My siblings, Casey, Charity & Julie, were at it again this past weekend with another marathon! Rachel and I always try to go and support them on race day, and this time it was a no-brainer, because the race was on Mt. Desert Island (“MDI”). It would be our first time at MDI/Acadia National Park, so when we found out the race was on Sunday, we decided to drive up Friday night so that Saturday could be spent experiencing some of what MDI/Acadia have to offer. We arrived at our home for the weekend, Hadley’s Point Campground, at 8:30p on Friday and quickly set up camp then got to sleep, in preparation for an early start on Saturday. The temperature was forecasted to drop to the low 30s, so we deployed our warmest tent and an extra sleeping bag to use as a comforter.
Tag Archives: Smiths
2016 NE Parkinson’s Ride
The New England Parkinson’s ride was created by the Woods family in the Summer of 2008 after Chris Woods, an avid cyclist, was diagnosed with PD at the age of 41. He was a regular at the annual Diabetes and MS rides, but his family found that there was no benefit ride for Parkinson’s research in the US, so they started their own. The first year only drew only 35 riders but as of last year, it grew to 800+ cyclists (from 19 states & 3 Canadian provinces) and 200+ volunteers. In 2015 alone, it raised $547,000 and the cumulative total since the rides inception has now surpassed $2 million. For two years in a row it has been the largest independent single-day fundraising member event for Team Fox in the history of the Michael J Fox Foundation.
King Arthur’s Seat
The streets were no longer buzzing with partiers when we walked back to the aparthotel this morning. This time around, our only company was the crews cleaning debris from the festivities last night, and a handful of early risers getting their steps in before the streets got crowded again. Our mission was to bring breakfast for everyone at the aparthotel and fortunately we succeeded thanks to a conveniently located Tesco, only a block from the aparthotel.
Craigmillar Castle
In order to make the most of our time in Edinburgh, we bought tickets for an early train out of Inverness. The others took a bus back to Fort William to pick up their rental car and drive to Edinburgh where we would meet for a special dinner, to celebrate Corey & Kate’s 15th anniversary!
The Spartan Cafe
Rachel & I returned to Fiddler’s Restaurant this morning for breakfast and were relieved to find an assortment of cereal, fruit and yogurt. The dense Scottish breakfast is great, but a change was appreciated. Despite the lighter options, though, we still completely stuffed ourselves. Rachel even pocketed part of a baguette which we snacked on later in the day. It will be difficult to go back home and resume our normal diet: not feasting for every breakfast and dinner and often not having any dessert. That’s what vacation is for though, so we haven’t hesitated to indulge while we have an excuse.