Now THIS was a Summer Saturday

It started with a 4:30 wake-up to get rolling and out the door for Erie by 5:20. The rain had started already (along with Thunder and Lightning) and I could only think that if we drive the WHOLE WAY up to Erie (2.5 hrs) and this swim race gets cancelled, I'm going to be bummed.

So, we progress up Interstate 79 northbound to Erie with wipers on high half the way and my concerns grow. We get up to the Presque Isle Park and take the shuttle to the check-in. Oh great--there goes some more lightning over the harbor. Bummer! But, the rain (at least the lightning) let up and the swim across the bay got started with only about a 15 minute delay. I was soaked, but glad that Beth was able to get in her open water swim.

We get back to the car and change into running clothes and do a 10 mile run. The whole run on Presque Isle was so pretty and it just sprinkled the whole time--no torrential downpours as we had all morning.

We get back to the car, change, and get on the road--IT'S HOSS'S TIME!!!! For those of you who don't know, Hoss's is a western PA chain that offers steak/burger products with this awesome salad/bread/dessert bar. I may have had my best performance EVER today. I went out at an aggressive pace, but (to Beth's surprise) I maintained the pace throughout the entire meal. No letup today. It must be the increased training I've done this week.

Anyway, here's the carnage (rivaling the All-you-can-eat seats performance from last summer):

Trip 1: Salad, two pieces of garlic bread, and 1 slice of cinnamon bread, small slice of pizza (something I haven't seen at a Hoss's before)
Trip 2: Taco, mini-burger, mac & cheese, bowl of fruit (cantaloupe, apple slices, jello, ...)
Main entree: Sliced steak sandwich & fries (when the waitress delivered the entree she asked if I was going to need a box. I just laughed)
Trip 3: Dessert concoction consisting of brownie, ice cream, peanut butter sauce, hot fudge, and whipped cream
Trip 4: For good measure, an apple crisp thing and an oatmeal raisin cookie

I never really hit the wall. I was kind of surprised. In fact, I still feel decent.

Then, back on the road. I was getting a little sleepy and we were running a little low on gas, so we stopped in Grove City where they have an outlet mall. I tell Beth, "Let's just go into the Nike Outlet Store to get out and stretch our legs and wake me up."

Next thing you know, we went not only to Nike, but to Reebok, Gap, Aeropostale, Old Navy, Adidas, American Eagle, Haggar, and Nike again. I ended up getting new jeans (my old ones had holes in undesirable places), dress khaki pants (they're wearing out from school), and khaki shorts (what I wear all summer). Beth ended up with this purple hoody from Nike and shorts from Old Navy. Total bill for all that--$79. That's right, we're thrifty.

Now we're home and finally having a chance to get all of the crust and filth off of us from this morning (hoping that changing clothes and putting on deodorant in Erie was good enough for Hoss's and the outlets!!!)

I was telling Beth that this is about as relaxing of a weekend day as I've had in a while now that the stress of grading and planning for school is off the shoulders for a few months. Sure, I've got the summer elementary program for the next four weeks, but it's only 3 hours a day and it's only 6-12 kids and there's no intense lesson planning or grading. I love it!!!

Big ride planned for tomorrow. Look out bike computer!!!