Manatees - 2019 Edition - Practice Maximum Enthusiasm - CLOSED (Page 46)

Originally posted by marysia83 Got back from spring break in warm Florida and am full of positive energy - mental and training wise. Even though I like winter, there is something about the end of it, around March, where I get into some sort of nostalgia point, where it is hard for me to concentrate, stick to my goals, be productive and happy overall. It is more melancholic than November. And Chicago winters can be very frustrating, thus, the longer they last, the more miserable I feel... This year we decided to spring break in Florida. We are moving to CO next year, and wanted to take the chance of exploring more of East since it is closer now than it will be after 2020. We landed in the beautiful campground in the middle of Florida, so green and rich in springish life, all covered in sun rays, I felt reborn and happy. We did tons of mountain biking, and the energy kicked in. We're back to Chicago area, it's still cold, but nice and sunny. I am planning to run outside on my lunch break in a moment. Can't wait for it! I signed up for the challenges, can't wait to participate again. Now that it's finally spring, I am hoping to have way more motivation and fun Congrats to Stacey! Have a great awesome new week everyone! Karen, how's recovery going?

Originally posted by ceilidh your enthusiasm is infectious. Just in case, I am going to take 10 days of camping in Fla, with a side trip to Key West, just to make sure i have as much when i get back.

Originally posted by Hot Runner I do recall a diesel smell at Chatt during the swim--I was feeling pretty dodgy from food poisoning over the two days before, so it bothered me more than usual. But not sure if it was the water, air pollution from factories, or maybe just boat exhaust. Singapore water (for races off East Coast Park at least--Sentosa tends to be slightly cleaner) is usually opaque/black and smells/tastes like diesel. Yuck!

Originally posted by amd723

haha! Funny, Florida doesn’t give me that enthusiasm , I have to go to the mountains for mine!

Originally posted by jmkizer

I know! Here Robin is going from the WNC to FL for camping while we are heading to WNC as a vacation spot!

Kevin looked at a place in Brevard this weekend. Unfortunately, his final report was "it's a dump." Oh well..

Originally posted by amd723

im sure he wouldn’t have to look hard to find a non-dump place!

Originally posted by jmkizer

I know! Here Robin is going from the WNC to FL for camping while we are heading to WNC as a vacation spot!

Kevin looked at a place in Brevard this weekend. Unfortunately, his final report was "it's a dump." Oh well..

Originally posted by cdban66

I'm not sure about NC, but non-dump probably means $$$$$.

Maybe the answer is buy part of a place that is shared with other Manatees, I'm sure you can find someone like Ann-Marie to go in on this place with you. 

Originally posted by jmkizer

Haha! The issue is that no much goes on the market in the places that we have an eye on. Ah well, more time to save up, right?

This was a town home walking distance to downtown Brevard. The interior had never had anything done with it in ever. That's annoying bit fixable. The exterior was maintained by the HOA -- and had quite a bit of rot. Yeah... So you pay $200/mo for rot? Does not cover water/sewer/trash or anything, just "maintaining" the exterior. Anyway, Kevin was not impressed with anything other than the location. Oh, and it had a weird  walk through shared bathroom thing. I asked if it was a Jack and Jill and he said, "No. Weirder." OK....

(so Chris, you are tent camping next month)

Originally posted by jmkizer

Haha! The issue is that no much goes on the market in the places that we have an eye on. Ah well, more time to save up, right?

This was a town home walking distance to downtown Brevard. The interior had never had anything done with it in ever. That's annoying bit fixable. The exterior was maintained by the HOA -- and had quite a bit of rot. Yeah... So you pay $200/mo for rot? Does not cover water/sewer/trash or anything, just "maintaining" the exterior. Anyway, Kevin was not impressed with anything other than the location. Oh, and it had a weird  walk through shared bathroom thing. I asked if it was a Jack and Jill and he said, "No. Weirder." OK....

(so Chris, you are tent camping next month)

Originally posted by kbhanson3 We just stayed at Pilot Cove in Brevard and loved it! New 1 or 2 BR cabins on a small mountain behind The HUB. It borders on Pisgah NF so its close to great hikes & mountain bike trails. Bonus points for Ecusta Brewery right across the street! Good beer and out back you can go hang out by the river.

Originally posted by Hot Runner

Colorado--sounds great! My interviews with Hawaii districts went well today, especially with Honolulu and some other Oahu districts. Apparently they have many immigrant students and are really looking for teachers who have training/experience working with English language learners in the regular classroom, and/or training other teachers to do so. Hoping I can get a concrete offer in the next few months. If not will continue to pursue local leads in the Boise area.

Now if I could just bend my elbow more, and swim. Makes no sense to be moving to Hawaii if I can only sit and look at the ocean!

Originally posted by ceilidh

your enthusiasm is infectious. Just in case, I am going to take 10 days of camping in Fla, with a side trip to Key West, just to make sure i have as much when i get back.

Originally posted by JBacarella

Stacy- GREAT JOB! What a gain.

I've never swam the Potomac, but I did swim the York in the brackish section. The nastiest swim ever, including the 3 times in the Ohio. Take that back, I swam in the Detroit River in the 80's.

Originally posted by amd723

Glad you had such a great time! Where was this wonderful campground ?

Originally posted by amd723

Glad you had such a great time! Where was this wonderful campground ?

Originally posted by marysia83 I prefer mountains too, thus, was very surprised to find Florida is not only Disney and beaches, and glitter, but also lots of nature and activities. We camped around Ocala first - there are plenty of great campgrounds, all of them are connected with biking trails. Then we moved to Alafia State Park. One of the best mountain biking trails I've experienced! Campground was really great, tons of green and nature. It was 30 minutes from Tampa, so we got the kids to the beach and played volleyball. I found some cozy small beaches.

Originally posted by marysia83I prefer mountains too, thus, was very surprised to find Florida is not only Disney and beaches, and glitter, but also lots of nature and activities.We camped around Ocala first - there are plenty of great campgrounds, all of them are connected with biking trails. Then we moved to Alafia State Park. One of the best mountain biking trails I've experienced! Campground was really great, tons of green and nature. It was 30 minutes from Tampa, so we got the kids to the beach and played volleyball. I found some cozy small beaches.

Originally posted by cdban66

Ocala and Alafia are THE spots for mtb riding in the state. Ocala has 100+ miles of bike trails, not just the Santos area, but throughout the Greenway.  Did you all hit the Vortex? I wish I had known you were at Alafia, I would have taken a day off to say hello and ride.

Originally posted by marysia83 Oh no! I'm sorry for not letting you know! I kept forgetting who lives where from Manatee group... We also decided sort of last minute. We were planning to go to Moab at first. We did not get a chance to do Santos and Vortex. It was on our agenda, but the weather kept changing, so we moved to Alafia sooner, and after so many days of riding our buts hurt enough to leave Santos for the next time Ah, and also... we went to Manatee Viewing Center! I was hoping to spot a manatee and get a picture for all of you, but it was too warm and the creatures decided to stay in open water... I will remember to post location of our further trips in case anyone wants to join us for riding or hiking, or beer

Originally posted by jmkizer

He says that but when I was in Englewood, did he come to see me! NO!

*yeah yeah, early days for the Manteess blahblahblah*

Originally posted by cdban66

Wow, I can feel the love. (says the guy planning to mtb with Manatee spouse next month)

You're right though, that was a while ago, I can imagine how one would feel about some guy that is barely known through the internet. In retrospect, Ann-Marie was taking a chance!

Originally posted by amd723

haha! luckily you came with Ann, so it wasn't so scary

Originally posted by cdban66

Yeah, I may actually think things through on occasion.