Spring Break Skiing Final Post

I didn't get many pictures of the boys, but we did go to lunch for pizza, and I managed to get this shot of the three Rankin Bulls.

Dave had the foresight to book us a reservation to Casa Bonita. If you haven't heard of it, you can just Google it and read the history. South Park featured the restaurant in one of their episodes, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought the place and restored it. We had an awesome time! First, a shot of the iconic exterior.

Next, we took some pictures out front.

The food was decent--better than we expected, but Veronica said it wasn't quite authentic Mexican cuisine :-) But they had a great variety of entertainment including some indoor cliff jumpers.

Ashley and I got a picture behind the water fall.

There was also an arcade where the boys play skee-ball.

And they had one of those goofy old time photos, which we had to do.

We had a wonderful trip. It was great to see family and friends, and we loved meeting Veronica. We returned home on Friday, thankfully with no delays and made it home. The dogs were thrilled to see us. Bode has yet to return--he comes home tomorrow, so it'll be good to see the kid. I'll try to get the photos from his week-long trip and post them soon as I can. Pleasant week to all!

Spring Break Skiing Post 3

 Days 2 and 3 on the slopes were almost as fun as day 1. I say almost because the weather got a little colder, and there was a bit of snow. Not a bad thing to have some powder, but with snow comes less visibility, and my Florida blood doesn't take the cold very well. As always, we did get some good pictures.

And then the snow came.

I don't know if this video is good or not, but it does show the snow (you might have to tilt your head a bit).

Fortunately, we survived the cold (I think it was 10 degrees when we skied on Wednesday), and no one had any bad falls (well, I had one, but nothing broken, so probably not worth mentioning :-) We returned to Denver on Thursday, just in time to watch the Auburn Tigers win their first round game of the NCAA tournament. After that: Casa Bonita!

Spring Break Skiing Post 2

On the drive to Breckenridge, we have to go through Alma. The welcome sign says it all.

Note HIGHEST is in all caps; it might refer to the altitude of the town, but it also might refer to something else :-) We stayed in a nice condo from which we could walk to the slopes. The first day was beautiful--sunny and warm, the perfect weather for a couple people from Florida.

We also got to ski with Dave and the boys.

As with a lot of Colorado days, the views are pretty good.

We also remembered Ashley broke her arm last year, so we might not have taken as many risks this go.

Here is a pseudo action shot of Ashley--so proud of her for getting back on the board and enjoying herself!

We did venture above tree line, and we both survived unscathed.

It was a great first day on the slopes. After we skied, we ate at Downstairs and Eric's and we did an Escape Room later that night. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures, but there are more to come :-)

Spring Break Skiing Post 1

Ashley and I took a week-long trip to Colorado for some skiing. Bode did not go with us. He spent the week in Orlando at a swim meet, and I will have some other posts to document the amazing time he had without parental supervision :-) Ashley and I flew out last Friday. We were supposed to leave at 6:30 in the morning but due to weather, we were delayed, rerouted, and finally got to Denver around 9:00 pm. It was a long day of traveling. We stayed with her brother, Dave. We spent a couple days in Denver where we (sadly) watched Auburn lose in the SEC tournament. We also got to see an old friend, Nathan. He stopped by for a few drinks; it was great seeing him again.

On Sunday, David, Veronica (Dave's beau), Ashley, me, and my mother all went to the Broadmoor Hotel for a wonderful brunch as well as some photos. Fortunately it wasn't too cold.

After stuffing ourselves with too much food, we headed up to the mountains. Veronica had to work, so she was not able to join us on the slopes, but Dave, Ashley, Teddy, and Charlie spent the week skiing. Stay tuned for more pictures.

SES Final Post

On the last day of the meet, Bode swam the 100-freestyle and the 100-fly. The first video is of the 100-free. Bode actually won his heat in a personal best time of 48.28.

His last event was the 100-fly. I don't think he won the heat, but he swam a personal best of 52.79. His 100-fly split in the medley relay was 52.04, so Bode was hoping for something faster, but if you notice at the 9-second mark of the video, his first turn was very bad--he probably lost half a second gliding into the wall. Bode said he was surprised he had a PR with that sloppy turn, so hopefully at the next meet, he can do better.

Bode has had a very successful short-course season. He has one more meet--the National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) championships over spring break. He'll be swimming on three relays and hopefully in two individual events. Here's hoping the little man swims fast!

SES Championships Extra Pics

So I am pretty sure I have the days mixed up on when Bode swam what, but oh well. What's important is that these pictures get posted :-) Bode swam the 500-free at SES, but it was the only event he didn't have a personal best. Still, Ashley took some great pictures. First, here is Bode behind the blocks.

She also got a great sequence of Bode going off the block.

Bode also swam the 100-fly leg of the 400 medley relay team. Ashley didn't record the whole race--just Bode's leg. Little man does great closing the gap between him and the other swimmers.

I'll have one more post from SES. Stay tuned.

SES Championships Day 2

Bode had a number of great swims on the second day of the SES championships. Ashley did take a couple good pictures of the little man. First, here is a good one of Bode and Nolan.

She tried to get some actions shots, but those are hard to do in a pool. Still, here is a good one of Bode doing the 200-fly.

Now for some videos. First, we have Bode doing the 100-back. He wins his heat, and swam in a personal best of 55.01

Bode also swam the 200-fly on day 2. He was hoping to break the elusive two-minute barrier. He swam a 2:00.05--so close! He also swam in the 200-medley relay. Below is a video. Bode is the third leg, and the Coast team is the team that wins the heat, so he is easy to pick out.

Day 2 was a great day for Bode--two individual swims, two personal bests. Stay tuned for the final day.

SES Championships Day 1

Bode swam in the SouthEastern Swimming (SES) short-course championships a couple weekends ago. It took me some time to get the files from Ashley, who was nice enough to take Bode up to Huntsville for the 3-day meet. Outside temps were around 14 degrees, so it was quite a shock for the two of them.

Swimmers have to qualify for this meet. Bode qualified in six events and also swam in a few relay events. First, here is a picture of the venue--a very nice pool and facility.

On the first day of the meet, Bode swam the 200-free. He swam a personal best of 1:46.21, almost two seconds faster than his previous best. Below is the video--that's Bode in lane 1.

This was one of the best swims I have seen Bode swim--little man looked amazing. Stay turned for more posts.

Frosty 5k

Ashley and I did a 5k yesterday morning--the Frosty 5k, and with all the snow we got on Tuesday, it actually felt a little Frosty. Ashely and I both took home some hardware. She won first in the 50 - 54 women's division, and I even got a picture of her.

Amazingly, I won the over 40 division for males, so that was pretty cool. Here was a picture of me from the race website.

That was about 100 meters from the finish, so I was pretty tired at that point. Ashley and I did take a selfie.

Here are the official race results.

Sadly, we both got a little ill this weekend. I think I got the worst of it with a fever of 102 or so. We both have a little head cold, but I think after a lot of sleep yesterday, we are both feeling a little better. Pleasant week to all.

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Winter Storm

In all of my time in Fort Walton Beach, I had never really seen snow down here. I think we had flurries once, but nothing that stuck to the ground. This all changed last Tuesday when we received between two and four inches of snow. It was quite crazy, and the whole city shut down for the week. Classes were canceled Tuesday - Friday--a bit overkill I think, but there really is no way to clear the roads here. We, of course, took some pictures. First, this is Tuesday afternoon. The snow was starting to pile up and the road was covered.

I also took a movie of it snowing; not sure how well it shows up, but it felt like we were in Colorado.

I also took a picture of the table on our patio. Looks like quite a lot of snow has piled up.

I was also bold enough to try to make a snow angel.

The next morning, we took some more pictures, and we were all amazed how much snow we received.

We probably should have done the polar plunge, but none of us was brave enough to do that. Even Ashley came outside, but only briefly.

Temps are forecast to be up in the 70's this week, so thankfully it appears that winter is over :-)