Color me Rad

Two blogs about racing in two days....Can you tell what we've been doing on weekends?  This one is about one of my favorite races, The Color Me Rad 5K.  You start off all clean and by the end you certainly have a new look!

 



All white prerace

 

 

After running through color "stations" you get covered in a colored cornstarch type powder.  And every 15 minutes or so there is a post race color party.  Everyone gets together as a group and just tosses their color.  Lots of families and kids in this 5K :-) 

 

 

Mark didn't sign up for this one....but next year I may just drag him along. 

Rugged Maniac 2013

We did it again :-)  Rugged Maniac 2013.  It's a 5K with obstacles that include mud pits, barbed wire, 8 foot walls, giant slides, fire and at the end....a free beer.  So basically you get to pretend you are a kid again until you cross the finish line.  Then you realize you are too old for this, the soreness kicks in and you need the beer to kill the pain....haha.  That isn't totally true.  This year after running it I felt like we could have run the course again.  But that might have just been the runners high talking.  

 

You climb up one side, over a cargo net and down the other side. 

 

Because a good part of the race involves crawling in mud you end up with a decent amount of sand hiding in various places.  And I will tell you that crawling on sand is not easy on the knees!

In the end it is so worth the work.  We worked together as a team to get over a few of the obstacles and that is what felt the best. 

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

A couple weeks back I found myself with a free day all to myself and Emma.  And a free day for us = a new adventure.  The weather was beautiful so I took that as my sign we needed to do something outdoors.  I decided on a visit to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.  In Richmond, it isn't a far distance from our house, so travel time was perfect.  Admission for an adult is $11 and for children 3-11 the cost is $7, children under 3 are free.  There are discounts for members to the Botanical Gardens and you can also purchase yearly admission tickets for individuals or families.  The price does seem a little steep but once you get into the garden you will understand why.  The gardens are incredible!  Plan on being here a few hours in order to see everything.  

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great visit.  Both Emma and I left happy as clams and feeling like we just discovered another Richmond treasure.





Northern Neck Winery Tour.....Take II

About a year and a half ago Mark and I visited the Northern Neck area of Virginia.  We went on a 1 day, 6 winery tour that I blogged about here.  We didn't have enough time to hit all of the wineries in the area so planned to return on a day or days when we did have more time.  A couple weekends back we lucked out with a perfect day to visit the area again.  The first visit took us to the North end of the peninsula so this visit was taking us in a more southern direction. 

Our first stop was at Athena Vineyards in Heathsville, Virginia.  This winery was started and is run by three nurses.  So some of their wines are 'Nightingale' wines names after Florence Nightingale :-) With a big porch and scenic view it's a perfect place to get a glass of wine and relax. 

Stop number 2 was just a couple miles away at Jacey Vineyards, in Wicomico.  They do their tastings just a little different.  Instead of standing at a tasting bar you are seated and a waitress comes to your table and does the tasting.  You can also order various foods from a small menu.  There seemed to be more wines that were made from grapes imported from Europe than grapes grown on site so I don't know how that translates into a Virginia wine but we gave them a shot.  They do boast that they are the only Virginia winery to grow and make a Zinfandel wine. 

Stop three was at Good Luck Cellars, in Kilmarnock.  Large tasting bar, large reception room and big wrap around porch...divine.  Good wine too!

The fourth and final stop was at The Dog and Oyster Vineyard, in Irvington.  This vineyard is also part of the Hope and Glory Inn.  I was most excited about this visit because I've been scoping out the Inn as a possible adventure one weekend for just Mark and myself.  The first thing you notice about the vineyard are the two giant corkscrews you pass to enter the lane to the vineyard.  Being new to the wine business they are only making two of their own wines right now but offer tastings from the nearby Ingleside Vineyard.  This tasting is also done while seated....not a large place and not a lot of seating but very quaint and romantic.  There were several bikers that had been doing a trail and a few from the Inn that pedaled over for a tasting.

 

I still am hoping to return for a visit to the Inn one day :-) We enjoyed our day visiting the wineries and came home with enough wine to stock the wine cabinet and then some.  We were lucky with the weather and I couldn't have asked for better company.