Avoiding Sandy, Halloween and Last Minute Triathlon Training

The problem with late season storms in the Caribbean is that they tend to form to the south of Cayman and the amount of warning is minimal compared to the monster storms that come in out of the Atlantic.  We saw this with Paloma in 2008 that came in early November and again this year with Hurricane Sandy a late October storm. We only had about a day and a half notice but fortunately for us, Sandy headed northeast instead of northwest and all we got was some rainy days and choppy seas. 

 

Last year we planned to take Arianna to the Halloween party at Camana Bay where they have trick or treating, crafts and movies but it was rained out.  We worried that the aftereffects of Sandy might rain out the event scheduled for Saturday night this year too but the day stayed dry. Arianna got into her Peter Pan costume and we headed to Camana to meet several of her friends and do the trick or treating.  We picked up some take out sushi at Yoshi's and ate it down on the crescent by the water and the big fountains.  Then we met Arianna's friend Tucker and headed out to hit all the candy stands to fill her bag.  After an hour plus of trick or treating we settled in to watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin on a big screen in one of the outdoor courts.  It was a great evening and Arianna had a blast.

 

We are one week out from the triathlon and are completing our training this week as we point toward that race next Sunday morning.  We have also now given our official 90 day notice to the college and our last work day will be January 25.  One of the cars has been sold and we have a ton of stuff on ecay and a big garage sale planned.  We are set to leave by the end of January which will end our time down here and end this blog.  It has been a grand adventure and is now coming to an end.  These last 90 days will be a whirlwind we are sure.

Goodbye to Gypsy

With all of the uncertainty about our move and where we will go and where we may have to stay for a while, we have been very concerned about Gypsy, our cat.  She doesn't take change or uncertainty well.  After some long talks about it we decided to put her up for adoption and find a good home for her so she can stay in Cayman.  Because there are so many in transit people here on the island there is an online forum where people who are leaving, but cannot take their pets, can post available pets for adoption.  Yesterday, a very nice lady with an 11 month old child contacted us about Gypsy and after coming over to meet her, agreed to adopt her.  We gave her all of Gypsy's stuff including her carrier, kitty litter, toys and cat tree along with her special blanket that she likes to sit on, on top of the couch.  Arianna was very sad when she said goodbye and it was a little emotional for all of us.  We will miss Gypsy but know that she is going to a good home and that she will be happy with her new family.  It was a stark reminder that our time on the island is quickly coming to an end.

Rained Out

After great conditions yesterday for the 800 meter swim, this morning broke cloudy and rainy.  As we drove to the start line we could hear thunder and see the line of rain coming.  A quick decision by the organizers to cancel meant we never even got started.  We have three weeks left to go before the full triathlon and will now scramble to do our own personal final "mini-tri" some time in the next week or so.  We are doubling up our training now trying to do bikes then runs or swims then bikes to get our bodies used to the transition and change in muscle use.  We decided not to go to different bikes even though it means less speed because we found that the racing bikes were messing with our breathing and we felt it would take too long to adjust to them.  Will be an interesting next three weeks as we wrap up final training and do our first actual sprint triathlon.

CUC Swim

This is a busy weekend as today Katie took part in the CUC (Caribbean Utilities Company) 800 meter open water swim and tomorrow we both have our third and final mini triathlon as part of the buildup toward the sprint triathlon in just three weeks.

 

It was my turn to watch Arianna as Katie swam the race.  Arianna played with her friend Tucker who's mom Kristy is Katie's training partner and was also swimming in the race.  We walked along the beach as the race progressed watching the swimmers.  Arianna would stop from time to time though as we walked down the beach with the swimmers and yell "go mommy" or "mommy race"

 

Katie finished third in her age group and got a trophy!

 

 

Football Getaway Weekend

Katie's birthday present for me this year was a getaway weekend back to Texas to see a Longhorn game.  So last Friday we used some of our airline miles so I could fly to Houston and meet up with my old college roommate Gary and go to the Texas-West Virgina football game in Austin.  It was a whirlwind 72 hours that included bringing back stuff to put into storage as we begin our process of moving back and some shopping for items needed here on the island that are either unavailable or too expensive.  Most of all though it was about seeing my first game in person in over three years.  A record crowd of over 101,000 were in attendance and it was a great game to watch even though it was chilly and the Horns lost in a heart breaker 48-45.  The great thing about seeing the game was that it served as a reminder that one of the many good things awaiting us when we return, the ability to go to Texas football games in the fall.