Our Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend and the weatherman said it was going to rain.  Nothing new there, we usually are out in the camper with a down pour pounding on the roof.
  

This weekend is Coeur d’Alene Half Marathon weekend, so we are staying home.  Linda has been training for her first Half, and she is way ready for this weekend to be over.

Saturday morning I loaded up The Boat and Ryan Edwards came over, we hitched it up and took it out to Hayden Lake for a little fishing.  Everything went real well for us.  The wind died and the sun actually came out as we tossed lines hoping to catch some bass or crappie.  The fishing was real slow and we had only caught a couple bass by about noon.  Two good old boys motored by us and hooked up on a pike, so we rigged up the pike plugs and started trolling for the big uglies.  Within about ten minutes I hit a 24 inch monster, it fought pretty hard and as we lifted it into the back of the boat it shook loose and bounced around finding its way back into the lake.  We moved on and about fifteen minutes later we hooked another one.  It was much smaller and we were able to get it on board and released without a fumble.

We fished on enjoying the sun.  One o’clock rolled around and the Minkota electric motor started running down, so we switched to the kicker and trolled on.  At about 2 pm I was watching the fish finder and it blinked once and shut down. Hummmmm that was a bit strange.  Then I sort of noticed that the steering was getting a little bit lethargic, but I wasn’t concerned.  Then at about 2:45 pm I shut the kicker down and went to fire up the big motor and nothing!  The battery would not turn it over.  Using the kicker and the fish finder had run the juice out of the battery.  Well actually, going fishing twice using the kicker and the fish finder ran the battery down.  I remembered that when Mike Anderson and I fished, we didn’t use the big motor either. 

Linda checking out the finish line!

We fired up the kicker and chugged home.  When we arrived at the dock I remembered that we could not lift the big motor without power so Ryan and I had to get the boat on the trailer and hope that it didn’t drag the bottom of the engine as we pulled out.  We were lucky and the boat came out without getting close to the cement launch ramp.  Once again I learned a lesson about my new boat.  We had a great time and as soon as we got the boat back into its resting place next to the garage, I plug it into the battery charger for a good nights rest.

Sunday morning came very early.  Linda woke me at 4:30 am so that we could arrive at the race start by 6 am.  Wow, I hope other support teams got to sleep in a bit later than I did!  We arrived at Riverstone where the race began and Linda immediately went to the restrooms. This continued right up until the race started at 7:30 am.  I followed her around talking to numerous folks as she obsessed about whether to wear her tights or run in her bare legs.  With less than a minute until the start, she ripped off her tights and went with the naked leg look.  I packed the rejected uniform away, gave her a kiss and walked to a place where I could watch the start of the mayhem.

Two hours of running makes you thirsty, hungry, and bored.

Once the massive crowd moved out, I walked over to the near road and was able to find Linda and take a picture before she disappeared for the next 12 miles of fun. I immediately turned and walked directly to the nearby Starbucks, where I was herded into a line and allowed to buy a coffee and egg muffin type thing. I popped out the front door of the coffee shop took a right and found a table in the sun.  Linda was projecting a finish some time about two hours and twenty five minutes and I had used up about twenty five of that to get my breakfast.  With two hours ahead, I settled in and opened my book. 

After about an hour I made my way back to the Jeep and picked up my chair.  Caring the chair and Linda’s gear bag I found a spot where I could sit and watch the crowds walk back and forth in front of the race participants, it was sort of like watching Frogger without anyone getting killed.

She is happy now!

At about 2 hours into the race I started looking for Linda.  She had projected a finish around 2 hours and 25 minutes, so my attention turned to the faces of the runners.  At 2 hours 10 minutes Linda appeared, ran past and turned the corner to the finish line.  She was well ahead of her goal time and I was pretty excited.   I picked up my gear and walked towards the race end and met her about half way there.  She was excited and a bit tired.  We walked back to the Jeep and found our way back home.

We ended Sunday by getting together with John and Loretta Sutherland and going across the lake to have dinner at Eddies at Arrow Point.  e had a great time, the meal was very expensive and just so, so.  They have changed their menu and upped the prices.  Lowest thing on the dinner menu was $15, I had a $17 pot roast plate that was good but not worth the bucks.  We really enjoyed the evening and d the boat ride.  Mostly we enjoyed sitting at the dock in the boat just talking.  The weather looks like it is holding for the better. Tomorrow could be another great day!

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