The Secret's Path

Nothing else to report.  Enjoying the cold and the hurricane.  Funny thing...I'm used to hurricanes bringing warm weather.  The high today is around 50-55 degrees.  Weird.

This month has not been as exciting for us.  Here's a recap so far:


Last weekend: Seagull Century bike ride
I completed the Seagull Century bike ride.  It is a 100 mile bike ride through the southern part of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I went by myself, although I was never alone.  I was riding with 8000 of my closest friends.  I met these two men (Chris on the left and Kevin on the right) early in the ride, and they were doing the same pace as me.  They were nice enough to let me ride the rest of the way with them.  (Think drafting--a huge help when you're riding long distances)

The bicycle odometer: 103.58 miles ridden.  It took us 6 hours and 22 minutes of actual riding time.  We stopped at each of the rest/food stops along the way, so it took a total of close to 7 1/2 hours to finish.  They fed us lunch at mile 65, and at the last rest stop (mile 84), they gave us apple pie and ice cream!  Well worth the food and t-shirt!

Reggie's 60th birthday celebration: all this past week
Reggie just wanted to play with the grandkids.  We had dinner at their house on Tuesday night (his actual birthday), and we all went over to their house again on Saturday for crabs.  The kids played outside for a long time.

Time has gotten away from me this summer.  The weather is starting to get cooler here, and I feel like it should still be mid-summer.  So, here are some of the things that we did this summer:

Deb's Triathlon (Rock Hall, MD), June

 Ben got confused and started to follow me to the transition area after the swim.

4th of July, Party at friend's house:
We hiked up the highest mountain around.  The Potomac River is in the background.  Downtown Harpers Ferry is to the left.

Trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, mid-September:
 The kids went with us on this trip.  This was our first family vacation since they were 4 months old.  The main attraction in Williamsburg was Busch Gardens.  It was not nearly as big or nice as the one in Tampa, but we still had a great time!

 There were lots of rides for the kids to go on.  Ben was especially interested in the train that went around the park.


 I was amazed at how much fun the kids had on the small rides.  They had a blast on this boat ride that went around in circles.  They went on this ride at least 4 times.

 By the end of the day (around 4 pm), Ben was so worn out and tired that he fell asleep on the train!

Late September: Disaster struck.
 Maggie bit Ben on his face.  Joe took him to the doctor's clinic.  Ben ended up with about 17 stitches in his face.  There were two area: around his right eye and next to his mouth.  Ben handled it really well.
 We have found a new home for Maggie.  Her new owner picked her up last weekend.  We are sure that Ben provoked Maggie.  We think it's best for everyone that Maggie go to a home that does not have children.  Her new home is 5 acres with a fenced backyard, two other dogs, and a couple of cats.  We found the new owner, Tracy, through a family contact.  It was hard to say goodbye (Joe got her when she was 6 weeks old, she is now 10 1/2 years old).
I took Ben to a facial plastic surgeon's office (I work with him) to have his stitches removed.  He did great!  I was so proud of him!  He sat perfectly still with his eyes closed.  He only flinched once, when the doctor took out the stitch on his eyelid.  After the swelling went away, the cut didn't look as bad.  We went to Toys R Us afterwards, and the kids each got to pick out a new toy.  It made their day.

Back to normal: present day