Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Back to Reality


Summer just ain't summer without a visit to the Redneck Riviera. My mom and dad invited us along with them for a trip to Fort Walton Beach, FL. We had a blast as usual.

Ever heard of Jerry Jeff Walker? J.T. played this song as we were driving home...

COWBOY BOOTS & BATHING SUITS

We’ve been here a week or so,
Now it’s finally time to go.
Can’t believe how quickly time has flown,
Packin’ up the bathin’ suits,
Getting out the cowboy boots,
That’s a sign we must be going home….

Time just stopped for a little while,
We were part of a tiny island.
Made a lot of friends we’ll keep for life.
When we get back home to Texas,
And they ask us what we missed most,
I’ll shrug my shoulders, and I’ll smile….

Early mornings on the long boat dock,
Drinkin’ coffee as the sun comes up
Lazy days napping in the big deck chair.
Late night dancing in the front street bar,
Walking home underneath the stars,
Man it’s like some dream we live down here….

Last night we ate conch and lobster.
Mark said it was his favorite dinner,
Maybe even the best one of his life.
Dining underneath the stars
Chilean wine and Cuban cigars,
I smiled at him and said you could be right….

And he got real quiet, and he said you know,
hell I worked hard all my life,
I made a lot of dough.
I’ve been everywhere,
I don’t think it gets any better than down here.
I mean the warmth and love of the people here,
No crime, no hate, or fear
I don’t think I’m ready for the world waiting for me back there….

I need me just….
One more morning on the long boat dock,
Drinking coffee as the sun comes up,
Drinking bilikin beer in the big deck chair.
Late night dancin’ in a front street bar,
Makin’ love under the stars,
Man it’s like some dream we live down here….

Walking home underneath the stars,
Hearing voices from that empty bar,
Man it’s like some dream we live down there….

We’ve been here a week or so,
Now it’s finally time to go.
Can’t believe how quickly time as flown.
Packin’ up the bathin’ suits,
gettin’ out the cowboy boots,
That’s a sign we must be goin’ home….

I don't wear cowboy boots except for when they are appropriate (such as a Hank concert or a rodeo), and I don't live in Texas, but it's still a good song!

I got in a 10 mile (negative split!) run Saturday while I was there. I had intended to use my Garmin, but for some reason the battery was dead when I turned it on. And not having the charger with me, I had to be creative. So I downloaded the BimActive GPS program to my cell phone, and used my arm band to carry my cell phone with me during the run. It worked really well, and I actually really like all the information it gives you. Plus, since I have songs and podcasts on my phone as well, I was able to listen to Steve Runner during his latest run of the Boston Marathon. Ihave gotten quite a bit behind on the Phedippidations podcasts. On Sunday Briar and I ran a mile and a half on the beach, and on Monday after we got home I did a 4 mile run in 37:36. Early this morning I rode the Staggerwing course with H, K, and J.O., followed by a 1 mile run off.

Here is some of the information BimActive gave me about my 10 mile run from Fort Walton Beach to Destin and back:

Like I said, I really like that BimActive program. It doesn't have some of the same advantages as my Garmin, but it says you can also upload your Garmin data to the bimactive website - which would be very cool. I am going to investigate it further. I think it's worth checking out.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bim stuff is really cool. I don't use my phone but upload the info from my Garmin. Then the cool part is you can export the info back to your blog.

Lance Notstrong said...

Fort Walton Beach is awesome!!!

BTW, don't mess with Texas :-)

Michele said...

My phone must be too old, it is not supported. Guess I will have to run with you (and keep up) to get all that cool data!!

TRI Vortex said...

I don't have a Garmin so that Bin looks sweet! I might consider it until I can get the Garmin. Too bad they don't support my phone yet.

tri-mama said...

Sounds like a great vacation- love that song! It would be cool to see you go to the AG nationals.

Rae said...

Welcome back!!!! I'm sure you guys had a blast on vacay!

What do you think of the Staggerwing course and the race? Is it a pretty tough & hilly course or would your recommend it for a first timer?

bbieberitz said...

I just wish that my cell phone carrier would support it. It looks like a great app to use.

Nice negative split on the run. Way to go!