Weekend in Tampa Bay

Wedding season has begun. Last weekend started a string of 7 weddings in 8 weeks. This weekend was our furthest ever. A family I knew from church back in the day contacted us about shooting their wedding in Tampa Bay. We were flattered at the offer and got their date locked in. The wedding was on a Friday so we scheduled to stay an extra day and make a very mini vacation out of it.

After doing the math I figured it would be cheaper to drive even though the 10 hours one way was not appealing. Rebecca was also afraid at the possibility of having to get her gear checked. Lost camera gear could not be an option. So to spice up the drive down a little bit a decided to set up the camera and do a time lapse. I know I've been a little time lapse heavy as of late, but I think they're fun. We set up the camera in the back seat on the tripod. Photos were taken every 60 seconds except for a few certain scenes that warranted being closer together. Rebecca will be adding some actual photos of our trip to her blog in the near future.

We drove down on Thursday and got there just before dark. We got some seafood at a local joint then went briefly to the beach. I don't think we've been to the beach since Matt's triathlon nearly two years ago. Josh and Lauren's wedding festivities began at one on Friday. They had the ceremony at a local botanical gardens which was really pretty. Everything went real well. Once again, I'll let Rebecca give a more detailed account of that day.

Saturday we had to cut back on our per diem since we had gone a little high the first two days. So we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and used some coupons. We also had to go to the Apple Store because Rebecca's laptop had quit working. Since she had planned on working in the car on the way home we figured it would be best to go ahead and get it fixed. She needed a new battery and a new charger. Glad to have that taken care of we moved on to activities we couldn't actually do in Birmingham. Next stop was Ikea. The 3 hour maze of home furnishings was overwhelming as always. I calmed my nerves with some Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria. Keeping the per diem low. Rebecca got a few small things. I think she's set on some new office furniture, but we didn't have room in the car. Maybe it was just a secret ploy on Rebecca's part to go back? After leaving we went to the beach and got there just in time for it to start raining. A little ice cream helped to pass the time and got back out for the rain to pass and leave a beautiful sunset.

The drive back today seemed to drag on forever. Rebecca managed to squeeze in three naps. She'll probably stay up most of the night now.

Gulf Coast Triathlon

Its been a big weekend on several accounts. My whole side of the family including my grandparents are in Panama City Beach right now. The main reason we all came down was to watch Matt compete in the Gulf Coast Triathlon. The weekend also happened to be Mother's Day and me and Rebecca's one year anniversary. So we all came down to the beach for one big celebration. 

The race was on Saturday. It is a half-ironman which includes a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run. If you're ever crazy enough to want to do a full ironman, just double those numbers. Since doing my marathon back in 2006 I haven't done any major event and only a few minor ones. Usually going to watch other people briefly inspires me to want to compete again, but not this one. It just looked painful. Instead, Rebecca and I took up our seemingly normal role at these things, follow Matt around and take pictures at strategic locations, which will be interspersed in this entry. Not as exerting as doing the race but still takes effort. 

Matt's age group started the swim at 7:15. Fortunately the oil slick has not reached PCB and they still got to swim. It was overcast and windy and Matt so eloquently quoted George from Seinfeld by saying "The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli." The swim is out and back so you lose sight of them pretty quick. Dad brought the Whaler down and was out at the turn point to see if he could see Matt. Dad getting to watch us compete from his boat probably a high point for him in our family's sports history. The current must have been strong because some people were coming out a hundred yards down the beach from the "take-out" point. We heard lots of complaints of the difficulty of the sea from people coming out. Matt's quote was, "That was the worst thing ever, I almost killed myself."

We then moved to the road to watch him come by on his bike. G & G (Grandmother and Granddaddy) had strategically staked out a spot where they could see him come by 4 times without having to move. We watched him come by twice on the bike then Rebecca and I drove out to the 40 mile mark to get some more pictures. It was fun to watch all the bikers come by. Rebecca got to play with her new camera some and try some new effects. Matt's quote on the bike when he passed us was, "I'm going to blow by all these people on the bridge."

We got back to G & G's spot to watch him run. Most of the people coming by looked like they were having as much fun as going to the dentist and their gait was slightly above walking. Matt came by a little more spry than most and I told him he had a great time going. His quote at this point was, "I'm in it to win it baby!" 

We made our way to the finish line. The sun had come out by this point and it was pretty hot. Matt's finishing time was roughly 5 hours and 30 minutes. It was good enough for 6th place in his age group, something he was not expecting. 

We were all worn out from the day, even those of us who didn't compete. Rebecca was successful at getting some good pictures and I was highly successful at adding to my farmer's tan. 

No matter our level of exertion for the day we all came back to the condo and took a nap.