I couldn't wait to get back to my Bluebook to record my immediate impressions of my travels, Dunedin, the food, people, beach, race volunteers, and RACEDAY. Let's start at the beginning, and things will only get better with time.
I think a 2 day, 1 night trip should at the most warrant one bag. I leave Saturday morning with my new big green beach bag (thanks mom and dad!), full with all things beachy: snorkel and mask, bathing suit, towel, tied walmart bag containing changes of clothes, camera, race day volunteer info, runners, granola bars... The drive down is quicker than expected; I roll into Dunedin in a little over 2 hours. I'm way earlier than the agreed check in time with Sue at Seaside. I drive around a bit, and, anxious to be grounded and have a 'home base' of sorts, I call Sue at a reasonable time to see the status of my room. No one stayed there the previous night, so - I'll be there in 10 minutes! Full of anxious excitement, I'm not sure how to approach the guy chilling around the umbrella'd table that I see as I pull in to the parking lot. Is he the owner, a guest? I quickly come up with something as least offensive as I can, which results in him asking if I have a reservation. After mentioning Sue, 'he'll be darned' and leads me to the main office room. Within minutes, I'm meeting Sue and being warmly welcomed, given a key, paying $65 in cash. A short visit later, I've shared with her the race in which I'm volunteering with and she has recommended a great local breakfast spot: Kelly's in downtown Dunedin. But first to my room!!
I'm in No. 4 (of 9 units). After grabbing my bag from the car, I head to my room. I don't know what to expect. I've seen no pictures on their website ( this reservation was, after all, made within the last 24 hours). I assume I'll get a bed, a bathroom, maybe a TV, you know, the normal setup. But WoW! My mouth was wide open when I open my door. I fall in love. The west facing wall is a wall of windows letting sunshine Pour into the room. To my right, a kitchenette, to my left, the bathroom and a small kitchen table. A large open floor area, a recliner, 2 beds, a sofa, a dresser and TV. The cyclical hum of the ceiling fan and the Sunshine say 'hello heather, welcome to a wonderful beach town in FL'. I spend 5 minutes happily checking out my new place like a chocolate lover in M&M world. The two switches in the bathroom don't turn the light on, but make funny sounds. 10 seconds later, it's definitely a heat lamp (In FL??). I assume the light is broken and move on. The front door to my room has slats that open and close, letting both people's curious glances and a breeze in the room. I leave those open, the fan going, and most of my belongings in the room. Time wise, I need to head to breakfast if it's a sit down place. Still in awe of the accommodations, seeing a gorgeous bird standing right in the parking lot outside my door sends me over the edge. The guy from earlier (turns out he's Sue's husband) walks by with ladder in hand and asks how everything is. 20 seconds later, a dazed 'I'm so happy' is all I get out of my mouth with a huge smile.
Hello Downtown Dunedin. You are quaint and small. So small that I do not realize I am in downtown at first. I find FREE parking and walk to Kelly's. It's the most popular thing on the block, and, feeling slightly pinched for time, I tell the hostess I'll take first available (inside or patio). Normally, I would have been visibly disappointed with an inside seating, but I have an open mind. I end up being very happy with my position. I quickly recognize that I stand out, though. There are other.. soloists.. at nearby tables. An older man to my right reading a paper. Another on the left listening to his ipod reading a book. And me.. a (newly) 22 yr lady slightly wide-eyed but becoming more comfortable with her surroundings by the moment. A vege egg white omelet, a stack of pancakes, and potatoes come my way. The pancakes have been lightly soaked in egg batter which leaves them with an ever so slight crispy exterior. I like it. I pour the syrup in the shape of a sun on the top. 22, traveling by myself, and I laugh out load cause I can play with my food and No one will tell me not to do so. Oh the small joys of grown up life :P
Breakfast is pleasant. People know the waiters, share stories, and eat good food. 9 dollars later, I'm headed toward American Running company. Through brief emails, I've contacted the race director, Suzanne, who tells me when and where to report, and that 'we'll go from there'. When I get there to an empty store besides several shoppers, a little doubt creeps in. I've come all this way based on a very short email with a race director, who is probably very busy and has lots of people working with her. My envision of being her number one assistant is squished. Silly me. Nonetheless, I am relieved to overhear people talking about the race 'clinic' and work my way into their conversation. A clinic at 12, registration from 1-4:30, and Suzanne should be here soon. Ok, relaxing a little now.
Tris are a physical and mental sport. Planning and preparation are required and essential to a smooth and 'relaxing' race. I learn tid bits here and there throughout the weekend. Today is registration and packet pick up though. My job: greet people coming up to the store front and inform them of the sign in process. x 300 people. Easy enough. I meet several Rotarians volunteering. Mike is the Rotary Club volunteer coordinator and mans the front door with me. He's a recent Rotary member (1 month) and is excited about the new group. His work is in the financial sector and has joined Rotary for the connections in the community. By the end of the day, we've worked out several ideas for getting him back on track physically. Next year, his name is going to be on the participant boards. Good luck Mike!
Several hours of registration works off those pancakes, omelet and potatoes. I've had my eye on the hoagie shop several stores over, Delcos. It looks meaty, and only at the suggestion of Mike do I head over after volunteer hours are over. I'm happy with the chicken pizza hoagie I've ordered (I decline the first few recommendations .. Philly steak among other things). The owner likes baseball. If this place weren't a restaurant, it could double as a mini museum. Even I can appreciate the stadium replicas, the signed posters and jerseys on the wall. I feel a little awkward being the only customer at first (this place is good, right??) The 5 o'clock on my watch serves as a small explanation. By the time I'm done with my delicoussss pizza hoagie, the room is filling up, mostly with pregnant men. I mean, beer belly men. And when I say finish, I mean finish a ~2lbs sandwich. I leave satisfied with a 7 month food baby. Yum. Let's go back to my oasis and take a short nap. Will it still look as cool as this morning?
It feels a lot hotter, that's for sure. There's an old timey AC unit under one of the windows... there's a first time for everything.. I approach it confidently. The older technology IS more simple. I quickly find the power button, and the blue cool button. I turn my world to 74 degrees. I rely on my phone to find out more about a bike trail I've heard about. From the motel's website, they boast being 2 blocks from it. A ride sounds good, and I want to get out and seeeee this place I'm in. Enough of a running shop, I can see those any time.
Leaving my room behind again, I am Pinellas Trail bound. I know where the access point is, and beyond that, who knows. I head north. From the map, it looks like this direction will run me closer to the water. The trail is nice. It runs along a major road, behind houses, through commercial districts, behind warehouses. I reach max elevation of 39 feet going over the bridge crossing a major road. This takes me closer to the water. After ~ 5 miles, I peel off and turn west into a neighborhood. I sniff my way to the ocean. Literally. The breeze is amazing. I'm dwarfed by palm trees. Interesting fact: Palm trees are plants, not trees. You can thank me on Jeopardy later.
Eventually, I ride with my camera around my wrist. My trips to the beach are too infrequent and the views too pretty. I keep my eye on my watch. GL has been cooking up a good sunset for me all week. I'm anxious to see it from the West Coast. It's already produced amazing scenes from where I live in Orlando. It's about almost 7 now. I weave my way in and out of neighborhoods. I see beach front mansions and trailer parks. Both have beauties to them. I go home before the sun sets and will have just enough time to shower; I've recorded my route: MapMyRide.
Seaside is soo close to the ocean and I find a 'hidden' treasure in the sand/gravel road that runs right along the beach and the beach front houses. I walk out with camera in hand in time to see this beauty:
From the one bedroom apartment comes Victoria. A computer programmer at USF, new to the area within the last year, her arms indicate she's in shape. We chat about the tri race on Sunday, life on the water (she drives 30 miles every day to work due to a love affair with water), kayaking, running on Honeymoon Island, and meetup.com , a way to meet up with people in your area with common interests. Hmm.. I want to keep this in mind. I can tell Victoria and I have a lot in common. After taking each other's picture with the sunset, she heads off to meet her friends that have just pulled up. They are learning to tango dance tonight and then go off to a Malanga.
The rest of Saturday night is casual. I'm clean, in my car, and I head to the local grocery to get bug spray and some bottled water. The faucet water tastes funny. And I'm promised to be eaten alive by no-see-ems in the morning. I want the 4 am wake up call to be as pleasant as possible. 4 am .... I splurge and get the 7 dollar sweat-proof bugspray. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
The room key wrapped in a thank you note to Sue, I pack up and drop the key through the front door slip. It's dark outside as I head north to Honeymoon Island. I can't see the scenery I'm passing on the Causeway out there. I follow my way to the 2 huge light generators at the main parking lot.
Registration goes smooth. My morning is full of ' this is packet pick up! If you already have your bib number, chip pick up is on the left, body marking on the right! ' I'm the first thing people see coming up from the parking lot with all their gear, bikes, and family members. The sun rises, the race director gives directions over the loud speakers, people set up bikes and equipment in the transition area, and close to 800 people head to the beach. There are quite a few newbies in the group. One guys asks if there is a place to buy a helmet ... he's forgotten his at home. I point him in the direction of the bike shop tent.. secretly doubting they have any for sell and knowing the race rule requiring helmets. I'll see him later in the day.
I want to see the swim. This is a huge reason I'm here. They go off in waves every three minutes. You wear different swim cap colors by age. And, some how, the 45-60ish age men are in hot pink. The swim course is .25 miles and very shallow. This is a Very beginner friendly course. The transition to the bike is exciting. Speed is key, and proper set up allows experienced athletes to throw shoes on and GO. You have to walk/run out of the transition area and you clip in just outside. The bike is 12 miles long and doesn't take long. At the bike exit I meet James. He's supporting his friend Robert. Another older guy, lean and tan, joins our conversation. Happily, he is a very experienced triathalete (hurt for this race), but has a long history of races. This is his first year (in 9) he's missed the Dunedin Tri. He's here supporting friends. Soon people, come in from the bike and transition to the run, a 5k, partially through loose sand. We see the post race party getting set up. Dunedin brewery, Jet's pizza, fruit, bagels, pasta, sports drinks, bottled water. All free. Beer... at 10 am? I guess when your day starts so early ... 10 am feels pretty late.
We watch the finish line. The elite finish impressively fast, just over an hour. Turns out Jason's friend Robert was the 'no helmet' dude from before. A fellow racer loaned him a spare. We visit a while. Robert is excited to have finished his first race. This has been a lifestyle change for him. Gone are the days of junk food and smoking. He still has the nipple piercing and circle earrings. A coworker and several family are there to watch. They are a great group. We share European travel stories and they feed off my excitement of an upcoming trip. By the end of the morning, James and I have high-fived to doing our first race in the near future and I get an invitation to do a sprint tri with them in August in De Soto, FL.
The race winds down and I part ways with Robert and his group. I'm heading toward the beach! I bungee cord my beachtowel to the outside of my backpack and head off to the elevated bathhouse to change and do a sunscreen app. I walk along the pristine beach, clear water, and seashells and think how much more confident I will be going into my first tri. My stress level and anxiety about the swim and transition area will be a lot less. All in all, it's been an awesome weekend. After a swim in the Gulf and some interesting people watching, I'm ready to head back to Orlando. The excitement of all the traveling, the sun, and the saltwater have left me sunkissed and tired. It's a happy tired and I'm excited to make trips like this in the future.
Sooo much more to share and elaborate on. Working girl duty calls my name in the morning. More posts soon :)) hlh
A link to my picasa photo album: Picasa Photos
I see how you found a piece of heaven and yes the sunset is gorgeous! I'm sure it was even better seeing it in person.:-) lol the bungee cord! How did the goggles work in the end?
ReplyDeleteNo need for snorkel mask.. my goggles were sufficient in this case, but the cord worked great on the exterior of my backpack to carry my towel. love home depot engineering solutions!
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