Katie Ann is ready for camp

Katie Ann is going to girl scout camp today. Annette has clearly gone above and beyond with this hairdo.
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Pack 143 Triathlon

Visit to South Bend, IN

This is the home of Notre Dame. They have a beautiful campus and a huge basilica. There is also grotto in dedication to our lady of lourdes.
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Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at Notre Dame

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Across America there are many unique items of interest. While traveling to some of the most rural towns in the US, I make an effort to see some of these. Annette found a list of 50 (one for each state) and this is one of them. The World's Largest Egg to commemorate the 1946 Egg Festival in Mentone, IN is pictured below. Driving in reminded me the movie Doc Hollywood except I did not see a pig on a leash.

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The Grandman Triathlon

This Saturday will be anoth first for me. I started riding a bike again a few months ago when I decided to do the Grandman. It is a sprint triathlon (for some people maybe); but I am excited. I have never tried this and if I can finish in less than 2 1/2 hours, I will be pleased.

I have a new road bike this week and already I can tell you that a road bike makes a huge difference over a mountain bike. I will update with pictures after the event but I got my cool baby blue swim cap and my number (#18).

Now that I have done my first one, I can honestly say that the swim is the hardest part. I finished in 1:55:24 which I am very happy about. The next event is June 25th at Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham, AL.

Horn Island Campout

Last weekend, we started a new tradition. I took Christopher camping on Horn Island (off the coast of Mississippi) with some friends from school. It was a guys trip and we had a blast. We were sunburned, beaten nearly to death by the boat ride there and back, sanded down to raw meat and exhausted; but we were both smiling and laughing. Of course, there will be stories to tell and these will be embellished as needed. Whether we talk about the libations that took over Friday night, the painful post libation morning Saturday, hitting the sand bar while tubing, watching the walk of shame from secret bathroom locations, laughing at the boat that was washed way up on shore, the incredible stars and the cool fireworks; it was all fun.

We all learned alot and are already adding (and subtracting) from the list of supplies for next year. Memorial Day will have a whole new tradition for me.