Well with the passing of Labor day, summer is officially over and the Fall Season has begun. Autumn is of course always my favorite season, from the changing weather, the colorful leaves, football season, country trips, camping, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. It will especially be exciting this year with the upcoming Presidential election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. However before I thrust into the action of fall, I thought it would be quite fitting to look back upon the very eventful summer that it was. I can honestly say that this summer will rank with some of the best of em (06, 07, 08, 09). So here's the recap of my Summer of 2012.
Indy Mini: My dad always says that summer kicks off with our annual running of the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. We started this race back in 2005, and in those days it marked the end of college and the beginning of summer. Well this year was no different, as we gathered to run our 8th annual mini-marathon. I had begun training back during Lent season and was in very good shape. Marc, Philip, and myself were also considering breaking the family record of 1:43. That May 5th however was the muggiest race we had ever run. I finished in at a time of 1:55. Later that day we had pizza over at Carl and Devons, and then Palmer and myself went to a friend's party. It was a fun day.
Indianapolis Indians: Back during the Lenten season, I was beginning to feel that I needed a new career challenge and then came this great opportunity. It wasn't so much about the meager pay, yet just about the new experience. I began in late April, working at Victory Field home of the Triple A Indianapolis Indians. I worked out of the press-box, where I track pitches and collected data for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On average I worked about 2 games a week, for the entire summer. There were nights where I loved it and nights that would just never end. All-in-all though it was a very rewarding experience that re-ignted my appreciation for baseball.
Lindsay and Josh Cross' Wedding: On May 12th I went to Fort Wayne for Lauren's sister's wedding with Josh Cross. This was an exciting celebration of two people I had known for quite some time. It would of course be a high school reunion, a drunken party, and the perfect chance to kick off the summer. The reception was a good time of drinking and dancing with my friends. We later took the party to the hotel and had a few more drinks there.
Geist Mini: I continued training hard into the spring. Evening runs and Saturday morning runs on the Monon Trail became my favorite thing to do. Philip and myself decided to do a Redemption Mini from our terrible time at the Indy Mini. This time on May 19th I ran a much better time of 1:46:17 at the Geist Half Marathon.
Memorial Weekend: That weekend I went home to visit the family in Fort Wayne, and do some prep work for the Kekionga Triathlon. Saw the movie Avengers with my mom, had a very nice lunch, and bought a new Schwinn bike and helmet. Later that Sunday I partied it up with Palmer and the family. It was a nice 3-day weekend.
Euro Cup: The 2nd biggest soccer tournament, began in early June, and I followed it very closely. Portugal was of course my favorite team to watch, and really hoped that Cristiano Ronaldo would win his first national tournament. I watched most the games online, and eventually bought a very nice C. Ronaldo Portugal jersey. Portugal was however eliminated in the final four, and Spain went on to win their 3rd consecutive international tournament.
Andres' Visit: Andres came to visit for a week, which was a very nice change of pace in Indianapolis. He went back and forth from my apartment to Philip's apartment. On Tuesday I took him on my RCL delivery route and then later to the Indians game. On Wednesday the three of us played some tennis. On Thursday we went to an open track meet in Whitestown. I was recovering from stomach nausea so could only watch while Philip and Andres participated. I then took him back to Fort Wayne late Friday night.
Chicago Weekend: Ever since I fell in love with the city of Chicago in 2008, I made a promise with myself to re-visit the city at least once a year. And when better a time to visit this amazing city than in the summer. Last summer's Chicago trip was a nightmare, of which we had to cut short due to terrible weather. This year's was complete perfection! We left early in my parent's new KIA, made the 3 hour drive, and found parking in my old neighborhood of Rogers Park. We then boarded the Red Line to take a tour through the city. We walked around downtown, visiting the typical sites such as Memorial Park, Grant Park, and the historic Financial district. We eventually stumbled upon a Puerto Rican festival as well. By late afternoon, we took the train back up north to spend the rest of the day at the beach. Here we had a nice calzone lunch and relaxed under a tree. We left by around 4ish, and eventually stopped in at the famous Don Quixote Spanish restaurant in Valparaiso. My mom had been raving about this restaurant for a long time, so it was quite interesting to finally see what it was like. It was a very classy restaurant, high prices, small quantities, and average taste. The rest of the trip was a tight squeeze in the small KIA and everyone was happy when we finally made it home late in the evening. It was a perfect Chicago day!
Dave Matthews Concert: This was a major event in planning with my college friends to finally see Dave Matthews Band live in concert. DMB of course being one of my favorite modern day bands. That Saturday on June 23rd the experience was once again a total perfect success! It began at an afternoon pool party, then a parking lot tailgate, then the concert itself. It was Lauren, Nate, Brian, Matt Turrow, Jesse Turrow, Lindsay, Lizzie, EJ, and K-man. They were all like family that day. We stood on the lawn for the entire show, singing our lungs out and dancing our feet off. It was like heaven, no doubt one of the funnest times I had ever had before.
Enoch Olympics: For our usual Fourth of July family reunion we went up to Battle Creek, Michigan. We spent the day at Goguac Lake, then later at Aunt Cathy's house. This year was different from previous 4th of Julys, in that it was our grandfather's 100th memorial. We decided to celebrate his past through a series of physical competition. This included push-ups, sit-ups, jump-rope, handstands, and swimming. We later spent the evening at Cathy's house drinking, eating, playing corn-hole, Grandpa trivia, and just visiting with one another.
Kekionga Sprint Triathlon: This had been my baby event four years ago, and this year it was finally going legit. This meant total sponsorship from an outside organization known as Tri-State Triathlon. Derek Wetli came in and completely organized the event to be officially sanctioned by USAT. We had over 50 seasoned triathletes show up that Saturday morning on July 21st to partake. Although only 4 of the original participants showed up (Philip, Shawnna, KB, and myself) and I finished 2nd last, the event was still a success. That evening we had a nice party at Kekionga, of which Palmer finally showed up, as well as LaMaster. Next year I hope to do a lot better in the actual race.
London Olympics: Ever since Atlanta in 96 I have fallen in love with the Olympic games, and thus had the London games high on my radar. I went to the store that week to buy a digital converter box for my television so that I could get a local channel feed. After some fixing and adjusting I had a clear broadcast picture on my TV and was ready for the opening ceremony. I watched the games nearly every night in my apartment the first week, and almost every night in New England the 2nd week. No matter what the event was, it was always exhilarating to watch the best athletes in the world compete with one another.
New England Vacation: This was the grand finale of the amazing summer of 2012. We carefully planned this vacation back in the springtime, as a family tour through New England, a region I had never set foot in. We rented a van, loaded the bikes, and made the 12 hour drive to begin in Connecticut. We visited Uncle Larry, then went to Boston for a day, then spent the rest of the week in Maine. We saw whales, ate amazing lobster, relaxed at harbors, went to a beach, did some rock-climbing, and even went bowling in Bangor, Maine for Andres. It was a very memorable trip!
B-town Day: After our incredible New England vacation, I took the whole Friday to relax at my parents house. I then left early Saturday morning for Bloomington to party with my friends. This would be the final bang of the summer. It had been over a year since I visited my old college town, and was looking forward to just going nuts with my friends. We started off at Lindsay's house for a barbecue, then got a hotel room, then went to the classic Kirkwood bars. We played "Sink-the-Biz" at Nick's then went to the Upstairs and had an AMF, and that's the last thing I remember. Those AMFs are notorious for black-outs. The day was still a drunken success, and a perfect closure to a perfect summer.
Indy Mini: My dad always says that summer kicks off with our annual running of the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. We started this race back in 2005, and in those days it marked the end of college and the beginning of summer. Well this year was no different, as we gathered to run our 8th annual mini-marathon. I had begun training back during Lent season and was in very good shape. Marc, Philip, and myself were also considering breaking the family record of 1:43. That May 5th however was the muggiest race we had ever run. I finished in at a time of 1:55. Later that day we had pizza over at Carl and Devons, and then Palmer and myself went to a friend's party. It was a fun day.
Lindsay and Josh Cross' Wedding: On May 12th I went to Fort Wayne for Lauren's sister's wedding with Josh Cross. This was an exciting celebration of two people I had known for quite some time. It would of course be a high school reunion, a drunken party, and the perfect chance to kick off the summer. The reception was a good time of drinking and dancing with my friends. We later took the party to the hotel and had a few more drinks there.
Memorial Weekend: That weekend I went home to visit the family in Fort Wayne, and do some prep work for the Kekionga Triathlon. Saw the movie Avengers with my mom, had a very nice lunch, and bought a new Schwinn bike and helmet. Later that Sunday I partied it up with Palmer and the family. It was a nice 3-day weekend.
Euro Cup: The 2nd biggest soccer tournament, began in early June, and I followed it very closely. Portugal was of course my favorite team to watch, and really hoped that Cristiano Ronaldo would win his first national tournament. I watched most the games online, and eventually bought a very nice C. Ronaldo Portugal jersey. Portugal was however eliminated in the final four, and Spain went on to win their 3rd consecutive international tournament.
Andres' Visit: Andres came to visit for a week, which was a very nice change of pace in Indianapolis. He went back and forth from my apartment to Philip's apartment. On Tuesday I took him on my RCL delivery route and then later to the Indians game. On Wednesday the three of us played some tennis. On Thursday we went to an open track meet in Whitestown. I was recovering from stomach nausea so could only watch while Philip and Andres participated. I then took him back to Fort Wayne late Friday night.
Chicago Weekend: Ever since I fell in love with the city of Chicago in 2008, I made a promise with myself to re-visit the city at least once a year. And when better a time to visit this amazing city than in the summer. Last summer's Chicago trip was a nightmare, of which we had to cut short due to terrible weather. This year's was complete perfection! We left early in my parent's new KIA, made the 3 hour drive, and found parking in my old neighborhood of Rogers Park. We then boarded the Red Line to take a tour through the city. We walked around downtown, visiting the typical sites such as Memorial Park, Grant Park, and the historic Financial district. We eventually stumbled upon a Puerto Rican festival as well. By late afternoon, we took the train back up north to spend the rest of the day at the beach. Here we had a nice calzone lunch and relaxed under a tree. We left by around 4ish, and eventually stopped in at the famous Don Quixote Spanish restaurant in Valparaiso. My mom had been raving about this restaurant for a long time, so it was quite interesting to finally see what it was like. It was a very classy restaurant, high prices, small quantities, and average taste. The rest of the trip was a tight squeeze in the small KIA and everyone was happy when we finally made it home late in the evening. It was a perfect Chicago day!Dave Matthews Concert: This was a major event in planning with my college friends to finally see Dave Matthews Band live in concert. DMB of course being one of my favorite modern day bands. That Saturday on June 23rd the experience was once again a total perfect success! It began at an afternoon pool party, then a parking lot tailgate, then the concert itself. It was Lauren, Nate, Brian, Matt Turrow, Jesse Turrow, Lindsay, Lizzie, EJ, and K-man. They were all like family that day. We stood on the lawn for the entire show, singing our lungs out and dancing our feet off. It was like heaven, no doubt one of the funnest times I had ever had before.
Enoch Olympics: For our usual Fourth of July family reunion we went up to Battle Creek, Michigan. We spent the day at Goguac Lake, then later at Aunt Cathy's house. This year was different from previous 4th of Julys, in that it was our grandfather's 100th memorial. We decided to celebrate his past through a series of physical competition. This included push-ups, sit-ups, jump-rope, handstands, and swimming. We later spent the evening at Cathy's house drinking, eating, playing corn-hole, Grandpa trivia, and just visiting with one another.
Kekionga Sprint Triathlon: This had been my baby event four years ago, and this year it was finally going legit. This meant total sponsorship from an outside organization known as Tri-State Triathlon. Derek Wetli came in and completely organized the event to be officially sanctioned by USAT. We had over 50 seasoned triathletes show up that Saturday morning on July 21st to partake. Although only 4 of the original participants showed up (Philip, Shawnna, KB, and myself) and I finished 2nd last, the event was still a success. That evening we had a nice party at Kekionga, of which Palmer finally showed up, as well as LaMaster. Next year I hope to do a lot better in the actual race. London Olympics: Ever since Atlanta in 96 I have fallen in love with the Olympic games, and thus had the London games high on my radar. I went to the store that week to buy a digital converter box for my television so that I could get a local channel feed. After some fixing and adjusting I had a clear broadcast picture on my TV and was ready for the opening ceremony. I watched the games nearly every night in my apartment the first week, and almost every night in New England the 2nd week. No matter what the event was, it was always exhilarating to watch the best athletes in the world compete with one another.
New England Vacation: This was the grand finale of the amazing summer of 2012. We carefully planned this vacation back in the springtime, as a family tour through New England, a region I had never set foot in. We rented a van, loaded the bikes, and made the 12 hour drive to begin in Connecticut. We visited Uncle Larry, then went to Boston for a day, then spent the rest of the week in Maine. We saw whales, ate amazing lobster, relaxed at harbors, went to a beach, did some rock-climbing, and even went bowling in Bangor, Maine for Andres. It was a very memorable trip!
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