A Thursday in Bristol

 We drove downtown to get our morning coffee, and Bolts found some friends to play with

 They were chasing the ball - so they were all getting pretty wet

 New friends - Ruby & Lucy

 Later that day it was off to  check out a truck in Dallas' garage.  He wanted a second opinion on what needed to be done.  It was nice to see our 98d!  We haven't driven it at all this summer :(

Bolts always finds a lot to investigate

 Chris took a look at the truck - it was a little rusty - like all winter living vehicles.

And then home to relax by the fire pit

A Wednesday in Bristol

 Wednesday night sailboat racing of course!!  But it was cancelled again due to T storms in the area (that never materialized).  But it was also Steak & Swordfish night  - so everyone stayed around, chatting and eating

 One of the bartenders is also a vet tech and she is fostering a teeny tiny kitten.  It is so sweet.  Love that age where they can barely hold their heads up.  Not coming to our house though - Bean would chomp on it in a second.

A Tuesday in Bristol

 A late afternoon sail on a nice sunny & warm day

 Keeping it simple - just the jib flying

 Tuesday night racing at the yacht club - had to skirt the course :)

 A nice evening for eating outside

A Monday in Bristol

 Dog park with Bolts!

 Then our friends invited us on their sailboat - yay!  This is Moxie who we race against on Wed nights.  It's a J100 and fast fast fast.  It was fun being aboard

 Lovely night for the 6 of us

 Good wind too

 and gorgeous sunset

 We made it home just in time - before it got too dark to see :)

Maine 70.3!

 We headed north to Maine for our first half ironman of the year.  Traffic is a bummer - stop & go all the way north (spring, summer, fall, and winter - yuck!)  So we took some detours off the stopped highway.  Lowell, MA.  Our friend Ray from Reno - his father was born here!  It's your classic northeast town - lots of mills, old churches, and big beautiful captain style homes.  It's more of a working town now  - but still has it's beauty

 We arrived at Old Orchard Beach in mid afternoon.  Time to check in and do all that fun triathlon stuff :)

 After we got our goodie bags, we had to drop off our bikes.  It was a little bit of a walk, but it felt good to stretch our legs.  Stress is so much less than when dealing with a full ironman.  It's still a tough race, but no where near the challenges of a full IM.

 2,000 of our closest friends :)

 Since we didn't have to 'stay off our legs', we strolled around the boardwalk and pier

 We saw the buoy's for the race  - all ready to go!

 It was a beautiful beach day and there were a lot of people out and about

 The rides looked fun, but we didn't partake :)

 Race day was a beauty - cool and sunny.  The course was hilly from start to finish though!  Big surf on the swim made for a slow but fun swim; lots of hills on the bike, that continued onto the run course (who said it was flat and fast - not!)  We did it though!  These sure don't get any easier especially since we're getting older, whew!  The swim was 1.2 miles.  The bike was 56 miles (beautiful country roads that were pretty good).  The run was 13.1 miles (half of it was on dirt trails)

 The finish line - always love to see this!! 

 The race takes about 6 hours, so we're able to head home after.  Of course, traffic again.  So more detours - this time on Highway 1 through Portsmouth, NH

 farm stand

packed clam shack

 We found a Five Guys - and it saved our lives!  We don't eat french fries very often - but these were well deserved :)

 Traffic on '1' too

 We did make it home eventually.  But not early enough to get Bolts.  So it was a peaceful sleep night :)  And now we have a week off - yeah!

Official race photos  - courtesy of Finisherpix!