A Busy Fall Part 1: Bourbon Chase 2011

The fall season offers a variety of opportunities to enjoy the autumnal weather while engaging in some different activities than the standard triathlon, running, or biking race.  In my run up to the St. Louis Rock n Roll Marathon at the end of this month, I am taking advantage of a couple of these opportunities.  This past weekend was the Kentucky Bourbon Chase, a 200-mile team relay race (similar to the famed Hood to Coast) through the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and ending in nearby downtown Lexington.  I had actually raced this event last year as a sub and had a great time, but never got around to posting a report on the blog.  This year, I participated with the same core team as last year, but was able to extend additional invitations to my dad, sister and her fiancé who were all in the same van as me.  Here’s how the weekend went…

The weekend began with some logistics, including driving to Lexington to meet other teammates before picking up the rental vehicles and heading back to the meeting point to drop off cars and combine everyone into the 2 team SUVs.  From here, we made our way to the Jim Beam distillery for check-in and to get ready for our 2:15pm start on Friday.  My group was in the first vehicle, so we were immediately on-duty.

Our first runner took off from the distillery on a brutally exposed and hilly 7 mile route in the middle of a hotter than normal afternoon…welcome to the Chase!  The rest of “Van1” moved along the route to the end of leg 1.  Here, runner 2 took over, runner 1 cooled down and cleaned up a bit, and we moved along to the next transition.  This is basically the name of the game when your vehicle is the active one.  I was slotted as runner number 4, so began my warm-up as soon as we arrived at the Heaven Hill distillery (where my route began).

Leg 4 – Little Pottershop of Horrors, 5.2 miles (Guidebook rating: difficult)

Our 3rd runner almost snuck up on me, so I didn’t have time to stand in the transition and get stiff and was able to take off pretty much immediately.  This route was basically flat to downhill for the first couple miles as it passed some residential areas and a golf course in Bardstown, KY before leaving town via Pottershop Lane.  This is where the route gets interesting since Pottershop is a basically a rolling country road with some pretty steep rolling hills.  With it being hot and my initial run of the event, I was focusing on not going out too hard since my other legs were longer in distance and rated equally as difficult.  This intentional pacing restriction was made more difficult by the other leg 4 runners being quick.  Avoiding the temptation to chase down the couple runners that passed me was no easy task.  I distracted myself by enjoying the countryside and trying to keep my heart rate under control.  As you reach the last mile of this segment of the race, the rollers keep coming more fast and furious and the segment culminates with a steep (shin and quad killing) downhill which is immediately followed by a .25mile+ steep and winding uphill.  I focused on damage control on the down slope and transitioned to baby-stepping the uphill and before I knew it, I was rounding the bend and the team vehicles were in sight.  Also in sight was my dad (runner #5), so I gladly “passed the baton” to him and completed my first portion of the race.

5.2 miles in 37:07 (~7:08/mile pace)

Once I caught my breath, vehicle 1 moved forward to catch my dad finishing and send my future brother in law on his way, completing our first set.  Along the way, we kept our 2nd vehicle informed of our progress so they were set to take over the race at the Maker’s Mark distillery.  The party atmosphere at Maker’s was further heightened by an appearance by our team’s biggest fans, my wife and mom, who had spent the afternoon touring the area.  They accompanied us to dinner at a coffee shop in Danville (shout-out to The Hub for delicious sandwiches, wraps, coffee, and 24hour service and bathrooms during the Chase).  Once we were fed, we knew it wouldn’t be too long before vehicle 2 would return control to us, so we went to nearby Boyle County High School, where they graciously opened their doors to teams to get some rest, to relax in our remaining down time.

All too soon, we were called back into action, so headed out of Danville one town over to Perrysburg to start our 2nd rotation.  All the evening running took place in and around Danville, with the first 2 legs running straight from Perrysville to Danville and the remaining 4 performing a loop South to Stanford before returning to Danville once again.  The first 3 runners of our vehicle dominated their respective portions in the cooler night-time weather (we started our 2nd session almost exactly at midnight), and before long I was running again…down a highway…at 2AM…not sure of where I was going.

Leg 16 – Standing Fort (Stanford), 6.5 miles (Guidebook rating: difficult)

This leg was as straightforward as could be, mostly running along a shoulder of a highway before turning onto the main roads into the small town of Stanford and cruising some back streets before flying down the final hill near the city hall clock-tower to hand off to the next runner.  Or at least that’s how it should have gone. 

With the humidity low and the night temperature down around 50, I set out in near ideal running conditions, and my legs felt strong.  I pushed a pretty good pace, but didn’t want to overdo it.  Due to our team’s allotted starting time for the relay, though, we realized we were falling behind the main pack of teams (through no fault of our own), so I saw this as an opportunity to grab back a couple of minutes.  I enjoyed the moonlight and the lonely peace along the highway for the first 2.5 miles before I begin to feel strangely isolated.  Then I began to become irrational since I had not looked at the route closely beforehand, so started to consider if I might be lost.  I passed a sign earlier that basically just said “Caution: Runners on the Road”.  However, I wasn’t having the greatest sign reading visibility due to glare from my headlamp off the signs.  The more I moved forward without any signs of other runners, the more I convinced myself that I misread the sign telling me to turn somewhere.  I decided to continue forward though since it seemed to be lighter up ahead and I could hopefully get my bearings there.  Finally, I came upon another sign and realized I was on the right path; there just weren’t many runners out here with me.  Soon enough, a police car marked the point where we would actually turn off the course and I was in the outskirts of Stanford and finally able to see other runners.  I realized in my panic I had sped up (a survival mechanism I suppose) and was making great time with only a downhill finish separating me from my team.  I began to open it up when I saw the 1 mile to go sign and blew past another smaller sign that looked similar to those on the highway.  I crouched down a bit to try and read it, but was unable and didn’t want to lose my momentum so moved straight ahead.  As I barreled down the hill and onto Main Street Stanford, I realized I was approaching from the wrong direction.  I was supposed to turn at the unreadable sign.  I looked back and realized another runner had followed me in my mistake.  I checked my Garmin and it appeared the distance was the same as the advertised route, so I assumed I’d be fine just proceeding to the handoff.  I was wrong.  The volunteer running the transition made me (and my poor victim) turn back and head out of town back up the hill to the turn we missed.  I begrudgingly complied, but slowed down substantially for my “penalty loop” which turned out to be nearly 1.1 miles…so much for making up time.  I guess I at least got a little extra training in.

7.7 miles in 53:51 (~7:10 pace including penalty cooldown)

The leg immediately following mine was the longest segment our vehicle had to face, so by the time we wrapped up our remaining 2 portions of our 2nd session, it was well past 4AM.  Boyle County HS had closed up shop at 4, so our best option was to move forward to the next hand-off point at Four Roses distillery and just nap in the SUV.  We made our way through the night to Four Roses with a quick McDonald’s stop, and watched the teams running alongside the main highway nearly the entire drive.  Finally, we parked in the Four Roses parking lot a little after 5 and slept for a couple hours.  The place was already buzzing with activity from teams ahead of us on the road.

Not long after dawn, I was unable to sleep anymore and awoke to find my dad had left a while ago to wander the grounds.  I decided to also do a bit of exploring and admiring the Spanish architecture used by the distillery.  Before long, I was chilly and returned to the van to find the team rising for the day.  We received the call that our other vehicle was due to arrive in around an hour, so it was time for our first runner to begin getting ready to complete her final segment.  At around 9:30AM, we were back on duty with one set of 6 segments remaining to run.  The morning was cool, but the temperature promised to rise into the 80s through the day, so most of us would be running in the heat.

Our first 3 runners had segments that were relatively short compared to their previous efforts, and they knocked them out quickly…showing only minor drop-offs in pace from their initial paces.  These legs took us from Four Roses to Wild Turkey, then across the “High Bridge” and into the outskirts of horse farm country.  I took the handoff and left for my final segment of the race, feeling somewhat fatigued but also motivated.

Leg 28 – This Ain’t France, This is “Ver-Sales”, 7.8 miles (guidebook rating: difficult)

Initially when planning for this event, I had keyed on this segment since it was the final and the longest of my set.  I was hoping to run this leg strong as a confidence booster heading into my Marathon in a couple weeks that I would be able to run strong on accumulated fatigue.  Unfortunately, I didn’t pace as well as I had planned on the night run and probably burned more matches, particularly with the penalty lap.  That combined with lack of caloric intake compared to the previous year and the higher temperature at the time of takeoff led to me realigning my goals.  I was now just hoping to finish with a steady, sub-8 pace and get the job done. 

I took off feeling worn down, but not bad and cruised the first couple miles.  A bad early sign was that I was taking special notice of every uphill, the lack of shade, and the heat.  By the 5k portion of the run, I turned onto a different road and knew things were starting to get rough.  I ascended a long exposed hill and distracted myself with the beautiful countryside before stopping to walk at the next uphill I encountered.  The remainder of the run was a jog/walk involving a lot of self-talk to motivate myself forward.  Another team on the road offered me a water bottle around mile 6, which I gladly took along as I headed into town to finish my run.  I had to walk one more time in the final mile, but was able to manage a measly kick to the hand-off and finish my contribution to the Chase…I was spent.

7.8 miles in 1:01:50 (~8:01/mile pace)

Our remaining two runners took care of business, including our final runner crushing his last segment and sprinting into Woodford Reserve to put a cap on vehicle 1’s final set of runs.  Our super-fans reunited with us at this final distillery stop and transition.  We relaxed a bit, enjoyed a bourbon ball and complimentary shot of Woodford, some of us collected our commemorative Bourbon Chase bottles of bourbon, and we left for Lexington to grab a big lunch. 

Being the first vehicle done, we had a chance to break out to our individual vehicles, return our rental, and a couple of us even grabbed a shower and change of clothes before we made our way to the finish line party.

At around 7PM, our vehicle 2 final runner made his way down the home stretch and we joined him for the kick to the line and to receive our medals.  After some post-race pictures and congratulating, most of us headed our separate ways.  I decided to forego the free bourbon tasting since I was driving a car back to the hotel and my tolerance was almost certainly non-existent…a bit of a shame since I do enjoy good bourbon.  My family (4 of us participants, and our 2 super fans) picked up some beer and ordered pizza at the hotel and celebrated our accomplishment before crashing early.  These relay races are an exhausting experience, but a ton of fun. 

Next weekend I’m switching my mode of transport and taking on a bike tour in Indiana at the Hilly Hundred.  This should be a little less taxing, but I’m looking forward to it.

The full team – Victorious!

Branson 70.3 (Survival) Race Report

“Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life” –E.M. Forster (The quote for Sunday, September 18 in my planner)

Branson 70.3, my “A” tri of the season is now officially in the books.  I’m still not sure what my family and I got ourselves into even now, days after the race. 

To go back, this season was planned to be a return to short-course triathlons after the multiple year build-up to Ironman Louisville 2010 for myself, my sister, and my dad.  However, not to abandon long-course completely, we decided to culminate the season with another 70.3.  This was mainly due to the fact that my sister’s significant other (now fiancée) was hoping to do his first 70.3, and so to show our support we thought we’d all get in on the fun with him.  What we failed to do in our planning was to thoroughly compare the 70.3 options available and basically “just decided” to do Branson since it is in the fall/late season and it is in proximity to St. Louis (sister and fiancé’s city of residence).  None of us had been to Branson recently enough to know anything about the terrain or the city in general and we only performed limited scouting beforehand.  In fact, all we really knew as we left St Louis Saturday morning was that the bike course was “pretty hilly”.

Mentally, my training this year has also been less focused than in the past.  I attribute some of it to a post-Ironman slump, brushes with burnout, and additional life stresses that have affected my motivation.  That being said, I’ve still hit my PR for Olympic distance racing this year at Deer Creek and even took an overall victory at a small race in NW Ohio, so it’s not been a bad year at all. 

In my lack of focus, I neglected thorough bike training in the run up to Branson, despite knowing vaguely of the hilly bike course.  Many of my bike workouts were base without hills and a fair bit of the work was done on the trainer.  Most of my key workouts have been reserved for running since I have an October Marathon looming, and have yet to successfully complete a marathon without exploding at “the wall”.

Now, enough with the back story nonsense and onto the race weekend itself.  The drive from St. Louis to Branson was marked by rain (I see a theme) for nearly its entirety.  As the terrain became lumpier and the billboard advertisements more ridiculous, we knew Branson was fast approaching.  Since check in is at the host hotel (The Chateau) which is perched beautifully on a steep hill overlooking Table Rock Lake, we were able to bypass Branson proper initially and instead approached The Chateau through the misty midday fog.  Our arrival time was right around lunch time and the “peak” athlete check in hours.  However, there were no lines to speak of for any of the registration steps, probably because there are so fewer racers (~650) than at many other 70.3 events.  After a quick bite we attended the athlete meeting, mostly to see how the multiple transition area arrangement would work as well as the bad weather contingency plan.  Then we made our way down the hillside to Moonshine Beach and T1 to check in our bikes.  By this point, the rain was at a heavy drizzle and the temperature was in the low to mid 50’s.  Being (not) well prepared with my non-waterproof, lightweight wind-jacket, I was determined to unload the bike, get the race wheels on, inflate, and rack the tri-bike as quickly as humanly possible.  This was a mistake, but more on that later.

With our Saturday formalities completed, we made our way to our hotel, nestled nicely between the Hollywood Wax Museum and a near life-sized replica of the Titanic, to check in and get dry before heading out on the town for dinner.  On our evening drive to the Branson Landing, we were able to take in all the neon-lit theatres, Chinese buffets, and antique shops that Branson had to offer.  The Landing itself offered a nice change being a waterfront outdoor shopping and dining center lacking much of the “glitz” of the rest of the city.  Dinner was pub-food, which allowed us to linger and take in a good deal of bad college football (looking at you OSU and Kentucky) before heading in for the night to sort our transition bags and catch some Z’s.

Race morning came early; my stomach was unsettled from heavy dinner and the always good decision of pre-race ice cream, so I skipped my usual race morning banana (but not my coffee) and hit the road to T2 to drop off the run gear bag.  Due to the rainy wet conditions, I kept everything tightly packed in my gear bag and included an extra pair of socks for the run, an unusual extravagance for me.  After the quick T2 visit, we boarded the duck boats (our shuttles were indeed duck boats) and “set sail” for T1 and the swim start.  T1 setup was more scaled down than usual for me since I wanted to keep everything under cover in case a shower passed through during the swim.  Once setup was complete, it was off to the beach to talk through our nervousness with the rest of the participating family and our support crew (brave mothers in this case).  Sunrise arrived and the clouds actually appeared to be clearing.  The water was glassy-smooth as the pros launched at 7AM with my dad in the first wave behind.  My sister launched 10 minutes later at 7:15, when I decided to fully don the wetsuit and down my pre-race Powergel.

At 7:40, M18-29 was sent from the beach with me included.  My goal here was to get my stroke rate up quickly to warm up and set a strong initial pace as well as to position myself near the middle of my AG pack to provide natural “human bumpers” to keep me swimming straight.   Both goals were accomplished well, and soon enough I was in a rhythm.  The course is an elongated, slightly askew rectangle and there were plenty of buoys to sight off of, so I just started ticking off the meters.  I felt like things were going well, and my belief was confirmed when I began passing swimmers from 2 waves prior in the last 500 meters.  I hopped out of the water and jogged up the stairs to T1 with my legs feeling a little more rubbery than usual at this point in HIM, but I’ll take some early fatigue for a new best swim in non-current conditions.  Swim: 35:22 (23/61 in M25-29)

T1 was uneventful and I was quickly out on the bike course. T1: 2:53

As soon as you leave the parking lot on the bike you are faced with the harsh reality of the hills.  Climbing made up the majority of the first 3 miles, so I just settled into a comfort zone and focused on slowly grinding upward while getting my nutrition and trying to diagnose what that awful creaking noise was coming from my bike.  At around mile 7, the course reaches “The High Road” and the first aid station.  At this milestone, I decided to stop and correct the still mysterious noise issue on my bike.  After a little time with the bike upside down, I realized that in my haste to get out of the rain on Saturday, I had installed my rear wheel to close to the frame cutout and it was therefore rubbing the frame.  Getting frustrated with the time I was losing, I continued to door a poor job of correcting the problem while getting increasingly worked up.  Finally, after a few deep breaths I backed the skewer position out of the drop-outs a bit to allow more clearance before continuing on.  The only problem with this was that I was now riding paranoid that my rear wheel was not firmly enough seated into position and would disconnect from the frame on one of the descents.  This was an absurd notion, but it kept me from really pushing the initial descents until I regained trust in my equipment.  The 10 mile time-split came finally (the slowness can be seen on the results) and the remainder of the bike proceeded smoothly. 

The “High Road” is a highway sitting high in the Ozarks allowing for awesome views coupled with roller-coaster terrain.  The majority of the bike course was spent either grinding up a hill at 10mph, or zooming downward at 35+…it was a true test with about 30% more ascending than the Louisville IM course in only half the distance (according to MapMyRide).  Knowing this was no PR course, I tried to take it all in stride and just focus on how I felt to guide my pacing.  I raced without any technology so I wouldn’t be tempted to compete against my average speed.  As the final miles approached, the wind and clouds picked up, so I was glad to be leaving the High Road for the descent into Branson.  All told, the bike was fine, and looking back I consider myself lucky for not getting a flat considering the sharp, fine gravel that washed onto the road from Saturday’s rain had many victims including my soon to be brother in law and my dad (1 flat each), as well as my sister (2 flats and forced to retire from the race when the SAG vehicle ran out of spare equipment).  After some steep descents and a no-passing technical bike-path section on the run into town, I was racking my bike at Branson Landing and leaving for the final leg of the race.  Time: 3:13:27 (17.37mph, 22/61 in M25-29).

T2 was quick, mainly due to the lack of clutter in the transition area. T2: 1:44.

The run is a multi-loop course (2 & 7/8’s loops according to the race director), that runs flat along the river.  Part of each loop is through the center of the Landing shopping center, a very spectator friendly strip.  The rest of the loop runs along the river through an RV park, under some old railroad bridges, through some residential areas and looping at a small park outside of downtown.  I settled into what felt like a very controlled pace, but could not really tell since my pacing off the bike is usually incorrect without being monitored (which I was not doing…no technology).  Looking at the 2 mile split, I went out a little too hot at 7:01 pace…should have been more in the 7:15-7:30 pace.  Somewhere on the return to the landing in my 3rd mile there was a huge crack of thunder.  This drew my attention upward to the now dark heavens staring ominously back down.  Uh-oh! 

As I passed the finish chute at mile 4 the rain began to fall, first in drops, but steadily increasing to a downpour complete with its own light and sound show.  As my motivation to continue began to rapidly decrease, my mind wandered to the rest of the family that I presumed was still on the bike course.  I was afraid for them with the remaining descents into town and the harrowing weather conditions.  At this time, I also stopped taking nutrition…I don’t think this was related to my distraction but instead to having taken in too much water at early aid-stations convincing my stomach that it was full.  As the run turned into a rapid wading contest on lap 2, I began looking out for familiar faces on the course.  I got frustrated when I began to tire and was not seeing any of the Kissel race team on the run, so negativity took over.  I found myself walking intermittently through during basically all the remaining miles from 6 to the finish, but not so much because my legs were dead.  My running pace was still strong at 7:30-7:45, but I just didn’t want to be out there slogging anymore.

I caught my mom at the beginning of the 3rd lap and asked about the others, but was not given reassuring response.  I was more distracted at this point since I had only seen my dad on the run course thus far and was told vaguely that “we weren’t all out here” at the loop.  With my negative mind-set, my thoughts immediately went to crashes and injuries and I almost pulled out of the race to see what the situation was.  Of course the situation was much less severe, albeit the disappointing news that my sister was pulled from the bike course.  I continued slowly the final loop only taking in water and just trying to complete the task at hand.  I finally kick myself into gear around mile 12 to go ahead and run the rest of the way in.  I turned in a decent kick down the finish chute and went in search of the family.  I was unaware of my race splits until talking to my wife on the phone about a half hour after the race.  Run Time: 1:50:45 (8:27 pace)

Final Time: 5:44:11 (15th of 61 M25-29).

Post-race, I was relieved to see my sister and find out that the other 2 were still on the course (although I’m sure they weren’t as pleased at the time).  After a pit-stop at the car to warm-up and grab a blanket, we returned to the finish to cheer in the remaining competitors.  It was time to get dry, get fed, and get the heck out of that tacky, rainy city!

Looking back from my dry living room, I am glad to have partaken in the challenge that was Branson.  If I’m going to race a slow 70.3 course, it might as well be in crazy weather conditions as well to add to the adventure.  The time is what it is.  I think on a good day without the bike pit stop and a more focused run I could have been maybe 20 minutes faster, but it still wouldn’t have put me near a qualification spot.  I severely underestimated the course, but enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

My tips for anyone considering this race in the future:

• Stay near Table Rock Lake and away from Branson if possible to avoid the cheesiness of the city.

• Practice biking on long, sustained climbs (1-2 miles) with steady grades.  Most climbs could be completed spinning up in a low gear without needing to stand and crank on it.

• Enjoy the scenery of the High Road.  There is no other 70.3 venue with as much bike-course scenery in North America.

• Pack your sense of humor.  Chances are, you’ll need it at some point in the weekend.

• Thank the volunteers…they were heroes and didn’t even flinch as the skies opened and attempted to wash them into the river.  Everyone remained all smiles (and ponchos) at the aid stations

Anniversary Trip to the Carolinas, Part 2

The second portion of the anniversary vacation, South Carolina, began Friday evening upon arrival at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, a small resort hotel across the bay from Charleston proper, near Mt Pleasant. Once checked in, we ventured out for fresh seafood and made our way to the Shem Creek Bar and Grill, as recommended by my mom.

Here, we enjoyed a drink on the back creek bar and listened to a local artist do island influenced renditions of rock and pop hits, including A-ha's Take On Me. Once seated next to an aquarium, we befriended our neighbor fish and got down to the business of eating. The food was delicious and included my first experience "shooting an oyster". I am pretty sure it was also my first experience eating an oyster in any manner...and it was a lot of fun.

 

After dinner, we checked out the resort a little more in the dark before calling it a night. Friday had been a long day. Saturday morning, we were welcomed with mid-90's temperatures and 110+ degree heat indexes. Seems this is a common theme this summer. To make the best of it, we started the day with breakfast at a local coffee shop, Metto, before catching a water taxi to Charleston.
Once in Charleston, we had to make a hot walk to the market area, where we began our trek through the city. There were plenty of shopping stops, mostly to take advantage of air conditioning. Unfortunately, we didn't take very good advantage of the many opportunities to checkout a museum or historical site...either due to being disoriented by the heat or a lack of planning. We did take a quick walk down Rainbow Row.  After burning out, we caught "Ollie", the resort trolley, back to the hotel.

 

Some much needed relaxation by the pool recharged our batteries for a trip to Sullivan's Island for an early dinner. We must have picked a local favorite (Sullivan's) because it was packed by 6 pm. More delicious seafood was had before we took off to cruise the strip between Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. We caught our first glimpse of the actual Atlantic Ocean (instead of the inlets and harbors), which will be the focus of Sunday's activities, before heading back to call it an evening early.

Sunday began with an early morning run in the Charleston heat and humidity. The run involved 2 passes (over & back) of the largest "hill" in the Charleston area, the Arthur Ravanel Bridge (see photo at the bottom of the post). Despite the heat and lack of shade on the bridge the views of both Charleston and Mount Pleasant provided a worthy distraction.

Once business was taken care of, Susan and I headed out for the day, with our late morning activity being bumming on the beach. We hit the Isle of Palms public beach, which was packed with locals and tourists alike. Tide was moving out, so there was plenty of space for everyone. Since we only took books and towels with us, the beach stay mainly consisted of reading, sunbathing, and wading through the surf. I was tempted to steal the buckets of a neighboring beach goer so that I could build a monumental sand castle.

The heat had not come down much from Saturday; thus we only survived until around lunch time at the beach. After grabbing some food at a beach-front dive, we made our way back to the hotel to rinse off the sandiness and prepare for the rest of the day. Since we didn't want to venture immediately back into the heat and still had areas of Charleston I wanted to see, we took a Sunday cruise over to Charleston to check out the historic mansions of Battery St. and the King St shopping district. This also got us out of the hotel room long enough for housekeeping to do their thing.

We returned late afternoon and took up our places by the pool to relax the remainder of our last day of vacation. Clouds began to roll in, so it cooled considerably. Neither of us were feeling up to getting geared up for a fancy dinner, so we just hit a local pub. The food was a letdown considering the rest of the meals on the trip, but expected considering the establishment.  After dinner, we returned to the hotel to pack up and prepare for our 10-hour journey back to Cincinnati.

Anniversary Trip to the Carolinas

In celebration of our 3rd successful year of marriage, Susan and I took off on another extended weekend vacation to mark the occasion. To help alleviate some of the necessary driving, the trip was divided into two segments, we'll call them North Carolina and South Carolina.

North Carolina began on Thursday with a midday drive from Cincinnati to Asheville. We had purchased a package through a hotel that included Biltmore Estate admission for consecutive days, so stopped off at the hotel to grab our tickets. We arrived at the Biltmore entrance when most people were leaving for the day since the house tours were closed. Luckily, our plan was to check out the newer section of the estate, which was Antler Village (and farm) and the Winery.

The village is a circle of shops, restaurants and an exhibition gallery. When we arrived, there was a guitarist jamming some Bluegrass in the rotunda. We hit the area shops and made sure we'd have time to hit the winery last, before we grabbed some ice cream and made our way through the farm.

The farm has one section devoted to turn of the century agricultural technology to give an idea of what life was like at the beginning of the estate's history. Another section has a small garden and a farm animal petting zoo, complete with baby goats, rams, horses & chickens.

   

We concluded the estate visit with a tour of the winery, with a very talkative tour guide, and a tasting (which was unlimited and free with admission to the estate). To make up for the bargain tasting, we spent a good deal restocking wine in the shop afterwards.

Before leaving the estate, Susan was taken by a field of sunflowers so we stopped for a photo shoot. Then, we made our way to downtown Asheville for dinner. We hit up The LAB (Lexington Avenue Brewery) and returned to our modest hotel to take advantage of the rest of the package deal we received, which included champagne and chocolates. 

Friday began with a return to the Biltmore and a tour of the gardens. The tour was abbreviated due to excessive heat, so we grabbed some lunch and decided to take the audio tour of the house. It is mighty impressive, especially the indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, they outlaw photography in the house. Once our tour was complete, we cruised around the rest of the estate grounds before bidding farewell to Asheville and North Carolina. The remainder of the vacation will be centered in and around Charleston, SC.

 

Heading West – A Long Weekend in Denver, Day 1

It’s been a while since we’ve travelled west (about 5 months now), so we decided to take a long weekend trip to Denver and, as usual, are documenting each day in my blog.  We flew out of Louisville Friday morning and will return Monday morning.  A nice long weekend that started early on Friday with a plane ride…   

The wife in front of her windowless window seat

After arriving in Denver, we decided to drive up to Boulder.  We were pretty hungry from the travelling and decided to try a University of Colorado hotspot called The Sink.  The walls were covered in paintings and the low ceilings were covered in signatures of diners.   It was also featured on a recent episode of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

The Sink

Wall paintings

A shot of the ceiling graffiti

Next stop was Chautauqua Park to check out the Flat Iron Mountains.  We walked about the park a bit and then up the trail to the tree line of the mountains.  The trail was busy with hikers, families, and dog walkers.  It offered a nice view of both the mountains and the city of Boulder below.

 

After checking out the park, we decided to head to downtown Boulder and see the Pearl Street shopping district.  Soon after we arrived, we saw a pretty impressive street performer.  He started out on stilts and moved to a very tall unicycle.   

He started out with juggling

 
Then tossed his hat from his foot to his head while on his unicycle


Street Sign in Downtown Boulder

Storefront on Pearl Street

After we had our fill of walking around Boulder, we grabbed a quick snack at a chocolate shop before heading back to Denver.  We relaxed at our friend’s place (who is graciously hosting us for the weekend) for a while to get some rest before dinner.

 
Random shot from the car on the way to Denver

With March Madness in full swing, we had to catch the UK – OSU game which was conveniently during dinner time in Denver.  I did some research and found the perfect bar to watch the game.  It was called College Inn and was the official bar of the University of Kentucky, Colorado Alumni Association.  The bartender noticed the wife’s Ohio license right away and warned her that she’d be outnumbered.  The bar was full of enthusiastic UK fans who would burst into spontaneous C-A-T-S cheers throughout the game.  They even played the UK Fight Song at halftime.  There was a few Ohio State fans to keep the wife company but the roar of the UK fans drowned out her small cheering section.

After watching the Cats pull out a last minute win, we headed home amid the congratulating (for me) and consoling (for the wife) messages.  Go cats!  Tomorrow we’ll actually try and see some of Denver itself.