Sunday’s plans called for some swim action. We’d gotten a lake recommendation from one of Erin’s friends who’d joined us for dinner the night before, so we headed for Lake Patterson, about five miles away. Usually my Memorial Day weekend swims are just me or if I’m lucky, me and T, so it was really nice to have a big group to swim with. Plus, this was M’s first open water swim practice, so it was exciting to be a part of that and I was glad that she had other people in the water, so it wasn’t just two freaks in wetsuits amidst all of the fishermen. 
The lake was really nice, with no jet skis or motorboats, just some kayakers and a few fishermen:
Timmion had a long-sleeved wetsuit that she was planning to sell on Craigslist, but which fit M perfectly. Plus, she looks disgustingly awesome in it:
It was very good that she had the long-sleeved wetsuit, because that water was COLD! Here’s M & I, freezing in the lake:
My mission for M was to just get comfortable being in the lake, in the wetsuit and not worry about how much/how fast/how far she was swimming. So, after spending a little time with her and making sure she was okay, I set off to swim for the other side and imagine my surprise when, a far ways from shore, I looked up to see M waiting for me so that she could swim in with me, which was pretty impressive. She did awesome, and I was very proud of her.
After our swim, some of us headed back into town and a group of us headed for the Sun Mountain Lodge for a little lunch. The lodge is pretty and overlooks the lake and valley. There was some “interesting” decor in the lodge, including this hallway of horror:
and this wild turkey:
Erin & David were kind enough to pose in front of the boar and javelina section:
But my very favorite was this giant stuffed bison by the front door:
After our lovely lunch, we headed home. I still had another bike ride and a short run on my schedule, as did M so we hatched an elaborate plan for her to meet up with me at the end of my ride, then we would ride together for the length of her ride and then run together. Erin, Timmion and I were planning to ride together on the same route that David & I had done the day before, so I figured I’d just turn back a little early and meet up with M.
The first part of the plan went fine, we headed out and I tried to keep up with Erin & Timmion, but my legs were really feeling the previous days ride. But I hung in there and we had a nice ride together and everyone agreed that it was a beautiful ride. Eventually, I had to turn back to meet M and they kept going. M and I were having a nice ride when we happened upon a familiar duo on the side of the road. Turned out Erin had a flat, but had a tube and was masterfully changing it, so after stopping briefly, we kept on.
We hit our turnaround point and headed back to the car. After a little while we noticed a familiar figure walking along the road. Poor Erin had gotten ANOTHER flat and because she had smaller wheels on her bike than I do, my spare would do her no good. Timmion had ridden ahead to her car, but it was much further away than M’s, so M and I hurried back to her car to rescue Erin. It was quite a comedy of errors as we tried to get Erin’s bike onto my rack (it wouldn’t fit) and then stuffed it into M’s backseat with Erin. Then hurried back to try to intercept Timmion. Our timing was impeccible, we caught up with Timmion just as she was leaving the parking lot. So, the run was cancelled in favor of a rescue effort, but it was a worthy cause.
Our final evening was filled with delicious food, good wine, some spirited bouts of Apples to Apples and CatchPhrase and was a great way to end such a wonderful weekend.
1 response so far ↓
crazyoatie // June 1, 2009 at 7:34 pm |
Yay Apples to Apples! I know there are a lot of other things in this post that deserve a yay, but….