Destination: Indian River, Delaware
Objective: 2 weeks camping at the beach with the family
Sunday, July 24th
So the caravan is off… YAHOOO….!!!!
We are on our way for our ANNUAL 8th Family Camping Vacation at the Beach extravaganza...!!
Jump up.. Jump down.. JUMP UP AND DOWN!!
Each year is a “fun” filled adventure of family drama and togetherness. And like a kid at Christmas, I don’t know what I am going to get! So off we go with wide eyed expectations and anticipations.…
Mom, Dad, and my oldest nephew (James) in the lead vehicle pulling MY camper and then Bessie (pup), Fernando (our 21 year old feline), and I in the trailing vehicle…
WE ARE ON OUR WAY!! WAHOO!!… DELAWARE BEACHES LOOK OUT!
So kinda bummed that I was unable to pull my own camper this year.. .. but due to some unfortunate events, like people playing smash up derby on my truck (someone smashing into the side of my truck and then two weeks later someone else smashed into the back of my truck).. well that and the karma was bad ...kinda affected the ability to pull the camper… thankfully dad stepped in and volunteered to haul it.. dad really rocks.. !
I am so needing to re-analyze how I am the one “on vacation” and Joe has to “slave away” at work… Wendy listening to the cat scream for 2-1/2 hours and maul poor Bessie who patiently is wondering WTF is wrong with the cat as its only a car ride.. OH AND DID YOU KNOW? That a cat can actually lock the door of a truck for you while the keys are inside and you are outside?
Kinda glad I had a bit of forethought at the rest stop and put the window down a hair (enough to get my arm in it)… but not enough for the beast to actually jump out and walk down route 1 like in the whole 2010 fiasco.
…oh yeah and YOU try and set up a camper in the 95 degree heat with a cat and dog and having to take EVERYTHING out of the camper in order to set up the camper and then putting everything back in the camper REALLY QUICKLY when it decides it going to storm and OMFG vacation rocks!
Monday, July 25th
Official first day of HELL.. its 1,000 degrees out and humid… OH did I mention HOT ? Yeah the air was cooking itself and I decide I need to get a run in. Cranky run and just miserable but its done and I can wash my hands of it. I’m glad James (the nephew) asked to go the beach because I am thinking that sitting in cold water will help… I can sit and re-analyze this life.. how in the world would I ever think moving to Florida would be a good idea?
After jumping waves for about 30 minutes I need to sit for a minute; James, Aunt Wendy needs to go sit down on that blanket, pointing to the nice, relaxing beach blanket .. ok?..
Thinking, dang…I’m exhausted and would like to lie down and just close my eyes for a bit… ..
Of course I can’t just fall into a coma like I want, I am the responsible adult and have to keep an eye on the nephew! I don’t want the lifeguards to have to go in to save him and YEAH that to get back to the brother.. no way …
So I am watching and my eyes are rolling into the back of my head.. and TWEEEEEEEEEEEET>>> I jump up as I hear the lifeguard whistle as he flies into the water.. I try to focus...oh thank the LORD he is not after James… heart rate up.. ok.. so James can we go back to the camper now? Thanks…
Tuesday, July 26th:
Long Run day. Goal: run from the campsite to Fenwick and back.. 20 miles roundtrip. Done it before in previous years.. just have to get out and back before the scorching sun.. Backpack packed with extra water , off I go. DAMN those extra pounds hurt.... need air to breathe… suppose to be another 90+ degree day …
Had read an article about endurance being compromised the weeks after an ultra… and yeah I was compromised… I WAS TIRED AT MILE 2... I was hoping my legs would be able to hold at least a 10-11 min mile pace for most of the run but…..the sun…..was out..
I wasn’t sure what got me to mile 10.. It was SO HOT, the air so thick, and I was chafing… my skin was so raw that each step was becoming a battle between was I going to die of heatstroke or die from rotting flesh.
Then I got a bright idea. I should ALWAYS be VERY weary of MY “bright” ideas. I knew in a few miles there would be a small Kayak landing with an opening to the bay. Cold water.. I would cool down and soak the chafing! OH YEAH I AM SOO SMART.. I think I actually smiled at my superiority!
AHHHH… taking of my shoes, socks, backpack and garmin and still relishing in how I could get that smart… I laid down in the lukewarm water… hmm not as cool as I was expecting… and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH ……
……………. SALT WATER…
I was on freaking FIRE… I didn’t have to worry anymore about dying of heatstroke or some sort of rotting flesh because there will now not be any flesh to rot and I will have died from the pain sensors exploding. I don’t know if you as a kid did this but when you put salt on a slug how they shriveled in pain and died… yeah kinda like that… I SCREAMED while running 3 miles to try and get to the nearest convenience store to buy NON SALT WATER to pour on myself.
I am soo glad I got that college education
I calculate, I have 5 miles remaining of my 20 miler… I can see little children on their way to the beach whispering to their parents, “mommy, whats wrong with that lady”.. and the parents gently hushing them..
Im glad I’m missed. Dad and mom realized that I hadn’t returned from my long run in the projected time frame and unbeknownst to me set off looking for me. There is nothing else you can do but go forward…shuffling along… I tell myself.. this is good training, this is “fun”, you are doing fine… I hear sizzling… I wonder if its possible to cook blood cells…I know I don’t have any brain cells left, and wonder if they will speak nicely of me at my passing. Wendy you have 3 miles… And then I see dad’s truck heading the other way.. I want to wave but cannot…
OH PLEASE let him be looking for me and COME BACK.. the next thing I know his truck is along side of me and I was in it… I have never been soo happy to be picked up in ALL my life!
When I got back to the campsite I had to ice my body, I was trembling and in-between screams attending to my chafing. My pain sensors were dead… I assume it took me about an hour to cool down. The chafing was soo bad that I had to actually put burn cream on. I really hope this is all worth it.
Wednesday, July 27th
Third DAY OF HELL: Since I cant do ANYTHING because I am a chaffed, exhausted mess.. I think I will just hide in the camper, SULK and study. The sun is EVIL. RUNNING IS EVIL.
Thursday, July 28th
Since I need to stay out of the sun and had promised to take mom to the Coast Guard station museum, this is what we were going to do, and it will be fun! This will NOT be a day of HELL! So off we go: mom, James and I. I was feeling a WHOLE HECK of a lot better and it felt nice to do something other than sulk. The museum was a self guided tour, which would have worked perfectly had I been with people who wanted to move at the same pace. Mom wanted to read everything really slowly and James I think was questing how fast he could see all the exhibits.
I did have to pull James aside and explain to him that Grandmom
(mom) was a little slower and needed a little more time so if he could be just be a little more patient and perhaps tone it down a notch that would be great. Honestly I was laughing because I am so much like James in racing around the exhibits it was like speaking to myself. Bless his little 11 year old soul.
Life wouldn’t be interesting without a little OMG. Upstairs in one of the exhibit rooms mom receives a call on her cell phone, which btw its shocking that she heard it and SHOCKING that she actually answered it..AND SHOCKING THAT SHE SAT down on one of the exhibition props in order to talk..so there is mom sitting on what I hope is not a 200 year old chair as the next tour group comes through with gasps and looks..
What can you say?
… BTW.. I did get in a 3 mile run today… I Vaselined and taped myself up from head to toe… that’s all there is too say… and oh yeah Joe finally arrived for vacation… vacation can now officially start now!
Friday, July 29th
So Joe..like whats that hanging on your antenna?
This is his take on it, “ I'm driving down route 1 last night, oh about 60-65 MPH in the rain, when this rather sizable thing swoops in front of my truck, hits my antenna, whips around and then smashed my windshield like a baseball."
Pause…"Joe, is that a Bat WING?"
Joe ran today , I did not. No comment
Saturday, July 30th
RACE DAY.. Team Duffy is all set to tear it up at the BEACH 5K, it’s a 3.1 mile course and the whole family is doing it! I was thinking myself big stuff being all ahead of Joe for the first mile and what fun this was until my core body temperature exploded and the thought of sudden death sounded appealing… of course the excitement of the day was DAD placing 3rd in his age group, for his FIRST EVER MEDAL! DAD ROCKS!!! My heart was swelling with pride!
Joe thought it quite interesting that after the race, one of my competitors came up to talk to me. This is a girl who mind you won’t speak one word to me usually but this time she kicks my ass and so I guess its ok to talk to me now?
So of course I am nice… I am a nice person.. and during our maybe 3 minute “talk” she says to me, “Looks like you lost some weight” .. IS SHE SERIOUS?…. I need to work on taking her out.. NOW…
Sunday, July 31st
WALLY WORLD DAY! Actually
it’s the day with the nephews, bro and sister-in-law at Jungle Jim’s., floating on the lazy river… Aunt Wendy lets go on that slide!!! Sideward’s glance to the anaconda looking five foot tubing riveted together. UM no…NO THANKS … oh Aunt Wendy, come on..
So laugh as you may this Irongirl does NOT do small round vertical tubes. Luckily for them Joe does and well off they go to scream and having fun, more power to you all… my fat arsh is going back to the river.
I am not sure if I can possibly eat any more really bad stuff… lunch is a cheeseburger, cheese fries and soda.. that makes up for the chocolate and nut covered donut I had this am.. yahoo.. vacation rocks!
Shame that I will no longer be able to fit into the 5,000 outfits I brought.
JUST know that I don’t think mom and Joe purposely tried to kill me by feeding me raw shrimp for dinner.. and so glad Dad yelled at me that I should know better…
Monday, August 1st
Happy Monday. I think… the heat is doing me in. Or maybe it’s the sodium content in my system but I am a complete bitch.. a wanker… a wolly burg… and Joe calls me on it… I don’t know what wrong with me.. I am miserable and he tells
me in no uncertain terms that I better ship up or shape down… no I mean shape up or ship out.. yeah whatever… so we head to the bay to get the kayaks out.. it’s a bit quiet in the ole truck…I think I want to cry...
Yeah… I thought perhaps since I was such a bitch I better do something productive like save the world. Draggin the beach blanket out for the perfect spot.. its still a little quiet… and I need to remove the dead horseshoe crab carcasses from around our blanket.. …oh yo.. that bugger is still ALIVE…. as I am holding it up by the tail and taking it clawing to the water… so I proceed to scour the beach and return every upside horseshoe crab into the surf.. I WILL SAVE YOU ALL… Wendy the savior bitch… . I wonder if Joe really questions his decision he made 20 years ago… in sickness and health…
Received a call from mom who proceeded to call me some choice names with the word bitch attached to them and well that just solidified the day… So not sure if it was the heat or what but our family was getting along about as well as… a dog and fleas
Tuesday, August 2nd
Lock Ness has been sighted at
Rehoboth! Joe must have felt bad and bought me a giant inflatable serpent.
Of course he is the BEST EVER…poor man had to use the foot pump to blow the sucker up. DUDE why are out of breath?
Spent the entire morning playing with the serpent and teaching the nephews to Kayak. Which then we were too exhausted to do our annual Bar Crawl.. as the thought of actually staying awake to drink was exhausting… NAP TIME…
Wednesday, August 3rd
9th DAY OF HELL.. Unfortunately, my brother had to leave vacation early, SO LUCKY HIM… so we moved up our normal family dinner out and family portraits to Wednesday instead of Thursday. And then as Heather put it.. I had a food baby.
NEVER EVER… put an athlete in front of a food buffet. Just saying…
I don’t know how its possible to consume that much food and be able to walk out of the restaurant.
Thursday, August 4th
Since we hadn’t run in a few day
s… I thought it best we do a longer run in the am and then a second run in the pm. I mean what would a vacation be without a little excess?
WOW this vacation is great.. everyone is now numb with happiness and I think the shear excitement about going home in a few days has lifted everyone’s spirits. I love you Joe!… I love you Mom and Dad… !and I love my vacation!!!
Friday, August 5th
Love that THRIFT store shopping!
Really cool finds with oh yeah I’m going to use this under my desk at work and PEDAL! And JOE SAYING, “NOT ONE MORE THING”..
Last day of vacation!!! YEAH LOVE VACATION!!!
Saturday, August 6th
HAPPY AS A PIG IN SHIT!!!
Time to pack up and go home!
