Blanco Tri

This past weekend we all watched JL compete in the Blanco Triathlon. We had decided that we were going to stay the night in Johnson City on Friday so we didn't have to wake up super early on Saturday to get to the race by 7am. Besides our family, Dario's sister and 5 yr old son Tyson were there as was Cheryl and her 4 kids. The racers were: JL, Dario, Dave, Jason, Aaron and Jeff. It was a good group and they all did great!

James was sooo excited all week. Talking about "Daddy's Race" and running down the list of who was comming. All day Friday he just kept telling me he was "ready to go Mama" and wanted to "see Daddy race." He even helped pack:

Here he is packing himself and Bear (who had to come)

ONLY the essentials.......

The first thing we did when we arrived in Blanco was pick up JL's race packet. In my opinion, this is the most important part of a race. You see, this is the time when you finally get to see the T-Shirt that you get for competing!! I always like to see the different race shirts JL gets. This time his shirt had a Crocodile on it. I thought it was pretty decent. A lot better than the last race shirt he got....

ANYWAY, after that we drove the bike course. It was gorgeous but hilly! The area was just beautiful though! It wound through a few farms (complete with longhorns!) and up and down the beautiful rolling hills. It was super green and very very remote. This was definitely one of the most picturesque rides he's done.

Once we'd seen the course, we hit a local Italian restaurant with Dario and co. to let the guys load up on some carbs. The food wasn't too bad....considering the size of the town. But our waiter was annoying. I don't think the place was use to having children eat there or something. There was NO kids menu and when we asked the waiter to bring a dish to let the kids share it he looked at us like "are you kidding me?" He was just rude. But I digress......

After that it was time to head to the motel. Now here's the deal with the motel...... Sheyenne had booked a hotel earlier in the week (a holiday inn or something) but had then read a review that said it was a total dive and recommended not staying there. So we scratched that place but everything else in town was coming back at $100+ a night. JL googled a couple places: Red Roof Johnson City and someplace called Charley's Motel. Having never heard of the later, I went with the Red Roof.

After speaking to the super nice lady and hearing about their super low rates, I booked. We then called Dario and told him to book, which he did. About 2 hrs later when JL was getting ready to let the rest of the guys know about the place, he noticed that I had booked at the Red Roof Inn - Johnson City TENNESSEE!!!! haha OOPSIE! So scratch that place.

At this point, the only place left was that shady sounding Charley's Motel. I gave them a ring. Sure the rates were low.....sure it was close to the race.....but the place just was giving me the willies. First I'd never heard of it, second the lady I spoke with didn't speak English, third the only thing I could get from her was the place was next to the Exxon gas station. Ugh. Having no other promising motels, we booked. We made sure we were booking in the right state this time and then called Dario and Dave so they could book themselves and their families.

I must say - it wasn't as bad as I though. It's definitely the worst place I've stayed in - but it wasn't horrible. The lamps were mis-matched and the curtains were horrid. It smelled musty and the carpet hadn't been vacuumed in probably a decade - but the sheets were clean AND there were no bed bugs. So, we unpacked and got ready to sleep.

Our fancy room....complete with plywood headboards!

At least Izzy was sleepin' in style!

James was just bouncing off the walls. He LOVED the motel. He had to check everything out about 5 times and jump on each bed about 5 times. When we finally turned out the lights he was still running around the room re-checking everything out. Isabel was a champ! She went right to sleep in the pack 'n' play and was out for the night! James didn't settle down until around midnight (my best guess as there was NO clock radio in the room.....) But once he did he crashed for the night as well.

JL had to wake up at 5:30am to get his gear and be ready to race by 7. The kids and I stayed behind and met up with the other families around 7:30. We wanted to be to the race by about 8:30 so we could watch the last leg (the run) of the race.

And things worked out perfectly! We got there a few minutes before Dave headed out to start the race. Soon after him Jason and then JL followed. Then Jeff and Aaron and Dario. It was fun to cheer each of them on. I just love watching triathlons! They are so exciting. Although I have NOOOO desire to do one myself. I tell JL "I only run if something is chasing me!" I wouldn't mind the swim or the bike ride so much - but I just despise running.

"I run with Daddy too, fweeeeese!"

Me and Izzy spectating

James was a good boy during the race but did get a little bored toward the end. Good thing he and Tyson found a few buckets and the path was rocky! Isabel required constant holding by me - but surprised me with how well she did also.

These two bonded instantly!

After about 30 more minutes the guys started to head toward the finish line. Dave crossed first, then JL, Aaron, Jeff, Jason and Dario.

JL crossing the finish line!

James congratulating his Daddy

The Racers : (from left to right) Dave, Aaron, Jeff, Dario, Jason, JL

Once the guys had caught their breath and snagged a few snacks, everyone was ready to load up and head out. We stayed a little longer with Dario and co. to swim in the river with the kids.

"Hold you Daddy"

After that we hit the DQ for some ice cream!!!!!

Nothing hits the spot after a race like Ice Cream!

Dario, Tyson and Natalie enjoying their frozen treats!

It was a fun trip! This was Izzy's first time to watch her Daddy in a Tri and she did really well! James has been a couple times before, but this time it was a whole new experience for him. He loved the adventure of staying in a Motel and enjoyed watching JL run past us. He kept telling me "I run too Mama with Daddy." So who knows. I may have another Tri fanatic on my hands...

About 5 minutes after we left the DQ.........That's how you know he had fun!