Ends and Beginnings

To every beginning there is an end... and vicey versa. Our Florida Getaway officially ended around 5 a.m. Friday morning. We watched the sunset Thursday and by the time we saw it again, we were well into our 18+ hour trek. The return trip contained the drive from Cincinnati to Columbus which we'd eliminated on the way down by making a pit stop at Erica's parents. This was Gigi at 4:30 a.m. attempting to eat. The thing about Gigi is that she's blind and deaf but constantly on the move... it makes for a great deal of entertainment.

And in the end, we made it... exhausted, but in one piece. Then it was back at it Saturday to prepare for a night and day down in southern Ohio at Great Seal State Park. Myself and my two good friends, Nick and Andy, were all signed up for an 8-hour "adventure race" as Team Trail Trash. I really couldn't think of anything else. Luckily, we were the only trail trash on this jaunt. Pictured above was the start. We all gathered 'round for final details before setting out on the first of five disciplines... trail running, canoeing, orienteering, mountain biking and rogaining (Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance). We handed in the last card at the 8:13:00 mark. And aside from bailing on the last three controls of the rogaining section due to the lack of time and some decent wrecks on the bikes, we did really well... especially for this only being our second race. You learn with each one, so I'm already looking forward to the next.

You'll never get a better night's sleep as you will after busting your tail through the woods for eight hours. I went to bed Sunday night and I didn't even open an eye until 10 full hours had slipped by. And that was that. I'm ready to get back to a normal state of affairs.