This has been a nice late summer weekend. Friday night Will and Kim hosted us for a dinner of pasta, fresh summer vegetables and the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. We spent a fine evening “owwwing and ahhhing” as the Chinese performed incredible precision routines. Watching the lead up to and the opening ceremonies has fueled a fascination that the 4 of us developed in 2006 when we spent 16 days traveling through China. High on our dream list is a return trip to China to take the 2 day train ride from Beijing to Tibet!
We closed the evening on a sweet note with a homemade blueberry, blackberry and raspberry pie that I had baked earlier in the afternoon. The berries were handpicked (by me) several weeks ago at a local berry farm.
Yummy fresh berry pie
John and I did a few bike loops around Cherokee Blvd on Saturday morning but my legs were toast from another solid week of running so we cut the effort short, falling way short of my goal mileage and John’s too. Not to worry too much for him though, he rode 40 miles today!
Late Saturday afternoon, we went to The Cove at Northshore for a summer picnic, our first this year. It was a relaxing evening as we watched boats floating in the cove and listened to the 152nd Air Force Reserve Band’s 2nd Saturday summer concert. I have an itch to get on the water, either by kayak, row boat or sailboat and my dreams were just fueled by the sights and sounds of the river. A few pictures are below.
The band performed a series of military band type music and some tunes from the 60’s…does anyone remember the twist? We listened for a while and returned to our chairs located on the other side of the cove. Unfortunately, a young couple (20’s) had settled in fairly close to us and were a little too romantic for this very public setting. Help, help! Somebody call the fire department for a cool down!
We thought the couple might at least move when we sat down but they didn’t. We started feeling like voyeurs and weren’t sure whether to toss lake water to cool down the romance or call the cops patrolling the park. The couple eventually settled down and read to each other, which was about as annoying at the romance. Next time we will speak up.
The Cove is located right next to the Concord Yacht Club, home base for sailing in Knoxville. Nice to see sailboats dot the landscape although we saw only one boat under sail.
A nice swimming area and beach at The Cove
John listening to the concert trying to decide if he wants kettle corn. Lucky for both of us, he decided against the purchase.
Running has gone well this week! True to form, I struggle with the long run every other week and this was a struggle week. Let me tell you, 10 miles on a treadmill at a 12 mmp is a long, boring run! Numbers from this week:
Monday-run
5 miles, 57.54 minutes, 11.51 mmp
Tuesday-run
3 miles, 32.27 minutes, 10.75 mmp
Thursday-run
10 miles, 2 hours, 4 minutes, 12.4 mmp
Friday-run
4 miles, 47.04 minutes, 11.76 mmp
Saturday-bicycle
13.5 miles, 55.01 minutes, 14.74 mph
