Tragedy Engulfs Historic Georgetown

Historic Front St., Georgetown, SC -  taken about one week ago.

Two weeks from Saturday, Front Street will be lined with runners ready to take on 13.1 miles through the streets of Historic Georgetown, SC. The race is called the Georgetown Bridge to Bridge Half-Marathon. It will be my first. I ran the 5K here last year and it was, by far, the most beautiful race I've run. I am actually getting excited, but nervous at the same time....if that makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is how this beautiful historic waterfront town can look like this last week and then in the blink of an eye, be changed forever. We have had a tragedy of epic proportions on Front St., Georgetown. There has been a major fire. The officials don't know how it began. It started in the wee hours of the morning yesterday. And by the time help arrived, four buildings were fully involved. So much history was lost.

The following photographs are not mine. They were taken by photographers from the Georgetown Times and others who tried to capture such loss. Please take a moment to say a prayer for all affected. There were no injuries that I am aware of, except for a couple of fire fighters treated for heat exhaustion.  However, I believe a few residents in the apartments behind the fire were displaced. Not sure how many. There is such a feeling of numbness and loss as the residents of Georgetown deal with the fire, the changing of their beautiful landscape and now the clean up. I'm sure in time, all will be well again. But for now, there is great sadness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Georgetown Bridge to Bridge Half-Marathon will begin here in front of the Town Clock. Thank goodness the clock was not affected. It is such a huge part of Georgetown.

Last year's view before the race.

 

This will be our view as we begin our race this year. With the fire and crumbled buildings behind us, I feel it will be symbolic to an extent that we run away from the remnants of the fire and crumbled buildings to the picturesque views that await us ahead on the tree lined streets of Historic Georgetown. I hope the residents of Georgetown can view it as a promise to come of healing, renewal and rebuilding.

 

Be strong and finish strong, Georgetown!

Finish Strong! 

 

Laurie

Murrells Inlet Moonlight Paddle

Thursday night was a full moon and the tide was right for a moonlit paddle.

 

From the left.....Cliff, me and the Yakkity Yakers.



We joined our friend Frank and the Yakkity Yakers, a local kayaking group, at Morse Landing in Murrells Inlet around 6:30 pm to paddle across the creek to the backside of Garden City Beach.

 

 

It took us about 30 minutes to paddle over to Garden City and then we beached the kayaks to walk around the point to the ocean side.

 

 

 

Walking around, we saw the moon rising just above the horizon and the sea oats.

 

Gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

Once we arrived to the beach side, we watched the moon continue to rise and finally cast a glow on the ocean. It was one of the most peaceful experiences I've had.

 

 



And then it was time to return to Morse Landing. We paddled back with the tide,

which took less time than the paddle over. Kayaking after dark with the full moon illuminating the way is something I want to experience again and again.

Talk Soon,

Laurie

 

 

**Sorry for the graininess of the photos. They were taken with my cell phone, except the group photo. It was taken with Frank's camera. 

GrandNewby Kayakers

I have to tell you...I was a little bit in heaven this weekend. Emily, Lidia and Sawyer came home for my family's reunion on Saturday and afterwards we took Lidia and Sawyer kayaking.

 

Cliff bought Sawyer a kayak last week...he already had one for Lidia. We were so excited for Sawyer to see it and we thought he would be too. But when Emily and the kids got here and we showed it to Sawyer, he was a little apprehensive about showing any excitement of his own. He's the kind of child that if he feels he can't do something really well, then he's hesitant about trying it. I know this and I know that you have to encourage him to try and then give him some time and space to get accustomed to the idea. And sure enough, after awhile, he started sitting on it, then holding the paddle and finally laying down on it. That's all it took. He came up to me and said, "LaLa, I think I'm going to like kayaking."

 

Well, alright then. Let's get our kayaking on.

 

Oyster Landing is a great place to start, if you've never kayaked before. It is a beachy sort of landing on the creeks of Murrells Inlet. It's shallow which makes it ideal for the grandchildren. If they flip the boat, no biggy. They can just hop right back on. And this sort of happened a couple of times. But it was a result of playing fearlessly on the water and just having a plain ole good time. The following pictures tell the tale.      

 

First lessons.....

 

...and a flooded boat landing. It was a really high tide, Saturday.

 

A few instructions....

 

And then we set sail.

 

Look at Lidia....doesn't she look like a pro?

 

Lidia and Sawyer took to kayaking like a duck on water.

 

The wind was blowing and the tide was changing so they had to paddle almost constantly.

The marsh was a good place to rest those weary arms.

 

Sawyer couldn't wait to go back on Sunday.

And this time, he struck out on his own.

 

Nothing to it.....

 

Sunday, the tide was dead low. It was so shallow that

Lidia kept hitting the sand with the paddle.

 

And of course, this is what you do when you get tired of paddling.

 

Or this.....

 

Or this. You go exploring near the marsh and look for crabs and such.

 

But if you're LaLa, you get all excited when you spot this beautiful creature.

I've never seen one before, but learned that it is a Roseate Spoonbill.

 

Her tail feather's are so pretty in pink.

 

And her spoonbill, too.

 

We will certainly be looking forward to more adventures such as this. I love kayaking and now that we can share it with the grandchildren....well, Heaven!!

 

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Oh, wait!  Before you go, I have to tell you something.....remember my half-marathon? Training has been going pretty well. I am so excited to tell you that yesterday I ran 10 miles and it was awesome! 

 

And the countdown begins....3 and 1/2 weeks until the

2013 Georgetown Bridge to Bridge Half-Marathon. I'm on my way!

 

Talk soon,

Laurie

 

10,000 Page Views

OMG!!!

I'm so stoked, I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep. Hence the sheep. One, two, three.......
You'll never guess what happened.
I've just hit a new level of awesomeness!

I started this blog in December 2012 and just TONIGHT it has surpassed 10,000 page views. Good Lord! I can hardly believe it. I've seen other bloggers have great success in building their reader audience, but never thought I would get this far, this fast.

I just want to say thank you to my readers. I love all your comments, kind words and words of encouragement......and especially those that consider me their blogging sister. I've met people from all over the world. Now that's something that would never have happened if it weren't for the blogging community. It's pure awesomeness, nothing more, nothing less!!

I hope that I continue to hold your interest, while I continue to capture my family's life moments. It's great fun for me to share a small portion of my world with you.

Thanks again for following and allowing me to come into your homes. And as always, stay tuned! There's bound to be an adventure of some sort around the next bend.

Love you all,

Laurie

Pssssst....I need to tell you something. The beautiful picture above is not my own. I found it on Pinterest. Isn't it gorgeous? Wish I knew how to source it, but I don't. Just thought I would let you know. 

A Tranquil Tuesday

The land of superlatives....that's what the beach is to me.

And today, I wish for your Tuesday to be as tranquil as mine.  

 

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Peacefully yours,

Laurie

Kitter Shanty

What a beautiful Saturday morning. The temperature here must be in the upper 60's. I've already had my coffee, while sitting on the porch listening to the birds and watching the squirrels gather hickory nuts for their winter stash. The pecans will be next. The trees are full. Too bad I don't own them.....Cliff would have him a good squirrel pirleau and I would be making pecan pie. ~Ha!

After checking Facebook this morning, I saw that Whitney had posted a picture of Kitter. And, OMG it cracked me up! There are just some things you can't keep to yourself. So here you go........Just a little Kitter humor to amuse you this beautiful Saturday morning.

 

 "The Kitty Shanty was knocked off it's foundation. She is now living in third world country conditions."  ~Whitney~

 

 

Talk soon,
Laurie

 

 

 



Overview: Month of August 2013

Wow! What a month! August came sliding in sideways and left just about as fast. So much happened in August this year. Emily and my grandchildren moved to the upstate. Cliff competed once again in the Ironman Louisville. We celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. And my training for the half-marathon in October has really taken off.

I'm so glad I found this emblem painted on a sidewalk in Louisville, KY. It sums up what us runners experience all the time. We start our run with energy and vigor.....and towards the end comes the slow down and fatigue. You start looking for landmarks to gauge how far you have to go or you watch your Garmin like a hawk.  And just then, inevitably, someone crosses your path and says......You're Almost There! Sounds sweet and you start to look forward to the finish line only to find out that the finish line could be another mile down the road. But believing it...you put your hope in it....and you journey on. It may even drive you to pick up the pace a bit...all for the promise of another day, another run....done. As I continue my half-marathon training, this has become my new mantra. I'll say it loud, I'll say it proud. I am almost there!

Now, in case you were wondering...exercise stats:

August 2013:

Ran:                 66.18 miles
Best Pace:        12:43 avg. (listen, in the heat and humidity we've been having....pace suffers)
Longest run:      8 miles
Bike:                104.67 miles
Best mph:         10.9 mph avg. (don't even go there)
Longest ride:     21.26 miles
Races:              No races, this month. Again, Hallelujah! It's too hot!

Whelp, today is a rest day and I'm going to enjoy it. I have a couple more shorter runs this week and then a 9-mile run planned for Sunday. Yikes! And then the following week....double digits. Have a great day!

Talk soon,

Laurie





Ironman Louisville: Part 3 - Kentucky to Indiana and the Lotion Episode

Lincoln Memorial Bridge

 

Our Louisville trip was coming to a close. Tuesday was a travel day...we were heading home. But before we left, I needed to run once more. So, I ran from our hotel...The Galt House Inn....down along the Ohio River......clean from Kentucky to Indiana. ~Ha!~  It was a whole whopping 4 miles. I ran over the Lincoln Memorial Bridge. It spanned the Ohio River, from the Kentucky side to the Indiana side. The bridge is now dedicated to walkers, runners, bikers, etc. I even got in some hill work.

A portion of the ramp leading to the Lincoln Memorial Bridge.

The ramp leading up to the bridge was at least 2/10ths of a mile long with a steady incline. While I was on the bridge, I had a nice bird's eye view of Cliff's swim start, the island they had to swim around and finally, the bridge in the distance he swam under to get to the finish line. It sure put his swim into a whole new perspective for me. The view was just gorgeous!

Bird's eye view of the swim start.

 

The bridge Cliff had to swim under to get to the finish line.

 

After a refreshing shower and packing up, we were on the road again. Homeward bound. It was going to be a long trip and even with a keen imagination, the ride home can get very boring. There are limitations to what you can do in a car.

The leg, the dashboard.

So what's a girl to do? Pamper! That's right, I decided I needed to pamper my running legs a bit. Not long after getting on the interstate, I plopped my feet and legs up on Cliff's dashboard and proceeded to slather them good with copious amounts of lotion. About that time, Cliff's dry humor kicked in and he asked, "So when (as a woman) do you decide is a good time to put lotion on? Do you ever decide that it's a good time to prop them up on a pew and put lotion on them at church or a grocery buggy at the grocery store?"

~Ha~Ha! Cliff is funny! At least when he's cracking jokes, he's not experiencing road rage. In case you didn't know....there's a conspiracy out there. As I discovered, there are a few things a wife can say to calm the rage for a while. "Do you want me to drive?" and "I need to stop, I feel like I'm going to vomit." ~Ha!~

A few of the sights on the trip home.....

Tennessee

The Great Smoky Mountains and Cherokee National Forest

North Carolina

No Place Like Home

And in case you were wondering, there will be no more "Ironman Louisville". I can't take it. I'm sure Cliff will think about it and may even argue that he believes next year will be different. And it may be...he is strong and fit, after all. He can swim and bike like nobody's business. But, the heat seems like the danged bottle neck and what in the world can you do to change the weather? Not a ding dong thing. Louisville is HOT! End of story! So, as his wife of 33 years, I'm putting my foot down. I prefer health over a hard head......any day!

Til another day,

Laurie

P.S. August exercise stats are coming soon.