Holly and I have been enjoying the w-e in Asheville. It's been mild and breezy-that kind of late summer weather that is so gorgeous in the mtns. Friday evening we had dinner with friends, enjoying their house which is nestled among the hardwoods, rhododendrons and mtn laurels. What a beautiful spot to enjoy a delicious dinner with such terrific hosts.
Saturday morning we did another section of that challenging half-marathon course which we will run Sept 12th in Asheville. The course begins downtown near the historic Grove Arcade and winds its way through town to a beautiful neighborhood near the Grove Park Inn (i.e. it's some up), the Kimberly area, over to the golf course (again, it's up), around Beaver Lake, then down to the River (what goes down must come up), turning on to a winding road that passes our house (that one is really up, up, up), around the university and down a long street heading back toward town to complete the 13.1 mile route. This Saturday we ran a little over an hour and a half. We have been reading in the local newspaper about all the people training for the half-marathon who have already completed the course for their training. I like a little more excitement and mystery in my life. If I'd already completed the whole thing, I wouldn't feel the need to do it on Sept 12th. I mean, the purpose of the thing is to see if you can do it. It's a kind of health celebration for me-to prove that I can run that far after all of that horrible chemo last year. I need and want the mystery of wondering how I will feel running that far. As far as I am concerned, all of those other people can train by doing the entire course if it makes them feel better. Me, I'll stick with a little uncertainty on this one.
Saturday afternoon we attended the Beer & Baseball event held downtown at the stadium. It was a showcase for about 30 microbreweries with several bands playing on the actual field (there wasn't a bit of baseball, go figure). Anyway, we got turned on to a new artist named Kellin Watson, a bluesy rock singer who did a terrific hourlong set. Really cool to catch some new live music and enjoy some great fresh beer. My two favorites were the ESB from Sweetwater Brewing Co and the new offering from the Hebrew brewery. However, there were lots of other great styles to try. Water was a very popular beverage too as it was fairly sunny and warm early in the day.
Sunday we ate brunch with our friends Susan and Donna before they had to head off to work. Great to catch up with them over eggs and bacon. I got to show off Bella, my new mtn bike. Susan tried it out briefly. I think she liked it, especially having that extra shock in the back. Afterwards, Holly and I rode the mtn bikes in Bent Creek, and we did one of those routes with the big hill climb (59 mins of continuous up but who's counting...) followed by the big whirlygig down, down, down (Green Lick, it's called). Wow what a blast on my new bike. I love that Bella girl. It really does make a difference in the amount of jostling and jerking when you ride over rocks or roots. And there were just a few of those.
We saw the "Julie & Julia" movie Sunday evening. What a treat! I love seeing Meryl Streep in anything, and getting to see her play Julia Child is incredible. She does such a good job laughing in that sing song way that Julia did, lumbering around in all of those old outfits, and wrestling with all that poultry. She made the movie so fun to watch. Just don't go hungry, or you'll be starving by the end. Even I am tempted to cook beef bourgandy after seeing it in the film, and I don't even eat beef.
Next Friday, Holly and I leave for a trip to Scandinavia to celebrate her 50th birthday (which is actually in October). In her honor, I wrote a message in stone (well sort of...) The pink bit is an orchid bloom.
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