The Maine Trip

7 days in Maine is exactly what we needed... what a relaxing vacation! On Saturday, we were up and out the door at 4am to drive the 19 hours in my Honda, taking turns sleeping and driving straight through. Our beautiful cabin on Echo Lake had 2 kayaks for our use and was very secluded. Day 1, Sunday - We drove around Bar Harbor, which was about 15 minutes from the cabin, getting out bearings and taking tons of great pics with our new, fancy camera. We got our Acadia National Park pass and drove the loop road. We hiked down to the water, taking in the landscaping and amazing views. We ate lobster and crab rolls and did a little shopping.
Our cabin
Day 2, Monday - Keith fished from the kayak after our *brisk* morning run. It was 45 degrees in the morning and 61 in the afternoons. We took a 12 mile bike ride on the carriage roads in the park, completing the Around Mountain loop which was up a mountain, not around. We stopped half way through our ride at the Jordan Pond House for their famed popovers and high tea on the lawn. It was one of the highlights for me! For dinner, we tried a small place our neighbors suggested and were not disappointed. We ate a lot of chowder (pronounced chow-dah) in Maine. Blueberries are also their big thing, so I had lots of blueberry themed desserts. yummy!
Day 3, Tuesday - Keith fished in the morning, but to no avail. We went to see the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, taking tons of pics and hiking to a secluded spot to eat our lunch. We watched boats collect lobster traps and Keith found an old one that had been washed up onto the rocks.


Day 4, Wednesday - More fishing for Keith with nothing to report. We biked a different 12 mile section of the carriage roads, which were much less mountainous and very scenic. We ate lunch on the trail around Eagle Lake. It was a fast, chilly ride!! We drove up to Cadillac Mountain and hiked down quite a way to take some scenic pics. It was just beautiful looking down into Bar Harbor and seeing all the boats. For dinner, we went to one of the lobster pounds and had fresh seafood.

Day 5, Thursday - This was our best outing yet! We went sea kayaking with a guide service and had an awesome experience!! All the kayaks were tandem, so Keith and I were in a kayak together. It was an ecological tour so we learned a lot about the wildlife and plants on the 4 hour trip. We saw a lot of seals both in the water and sunning themselves, picked up a few sea urchins and saw a ton of birds dropping clams on the rocks to break them open for food. The water was choppy at times, but very calm and eerily quiet at others. It was the coolest thing I have ever done!

Dinner was at another lobster pound, but this time I selected a whole lobster from the tank ($19 fresh - what a deal) and Keith had fresh clams. This is where the trip turned bad for me. I ate the lobster claws, but after Keith broke open the body and tore off the tail, it was all over for me. I did not enjoy watching that and it made me nausceous to even think about eating any more of it. I can absolutely see why people become vegetarian. It was too cruel for me.
Day 6, Friday - Our last day on the island. It was bittersweet. We had breakfast in a quaint little cafe, eating homemade granola, yogurt and fruit. We went on our last 12 mile bike ride, covering a total of 36 of the 47 miles available for riding. Biking is the greatest way to see parts of the park you can not explore from the comfort of a car. I would recommend it over any of the hikes you can do there. We had specatular views and the effort was worth every low gear minute.

We stopped for pictures in Soamesville and checked out a little bookstore, but they did not have any autographed Stephen King books. I will own one some day! We had reservations at the same place we ate lunch and it was wonderful. Fantastic wine, a hummus appetizer, delicious dinners and a flourless cholocate cake for me - it was the best dessert I have EVER had. Mind blowing!
Day 7, Saturday- We were up, out of the cabin and on the road at 5am. The drive back was dreary, as Tropical Storm Kyle was just starting to come into the region. 20 hours later, we were safely home in Indiana and Eldon has never been happier to see us. Sleeping in my own bed never felt so good.

Its Life Changing

My sister is so smart! She recommended I check out GoogleReader to organize all the blogs I read on a regular basis and it has been life changing! Seriously. You log in the same way you do for your blogger or google account and start adding subscriptions (web addresses) for the blogs you read...and its free. It lists them all on the left side in blue and if they have something new that you haven't read, it lists it in the middle with a teaser paragraph about the post. You can read every new post in one spot. WOW! If you want to leave a comment or just go the page to blog stalk their friends, you can do that from the middle section as well. GoogleReader also gives recommendations on other blogs it thinks you may like based on what you are already reading, and show you in the green box on the right. Pretty nifty software! It has really helped streamline my online blog time and make me more efficient. Check it out!

Reflection on the Trail

The DINO trail run fall series started Saturday with a 15K at Town Run Trail. I've been there a lot in the last month! The trail was a soggy, slippery mess from the rain on Friday, and since I started out way too fast, by legs were tired by mile 2. After I found my pace, I settled in for the next 7 miles on the trail I feel so comfortable on. It was humid in the trees, breezy on the prairie and sunny all around. What a great day for a run! I finished in 1:24:51, 8 seconds behind the girl I was trying to chase down and 3rd in my age group. The medals this year are wooden with an engraved metal plate that has the logo and the age group place. I love that they do something different every year.

9 miles is a long way to run, especially when there is no one around for most of it. I ran in solitude for at least half of the run but it gave me time to sort my thoughts and reflect on how much I enjoy running, life and my place in the grand scheme of things. It is always an experience to come off the trail, exhaused and happy at the same time.

Afterwards, Keith and I drove to Lafayette to attend the Purdue vs Oregon football game. Even though they lost, we had a great time, wonderful seats and perfect viewing weather. We had a beer at Harry's bar and visited with our friend Layne, who tends bar there. It was a late night and I was exhausted from all the activity, but it was a memorable day.

An OM weekend

Keith and I attended a couples yoga class at Pathways to Wellness Friday night. It was interesting. I went in expecting to get into some crazy, difficult poses, having Keith support me and keep me from slamming my face into the floor. Eric, the teacher, mentioned that in past couples classes, he had incorporated some Cirque du Soleil type moves, but in this class, his wife suggested more of a relationship bonding/deep relaxation theme. Oooookkkaaaayyy. I was pleasently suprised at how much we enjoyed the class! It was mind numbingly relaxing and really set the tone for a great weekend for us. The best part was that at the end of class, we all hung out on our yoga mats eating cheese, crackers and grapes, and sipping wine in Om bliss.

Saturday I got a few seperate runs in and attended an adventure race with a friend, hanging out and chatting while we waited on them to finish. Her husband is as fit as they come and his team did really well considering they had been racing from 4am to 1:30pm. Adventure racing combines mountain biking, canoeing, hiking/trail running and rock wall climbing, finishing with a zip line through the trees. Phew! We cheered our lungs out and made complete fools of ourselves when they came in on the bikes, exhausted but happy to be done. It REALLY makes Keith and I want to participate in one too!

Sunday, after attending early mass, Keith went to the gun range and I caught up on some casual reading. I love my alone time, getting absorbed in a good book. Does it get any better than that? After lunch, we headed out to Town Run Trail Park, where I had my melt down last weekend (see previous post about this). This time, I did it my way. Keith went mountain biking on the trail, while I ran. There were not too many people biking, but it kept me on my toes, having to watch for bikers so I didnt get trampled from behind. I LOVE running this 7 mile trail!! I love going from woods with a river view to prairie flatlands, sandy fast curves to quad thrashing hills, and dodging obsticles and bikers all in one run. I was completely lost in my thoughts, listening to the silence of the trees and falling in love with running all over again. This coming weekend is the first 15K Dino Trail run of the fall sub-series, at Town Run no less... I can't wait to get back to the trail races and kick some butt!

(Oh yeah, after Town Run, we went to watch the Colts get crushed by the Bears... talk about a great weekend!!)

Game on!

Monday, Keith, Jamie and I participated in the Ripple Run 4 mile race. It was a night race, beginning at 7pm, and very hilly. Who knew Broad Ripple was so hilly? soon as the race started, I lost my favorite headband and should have known it would not be my finest race. Jamie and I started out at about a 7:30 pace, but it felt good, so we continued. Keith was a little behind us, but he looked like he was keeping a good pace.
As you can see in the pic, he was doing the 'Robot' during the run - always the comedian. So, as we chatted up the hills, catching up and laughing, here comes Keith to join the conversation. For about 1 minute. Then he was gone. I enjoy the view behind him, so I wasn't too worried. You see, Keith has never run a race longer than 3.1 miles, so I was sure he would over do it and we would catch and beat him. Um... that didn't really happen. He was GONE! I never caught another glimpse of him until Jamie and I crossed the finish line. He was waiting with his apple and gatorade, and a HUGE smile. This is monumental for him - he beat me in a race! Way to go Keith! He was so gracious, not rubbing it in like he could have, until later that night. He finished in 8:13 miles, while Jamie and I finished in 8:49's. I know I could not have caught him that night, no matter how much I wanted to or how hard I tried. This was Keith's race.
Mike and Dilyn were there to cheer us on, take pictures and enjoy the snacks. The post run food was provided by Whole Foods and was outstanding. Usually you get an apple, banana and water, but Whole Foods provided organic apples, bananas and pears, as well as water, gatorade, veggie chips, all natural fruit icees and vegan cookies.
Needless to say, Keith deserves all the bragging rights he has earned. He ran an incredible race, keeping his pace in check and hammering out the last 2 miles like a pro.

When Doves Cry

Labor Day was the first day of dove hunting for the season, so we headed north for a homemade breakfast with my parents before the guns came out. Victor, Keith and Dad (pictured) had a good day hunting - not as many doves were around as they had hoped, but they still shot enough for the day to be productive.
It seems like hunting season starts earlier every year in our household. The guns, gear and clothing start to make their way into more prominent places. Hunting magazines get recycled less and read more. There are more trips to Gander Mountain and the Cabela's catalog becomes a bible of sorts. I see Keith less and less, but he is happy, relaxed and in his element. It is a great season.

We Add Up

I do a fair amount of 'blog stalking' these days and am always amazed at what people and businesses blog about. One of my favorites is We Add Up (click on the photo link on left). It is a business that wanted to lessen a person's impact on climate change, realizing that can't be done with out word of mouth. Now, they produce custom organic tshirts, totes, and recycled water bottles that spread the word for them. My personal favs are Recycle, Eat Less Meat, Organic, Wind, Plant Trees and of course, Shower Together. When you click on an icon, it quickly tells you how the climate is affected by each of those items. Here is the cool part - each shirt is unique because if you are the 3,563rd global person committed to helping stop the climate change, thats the # they put on the shirt! Wearing a 'green' shirt is not going to have a massive impact, but it may open discussions on how people can act on behalf of the earth, instigating thought, dialogue and change for the positive.