Hosting Isabella {Day 1: Windy Waterfront}

Johnny, Chris, Joseph and Isabella picnic on the shores of Bellingham Bay.

Continued from the Backstory

With an eye on the weather forecast, we decided that Isabella's first day with us should be spent closer to home rather than up in the mountains.  As part of our normal Wednesday, we headed off to daily Mass, excited to share our beautiful little local Church with our guest.  We packed the cooler with sandwiches and fruit with hopes of a picnic lunch to follow Mass.

Outnumbered, but in good company, Isabella enjoys a stroll along the boulevard.

Upon arriving at Church, we found the parking lot empty ~ never a good sign.  Somehow we had missed the announcement of a time switch for that day's Mass, and so our plan A vanished into thin air. A few of our fine young friends from the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at Western Washington University (including Zachary's good friend Chris) pulled in right behind us, and were also disappointed to learn that the daily Mass had been rescheduled. 

Bridget and Isabella on the edge of Bellingham Bay

Rather than crying over spilt milk, we took a moment for proper introductions, then hatched a plan to head for the closest park and share our picnic lunch with Johnny and Chris.  After all, they were all dressed up with no place to go! 

White caps on Puget Sound with full sunshine; an awesome autumn afternoon in Bellingham

We endured a short stretch of picnicking at shady table, which proved to be an act of penance.  As soon as the closest sunny table opened up, we quickly relocated and enjoyed the several-degrees increase and subsequent enhanced comfort level.  A brisk walk along the boulevard after lunch gave us an opportunity to visit and share the sights of our beautiful home town with Isabella and our friends.

Day 2 follows.

An ocean away from home, Isabella re-connects with the waters of the Pacific (a bit colder than her Aussie shores).

A picnic with Isabella's family (+my parents and grandparents) in 1990 on the shores of the Sunshine Coast.

Bridget (me), Grandma O'D, Pete (Dad), Patty (Mom), and Granddad O'D(+) on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, 1990

Traversing Bellingham {Adventure Race}

Joseph, Tim, Judah and Eric close in on the finish line of the Bellingham Traverse.

Due to a scheduling snafu with Tim's Ski 2 Sea teammates last spring, they opted to give the Bellingham Traverse a go instead.  This multi-sport event's course supposedly follows the path of wild salmon including a few "urban challenges."  Two of the team's athletes had to drop out at the last minute, leaving Tim and Eric with the frightful prospect of trying to 2-man the 5-leg race.  Since neither of them were up for quite that much adventure racing, they recruited a few high school lads, Joseph and his buddy Judah, to join the team just in the nick of time.

Judah ran the first leg, and put up a very fine result as he handed off to Joseph after a 5.5 mile (mostly uphill run) in 41 minutes.  He raced from downtown Bellingham to Lake Padden, and kept his pace throughout.  With only a few days to train, one cannot help but wonder what kind of time Judah could put up with solid race preparation!

Joseph tackled the 6 mile single track mountain biking course, having spent a fair few hours preparing for the race on our neighborhood Galbraith Mountain trails.  The challenges along the route proved worthy of a few superb crashes, but Joseph escaped without any injuries to body or bike.  A 49 minute finish sat well with him and sent Eric off on the road bike with a few fenders to draft.

Eric's 18 miles on the road bike course were completed in a mere 54 minutes, without any sudden tube deflation or other worries of any kind.  Eric's would-be-competitor wife, Kristy, and their unborn baby (due in a few months!) spent the sunny afternoon as spectators and ice cream connoisseurs while Eric slaved away at the wheel.

A 3.4 mile trail run could have been the end of Tim -whose limited pre-race-day training barely toned the surface of his not-ready-to-race legs- but he volunteered to captain the kayak immediately following his 37 minute run.  In a superbly insufficient kayak, meant for kids to paddle on a lake, Tim fought through a 3.6 mile, choppy tour of Bellingham Bay.  Tim's 1:10 split might have been third-to-last overall, but that's not factoring in the handicap of competing in a kids' boat after nearly dying on the trail run.  He's a trooper!

The 4:19 finish time gives the team a number from which to deduct next year, if they decide to compete again as chums on the loose in the wilds of the Bellingham Traverse.