Yoo 632 - Malaquite Beach

Greg met me in Corpus at the finish of Capital to Coast, after I'd joined my team in an appetizer gorge-fest at some Mexican restaurant. We'd had plans to camp at a State Park but then someone forgot the state parks pass so we ended up heading for the National Seashore on Padre Island. It was early evening and I was beyond tired. I wanted nothing more than to put down the back seats, lay my sleeping bag out, and die for 10 hours. Luckily we found the camping area at Malaquite Beach and there were still spots left so we could set up the tent NOT on sand.

There was a sunset stroll on the beach but it wasn't quite as romantic as you'd imagine because Roscoe needed to be tranquilized. He was going nutterballs with every creature sighting which was exacerbated by the fact that he was attached to Greg's arm. After he got in one with a crab, we just went back and crawled into the tent.

But then Roscoe was all confused. We were in our 2-man tent which is just big enough for me and Greg. Roscoe walked all over us like "where's my spot?" eight times. Even after I'd made him a spot at the foot of my sleeping bag. Not to mention the fact that we hadn't put the tent fly on so he could see outside and every little thing that moved outside. I was tired enough that I slept through most of his shenanigans but I don't think he slept the entire night. I did wake up a couple times to him licking my face, which was weird. He's such a funny dog.

We got up just as the dark was becoming less dark, left Roscoe to finally get some sleep in the car, and hobbled along the beach for sunrise. It was spectacular. My favorite part was watching the pelicans and joking with Greg about possible CD names for their imaginary band.

Breakfast was a cheat because we Dutch-ovened tubed cinnamon rolls but it was still a step above pop tarts. The family camped next to us was originally from the Czech Republic. They had 3 adorable young girls with the cutest accents who kept coming over to pet Roscoe and talk.

In closing, I love running and camping and my husband and my dog and food and the hours buffering sunrise and sunset. It was a great weekend.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 498 - Beach Camping

We took Roscoe beach camping last weekend and it was hilarious in a this-was-such-a-bad-idea kind of way.

First, he threw up in the car on the drive there. He's never vomited before so that was weird. But I've decided he's a really considerate canine retcher cause he cleaned it right up himself.

If Roscoe could talk, I imagine the dialogue would have played out as follows:

Roscoe, looking dazed: "Hey guys, I think I feel funny."

Begins coughing. Coughing turns to heaving. Teagan peers into the back seat.

Teagan, concerned:  "Hey buddy, you ok?"

Roscoe, looking drunk, sticks his head between the front seats: Pause. "Why's everyone looking at me?" Perks up. "Wait, are you still eating Doritos? I want a Dorito!"

Two seconds pass. A scent captures his attention and he looks down, seemingly discovering his mess.

Roscoe, excitedly:  "Holy gold mine! Treat!! How did I miss this??"

And just like that, you couldn't even tell he'd gotten sick. He was very thorough. I was less disturbed and mostly grateful.

When we got to the beach and tried to introduce Roscoe around, he freaked out. We tried to slowly get him close to the water but he went full tank-mode on us and clamored to get as far away as possible. I have no clue why. Maybe it sounded like a million vacuums to him?

We tethered him to the front wheel of our vehicle and started unloading stuff from the back. This open door was like an open invitation and he hoped on in and climbed over two rows of seats, still tethered to the front wheel, mind you.

This got sand EVERYWHERE. And happened twice.

The second time, he refused to get out so we rolled down the windows and let him spend most of the evening huddled on the floor. Not really what I had in mind when I first dreamed of taking my dog to the beach...

At bedtime we let him into our tent. That was another bad idea. He calmed down a bit, but he walked around the tent ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I swear he's become nocturnal. This wouldn't have been horrible if we hadn't been crammed in a two-man tent. I was rudely awoken every twenty minutes with a different dog part in my face and at least one puppy paw piercing my body. Greg somehow slept thru most of that.

The morning came with a glorious sunrise and Roscoe trying to slash his way out of the tent. He did eventually warm up to the beach and even ventured into the water for some time. Though he was really more interested in going crazy every time he saw a seagull or a crane or a crab.

Not to mention the gnarly bruise he left on my thigh. That dog has a very powerful water stroke...

As we were getting ready to leave, Roscoe started digging a huge hole right under our tire. When I discovered him, he jumped in it and acted all nonchalant like nothing was going on.

"Hole? What hole? Hey look at that bird..."

The trip ended with an exhausted couple, driving back home and laughing at their crazy, salt-crusted dog. The excursion was worth it in a nothing-is-boring-with-roscoe kind of way.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 465 - Longhorns and Llamas

^^ i'm talking to you, smil!

I like the way Aussies say so. Kind of like "sore"...ish. It's probably not all of them but I know at least one actress that does and I wish I could get away with talking like her. Their accents are just fun. And Kiwi accents. British too? Accents!

This post has nothing to do with accents other than I was going to start out by saying "Our weekend was so exciting!" which led to a thought tangent of how I wish I could sound cool pronouncing so "sore" and now you know.

Our weekend was sore exciting!

This collection of photos is rather disjointed and doesn't make sense, but it feels weird posting pics of other people's kids, so remains my collection of mostly people-less pictures.

We were in Houston, with a little side trip to Kemah, just spending time with family. The nieces and nephews were as amusing as ever and the weather was beautiful. Not necessarily the most noteworthy part, but certainly a milestone, was sleeping in a king size bed for, like, the first time in our married existence.

Holy wow. Greg loved it...but I felt like we woke up in separate zip codes. Where's the fun if you can't fight over space and bed covers all night??

Minus the part where I lost all self-control and drank half my weight in diet root beer, I would live that weekend again.

And now, the favorite picture from the weekend, captured on the third count of "K kids, give me your best smile on 3!":

One final aside...this post has nothing to do with llamas OR longhorns. But I saw a herd of longhorns while we were driving and happily exclaimed "Longhorns!" to command the attention of the Gregdriver. THEN I saw llamas too. In the same field. "...and llamas!", I added. Surely one can't ignore longhorns AND llamas?  It was a trivial moment, at best, yet I decided right then that if the opportunity presented itself, it would be a blog title.

That's that.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 343 - Spontaneous Beach Day

I'll admit it. I'm in a bit of a mental funk when it comes to my Ironman training right now. I won't delve into the depths of it, but I will say it's pretty bad. So bad, in fact, that last Saturday morning, when I should have been on a 40-mile bike ride, I was actually downing a breakfast taco while listening to Jack Johnson on my way to the beach with the Katiefriend.

Physically I was ready for the training. Mentally? No.

Escaping to the beach for the day seemed like the best prescription.

We drove Suby Sue along the edge of the dunes for miles until we found our own little remote stretch of untamed beach to claim.

Hand-flying.

Afternoon nap.

Outback on the beach.

Boogie-boarding!

Did you know the Portuguese Man-of-War is not actually a jellyfish? Wikipedia told me so! It's a colonial organism which essentially means it's made up of a bunch of "specialized individuals" that can't survive without each other. Weird, huh?

Katie's sexy beach-hair glamor shot.

And mine.

I really need a haircut.

Seafood dinner at Pier 99.

Nueces Bay Bridge at night.

It was a late, looooong drive home, wherein we sang along as loud as we could to songs while struggling to stay awake.

But oh it was worth it.

I almost feel ready to tackle another week...

Have a great day :-)