Tour de France 2010 ends

The Tour de France is over for the year. Tough race this year with alot of crashes, well, they were riding over cobblestones! What a photo op. On the Champs-Elysees with the Arc de Triomph in the background, the top 3 riders stand together. We are not big fans of Contador who won the race but we can't deny that he is a great all around bike racer. We like the 2nd place guy in the white jersey, Andy Schleck. These 2 will be battling it out again next year. Our favorite guy, Lance Armstrong (heard of him?) finished 23rd but, hey, he has already won 7 Tours.
In our opionion the racer with the best name in the Tour this year, Lars Boom. You can just imagine the fun we've had with this name.

More Swim Team

Ben won the Sportsmanship trophy for the Devil Rays this season.
Coach Frank and Ben with his trophy.









This is Ben in the pool . He is the one with his head out of the water.















Here is Joey swimming, too.

Ben in Swim Team

Another summer with our neighborhood swim team, the Devil Rays. Here's Ben swimming in the dark.
Ben is "kid catching" in this photo; that means he helps the little kids who only swim part of the way across the pool.

Tour de France 2010

Well, I was hoping this image would not be so blurry but we'll go with it for now. July in our house means Tour de France bike race. We watch it in the morning and then at night (which is a recap). Dave had to teach us what it was all about and when you get into it it is very exciting.
It has got to be the most grueling sports even that there is. I know many might argue that point but just imagine riding a bike up several mountains in a day (today 124 miles) and then doing it all again tomorrow. And continuing that for 21 days with only 2 rest days. It is an amazing thing to watch.The fans are crazy. The ride their bikes or drive their campers to some lonely spot on the side of a mountain and wait for the bike racers to go by. Some of the fans dress up in kooky costumes. We saw someone wearing an ostrich suit running along side the bikers. Last night someone was dressed in a nun's habit waving a flag near the summit of a mountain. I have no idea what this means but it must be French. It is definitely a French race. The winner wears yellow and gets a trophy and a stuffed lion for each day he wears the yellow jersey. If you are a good mountain climber you get the king of the mountain jersey which is white with big red polka dots. Go figure.

Canoeing in the Reeds

Ben enjoyed paddling the canoe in the small pond. He and Christian would paddle the canoe way into the reeds. Earlier in the day, we went to a park near the Blue Ridge and waded in the stream. The water was cold. It was a beautiful place.

Cabin in the Woods

Ben and I visited our friends at their cabin in the woods in Southwest, VA. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. The weather was hot and the cabin had no AC which made it a bit uncomfortable at night. No TV either, so we spent the time playing cards and board games.

Hilton Head Condo

Here's some photos of our great Hilton Head condo The pool had a fountain. The condo was very spacious.

Happy Birthday, America!

Here's how we spent the Fourth of July.
Dave rode 100km in the FireCracker Bike Ride this morning around Cary and Wake County.
We went to the pool. Joey and Ben played with Ben's alligator float.
We went to the fireworks in Cary - lots of people as always. One photo of fireworks. The fireworks were great. We played my old favorite card game, "Spit" while we waited.


God Bless America!

Kayaking Adventure Part 2

Here's some photos of everyone in their kayaks!

Kayaking Adventure

Well, Thursday ended up being a wash out. It rained most of the day so no beach. In the late afternoon it stopped raining but was still cloudy. We did a a little shopping and then went out to dinner. We went to Steamers right down the street in Coligny Plaza so we were able to walk to it. After dinner we walked around the Plaza a bit more and Joey and Ben were able to tie dye shirts (photos later).
So, Friday, was the day for the kayak adventure. We headed over to Shelter Cove Marina. Dave arranged for 3 kayaks with Outside Hilton Head. Joey and Fred each had their own kayaks and Ben and Dave shared a kayak. They left right from the marina. It was very windy which gave them a bit of a challenge.

Soaked in Savannah

We decided to spend the day in Savannah which is less than an hour from Hilton Head. I had found out about a scavenger hunt book you can buy and then use to discover Savannah. The first challenge was to find the place to buy the book. After a brief detour through a few of the beautiful squares we headed to the riverfront. On the way there we found the Moon River Brewing Co and bought the book. The plan is to go to the places in the book and read one of the signs there and find the clue. It will say line 2 word 3 and you find that on the sign. On the way down to the riverfront we found our first clue.
The basements of the old warehouses have been converted into shops and restaurants along the river. You have to climb down several long staircases to get down to the riverfront. We ate at The Cotton Exchange Retaurant. Food was good and it was nice to be in the air conditioning after the hot, humid walk through town.
Here I am posing like the waving girl statue.
We continued our hunt going from square to square reading the signs. At the Colonial Cemetery, the sky opened up and rain poured on us. It had been threatening this but we had to keep going. So, we stood in the cemetery beside the graves under a huge oak full of Spanish moss while the thunder and lightening raged overhead. What to do...what to do... We were blocks from the car and there wasn't anything around us to go to. So, we headed out of the cemetery and stood in a bus stop shelter for a few minutes as it rained even harder and the wind kicked in. Finally, the rain let up a bit and we walked back to the Visitor's Center where the car was parked. We were soaked to the skin, shoes, socks, wallets, money everything.
I doubt Joey and Ben will forget the trip to Savannah, GA.