Early July

Full on summer here now, and a full week of work for us all. Sam is lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons and is up at the Y four days a week. Monday, she was at work until 8:00 so after work Ryan and I got out for a 5:30 pm walk around the school block before dinner. Nice evening. (2.6 miles walked)

Tuesday, I didn't manage to get out the door early so I headed out around 4:00 for a Topsham Crossing lollypop run. Overcast and reasonably cool - lovely. Unfortunately, legs felt like cement blocks 🤪🤷‍♀️ But on the plus side blueberries AND raspberries out there today! (6.0 miles)

Thursday, I got out for a run on the powerlines a little before 6:30 am. Nice morning. Lots of wood lilies and many stops for all the bright big delicious blueberries found along the Powerlines right now. Yum! Also saw an indigo bunting 🤩🤩 (7.0 miles)

Friday, I had to head into the office for a 9:00 am meeting, so I was up and out around 6:15 for a run that started on the cart paths, but the deer flies on the paths were so BAD - two flew into my mouth - gross!! Had to abort to the roads. One baby red edt on the paths by the Heath. Muggy, warm, heavy morning with a few showers at the end. (7.0 miles)

Saturday morning was really nice. Cooler and not humid, with only a few deer flies here and there - so much better than Friday! Headed out a little after 7:30 am onto the powerlines. Two deer seen, and many stops for blueberries and raspberries - I just can’t help myself! Also Mama raccoon brought her three babies by - adorable! I love my crazy critter backyard! ❤️ (10.0 miles)

Sunday, I volunteered in the morning at the finish line at the Breaker and didn’t get out before I headed over, so an afternoon run it was! Stuck to the roads to avoid the inevitable deer flies and enjoyed seeing some of the blue angels air show was I ran around and found a few good patches of raspberries too. Warm out! (10.0 miles)

Then we met up with Mom, Dad, Kristen and Cutter for an early dinner out at Erica's. Beautiful evening to enjoy some yummy fried seafood with a view!

Monday the 13th was another evening walk with Ryan before dinner. Nice and breezy. (2.6 miles walked)

Smoke from the wildfires in Canada came in on Tuesday, and Wednesday morning wasn't much better. The sky looked rather apocalypic when I headed out at 5:50 am, with the sun glowing red through a thick haze. Definitely very oppressive, and oh my goodness it felt heavy out there 🥵 Stuck to the roads but still couldn’t escape the deer flies. Boo. (6.0 miles)

Took Thursday off as originally I had been thinking we'd be heading over to Chalk Pond, but in the end Sam decided to stay home for the weekend so I ended up going over on Friday while Ryan left Thursday around dinner so he and Neal could golf on Friday morning. In any event, I decided to stick with the day off anyway. Headed out at 7:00 for a run on the powerlines. So much nicer than yesterday with clear skies and way less heaviness. Lots of raspberries to stop and eat and still some good blueberries. (8.2 miles)

Then I had a lovely massage with Lauren before getting some errands done around town and picking up some yummy fruits and veggies at the Six River and Fairwinds farm stands before sitting down at the computer to get a bit of work done before dinner. 

Friday morning, I headed out around 9:15 after making some quinoa and pasta salads for the weekend and hitting the farmer's market for additional berries and a pie to bring over to NH. Lovely out. Looped around on the roads. (8.0 miles)

Then after a quick lunch and packing the car, I said goodbye to Sam and headed over to NH. Very busy on the roads, but wonderfully quiet and gorgeous out once I arrived at Chalk Pond. 

Ryan had picked up a BucketGolf game and he and Neal had set up three holes out in the backyard. We sat on the deck for a bit but then eventually made our way out back to play. It was quite ridiculous but also quite fun, and when Peyron and Nate arrived, we all joined in and had a lot of laughs while bumbling around hitting whiffle balls into the pond, the rhodies, the parking area, etc.

Then it was around the pond with the dogs for a walk. (1.19 miles walked), after which I picked up pizza for dinner, and we all hung out catching up. Always so nice to see everyone 💗

Got to bed late, but everyone was up early as Nate, Peyron, Ryan, Neal and Kendra had a tee time at 7:00 am and I was planning on a longer run. Just as they were heading out the door at 6:30, it started to rain so I settled down on the couch to wait out the rain drops. Bohdi and Addie joined me for a bit of relaxation before I finally headed out around 7:30.

I looped up around the pond and out on the Stony Brook trail up to Baker Hill. So have not been doing any hills 😂😂 the run involved lots of hill walking as necessary! Ran down Baker Hill and out into Bloggett Landing and along Lake Sunapee, which was very quiet early on a rather overcast, sprinkly Saturday morning. Then it was up on the roads to the back of Sunset Hill where I took a new to me stretch of trail that was a different and frankly much nice route than the old overgrown country road out to Rollins Road, where there was more walking 😉 before I hit the Fischer Field trail. The trail was definitely looking even less used than I feel like I've seen it in past years with a lot of little debris that made it hard to run at all, so I pretty much just had to walk those two miles back to the road. Finished up the run the long way around the pond. Not feeling super peppy but nice to be out and get in some miles and hills! (12.1 miles)

More bucketgolf and laughter ensued through around 2:00 pm when the rain started and we moved inside for food and drink, which pretty much was how we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening! 😆😊 Another late night and wasn't feeling super enthused to get up and out the door for a run, so just hit the road and headed home to beat the traffic, and then after some lunch, catching up with Sam, who did great on her own this weekend!, and a bit of relaxing, I headed out around 2:30 for a road run. Definitely dragging a bit but the weekend with friends was well worth it! (7.1 miles)

Vacation

Tuesday was the last day of junior year for Sam - crazy! It was also the last day in town before we headed out on vacation for 10 days, so I was attempting to cram it all in - running, work, packing, etc. Got out for a run around 4:15. Ran the Topsham Crossing lollypop. Very heavy out. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was a travel day. We were up and out the door around 5:30 am to get down to the airport for our flight to RDU. From there, we rented a car and drove to Greensboro, where we were staying for a few days as we daytripped to Wake Forest and Elon for college visits. Yes, I realize we were in the south but man, it was HOT! We checked into the hotel and went to take a short walk around one of the main streets in Greensboro - we were not super impressed - but we did find a yummy place for burgers for dinner. And look at these onion rings!

Thursday, we had a 10:00 am tour at Wake Forest, so I was up and out the door around 6:15 to get in a run. Very warm, humid morning. Unfortunately the hotel was in a very un-pedestrian friendly area right off the highway, so it was a lovely humid run around parking lots and on roads where no one is expecting a runner 🤪 Did find a nice 1/4 mile gravel oval around a little pond in the Volvo headquarters area. 🤷‍♀️😂 (6.0 miles)

Wake is a gorgeous campus and our tour guide was very enthusiastic. However, none of us were particuarly enamoured. It just seemed like they were trying a bit too hard. (1.4 miles walked)

After the tour, we drove into downtown Winston Salem to check out their downtown science building, which is a converted Camel cigarette factory. It was really quite cool! It was also next to a cool area with a delicious wood fired pizza place where we ate lunch. 

Friday, I was up early again to get in a run before we headed over to Elon for a 9:00 am tour. Nice morning. Did a variation on the prior's day run. Still too many cars and too much concrete. The crepe myrtle are in bloom - very lovely. (6.0 miles) 

While I was out running, Ryan went down the road and got us Duck Donuts for breakfast. Yum!

Elon is definitely in a rural area, but the campus is huge and very very nice. We practically had a private tour with only one other family (ironically one who had been on our Wake tour) and the tour guide was great. We all really liked the vibe of the school and it seems there is some good opportunity to be had there. (1.7 miles walked)

After the tour, we walked across the street to get a snack and coffee, and then an early lunch of pizza. Then after a bit of relaxation at the hotel we headed to a nearby Top Golf for a really nutritionally terrible dinner of pretzel bites and chicken tenders along with 90 minutes of golfing fun. It was hot, but we did have a good time. 

Saturday I headed out a bit before 7:00 am for a run. Most oppressive morning yet - so humid. Literally drenched in sweat at the end of the hour. 🥵🥵 Got kicked off the Volvo campus by security - oops! Quieter all around this morning in terms of cars, thank goodness. One bluebird, one towhee, plus myriad mockingbirds and a few brown thrashers. (6.0 miles)

Then after stopping to get breakfast at Bojangles so I could get my biscuits (it's the south, gotta have biscuits!), so started the 3 hour drive out to Wrightsville Beach. We stopped outside of Raleigh for an early lunch at a chopped salad spot, and then in Wilmington for ice cream at Boombalatti's, our favorite spot down there for ice cream when visiting my parents. Still as good as remembered - yum!

The airbnb was literally steps from the beach - this was the view from the front deck - perfect for a beach vacation!

Sunday was a beach day. We loaded up our stuff and walked down to the beach. We were hot pretty much the second we got onto the sand and it didn't take long for our first trip into the ocean, which felt like bathwater it was so warm! Needless to say, we spent much of our time in the water, and when I wasn't in the water, I was hiding under the umbrella in the shade. I managed to not get burnt at all, probably because I was the crazy woman with the long sleeves, hat, sunglasses and a towel over my legs 😜, but I was certainly happy to not be feeling the burn like Sam and Ryan after our 6 hours on the beach!! The extra nice thing about the location of the airbnb is that I could walk up to use the bathroom and refill my water, and we walked right into town to get sandwiches for lunch. 

Monday, we had a 10:00 tour at UNCW, so I was up and out for a run at 6:30, running out and back on the Wrightsville Beach strip. Coolish and overcast but very muggy. Tons of people out running. Jumped in the ocean after, that felt lovely. (6.0 miles)

UNCW is a sprawling campus at the edge of Wilmington. There were some really large live oaks there, very cool. While it didn't seem like it would offer as many opportunities as a lot of the other schools we've seen, I know Sam liked it and if she was into marine biology, they do have their own center nearby, which is pretty cool. (1.5 miles)

We had hoped to go to Flaming Amy's for lunch but there are closed on Mondays so we drove downtown and walked along the waterfront for a bit before getting sushi, and then stopped at Boombalatti's again before heading back to the airbnb. Can't have too much ice cream, especially on vacation! 

Ryan and Sam did not need any more time sitting in the sun, but we didn't want to sit around inside, so instead we went for a beach walk. (1.9 miles)

Tuesday, I headed out for a run around 7:00 am, looping up across the causeway bridge and through a little garden. Got in a bit of dirt and sand on the way out by running on the side of the sidewalk and snaking through the garden and under the trees. Then ran further out on road and back on the beach. (6.1 miles)

We had a quiet morning at the airbnb and then went into Wilmington for lunch at Flaming Amy's before heading to the beach for a few hours in the afternoon. 

Wednesday, we were up and cleaning up the airbnb early as Ryan had a 10:00 meeting he had to sit in on and we had to check out anyway. We headed to a nearby Starbucks so he could get on the computer while Sam and I relaxed. Then we headed up to RDU to drop off the car and get to the airport. Unfortunately, our 4:00 flight, which was already a revised flight from the 10:00 flight we had orginally booked, was delayed and then delayed again. We didn't end up actually taking off until around 8:20, so definitely a lot of extra time hanging around in the airport!!! Didn't end up climbing into bed until after 12:30 am. 😴 Definitely a long day of travel!

All of us had to work on Thursday so we may have been dragging a bit but in true teenager fashion, Sam headed down to OOB for Rowan for a night with Lauren, but at least Friday was a holiday at work so it was a short work week! I headed out a little after 6:30 am on Friday for a run on the powerlines. Very very heavy. But the air smelled of hay scented ferns, and the blueberries were ripe and delicious! Also saw the first of the wood lilies! 🤩 (6.0 miles)

Then it was off to the farmer's market, to pick up groceries and stop at the library and then back home to catch up on work. Sam ended up going to Reid with Abby in the afternoon but with the cold Maine water, she said they didn't stay in for long! 

Saturday, I got out around 8:00 for a run on the powerlines. Warm but the breeze did pick up partway through which was nice. Took a lot of walking and blueberry eating breaks. (9.0 miles)

Ryan and I headed to Dave and Theresa's where Sarah and Tom were hosting a 4th of July get-together, and Sam and Lillie hung out for the afternoon and then went up to Bath for the fireworks. 

Sunday was a 9:00 am road and trail wander. Still warm but thankfully not as humid, and it felt decent in the shade and when the breeze picked up. Tons of rose poginia in bloom out in the Heath, and multiple mushrooms popping up. Also our fox pair has four babies who have been coming by to snack on the seed and nuts I put out for the critters, they are adorable! Three of them came by this morning 🤩🦊 (13.1 miles)

Here are the June stats - with the colonoscopy and vacation, I missed a few more days of running than I would have liked, but oh well, it is what it is:
139.9 miles run
10.9 miles walked
0 miles xc skiied
1x weights

YTD:

890.0 miles run
58.7 miles walked
4.22 miles xc skiied
18x weights