Images from Maui 2009

After an endless trip on Thursday we arrived safely and with all of our bags in Maui late last night. We pretty much passed out when we got into our room and woke up relatively early. 5am Maui time / 11am Eastern Standard Time.

The stunning view in front of our hotel in Wailea



Amy loves the beach



The view from the main hotel pool is just spectacular



A scenic and windy view on our way to our run



At the start of the Waihe'e Ridge Trail run today (Thank you Lauren for that tip)



Up and up and up and up



Not exactly the end of the trail, but the turnaround point to go back down



A quick pic before heading downhill and trying not to squint with all that sunscreen in my eyes



And down the hill we go, yeah



Although mostly downhill, there were a few tiny uphill sections



Mama's Fish House was a highly recommended restaurant choice and we had lunch there after the run



The view from our table is hard to beat



The food looked and tasted fantastic

Milk, it does...

Milk is said to do a body good, but in Germany it appears that milk does a few fields good. Well, we are looking at farmers protesting low milk prices.

Well, well

This might have been the longest break I have taken from this blog. Maybe I have too many things going on. :-)

Julie Bower

Police woman Julie Bower of Broward County, Dog the Bounty Hunter wants his haircut back. :-)

Beautiful spot

This Coca Cola spot won an Emmy for outstanding commercial and deservedly so.

The September 2010 target

On Monday I registered for the 2010 Ironman Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. Race date is September 12, 2010. Below is the list of folks who qualified this year for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Well, they qualified in this year's race for the 2011 race in Hawaii. But that gives me a rough idea how fast I will have to be next year in Madison if I want to race in Kona in 2012. :-)

Happy Birthday Mama

Ich wuensche dir alles liebe zum Geburtstag.

A nice visit...

Paul and Anita came to visit us this weekend and they arrived Friday evening. Pete was very excited to see them, and they were equally happy to see Pete. After showing them around in the new home we went out for dinner to the Village Tavern in Reynolda Village. We ate outside and the temperatures were perfect indeed. We chatted forever and got home pretty late.

Saturday morning we headed out for a bike ride and did about 45 miles



Are you taking a picture of me?



It was a beautiful day for a bike ride



Cruising along Baltimore Road towards Flint Hill Road



Amy, Paul and Anita in our driveway after the ride



I was wearing an older kit from the Wangener Rad Union



Late lunch at Ollie's bakery and Paul and Anita had tomato soup and focaccia bread



Amy and I had salmon and cream cheese on delicious rolls



I love strawberry tarts with custard. Yum



Paul could not wait digging into that chocolate cake



Everybody looks a bit confused after a light afternoon nap



After dinner at Mozelle's Saturday night we walked back to our house



Sunday morning we did a trail run at Salem Lake and after getting cleaned up we had brunch at 1st Street Draught House. Another place that is in relative easy walking distance from our house. Food was very good and the place itself is quite nice. Anita and Paul both said that this would be their favorite hang out if they lived as close to that place. But commuting there from Chattanooga would be quite a stretch.

Pretty impressive drawing skills

Senator Al Franken showing that he can draw a map of the USA from memory at the Minnesota State Fair.

Jordan Rapp wins Ironman Canada

Wow, my buddy Jordan Rapp won the Ironman Canada last weekend. Overall that is.
Congrats Jordan, that was an amazing win.

Ants, ants and more ants

If you served coffee to a guest in the designer coffee cup below you better be ready that it gets dropped on the table or the floor. After all, who wants "ants" in their coffee?

Ramblin' Rose Tri 2

We have been in Winston-Salem for a bit more than a year now and Amy decided to race the Ramblin'Rose Triathlon again. When she did it last year we had barely been here, and this time Amy actually had planned it a bit longer in prep for a Half Ironman in September. The goal was to be faster than last year and hopefully go sub 1 hour. Amy had an awesome race and finished in 59:07 and 51st out of almost 500 starters. (last year she finished in 1:04:22) Below are a few pics from the race.

Amy sets up her little transition area quite focused



Amy with neighbor Caroline before the race



The transition area with Winston-Salem in the background



The pre race meeting was busy and enthusiastic



The pool looks quite serene



Caroline and Amy in line ready for the swim



Amy about to start her swim



This race has a long run from the pool to the bike transition



Amy and Caroline in transition



A quick transition allowed Amy to get out fast



Heading out for the run after a fast bike ride



Almost home, sub 1 hour and more than 5 minutes faster than last year



The results area was quite popular

The ART piece that stayed at home

I made this mixed media art piece for the recent ARTpARTy but somehow felt that I liked it too much to give it up. I created a second piece and kept the one below. What you see are real flower elements on a black painted canvas with a really thick coat of lacquer on top.

A yard update

The front yard of our home on Clover Street was quite nice when we bought the home earlier this year. It really needed a bit of love though and some expert grooming and now it looks fantastic. Mostly bushes were trimmed back, a small rotten tree removed and some smaller bushes redistributed. Plus lots new mulch added.







This is what the front of the house looked like in April of 09

Nice cufflinks

Made from old payphones, these cufflinks are quite nice.