I just sat back and enjoyed learning a little about GC.
Once we reached Capt. Marvin’s house, we were taken to our boat and introduced to our crew. Yes, Capt. Marvin is a real person. I think he’s something like 95 and was waiving to us from his porch. His business is run right out of his house. We also had a photographer with us, who took pictures of us with the rays, processed the photos on the boat and we had photos at the end of the tour (additional money).
Exiting the causeway, we had to go slow – I had no idea that iguanas can swim!!!
Our first stop was Coral Gardens. Snorkeling here was nice. The water was a bit choppy and we ended up drinking a lot of saltwater and expending a good amount of energy. We stayed out for about 20 minutes and then got back on the boat to rest and get the salt water taste out of our mouths.
Next, we were supposed to go over to Stingray City, but it was quite busy so our guides drive us over to the barrier reef for our next snorkeling trip. Since Coral Gardens and the Barrier reef are only about a 5 minute boat ride apart, I didn’t really feel like we had enough time to relax and reenergize before hitting the water again. Before we headed in, our guide gave us a briefing on where to swim and not to swim, and said those dreaded words – “fire coral.” Ugh…this made me stay just a little father away from the coral than I wanted to, but oh well. I tried to stick by the guide here because he was diving around and showing people things. He pointed out various fish and a lobster (mmmmmm), and then coaxed a stingray (missing its sting) over to us to see. By far, this spot was better than Coral Gardens.
Lastly, we headed over to SC. It was still pretty busy but we were able to back into a spot. I was just amazed at the beauty of this spot!! You have all of this darker blue water around you and then – green and clear and just perfect. Even if you did not get off the boat, you could see the rays right in the water. It was nice here, too, that the water was not too deep. I was pretty tired from snorkeling and did not want to swim anymore.
We hung around SC for maybe 45 minutes. Our guide placed a bucket in the water with whole squid and we were free to feed the rays at will. Such a weird feeling!! They have no teeth so they just suck it out of your hand! They are also really cool feeling – rough on top, really really soft on the bottom. They also really like to rub against you. I was really pretty disappointed in the treatment of the stingrays, honestly. On of the rays that came up to me had a huge gash on top, with fresh blood coming out of it. I asked the guide about this and he said there must have been an accident. I saw other rays with scabs on their backs as well. I am thinking that really, its from the boats backing into SC in the shallow waters and not paying attention to the rays, running them over with the rudders. I can’t be sure, but that’s my opinion. Sad.
Here, we were asked in our own groups to come over to our guide and photographer. The guide helped us hold the ray and then we were able to each kiss it.
When we were chilly and tired, we got back on the boat to dry off and sun.
I was starting to get a little worried about time here because I knew it would take at least 30 minutes to get back to Capt. Marvin’s house and then additional driving time – and the photog was asking the guides to drive slow so she could process all the photos (and make her money!!!). The guides were also letting the younger kids drive (holy crap –scary – one of them kept driving towards the path of another boat!!!)
Well, we finally made it back to the causeway, and we pulled through a “driveway” to get a better look at more iguanas. They were everywhere!
We made it back to Capt. Marvin’s and hopped back onto the bus for a leisurely trip back to port (for some, for me I was still worried).
We got back, said our thank-yous and walked towards our tender area. You could tell how much larger Valor is by the number of people in like to tender back to her. I was worried that was our line, but thankfully I asked. We made it over to the Legend line, and by now, we were overly hot, slightly sunburned (we applied and re-applied!!) and hungry (we had not eaten all day and forgot to bring a snack). Jim ran to try and get us some ice cream but the guy was out (booo) so he went to the liquor store and got us a few Rum Cake samples and a soda. This barely held me over, but tendering went fast since we had a large tender back.
As soon as we set foot on ship we hightailed it to Lido to grab a snack (mmmm 5pm Sushi!!!). Tonight we had a later dinner since we were dining in the supper club. We were able to take our time getting ready and headed to the casino for some donation time. Here was where the magic and excitement happened! Jim and I were slowly becoming addicted to the “pusher machine.” Hours ‘o fun, very little money. Well, we popped quarters in and the stack of $50 in 1’s kept moving closer and closer. Well, it was teetering on the edge and finally….it dropped!! Big winners!!
Jim and I took our large winnings (and quickly spent them) up to the best dinner we wound have on the ship. First, the supper club is not a quick meal (it states that in every day’s capers – 2-2 ½ hours!!). Second, it is $30.00 per person and well worth it! We had a team of servers take care of us and they were more than attentive.
We started with an Amuse-bouche, both of which were fantastic (yes I ate both!) Next, I had the Lobster Bisque while Jim had the Beef Carpaccio. I went into dinner knowing that Jim would really only like the salad, entrée and dessert, and really – that’s all you need!! But I really enjoyed my soup – it was amazing. Jims beef was delicious as well. Very very fresh.
Next, Jim had a garden salad while I had the Caesar salad, prepared tableside. Much better than what is served on Lido or in the dining room (although those are not bad).
During the salad course, we were treated to an amazing sky. We also saw the Captian jogging (eek who is driving the boat?!?!)
Next came entrées. Prior to ordering, a cart was wheeled out showing the cuts of beef and Lobster tail. I had never seen a tail that large! So what am I to do? Order the Lobster tail, or course! Jim ordered the 24 oz. Porterhouse with baked potato. We shared creamed spinach. The entrées were amazing. Unlike in the MDR, these meals are prepared and cooked to order, so hence the long dining time.
And for dessert – Jim had a mango cheesecake while I had a sampler of different chocolate tarts and mousses. Everything was SO good and filling.
After dinner, we headed to the Follies to watch the Unbelievable Lubo followed by Ronnie Bullard. I didn’t think that Lubo would be great, but geez, that guy can balance a lot of stuff on a rocky boat!! He was actually very good. Ronnie was also pretty funny. We thought about attending the late adult-only show but decided against it and headed, instead, to the casino for a little slot fun (Jim might have been playing BJ…) and then went to bed.
Tonight’s friend:
Lazy…dog??? Again?? We thought this might be a bunny too.
A few words about GC. We were SO excited about this port. We knew in many cases that it does get missed if weather is bad. Other than SC, we could have missed this port and not been sad. I was kind of disappointed, really. The highlight was Stingray City. I have done better snorkeling in Jamaica, right off the shore. I think if we ever make it back to GC, it will be a beach day.
Up next….Cozumel, Mx!!
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