Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2009: 21
Monday, September 28 , was the last good day for a while. Cathy went to the gym. Bill did 3 crossword puzzles and then decided to do a "brick" (a bike ride, followed by a run, so that one's feet feel like bricks). He drank 16 ounces of Cytomax, ate a Gu pack and rode his bike to Cape May Point State Park, via Sunset Beach. He drank 10 ounces of Cytomax and ate a Gu pack at the park and headed home. The south wind was blowing about 20 mph throughout the ride:
After the ride of 25.5 miles, Bill drank 10 ounces of Cytomax and ate a Gu pack and then headed out on a 5K run:
Bill felt really good during the run. Afterward, Bill drank 20 ounces of Cytomax. After lunch, we drove over to Cape May to sit on the beach for a while. We talked with Joe and Loretta, who we knew from bingo before sitting on the beach. It was very windy, but warm. When we got home, Bill made a cappuccino. Bill prepared quinoa with sweet onion, dried fruit, and walnuts. Cathy grilled chicken. We watched to second part of the first episode of "House" after viewing Bill Maher's show.
Tuesday, the west wind blew hard all day. Cathy went to the gym. Bill worked on our online bills. After lunch, we drove to Wildwood and walked for about 8 miles, somewhat sheltered from the wind. We watched the second episode of Ken Burns' "National Parks" on PBS. We've been to most of the parks an monuments discussed so far.
Wednesday was another windy day as the NW wind continued to blow hard. Cathy went to the gym. Bill decided to do another brick:
Bill felt good in both the bike ride and the run in spite of the wind. After lunch we drove to Wal-Mart to buy a couple of items. We gassed up the XTerra while we were in Rio Grande. Bill attended a meeting of the Cape May County Pollution Control Financing Authority at 6:30 PM in Crest Haven. He informed the committee that he will not be able to attend the December meeting and dinner. When Bill returned home we had a hearty pasta dinner and watched an episode of the "National Parks" series on PBS.
Thursday, the wind was supposed to drop, but it didn't drop much. Also, it was chillier in the morning than we would have liked. Cathy went to the gym. Bill did some research on Chi Running and watched some videos. He also watered the flowers, which were shivering in the breeze. We met Cathy and Don Engle at Harborview Restaurant for lunch. They had ridden their bikes from Stone Harbor. We had a table with a great view and enjoyed a good, light lunch. We all shared our experiences of the last couple of years since we had last seen each other. On the way home, Bill called our friend Steve Sheftz and set up an appointment to go over to Steve's house to help him with a changeover from DSL and Verizon phone service to a complete Comcast package. Bill rode his bike over and tweaked and tuned both computers and called Comcast at one point for a new password for Steve's account. Bill finished up at about 6:00 PM and headed home on his bike. He cooked a quinoa dish for his dinner and Cathy cooked chicken for hers. We watched another episode of "National Parks."
Friday, the wind was blowing from the SE. Cathy went to the gym. Bill and our friend Jim Sosna took a 25 mile bike ride on Bill's route to the State Park, which was closed for spraying. They saw some Cooper's Hawks as they rode. After lunch the wind blew harder. In late afternoon, our friends Howie and Paulette arrived from their home in Danbury, CT. Cathy put together a wonderful dinner of oven baked haddock, apple walnut salad, and yogurt pie for dessert. After dinner we viewed a video of "Flatland" that Howie had brought with him. A stormy cold front came through about 4:00 AM and dumped 2 inches of rain on our vicinity.
Saturday morning brought a full moon shining on the Bay shortly after 5:00 AM as Bill got up for an early breakfast. Howie came down a bit later and ate. The two of them went over to Cape May Point for a 7:30 AM birding walk in Rea's "Beanery." The birds were scarce, but the walk was interesting anyway. Bill and Howie drove over to the Hawk platform and saw a couple of raptors, called by Pete Dunne, the famous hawk counter. They drove through Cape May and then to Starbucks in Rio Grande. At that point, they drove back home. The four of us went to Harborview Restaurant for lunch with a view. Then we drove on Ocean Drive through the Wildwoods and Seven Mile Island to the Seawatch in Avalon. Birds were scarce there as well, so we drove home for relaxation, football, and showers. We went for an early dinner at Panico's and then to Cape May Stage for an excellent production of "Proof." It was great for Bill to watch this play with another Ph.D. in Mathematics. After we got home and got ready for bed, a couple of nasty T-storms marched across the Bay and hammered us with some hard rain.
Sunday morning, Bill got up around 6:00 AM and started to hydrate with Cytomax and eat breakfast. The four of us left the house at 9:20 AM and headed for Sea Isle City for the Fireman's Memorial 5K. As the morning went on, it got sunnier and warmer. When the race finally started at 11:14 AM, it was warm enough for Bill to take his shirt off for the race. Bill had prepared with two Gu packs, one about 2 hours before the race, and one about 45 minutes before. Bill felt really good during the 5K run and ran the first mile just a hair under 8 minutes:
Bill's pace of 8:02 min/mile was his best in a race in several years. After the event, Bill and Cathy said goodbyes to Howie and Paulette and went to a nearby coffee shop for lunch of coffee and bagels. After lunch, we hit the road for Glen Mills, where we arrived around 2:30 PM. Alex, Phil, and Rocky took off on an overnight trip to Central Pennsylvania for a concert at Shippensburg University. Bill and Cathy played with the kids during the rest of the afternoon and then ordered out at P.F. Chang's. Bill enjoyed Coconut Vegetables with tofu over brown rice. Cathy had a Pecan Chicken dish. Bill read three books to Garrett before he went to bed. Bill took a late evening shower and headed to bed after a long day.
Bill and Cathy
