Cape Carteret Vacation, Day 3

Day 3 was very relaxed--I spent the afternoon at the beach, reading The Language of God by Francis Collins.

The one big highlight was Herman getting his bath that morning...


Love that dog...

Cape Carteret Vacation, Day 2

Day 2 was a day of exercise.  I was still sore from the marathon, so I wanted to walk around and see some of the goings on at the beach.  We drove down to the Emerald Isle beach and took a walk out on the peer.



The 'spot' were running.  No being a fisherman, I didn't know exactly what this means, but I found out later that spot are little bluegill-like fish that school in the thousands.  They run the gauntlet between the ICW and the ocean at certain times of year, and the fisherman line up boat after boat to pull them from the water as fast as they can put their lines in.  It was fun to go up to a random person and ask, "Are the spot runnin'?" and have a conversation like I know what I'm talking about, though!


While we were there, we saw someone catch this black drum...at least that's what they said it was.


From the lookout station above the end of the peer...




The water was so clear and still you could see amazingly deep.  I think this is a skate, but we weren't sure.


I've never been a fisherman, but I admire the determination.  It was fun to be around when something was on someone's line; everyone seemed to get excited and root for one another.  I guess I wasn't expecting it, but it was cool to see.

Cape Carteret Vacation, Day 1

We hit the ground running on day 1 with a quick trip to Harker's Island and (hopefully) Cape Lookout lighthouse. My aunt Sharry and I had tried this trip last year, but the water was too rough and the ferries weren't running. It was my one "must do" item on the vacation list.

The weather was amazing, so we stopped in Beaufort to walk around and check out all the big boats.




Next, we grabbed a burger at the Royal James' Cafe downtown.




I sneaked a few pictures of its unique ambiance with my phone ...




When we got to Harker's Island, we bought our tickets to the Calico Jack's Ferry and sat down to enjoy the great weather. This momma dog was kind enough to let me pass the time giving her head a scratch.


The captain of the ferry got us going...


...while Momma Dog kept watch. Notice how her ears are blown back by the wind.


The ferry captain wasn't sure the Shackleford horses would be out since the tide was high, but we saw several. These are wild horses that have lived on the Shackleford banks for generations. Contrary to popular belief, no one *really* knows where they came from. But during hurricanes and violent weather, the older horses form a circle around the younger ones like a wagon train and protect them from the strong winds. Amazing.




And despite efforts to control the population with birth control...well...nothing is 100% effective. This little guy is only a few months old.


After a few minutes watching the horses, we turned south and continued on to the Cape Lookout lighthouse. The diamond pattern is unique to Cape Lookout (other lighthouses have spirals, stripes, etc.), and since the white diamonds face West-East and the black diamonds face North-South, an approaching captain can easily get his bearing during the day. (At night, the various lighthouses each have their own period for their blinking light, helping identify them from one another.)


We spent the rest of our time there walking on the beach. I got to put my Hobbit feet in the ocean for the first time this trip.




In all it was a great first day!

Thanks, Columbus!

Today I finished the Columbus Marathon in 3:43:13, a personal best in my third (and probably last) marathon.

I was originally going to run Chicago last weekend, but it filled up before I got around to registering. Now I'm glad it did, because I was really impressed with how well Columbus was organized.

There were a bunch of aid/water stations, and the volunteers were amazing--cheering and encouraging everyone. The organizers printed runners' first names on the bib above the number, and it made a big difference; it's always cool to hear perfect strangers cheer you on by name!

At the finish, there was a lot of great food (and FREE MASSAGES...see earlier post), and I had two volunteers come up to me out of the blue to offer to help--one was making sure I was OK and lead me to the massage table and one let me into the finish area (where I took this picture) to cheer and wait for my friends to finish. It was really impressive how they could be so servant-oriented with 15,000 people in need.

Thanks again, Columbus, for enabling me to end my marathon career on a high note.

God Bless 'Em!

These massage therapy students were giving FREE MASSAGES to anyone needing one after the race! What an amazing service!

The Pre-Run Expo Experience

Before every race I've ever done they've organized a pre-race expo where all sorts of vendors, service providers, and race organizers show off their stuff. Often some local youth group also offers a pasta dinner as a fund raiser.

Imagine any product a runner would want and it's at the expo: clothes, shoes, misc accessories (headbands, cold weather gear, gels, drinks, lubricants..), vitamins, massage therapists, chiropractors, and loads of other race representatives giving away free entries and keychains or magnets promoting their upcoming event. (It works, by the way--I've run in more than one race I'd not heard of until some expo somewhere...) I've even seen car manufacterers showing off and giving away a new model.

It's neat to see all experience levels come together, get some free stuff, and get jazzed for the race. It's also where I begin to get nervous a bit and begin visualizing a successful race.

Here we go...

Quarantined

Slight change in plans...

My running buddy and host Brian came down with something pretty nasty this morning, so for safety-sake I'm staying in a hotel for the weekend and taking extreme measures to stay healthy--soaking everything in the room in Lysol and chugging OJ. It's for the best, I guess...he needs to get lots of rest, and I need to not take the flu to my aunt in North Carolina this week.

I know it's all in my head, but my throat is starting to tingle a bit...

Please pray for health and recovery for all involved.

Vacation Begins!

For my first official meal of vacation, I punched "sport bar" into my Google maps app, hoping to find a place in Columbus to catch the baseball playoffs and grab a burger. I think the motorcycles in front of the place should have tipped me off that this was more 'bar' than 'sports'.

I paid $8 for a pizza sub and drink while listening to the guy next to me complaining about having too may kids and a wife that complains that he spends too much time at the bar...go figure. The sandwich wasn't half bad, but I didn't get to see any baseball.