Wow, I feel burned out from this long weekend. Friday night, Suede and I went out for dinner to 5th Street Bar and Grill, then went to the Roxy to see Terminator 3. I was glad to have seen it at the Roxy, and not at a more expensive theatre. It was a decent movie, but it certainly was to T2.

Saturday we headed up to Lake Cowichan for a day in the sun.

Sunday I was supposed to go for a ride, but I was way too tired, and way, way too sore (from wakeboarding) to even think about getting out on the trails. Instead I took it easy and spent a relaxing day at home. I did take Yoshi out for a short walk though.

Monday Suede and I went out to the Saanich Fair. We had a great time checking out the animals, the exhibits, and some of the food! Our favorite exhibit was the photography competition. I wish I had heard about it earlier. As I was checking out some of them I came to the realization that I can take pictures as good as the ones there! I am quite excited about entering next year, so I put my name on the list for more information.

On the way home we stopped and chose some corn from Silver Rill for dinner. Yumm. After dinner we walked down the street to Macaulat Point Park, and took in a play called Lieutenant Nun. It was part of the Fringe Festival. Very fun play. Thanks for the buttons Coreman. Much appreciated.

And here is Tuesday. I am back at work, but still very sore from the wakeboarding. That is always the sign of a good weekend!

Mmm, I like going to the lake. Yesterday Sue and I headed up to Lake Cowichan to visit KaptainK, little E, and Digger. Yoshi came for the trip, and it was such a blast. Yoshi and Digger had loads of fun jumping from the dock and swimming back to shore. They were joined by Willem.

I got to go out for another shot at wakeboarding. I tried it last year for the first time ever, and boy was it fun. This year, I got up on the first try! I was super impressed with myself. I made lots of turns as we headed across the lake. It was pretty choppy out so it got pretty hard. It would seem like the water would just disappear every now and then and I would have to quickly try and compensate. Eventually I lost, and down I went. Once again I got back up on the first try, but this time KaptainK was piloting the boat, and this was her first time ever driving a boat! I went down a while later and then had a few problems getting back up.

It was a blast, but it is very tiring. When I got back to the beach I was drained. Definitely a sport I would like to get better at, but most likely never will. Mmmm, boating then beer!

The dogs eventually wore them selves out which was really nice since they would bug anyone heading close to the water.

Little E and I went and played a little tennis, but she kept crowding the net so we stopped.

We stayed for a wonderful dinner. Mmm, yummy steak, pasta salad, freshly picked Silver Rill corn, and fresh made bread. Dessert was strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream. We stayed for the sunset, then packed the very tired pooch into the back of the truck and headed home for Victoria.

Ironman Canada 2003 is over and done. It was quite the experience. From forest fires to floating in the canal. From thick smoke to clear skies. From warm temps to more warm temps, this was one eventful trip.

It started on Friday with our arrival in Peachland. As we were gassing up we could see a large plume. At first we thought it was a cloud, but we realized later it wasn’t. The gas station was super busy as people were heading out of the area. It didn’t help that Penticton and Summerland were without power due to the Vasseux Lake fire that has just started that afternoon. We made it to Penticton, and to our chosen motel.

Skip to the pictures

Saturday we took in the athletes meeting, floated down the canal, played some pool, relaxed, and went to bed early.

Sunday morning arrived very early. 4:30 am we crawled out of bed, headed to Lenny’s for some grub, then off to the start line. I will let some pics tell the story for a bit.

It was an amazing experience. Watching the pure joy as some people came down the finishing chute. Seeing just how fast the pros are on the run portion after swimming and biking so far. Witnessing some of the gutsiest performances. Truly an amazing experience.

The one thing that struck me as truly miraculous was the city of Penticton itself. The race officials had to reroute the swim and the run. The run course was through the main streets of Penticton. The town quit literally was shut down from 7 am to midnight while the race was conducted. The superfans were in awe that a city would allow this since we all know that something like this could never, and would never be hosted in Victoria. Victorians complain enough when a race shuts down a couple roads for a few hours one day a year. Penticton is a wonderful town to visit, and truly a gracious host for such an event.

In the end it all worked out. The IronFans treked to the interior and settled into a long day of watching some pretty inspiring performances. It was pretty smoky in Penticton on race day, and surely it affected some racers, but for the most part everyone looked great. It is remarkable how fast the pro’s are during the marathon. Good grief. How can someone run a sub 3 hour marathon after swimming over 3.75 Kms and biking over 180 Kms? Astounding. I hope to get a more complete write up a little later.

Another road trip begins. Me and a few friends will soon be on our way to Penticton to watch Ironman Canada. The past few days we have been a little stressed wondering if the forest fires in the area will force a cancellation of the race. It sounds that besides a little smoke in the air, Penticton is fairing pretty well. The Ironman Canada organizers have confirmed that the race will go ahead, and no changes are going to be made. Good news (right now anyway).

This could all change if the winds turn the wrong direction so again, :cross: your fingers for us. Hopefully I will come back with some good action shots. T minus 20 minutes until I leave home, and T minus 1 Day, 21 hours, 8 minutes until the starting gun!

Gaaah! What to do, what to do? A bunch of friends and I are supposed to be heading to Penticton to wacth Ironman Canada this weekend. The forest fires in the area are wreaking some major havoc. The course may have to be rerouted, or if the fire danger increases, they may have to cancel! :jawdrop:

:cross: your fingers, watch the news sites, and just hope it all works out (for everyone in the area, not just us). The problem is, do we travel up there and hope the race goes on? Do we not risk having to be evac’d and go elsewhere for a guys weekend? Not sure since we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. My gut says to just go up there and see what happens. Not my decision though. If we do go, you can bet I will try to take some pictures of the fires.