It seems my fate involves moving frequently - I hope this next one is it for me, and that future moves will be in the local area. Ideally I will meet someone and settle down. ;) As far as employment opportunities, cultural attractions, entertainment and so on, the Washington DC/Baltimore metropolitan area will be hard to beat... and so I hope to stay. I'll be busy exploring the area for a long time!
I typically don't miss places as much as people. That being said, I wound up liking central Florida much more than I thought I would. There is other stuff to do besides theme parks, honest. The weather is pretty good for running and biking year round, and I took advantage. Kennedy Space Center is nearby - I got tickets to see a launch once, but it was delayed and I couldn't make it. I enjoyed kayaking and canoeing, and the occasional airboat ride, even if that is more on the touristy side of things. I'm not a huge beach goer, but I went a few times and had a great time with surfing lessons. I visited Key West with my family, but never did explore the rest of the state much at all. No trips to the panhandle or Jacksonville or even St. Augustine, no stop in Miami, and only two or three quick visits to Tampa.
But it comes down to the people I knew, and I will miss them. I got lucky finding a great/active biking club and running club and made several close friends. The good news is flights are short and cheap - 2 hours and about $200 if purchased in advance. I know I will be back in Florida twice in November - once for a friend's wedding, and a second time for a half marathon.
My blog helped keep in touch with friends when I moved from Washington. But now, most of the people I knew in Florida are all on Facebook so I guess that will be the new way to keep in touch.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Friends Helping Friends 5K
I had a great race this morning, taking 2nd place overall at a local 5K! I started out in 6th place - I could see five men in front of me immediately after the start - and over the course of the race, I reeled most of them in. My time was 21:44 which is really good for me.
This victory falls into the "cherry picked event" category, for three reasons:
1) New race - I know the people that put this event on, and they got the idea and began working on it five weeks ago. That isn't a lot of time to get a race together, much less advertise it!
2) New location - the event took place in Colonial Town Park, a shopping plaza in the Lake Mary/Heathrow area. It isn't obscure, but it certainly isn't as popular as the typical spots of other area races.
3) Other events - the biggest reason I did so well, is that most of the really competitive runners (i.e. the Lake Monroe Roadkillers) all went to another event that same morning, the Moss Park Forest Run. That event has been held a few times, is bigger, well advertised, etc.
But, 2nd place is 2nd place, so I'm happy!
Check out the map from my Garmin - this event had so many turns, a few runners got lost on the course.
This victory falls into the "cherry picked event" category, for three reasons:
1) New race - I know the people that put this event on, and they got the idea and began working on it five weeks ago. That isn't a lot of time to get a race together, much less advertise it!
2) New location - the event took place in Colonial Town Park, a shopping plaza in the Lake Mary/Heathrow area. It isn't obscure, but it certainly isn't as popular as the typical spots of other area races.
3) Other events - the biggest reason I did so well, is that most of the really competitive runners (i.e. the Lake Monroe Roadkillers) all went to another event that same morning, the Moss Park Forest Run. That event has been held a few times, is bigger, well advertised, etc.
But, 2nd place is 2nd place, so I'm happy!
Check out the map from my Garmin - this event had so many turns, a few runners got lost on the course.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Segway Tour
Another thing I've always wanted to try is a Segway tour or ride. I've seen then a few times, on TV shows such as Arrested Development, in movies such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop, even on other tours - when I was in DC for the MCM last October, I walked right by a group taking a guided tour on Segways. It looked fun so after digging around a bit, I found that Segway of Central Florida offered a historic tour of nearby Mount Dora.
My friends Amy and Christine and I showed up a few minutes early, and started getting used to the Segways. They are very sensitive - we quickly found out that it doesn't take much leaning at all to make the Segway go forward. Turning was done by pulling the central handle left or right, and that's about it. After doing figure 8's in the store for a few minutes, we headed out for the tour.
The tour itself began in a park, with a view of the lighthouse. Almost immediately, we went offroad onto grass, which the Segway handled quite well. We quickly got comfortable controlling the Segway - it really didn't take much time at all.
This lighthouse is on Lake Dora, and is the only lighthouse on a freshwater lake in Florida.
We wound our way through Palm Island Park, through a nice neighborhood and Gilbert Park, up Mount Dora (a towering 100 feet or so), and through downtown. Our guide filled us in with information about the B&B's we passed, the original general store and lakefront dock, sites of historical interest such as the location of the fire and police station, so-and-so's original house, and so on. Granted, Mount Dora doesn't have the adventurous or exciting history of other cities, but it was enjoyable enough on top of the Segway ride. It began as a factory town and added more when a railroad was built, and these days it hosts a lot of festivals, from art to bicycling events.
Our Segways had a speed limiter of 8 mph, which I immediately translated to the running pace of 7:30 min/mile. We are all runners and I joked that I could qualify for Boston if I could ride a Segway the whole time. Halfway through the tour, the guide showed us how to take it out of "slow" mode, upping the max speed to 12 mph, or a rather speedy running pace of 5:00 min/mile. We didn't have any trouble with the extra speed, and zoomed away for the rest of the tour.
My friends Amy and Christine and I showed up a few minutes early, and started getting used to the Segways. They are very sensitive - we quickly found out that it doesn't take much leaning at all to make the Segway go forward. Turning was done by pulling the central handle left or right, and that's about it. After doing figure 8's in the store for a few minutes, we headed out for the tour.
The tour itself began in a park, with a view of the lighthouse. Almost immediately, we went offroad onto grass, which the Segway handled quite well. We quickly got comfortable controlling the Segway - it really didn't take much time at all.
This lighthouse is on Lake Dora, and is the only lighthouse on a freshwater lake in Florida.
We wound our way through Palm Island Park, through a nice neighborhood and Gilbert Park, up Mount Dora (a towering 100 feet or so), and through downtown. Our guide filled us in with information about the B&B's we passed, the original general store and lakefront dock, sites of historical interest such as the location of the fire and police station, so-and-so's original house, and so on. Granted, Mount Dora doesn't have the adventurous or exciting history of other cities, but it was enjoyable enough on top of the Segway ride. It began as a factory town and added more when a railroad was built, and these days it hosts a lot of festivals, from art to bicycling events.
Our Segways had a speed limiter of 8 mph, which I immediately translated to the running pace of 7:30 min/mile. We are all runners and I joked that I could qualify for Boston if I could ride a Segway the whole time. Halfway through the tour, the guide showed us how to take it out of "slow" mode, upping the max speed to 12 mph, or a rather speedy running pace of 5:00 min/mile. We didn't have any trouble with the extra speed, and zoomed away for the rest of the tour.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Tomato Plant
One thing I've learned about myself over the past 6 years of home ownership, is that I basically despise yardwork. There are tasks I don't mind but still don't like (trimming bushes), tasks I hire out (lawn mowing), and everything else (weeding and so on) I would just rather not do. I see myself looking for townhomes and/or condos in the future, to avoid a large lawn to take care of. :)
About the only thing I do "enjoy" is growing tomatoes. My friend Mai gave me this plant for Christmas, and it has reliably produced a handful of tomatoes every 4 to 6 weeks. That isn't enough to feast on, but they do make an occasional salad extra tasty. All I have to do is water it and shovel a bit of fertilizer/topsoil in now and then. Easy enough even for me to do!
This sad looking tomato plant is the extent of my enjoyable gardening efforts.
Maybe I'll branch out into growing simple herbs or green onions - edible plants that do well in pots.
About the only thing I do "enjoy" is growing tomatoes. My friend Mai gave me this plant for Christmas, and it has reliably produced a handful of tomatoes every 4 to 6 weeks. That isn't enough to feast on, but they do make an occasional salad extra tasty. All I have to do is water it and shovel a bit of fertilizer/topsoil in now and then. Easy enough even for me to do!
This sad looking tomato plant is the extent of my enjoyable gardening efforts.
Maybe I'll branch out into growing simple herbs or green onions - edible plants that do well in pots.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Surfing Lessons
Another activity I wanted to try is surfing. So today, Mai, Charles, Diana, and I drove over to Cocoa Beach, FL to take a group lesson. Our executive summary is: we had fun, but not enough so that we're going to buy a board and take it up as a hobby.
The lesson started with some safety information, about rip tides, jellyfish, and sting rays, and then we practiced getting up on the board. The motion isn't too difficult: you lay on the board with your hands at your ribs, do a pushup while looking up and sliding your feet forward into a crouch, stabilize, and then stand up (keeping knees bent). We tried a few times in a building before walking over to the beach.
As beginners, we were given foam surf boards. Really long ones. Mine was probably 9 feet tall or so, which made it a bit unwieldy! The foam boards are softer so they don't hurt as much if they bang into you, and they are wider/longer for better stability. Afterwards I asked about the fiberglass surfboards and the instructor said those turn and slide through the water faster, which makes them tougher to learn on.
We practiced hopping up on the boards for a few more minutes, and then headed out into the water. Once out there floating on our boards, the instructor would hold us still while we got ready, and then helped launch us as a wave came by.
All of us had our share of falls, but over the two hour lesson, we each had a few successful rides to shore - stood up and surfed in for a few seconds at least! We would take turns and move back for more.
The unexpected thing for me was how tiring it was getting back out from the shore. Those long foam boards proved to be a challenge to move through the swells, on the way back out. To get decent practice, we were far enough out where the water was almost over our heads, and a few times I was swept off my feet towards the beach. Hopping on and paddling all the way out also proved tiring. I felt wimpy because we were in small waves, probably four feet at the most, and I'm sure serious surfers wouldn't even consider what we tried as surfing at all. We were on the skiing equivalent of a bunny slope the entire time, but at least at a ski resort a lift takes you back up. I can see why surfers work up a huge appetite after a few hours, given the work involved in getting back out for more!
After we finished up with the lesson and rinsed off the salt water, we ate lunch at a nearby taco stand, and went back to the beach for a bit. We walked back out in the water and had a great time just bouncing up and down with the waves - almost as fun as surfing with a lot less effort. ;) Well that isn't fair, I'd try it again if the opportunity came up. But I think I'd be more likely to get a boogie board, for riding waves.
I'm a graduate! Along with Mai, Charles, and Diana.
The lesson started with some safety information, about rip tides, jellyfish, and sting rays, and then we practiced getting up on the board. The motion isn't too difficult: you lay on the board with your hands at your ribs, do a pushup while looking up and sliding your feet forward into a crouch, stabilize, and then stand up (keeping knees bent). We tried a few times in a building before walking over to the beach.
As beginners, we were given foam surf boards. Really long ones. Mine was probably 9 feet tall or so, which made it a bit unwieldy! The foam boards are softer so they don't hurt as much if they bang into you, and they are wider/longer for better stability. Afterwards I asked about the fiberglass surfboards and the instructor said those turn and slide through the water faster, which makes them tougher to learn on.
We practiced hopping up on the boards for a few more minutes, and then headed out into the water. Once out there floating on our boards, the instructor would hold us still while we got ready, and then helped launch us as a wave came by.
All of us had our share of falls, but over the two hour lesson, we each had a few successful rides to shore - stood up and surfed in for a few seconds at least! We would take turns and move back for more.
The unexpected thing for me was how tiring it was getting back out from the shore. Those long foam boards proved to be a challenge to move through the swells, on the way back out. To get decent practice, we were far enough out where the water was almost over our heads, and a few times I was swept off my feet towards the beach. Hopping on and paddling all the way out also proved tiring. I felt wimpy because we were in small waves, probably four feet at the most, and I'm sure serious surfers wouldn't even consider what we tried as surfing at all. We were on the skiing equivalent of a bunny slope the entire time, but at least at a ski resort a lift takes you back up. I can see why surfers work up a huge appetite after a few hours, given the work involved in getting back out for more!
After we finished up with the lesson and rinsed off the salt water, we ate lunch at a nearby taco stand, and went back to the beach for a bit. We walked back out in the water and had a great time just bouncing up and down with the waves - almost as fun as surfing with a lot less effort. ;) Well that isn't fair, I'd try it again if the opportunity came up. But I think I'd be more likely to get a boogie board, for riding waves.
I'm a graduate! Along with Mai, Charles, and Diana.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Everglades
One place I wanted to visit before I leave Florida is the Everglades.
I searched around and found a tour company (Dragonfly Expeditions) that has a really fun sounding multi-day tour. The itinerary is packed: visit a fishing village, stargazing, hike, photography, biking, canoe adventure, etc. So I made an inquiry... and found out that they don't run the tour during the summer, due to heat and mosquitoes. I can understand that!
But lately the local paper has been filled with stories that make me NOT regret visiting the Everglades... it seems the Burmese python population is out of control and the state is launching an effort to reduce the population. This follows from several stories about a pet python that killed a 2 year old girl - in this case the pet owner didn't lock the python properly.
So I think I will pass on an Everglades visit. Maybe I'll get a book or DVD instead. ;)
I searched around and found a tour company (Dragonfly Expeditions) that has a really fun sounding multi-day tour. The itinerary is packed: visit a fishing village, stargazing, hike, photography, biking, canoe adventure, etc. So I made an inquiry... and found out that they don't run the tour during the summer, due to heat and mosquitoes. I can understand that!
But lately the local paper has been filled with stories that make me NOT regret visiting the Everglades... it seems the Burmese python population is out of control and the state is launching an effort to reduce the population. This follows from several stories about a pet python that killed a 2 year old girl - in this case the pet owner didn't lock the python properly.
So I think I will pass on an Everglades visit. Maybe I'll get a book or DVD instead. ;)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Zoom Air
The Central Florida Zoo recently opened a unique attraction: Zoom Air Adventures, a ropes/obstacle course, consisting of various climbs to platforms in trees, zip lines, and obstacles called "games" to cross from one platform to another.
There are three courses available for adults: Upland I, Upland II, and Rainforest, in increasing difficulty. In addition, there is a course for kids, set much lower to the ground. All the courses wind around the parking lot and entry area, so people visiting the zoo for a picnic can watch the people on the course.
A few weeks ago, Mai, Charles, Amy, and I went to try it out. We ran into some scheduling problems and only could do Upland I and II, and unfortunately Charles had to leave early, but we had a really fun time. So today Amy and I went back to try the Rainforest course. The way they have the levels setup, we had to redo Upland I and II - I suspect it was for observation purposes, the course monitors wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing.
The basic premise is red wire runs along the course, and you move forward by clipping/unclipping one of two carabiners to this red line. The carabiners are attached to the climbing harness you wear. For climbing a vertical ladder, there were red loops at every step, and you moved up slowly keeping one clip in at a time. Also running along the course is a heavy silver wire, which is typically there to support the various obstacles, or sometimes it is the only thing you have to use for crossing, tightrope style! For the zip line, we had an roller attachment to clip to the silver wire.
The monitors impose a limit of two people at a platform (build around a tree), and one on a "game" (i.e. obstacle), at a time.
Introductory obstacle.
This is the first "game" right after the introductory ladder climb. It isn't long but each step is shaky and you find out pretty quick how much you have to work to move forward! The red wire is visible, as is the starting platform on the left (labeled with a big green 1), and the next platform on the right.
Amy checking her carabiner midway across the obstacle bridge.
The obstacles vary from wooden planks, netting, wooden tunnel, to nothing but the silver wire. Sometimes I would use the red wire for balance. I found the ones with suspended wooden steps to be really tricky, because the step would swing back and forth. Progress is steady if slow sometimes. The zip line segments were really fun too, a nice break from a tricky crossing. The courses are progressively longer, so by doing all three we were out there a good 2 or 2.5 hours. I really had a great time and might go again once Mai and Charles return from their trip!
There are three courses available for adults: Upland I, Upland II, and Rainforest, in increasing difficulty. In addition, there is a course for kids, set much lower to the ground. All the courses wind around the parking lot and entry area, so people visiting the zoo for a picnic can watch the people on the course.
A few weeks ago, Mai, Charles, Amy, and I went to try it out. We ran into some scheduling problems and only could do Upland I and II, and unfortunately Charles had to leave early, but we had a really fun time. So today Amy and I went back to try the Rainforest course. The way they have the levels setup, we had to redo Upland I and II - I suspect it was for observation purposes, the course monitors wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing.
The basic premise is red wire runs along the course, and you move forward by clipping/unclipping one of two carabiners to this red line. The carabiners are attached to the climbing harness you wear. For climbing a vertical ladder, there were red loops at every step, and you moved up slowly keeping one clip in at a time. Also running along the course is a heavy silver wire, which is typically there to support the various obstacles, or sometimes it is the only thing you have to use for crossing, tightrope style! For the zip line, we had an roller attachment to clip to the silver wire.
The monitors impose a limit of two people at a platform (build around a tree), and one on a "game" (i.e. obstacle), at a time.
Introductory obstacle.
This is the first "game" right after the introductory ladder climb. It isn't long but each step is shaky and you find out pretty quick how much you have to work to move forward! The red wire is visible, as is the starting platform on the left (labeled with a big green 1), and the next platform on the right.
Amy checking her carabiner midway across the obstacle bridge.
The obstacles vary from wooden planks, netting, wooden tunnel, to nothing but the silver wire. Sometimes I would use the red wire for balance. I found the ones with suspended wooden steps to be really tricky, because the step would swing back and forth. Progress is steady if slow sometimes. The zip line segments were really fun too, a nice break from a tricky crossing. The courses are progressively longer, so by doing all three we were out there a good 2 or 2.5 hours. I really had a great time and might go again once Mai and Charles return from their trip!
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