Rochester MN: final FINAL snowfall ?

An egret catching breakfast in the park on the morning of April 30.


The following morning (yesterday, May 1st), Don watched the weather reports, made a decision, reserved a hotel room in Rochester, rented a car. We left in mid-afternoon for Don's myeloma appointment which was the following morning at Mayo Clinic.
This was the amazing scene out our hotel window at six o'clock this morning. Don had already left, through the tunnels for his 6am blood draw at the clinic.



Rochester is in Olmsted County. All of the medical people Don was scheduled to see had made it in, some taking as much as an hour and a quarter for the usual 15 minute commute.
If we had waited until this morning to drive to Rochester, we wouldn't have made it. For a while this morning the highway between the Twin Cities and Rochester was closed.


Mid-morning view from the 10th floor, where we see the doctor.


Footprints in the snow greeted us as we waded our way to our car on the top of the parking ramp.


Immediately we were met by a man with a snow shovel, waving directions to the front end loader operator.


The city street in Rochester at around 1:00 this afternoon
Tonight they are reporting total snow fall at about 14 inches of "wet cement".

Kyle's Ordination; Get in Gear 10K; Finally Spring

A rare and precious opportunity: joining with other clergy in the laying on of hands in the ordination service for the son of a congregation I served.
Picture: newly ordained pastor!





Saturday morning we ran the Get in Gear "Rite of Spring" 10K
A moment of silence for Boston was observed before the race.


License plate... and how long is a marathon?


After the races, Minnehaha Park was alive with runners, kids, dogs, bicycles.


A celebration of spring...at last!


This afternoon there were still old dirty piles of snow here and there, but we are celebrating SPRING!

Snowing morning: April 23, 2013

Another SEVEN inches of heavy wet beautiful snow......









Even the plants in our sunroom are confused. This one thinks it's Christmas.

April Snow

APRIL NINETEENTH (19TH), TWIN CITIES, MINNESOTA, 2013



Geese, knee deep in heavy white wet stuff: Isn't this where we nested last year??

We are NOT in Boston today.

News of the bombing at the Boston Marathon has raised concern of people who know Don is a marathon runner.
We appreciate the caring.

We are home and we are fine (and lucky).
We just returned from Duluth where we attended a big birthday party for Don's Dad's 100th birthday.

Being in sight of the finish, having run 26 miles, and witnessing the explosions must have been an electrifying experience. Hard to even imagine the disappointment of training, running, and not finishing
the Boston Marathon.
We grieve .... our hearts go out for the children, for the injured, for the runners, for families, for security and law enforcement, for supporters, organizers, volunteers...

....And for people everywhere who are involved in road racing... for it will never be quite the same again.

Shamrock Marathon / Half - Virginia Beach - March 17

Sweet Pea and Sunshine finished their runs in 50 states, with 13 marathons and the remainder half marathons.

Some swell stuff about Virginia Beach and the races:

The huge 10K ran right past our hotel on Saturday morning.


In all the races many runners were celebrating "the wearing of the green".


Spring had arrived there.




Kites flew on the beach.


Generous water stops, lots of cute kid volunteers
No stingy "single" porta-potties at this race, meant never having to stand in line.


Sand sculpture at the finish.
Hot beef and carrot soup in the finishers' tent....


Finishers' hat


Finishers' blankets were not mylar... but polar fleece.


Definitely a "green" choice: a take home reusable blanket!


Yes, spring was in Virginia, even though following soon behind the snows.


Bags, and yes, well we weren't short of bags, but nice to get these at the expo and the finish.


Long sleeved technical shirt for marathon finishers


Short sleeves for half marathon finishers


Very nice finishers' medals


And oh! the breathtaking surf.....

Here is my Sweetie's account of his marathon race: http://minnesotadon.blogspot.com/2013/03/yuengling-shamrock-marathon-virginia.html

Hyannis Marathon & Half - Part Five - THE RACES

RAIN ! So sad for the volunteers, sponsors,race director, runners
A major proportion of motorists seemed to hate runners, or at least having the races on their streets.
There was no restriction of traffic, and we observed deliberate dousing of runners.
At any rate, dodging puddles was challenging.


The Hyannis marathon is described on the web site as a winter marathon. We were fortunate to miss the worst winter weather, just a couple of weeks previous. Here, left-over snow along the street and twigs and branches broken in the wind.


The temperature was around 42 degrees at the start and fell to a steady 38 degrees with an equally steady RAIN.


Yes, RAIN!


Sign advises "No lifeguard on duty" and yes, there were great piles of snow.



In spite of the rain and the wind off the Atlantic, I did love running along beaches.


The hospitality both for the expo and for the post-race party at the Hyannis Convention Center was faultless and welcome!


At the finish we were soaked and glad to be done.


We had a great time and the splendid finisher's medal was a delight.


The sweet race director promised to mail my age group award, since it turned up missing at the award ceremony.

Be sure to read Don's account of the race, too.
http://minnesotadon.blogspot.com/2013/02/hyannis-marathon.html

Hyannis Marathon & Half - Part Four

Provincetown: our last excursion before the races.
Provincetown: the site of the Pilgrims first anchoring before moving on to Plymouth Rock.
Provincetown: last town out on the end of Cape Cod.

Photo 1:  Pilgrim Monument, tallest granite structure in the US, constructed in 1907-1910.
Photo 2:  In the winter off season, many shops are closed, town is charming..
Photo 3:  Joe coffee shop, open, crowded, and best in town.
Photo 4:  Marvelous pastries displayed.... but yes, they did have coconut macaroons, gluten free and topped with dark chocolate. Oh! Yes!
Photo 5:  Sculpture in front of the public library, titled "Tourists"  !!