Summer's Last Hurray

First off, huge congrats to Mindy and Val for finishing their first 100 mile race this weekend! And to George, for finishing his third! Amazing, all around!!!

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The weekend began with a 5:50 am start. I wondered if Val, Mindy and George were out there running too, towards the dawn, far up north in Canada for the Haliburton 100. Why so early? Well, I needed to get my 22 miles in, then Ryan wanted to get his 20 miles in and then we had to get ourselves out to Freeport to meet up with friends for a long weekend of camping. Nothing like packing it all in :-)

I headed out towards Highland Green, watching the clouds turn pink and purple along the rose-colored horizon.

The Heath, a little after 6:00 am.

I ran a 4-mile loop then headed back home for a quick bathroom stop, a half a donut :-) and to pick up Amy for the rest of my miles. Nothing like a good friend to meet you at 6:30 am on a Saturday for a long run and arrive with time to spare and with donuts! 

We headed out into the Cathance. We marveled at the river and the twisty turny nature of the trails. Not Amy's forte, maybe, but she was a good sport :-) Of course, I think she was happiest when we hit the grassy road that leads out to the Ravine Loop. Ha! After running the Ravine Loop, we hit the back dirt road and looped back to the powerlines, taking them up to the dump and then out into the woods for a short loop before wandering back to Highland Green to do a final loop before we headed towards home. My Garmin buzzed 22 miles right at the end of the walkway, so I'd say that was pretty good :-) 

It was great to have Amy along. We chatted and laughed and the miles went by quickly. My hips and butt were a bit tight in the middle of the run, so I had to stop here and there to stretch, and on the final loop I was feeling pretty tired, but I was good about my fueling and managed to drink all the water I had in my pack while we were out there. And having Amy along made it so much easier. Thank you, my friend! 

With our run, Amy completed her training for Pisgah next weekend and I know she is going to do awesome. So excited for her!! 

After a quick snack and shower, I packed up the rest of the car, and Sam and I headed out to lunch and gelato (of course!) before hitting the back roads to Recompense Campground. We arrived before the others, and I realized I couldn't set up the ginormous tent without help, so we played on the playground until Ryan arrived from his run. Everyone arrived in short order, and it was great to see everyone! We haven't seen Neal, Kendra, Mike or Vicky in years, and we last saw Doug and Adam the weekend we were up in Williamstown for Mim's memorial a year and a half ago. Everyone agreed this was something we should definitely do more often. Nate, Shannon and the kids came over to join in on the fun throughout the weekend and it couldn't have been worked out any better. 

We had an awesome weekend filled with playtime, campfires, smores, lots of sausages and beers, catching up and enjoying the playground, beach and farm together. Of course, it poured all night on Saturday night and Sunday morning dawned overcast and dreary, but our tent didn't leak and the skies cleared around lunchtime, ushering in the cool, crisp air of fall. On the downside, that cool air meant that Sam woke up in the middle of the night last night freezing and we had to layer her up with two pairs of pants, hat and jacket before we could get her back to sleep, but on the plus side, she and I did take a trip to the potty at 4am which enabled us to get a pretty awesome look at the star-filled skies above. I ate ice cream three days in a row, I think Ryan might have had sausage at every meal, and Sam had a great time playing with Adam, Finley and Charlotte, the dogs were all good, there were no major tantrums and there were no emergencies. I'm calling it a very good weekend!

We were all exhausted from all the activity, interrupted sleep and fresh air, so today's run didn't quite pan out as I had hoped, but I did get out at least, even if only for a very slow 5 miles down to the river and back this afternoon around 3:30 after getting the house back in order and things unpacked.

A great way to cap off a fun and very busy summer!

This is why we love where we live.

Kids on the farm.

Finley and Sam leading us to the farm.

Sam and Adam down by the water.

Saturday afternoon, Sam started this "castle" at the edge of the water.

Sam and her finished "castle." 

This morning, she and I spent at least two hours down on the beach, expanding her original castle to what you see in the photo. This girl has an intense focus when she's into something, that's for sure!

Blue sky day