Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2009: 14
Monday, August 10 , was an extremely hot day. We picked a perfect morning to go to Raging Waters on Morey's Pier in Wildwood. Bill started with a brisk 11 mile bike ride. Phil rode his bike and ran (a "brick") and finished at about the same time. We all arrived in Wildwood about 9:30 AM. Cathy and Bill got into the water park for free, but the other made up for it. We all enjoyed the cooling effect of the water and stayed until 12:30 PM. Bill produced videos of the Serpentine and Tube water slides. We ate in the restaurant right next to the pier. Bridget ate an amazing amount at the breakfast buffet. Bill and Cathy had cheese hoagies which were very good. Cathy and Bill stopped at the Lobster House for swordfish and then went to the Produce Place. It was so hot that we had to move the table from the solarium inside at dinnertime. We grilled veggies and swordfish for an excellent meal. After Garrett went to bed, we watched the 3D movie "Coraline" - Bill slept through most of it. A storm came through between 1 and 3 AM, but only Cathy knew it.
Tuesday morning, Bill went for a 6 mile kayak ride in a surprisingly rough Bay. We all went over to Cape May for a day on the beach. The ocean was a balmy 75 degrees and fairly calm. We all hung out on the beach from 10:00 AM until 3:15 PM. We ate lunch at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. Bill had a couple of bagels with Jelly and Cathy had a chicken cheese steak. Everyone else enjoyed traditional breakfast food. We all went for dinner to the Harbor View outside deck. Our neighbors Tom and Joy were there. Tom invited Bill to take the kids onto his boat while we waited for our meals to be served. It was a delightful 80 degrees as we enjoyed our meal.
Wednesday, Bill and Phil got out early for workouts. Bill took off on his bike at 6:00 AM for a 35 mile ride:
Phil headed out for a double brick. We were both back by 9:00 AM. Cathy and Alex went out for a walk to Harpoon Henry's. Bill and Phil and the kids did some beachcombing. We ate lunch on the deck. The Stoops left for LBI at around 2:30 PM. Bill and Cathy went to the township tax office to pay our property tax with a credit card. Then we went to Ace Hardware to get a new car key made to replace the one that Bill lost. We did some housecleaning and straightening in the afternoon. Cathy made a reservation at Lucky Bones for 7:00 PM and we waltzed right in past people waiting up to an hour to be seated. We enjoyed our dinner. Back at home, we viewed "Entourage."
Thursday morning, Cathy went to the gym. Bill waited all day for the weather to permit a long kayak ride and it never did, so he stayed inside and worked on the computer. He put up the planning page for the Bay Double-Cross set for August 30. We ate lunch inside and watched a pair of DVRs of "The Daily Show." During dinner we watched "True Blood." Afterward, we watched a movie too bad to name here.
Friday Cathy went to the gym. Bill launched at 7:05 AM for a kayak paddle to the Cape May Inlet jetty and back:
Bill paddled among lots of dolphins on the ocean and saw 3 Brown Pelicans flying overhead. We had lunch inside due to some coolness due to clouds. After lunch, Cathy took a walk. Bill chilled out. We had grilled chicken and eggplant for dinner. We viewed "The Deal" - typically good William H. Macy movie.
Saturday morning, Cathy went to the gym while Bill organized his gear for the trip to Reading. Cathy stopped at ACME on the way back. We ate lunch and then hit the road. We had smooth driving until we got to Mullica Hill. Bill used the GPS to find a good detour around the bottleneck at the traffic light in town. We ran into a traffic jam on 322 W after we exited I95. Bill used the GPS again to find a good detour. We stopped at Borders in the Brinton Lakes shopping center. Bill got a Cappuccino and bought a copy of "Trailrunner" magazine. Cathy bought a book. We arrived at the Hampton Inn in Wyomissing, PA at around 4:15 PM. We checked-in and then drove to the race site for the Half-Wit Half Marathon. We found it at a beer garden near Mount Penn. We drove up to the pagoda and then headed back to the hotel. We went to Olive Garden for dinner. We viewed "The Express" on HBO before turning in early.
Sunday morning came early at 5:30 AM. We made it to breakfast at 6:00 AM. Bill had two bagels with peanut butter and honey, two cups of coffee, and a 20 ounce bottle of G2. We went back to the room, packed, and checked-out. We arrived at the race site at 7:15 AM. Bill was first in the registration line (for pre-registered). About 30 minutes before the race start, Bill drank a bottle of G2 and had a Gu pack. The race started at 9:20 AM after the race director administered the "Moron's Oath." Bill carried two bottles of G2 and 3 Gu packs in his trail running belt. He found the race course to be very grueling, with lots of steep hills. He fell times and skinned both knees and his right elbow. He also stumbled down to his hands. On one of the falls, he did a somersault. During the last couple of miles, both of his calves were cramping badly. He finished in 3 hours and 47 seconds. He drank 3 bottles of G2 at the end of the race. He showered off with a hose and changed under a towel. We left a big beer bash behind and drove to Pizzeria Uno for lunch. Bill ate pizza and Cathy had a chicken sandwich. Bill had a pint glass of Arnold Palmer. We drove home in light traffic and arrived near 5:00 PM. Bill finally went to the bathroom for the first time since 8:00 AM after drinking 7 bottles of G2 and the 16 ounce glass of lemonade and iced tea. We unpacked and Bill took a very refreshing outside shower. We went to Louisa's for a great dinner. Bill ate a Black Bottom pie slice for dessert - Cathy stayed pure. We went to bed fairly early.
Bill and Cathy
