I'm sitting in Detroit waiting to head to Seattle. Rian and I have recently gotten "Priority Passes" that enable us to utilize the club lounges in the airports. So, I'm hob-nobbing with the business elite. I look so official sitting here with my laptop and Starbucks coffee. Although, the jeans and sweatshirt don't quite fit in and god forbid anyone looks over my shoulder and realizes I'm perusing perezhilton.com. ha ha
I will admit, these lounges are pretty nice. Free internet, coffee and food that you can enjoy in a comfortable chair! I will definitely be back, now that our passes are finally in with our passports instead of sitting somewhere at home...
Well, better go so I don't miss my plane.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Triathlon
Rian competed in his first triathlon last Sunday. Our friend Brian asked him a few months ago if he would be interested in participating to help raise money for his PUNT Foundation. If you know my husband, he's always up for a challenge! This was the 5th annual Pittsford Triathlon and consisted of a 300m swim, 15 mile bike ride and 3.1 mile run. Rian was excited about it at first and then as the day arrived, he kept saying "what did I get myself into?"
We all drove up to Rochester on Sat and had a nice dinner at Black and Blue before settling in for a good night's sleep. Got up around 5:45 and headed to the local high school to get everyone's things set up in the transition area. Our "group" of competitors consisted of Rian, Brian, Ryan Neill (long snapper), Tiffany Neill (who was teaming up with her husband and doing the run portion) and Bobby April, the Special Teams coach. Everyone did very well and it was impressive to see them take this challenge head on. Of course, after reading the "official triathlon rules", almost everyone would've been disqualified for things such as mounting their bike in the transition area. Ok, ok, so maybe we didn't listen that well during the debriefing at the beginning...oops!
I enjoyed being a "support person" for Rian and took picture after picture to document this event for these guys. Who knows, maybe next year I can get involved. I say "involved" because I'm more apt to team up with another person and share the experience! ha ha I think I could train to run 3 miles but training to run AND bike AND swim is another story. But, never say never. Maybe that will be something I'll be ready for next year. After all, we did just buy bikes and yesterday, I rode 5 miles. I know it's only 5 miles but it's a start!
Here are a few more photos from the big day. I laughed when I saw the huge smile on Rian's face as he pulled in from his biking leg. I said "you looked so happy to be out there!" and his response in true-Rian fashion, was "I kept laughing and thinking what am I doing out here?"
He finished with a total time of 1:31:17. Not too shabby! His goal was 1:30:00 and he said if he'd had his stopwatch, he would've pushed himself to meet his goal. Oh well, something to shoot for next year. I'm so proud of him!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Little Cayman adventure...
Backtracking a few weeks, I wanted to share the "vacation from our vacation" that Rian and I took for our 7th anniversary weekend. On Easter Sunday, we decided it was time to book a trip to Little Cayman to check out the diving at the world famous Bloody Bay Wall. 5 days later, we were off.
We boarded a 15 passenger plane (which felt more like a small bus) and took off on the 35 min journey. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful so we had a smooth flight. We landed on a small airstrip (that used to be grass) and exited the plane. We just kind of stood around at the airport/post office/fire station and waited for them to pull our bags off the plane...no worries about "lost" luggage here!
It was about a 2 min drive to the Little Cayman Beach Resort. Along the way, we passed the one church on the island as well as the one little grocery store and one rental office for cars/mopeds. We got settled into our beautiful oceanfront room and took in the view. Right outside our door was a hammock, that Rian found his way into more than once!
We decided to rent mopeds and tour the 10 mile island (the road was 23 miles around). What a fun trip! The mopeds were a great time and driving on the left hand side was getting to be pretty normal for us after a month on Grand Cayman. It took us 4 hours total (we stopped a lot to take pictures and a swim to cool off). After getting back, we got cleaned up and went to dinner. The resort was all-inclusive with meals and diving. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was served buffet style and the table had several delicious "island specialty" dishes. We were not disappointed in the food!
On Sat morning, we headed out on the dive boat. 2 dives in the morning and 1 after lunch. We met a group of people who get together each year to dive in Little Cayman. They were all underwater photographers and we were lucky enough to get our picture taken off the wall. And, they also shared some beautiful photos they took during the dives.
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We dove again on Sunday twice in the morning. We saw a 8-10 ft reef shark on one dive and I felt like I sucked down about 1/2 of my tank while watching him casually swim by. Very cool! I have to admit, Little Cayman diving is even better than Grand Cayman. The visibility was spectacular and the sheer wall (starts at 20 ft and goes down to 6000 ft) was absolutely amazing.
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We spent Sunday afternoon out in the sun and took a short kayak trip across to Owen Island. On Monday morning, we decided to take a bike ride down to Mahogany Estates to feed the iguana. They were all over the side of the road when we went by on our mopeds but we didn't have any treats for them. This time, we brought bananas. They really enjoyed this and one even took a piece out of my hand!
All in all, it was by far one of my most favorite trips. We would never give up our beautiful Seven Mile Beach view in Grand Cayman but I hope we are able to return to visit Little Cayman each year so we can continue to enjoy the quaint and quiet life that exists on this "island that time has forgotten"...And, to explore the underwater paradise that awaits us there.
We boarded a 15 passenger plane (which felt more like a small bus) and took off on the 35 min journey. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful so we had a smooth flight. We landed on a small airstrip (that used to be grass) and exited the plane. We just kind of stood around at the airport/post office/fire station and waited for them to pull our bags off the plane...no worries about "lost" luggage here!
It was about a 2 min drive to the Little Cayman Beach Resort. Along the way, we passed the one church on the island as well as the one little grocery store and one rental office for cars/mopeds. We got settled into our beautiful oceanfront room and took in the view. Right outside our door was a hammock, that Rian found his way into more than once!
We decided to rent mopeds and tour the 10 mile island (the road was 23 miles around). What a fun trip! The mopeds were a great time and driving on the left hand side was getting to be pretty normal for us after a month on Grand Cayman. It took us 4 hours total (we stopped a lot to take pictures and a swim to cool off). After getting back, we got cleaned up and went to dinner. The resort was all-inclusive with meals and diving. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was served buffet style and the table had several delicious "island specialty" dishes. We were not disappointed in the food!
On Sat morning, we headed out on the dive boat. 2 dives in the morning and 1 after lunch. We met a group of people who get together each year to dive in Little Cayman. They were all underwater photographers and we were lucky enough to get our picture taken off the wall. And, they also shared some beautiful photos they took during the dives.
.jpg)
We dove again on Sunday twice in the morning. We saw a 8-10 ft reef shark on one dive and I felt like I sucked down about 1/2 of my tank while watching him casually swim by. Very cool! I have to admit, Little Cayman diving is even better than Grand Cayman. The visibility was spectacular and the sheer wall (starts at 20 ft and goes down to 6000 ft) was absolutely amazing.
.jpg)
We spent Sunday afternoon out in the sun and took a short kayak trip across to Owen Island. On Monday morning, we decided to take a bike ride down to Mahogany Estates to feed the iguana. They were all over the side of the road when we went by on our mopeds but we didn't have any treats for them. This time, we brought bananas. They really enjoyed this and one even took a piece out of my hand!
All in all, it was by far one of my most favorite trips. We would never give up our beautiful Seven Mile Beach view in Grand Cayman but I hope we are able to return to visit Little Cayman each year so we can continue to enjoy the quaint and quiet life that exists on this "island that time has forgotten"...And, to explore the underwater paradise that awaits us there.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Well, we are settled back into reality after a wonderful 5 weeks in paradise. We got into Newark last Fri to find out our flight to Buffalo was cancelled due to weather. So, we got a nice little romantic night at the Newark Courtyard Marriott! ha ha
Thankfully, we were able to get out the next morning and after 40 minutes in a holding pattern waiting for the fog to lift, we landed safely. We had a full day of running errands before we headed up to the Seneca/Niagara Casino for the Make-a-Wish gala. Rian and I have gotten involved with this wonderful foundation and this was the main fundraising event of the year. At the end of the night, they had raised $570,000!!! Wow! A very successful event and we had a really nice time.
After almost a week back in the states, I'm having to work hard to keep our Cayman trip in the front of my mind. It's slowly fading away...boo hoo.
Thankfully, we were able to get out the next morning and after 40 minutes in a holding pattern waiting for the fog to lift, we landed safely. We had a full day of running errands before we headed up to the Seneca/Niagara Casino for the Make-a-Wish gala. Rian and I have gotten involved with this wonderful foundation and this was the main fundraising event of the year. At the end of the night, they had raised $570,000!!! Wow! A very successful event and we had a really nice time.
After almost a week back in the states, I'm having to work hard to keep our Cayman trip in the front of my mind. It's slowly fading away...boo hoo.
Friday, March 21, 2008
The life of leisure continues...
I may or may not have had too many drinks last night and am feeling quite sluggish today. My friend Cheryl invited me to "ladies night" last night at a local pub where (a faux) Tom Jones was performing. I thought, why not? We had a bite to eat at my favorite Cayman haunt, Coconut Joe's, with our guys and then left them behind as we made our way down the road to The Triple Crown Pub. After a couple glasses of free champagne, Tom hit the stage. It was quite fun watching him strut his stuff up there in true "Vegas lounge" fashion. The ladies in the audience were swinging their panties around and throwing them onstage. Tom made quite a spectacle of picking them up and wiping the sweat off of his brow...A good time was had but I could've done without the headache I woke up with! I will say however, that a couple of Tom Jones' songs found their way to my ipod this afternoon. "Sexbomb" makes me want to get up and dance. ha ha
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Settling in nicely...
We've had a nice first week filled with lots of activities. On Tues, my dad, Rian and I chartered a dive boat with our friend Stu and spent the afternoon diving. Did 1 deep dive (100 ft), 1 shallow dive (40-50 ft) and right after sunset, dove in for a night dive. Rian and I have done 3 dives in one day before but never all 3 in an afternoon! Needless to say, we were all pretty tired by the end of that day! All 3 dives were great but the highlight was the huge, free-swimming Green Moray Eel we saw on the 2nd dive. Very cool!
On Wed, we took a catamaran out to Stingray Sandbar for a 30 min encounter with the Stingray and then over to Rum Point, where we spent a couple hours relaxing on the beach. Rian and I have done the Stingray trip several times but didn't know they offered one with a stop at Rum Point. A neat way to do it when we have guests who have never seen either as Rum Point is about an hour and 1/2 drive around the island. Much more pleasant when you have the option of sipping a drink and sailing rather than worrying about which side of the road to drive on (left, down here!).
Thursday we spent the morning having coffee and visiting on the patio and then loaded up our snorkel stuff and went into Georgetown. Swam out at Eden Rock and snorkeled around. A great snorkel spot but when you are a diver, all you really want to do is dive down and swim around...not be confined to the surface! We had a fabulous dinner at The Wharf for our final night with my folks. Even better, Dad treated! A great way to end a nice week with the family...
A little bit of bad news however, our friends from Buffalo (who were supposed to be arriving here in 1 hour) never got out of Buffalo this morning due to the 2+ feet of snow they got yesterday/last night. Arrrghhhhhh. We got a call at 6:30am this morning saying their flight was cancelled and it doesn't look good for them to get out until Wed. Our next batch of company comes in on the 19th so hopefully they can get out on Wed or Thurs and still make it down for a week...Good ol' Buffalo...
On Wed, we took a catamaran out to Stingray Sandbar for a 30 min encounter with the Stingray and then over to Rum Point, where we spent a couple hours relaxing on the beach. Rian and I have done the Stingray trip several times but didn't know they offered one with a stop at Rum Point. A neat way to do it when we have guests who have never seen either as Rum Point is about an hour and 1/2 drive around the island. Much more pleasant when you have the option of sipping a drink and sailing rather than worrying about which side of the road to drive on (left, down here!).
Thursday we spent the morning having coffee and visiting on the patio and then loaded up our snorkel stuff and went into Georgetown. Swam out at Eden Rock and snorkeled around. A great snorkel spot but when you are a diver, all you really want to do is dive down and swim around...not be confined to the surface! We had a fabulous dinner at The Wharf for our final night with my folks. Even better, Dad treated! A great way to end a nice week with the family...
A little bit of bad news however, our friends from Buffalo (who were supposed to be arriving here in 1 hour) never got out of Buffalo this morning due to the 2+ feet of snow they got yesterday/last night. Arrrghhhhhh. We got a call at 6:30am this morning saying their flight was cancelled and it doesn't look good for them to get out until Wed. Our next batch of company comes in on the 19th so hopefully they can get out on Wed or Thurs and still make it down for a week...Good ol' Buffalo...
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Rough Life
As I sit here on the patio of our condo in Grand Cayman, I'm realizing how lucky and spoiled I am. This is my view as I sip my morning coffee...
Ahhhhh. The sounds of the waves hitting the beach is all I hear. Well, other than my typing fingers on the keyboard. This really is our special place and we love it! My mom and dad are here with us for a week (after spending a week here on their own). I will admit, it was a little fun to be able to kick them out of the master bedroom once we arrived...that is a first! We have friends coming down on the 2nd week and then Rian's mom and stepdad will be here for our 3rd week. We have a couple days in between company to relax with a little alone time. All in all, we will be here for 5 weeks! Now do you see why I think I'm so spoiled?
We spent yesterday lying on the beach getting some sun. Pretty relaxing and I got a good start with my tan. Actually, I got enough of a tan that I had tan lines showing with my strapless top I wore to dinner. I HATE the look of tan lines showing. A good problem to have, I suppose! I'd better wear my bandeau top today to even things out...
We are headed down to the brunch at the Westin today. It's a fabulous champagne brunch that has a spread of food like no other. Omelette stations, crepe stations, seafood buffet, etc. We went one other time and managed to sit there for 2 full hours. Needless to say, we had too much to drink and eat. The perfect definition of gluttony.
That's about it for now. I will keep things updated as we continue to enjoy our time in paradise...
Ahhhhh. The sounds of the waves hitting the beach is all I hear. Well, other than my typing fingers on the keyboard. This really is our special place and we love it! My mom and dad are here with us for a week (after spending a week here on their own). I will admit, it was a little fun to be able to kick them out of the master bedroom once we arrived...that is a first! We have friends coming down on the 2nd week and then Rian's mom and stepdad will be here for our 3rd week. We have a couple days in between company to relax with a little alone time. All in all, we will be here for 5 weeks! Now do you see why I think I'm so spoiled?
We spent yesterday lying on the beach getting some sun. Pretty relaxing and I got a good start with my tan. Actually, I got enough of a tan that I had tan lines showing with my strapless top I wore to dinner. I HATE the look of tan lines showing. A good problem to have, I suppose! I'd better wear my bandeau top today to even things out...
We are headed down to the brunch at the Westin today. It's a fabulous champagne brunch that has a spread of food like no other. Omelette stations, crepe stations, seafood buffet, etc. We went one other time and managed to sit there for 2 full hours. Needless to say, we had too much to drink and eat. The perfect definition of gluttony.
That's about it for now. I will keep things updated as we continue to enjoy our time in paradise...
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