USA Adventure

Charles Towne Landing

Published December 9, 2018

Post-marathon Sunday – up early, ready to go-go-go. South Carolina. Weather app forecast’d a three-hour calm; Winter Storm Diego bearing on the Carolinas. 1pm flight HOME – plenty of time for a museum, President’s home, y’all know…something anything historical. Gotta/hafta/must 🙂

Breakfast highlight: Fried Green Tomato Eggs Benedict (highly recommended), then 2 hours at Charles Towne Landing. Check, done. Fulfilled my inner History Nerd. English’s first permanent settlement here – 1670, on the ship ‘Carolina’. Tell ya folks, it’s an addiction. LOL>

Glass-walled windows, stunning outdoor panorama. HUGE renovated Visitors Center. Unfortunately, wrong politics. 12 minutes enough. Moved my energy outside. Exploitation, sugar cane, cotton, slavery. Got it. Park Ranger said ‘no charge’ (many thanks). Outdoors, much better fit.

Hundred-year live oaks draped in Spanish moss. Egrets/sand cranes stalked the property’s lowlands gigging for frogs/insects/crawfish/minnows. Roads in & outta the Park canopied by tall deciduous, still leafy green in December. Light drizzle, big BEAUTIFUL outdoors all to myself. Heart soar.

America the Beautiful. Differences aside, I’m better having visited all 50 States.

Hilo Hawaii, Washington DC, Buffalo NY, Ennis Montana, Juneau Alaska. New places, new faces. Super BLESSED – absolutely amazing run year. So many LIFE adventures. #noregrets

: Winter Storm warning

: breakfast BENEDICT

: canopied by deciduous

: still leafy green

: English’s first settlement

: Spanish moss

: founding father

: planter aristocracy

: sugar cane & SLAVES

: minority MAJORITY

: better suited outdoors

: egrets & sand cranes

Kiawah Island Marathon

Published December 8, 2018

Pride Prejudice and Zombies

Another December marathon, ‘nother predawn Friday at DIA. Denver to Baltimore, Baltimore to Charleston. Kiawah Island this weekend, South Carolina. Ritzy-gated community 30 minutes from downtown Charleston. Palm trees & ocean – far cry from last week’s Kentucky mud fest, but an all familiar forecast. Rain & 45 degrees – bring it on Carolina, I’ve got this! Down to 5 states after tomorrow’s 26.2 🙂

Past the guard shack, East Beach check-in. Bib pickup, Expo & weekend condo registration – one stop shopping. Crib accommodations walking distance from Saturday’s Start (Memorial Day sign-up has its perks). Dinner at the Ryder Cup, 15-minute drive ‘long the ocean. Pitch black/overcast – still, smell of salt in the air 🌴

Condo scuttled early, whole lotta runners – literally THOUSANDS – bit overwhelming after a full travel day. Tomorrow’s a fresh Start…with a late weather surprise. Winter Storm Diego waiting ‘til 2pm to strike the Island. I’d be marathon-finished & indoor manicotti-feasting before the first sheets of rain. Happy day.

Morning. Daylight. First time seeing me outdoor digs, dark came early nite prior. Inlet water, manicured greens, moss-draped oak & golf carts. Whole lotta those. Disney-reminiscent, maybe too perfect. Folks appear/disappear, behind-the-scenes perfection perpetually maintained.

Blink. Focus. I’m here to run.

Cued waaaaay back, 5:30 pace group. 12-minute first mile – sooooo many runners, who knew? [combined Start: Halfers peel’d off mile 5] Kept pace tight the next eight miles. Eyed the 4-hour bunny. Second outdoor run since Kentucky, been injury sidelined. River crossing gone awry.

Parasite-pill popped at 15. Lost my pace posse but maintained a healthy bounce. Steady 9:45-10 min/mile numbers. Found walking aggravates the pull. Palm tree gazed, playlist zoned. New Miley riff. Yeh, I said it. Proud & loud, we all got vices. Beat, beat, beat. Random collection of pulse.

21, 22, 23 – ticking ‘em off today, just another long run…tune obsessed, route lined with putting greens. Wind a-blowin’/chill in the air, time to wrap this puppy up. Storm’s movin’ in. Mylar blankets & tropical palms, marathon SUCCESS. #138 in the books, South Carolina x2 part of the past.

Hot shower & something Italian. Outta lasagna, outta the rain. No worries, manicotti calling. Touristing would have to wait ‘til morning. Mother Nature thanks – run done & just in time.

Kiawah Island Marathon:
K R HAGA crossed the Finish at 12:26
Course time: 04:22:35
Pace: 10:02 min/mi

: hello Charleston

: golf MECCA ⛳

: Kiawah’s Ryder Cup

: marathon morn Deer

: whole lotta runners

: live oak canopy

: palm trees & putting greens

: South Carolina SUCCESS

: chilly December FINISH

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, South | Leave a comment

Old Hickory

Published December 2, 2018

Hour to Bowling Green, refueled/stretched/discarded yesterday’s muddy remnants. Backroads of Kentucky. Hour-15 further (back on highway now), pulled into Hermitage parking. History nerd alert. Flight home not ‘til noon – left 75 minutes to tour the People’s President’s Tennessee home. Andrew Jackson, Old Hickory. Sis, Paul & Stephen punched their tickets last month when we group ran Nashville. Today, I’d get my opportunity.

Not a HUGE fan of $20 Jackson (Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt top my list) – but he embodied the American dream. After 50 years of aristocrats, Jackson was elected by the People, as one of us. Orphaned early/penniless, joined the army, worked hard/driven & (after being robbed 4 years earlier) became U.S. President.

(Won both Popular & Electoral vote majorities in 1824, but the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams – 2nd in actual election. You think Gore or Hillary got robbed, check this out.)

Folks in period costumes each major room/floor of the Hermitage. Lotta knowledge/super interesting. I remember reading a book about Jackson & wife Rachel Donelson in 4^th grade. Frontier love story.

What I didn’t read in 4^th grade? Never really divorced husband #1 – these were Frontier times. Not widowed, married to 2 men – problem for the newly elected Jackson. Controversy took its toll & the former Mrs. Robards died before Jackson took office. Buried in her inaugural ball gown. Sad, somber.

Every era has its stories – two centuries before social media.

Folks also choose to gloss over slavery. Gone with the Wind/Southern romance hoohah. Flying to South Carolina next week, expect more of the same. Part of America’s shameful past. I capture, chain, shackle you. You belong to me. I sell you as property. Why stop there? Humans are meat, right? Absolutely bonkers.

Remember the past, learn from the past – don’t live in the past.

the Hermitage: interesting old house, Greco-Old World columns/architecture. Slave owner. 75 minutes is plenty.