A Muddy Adventure

Friday was Noah's last day of school. Summer vacation officially began.

Saturday Noah and I went on a bike ride with the Boy Scouts as he begins to works towards his cycling merit badge. While Noah has done long rides before we knew that 15 miles was going to be a challenge. But he was up for it. The Hop River Trail is a shady rail trail that runs along the river. Beautiful New England setting. Somehow the leader of the group lost track of the distance and the 15 mile ride turned into 20 miles. The scouts were too busy riding as fast as they could and blasting through every puddle they could find to notice how far we had gone. Needless to say, Noah was very tired near the end and moving slow. But he never gave up! 


On Sunday he was off to his next adventure at Silver Lake Camp. 

Sunday I ran in the Iron Horse Half Marathon. This was my second year participating in the event. To be honest, I did not train nearly as hard or consistently as I did last year and so it was a little tougher to get through. In fact, as I completed the first loop at mile 8 and hearing the announcer call out the names of runners who have already finished depressed me so much so that I considered dropping out of the race. I decided to stay in the race because I was afraid that dropping out would hurt my ego more than  my quads will hurt by mile 13. When you are tired and things get tough your mind races with tons of reasons why you can't make it but instead I chose to focus on the positive. Around every turn there were volunteers cheering racers on. You could not help but feel energized when there is a line of people high-fiving you as you run by. There was even a cheer leading squad, pom poms and all! And of course there is the music. There were bands, DJs and bagpipes adding to the party atmosphere. Being at the back of the pack has it's advantages, I saw some pretty funny and inspiring t-shirts. Some of my favorites are:

Are we done yet?

I thought this was the 5K

I run because I can    

Thirteen point freaking one

If you can read this I'm not last!

 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

By mile ten I developed a cramp on my left side and was slowing down considerably. I began to repeat the verse Philippians 4:13 to myself knowing I had the strength to finish. At last I reached mile marker 13 but the finish line seemed so far away and I thought to myself "thirteen point freaking one!"

While I was running, Noah wrapped up another lacrosse season playing in a tournament in Somers. Steven says Noah played some of his best games at the tournament. By the end of the day we were all ready for a relaxing evening at home. We sat out on the deck and watched the storm roll in. Well, except Noah, who was more interested in his book.

May was a busy month and I neglected to post an important update.

On May 5 Sierra turned 11. Aside form going to bed a little bit earlier and a few more naps you wouldn't guess she was getting up there in years. Sierra is my running buddy. The moment she sees my running sneakers come out she sits by the front door and waits for her leash.

Happy Birthday Sierra!

A Message in a Bottle

Last October we went on an adventure, a cruise to Bermuda. The adventure part was Steven and I sharing small cabin with three boys, Noah, Christina and Jonathan. We had a great time! While on the cruise, Steven and Noah sent a message in a bottle overboard. I helped by drinking the wine so that they can use the bottle.

It was a well thought out plan that began back home a month before. They typed up the letter on the computer that included Steven's email address so whomever found it can contact us.  We timed throwing the bottle overboard while we were in the gulf stream, hoping the bottle would ride the current to a far off and exotic place.

The Good News: The bottle was found and someone reached out to us! 

The Bad News: The bottle leaked and the letter was damaged.

Nigel, our new friend who found our message, was clever enough to Google what little information he could make out and found Steven and Cristina Schoeck listed on the Gilead Congregational Church website. He contacted the church via email which was then forward to us. As it turned out, the bottle followed us to Bermuda.

Hey Schoeck Family,

I apologize for my response taking so long.

I came across your bottle on a beach called Mangrove Bay. The beach is on the western side of Bermuda which means your bottle navigated its way through roughly 10 miles of Bermudas reef!! A feat that many sailors have failed at!!

I was on a walk with my dog and saw the bottle at the waters edge. I must admit that I did not notice anything in it so I picked it up and threw it towards the trash. My aim was not far from terrible and the bottle smashed. It was then that I saw something had fallen out and I could make out some writing. As you can see from the pictures it was very weathered and all I was able to get from your message was the important info!!! 

I am very happy to have been able to get in touch with you. Growing up as a kid here in Bermuda it is a dream to find a message in a bottle and it has taken me over 30 years.

If you or any family are ever back in Bermuda, please send me an email. I work for a company called Fantasea Watersports as a yacht captain and would love to have you guys on board.

I will try and attach the photos to this email. If it does not work I will send them separately.

Yours,

Nigel