Two weekends ago Diana and I traveled to Philadelphia for the wedding of Burke Wadsworth and Carolyn Kiss. Burke is a longtime friend from Delaware who asked me to be his best man; Burke also happened to be my Best Man three years ago. The wedding was held at Burke's high school, the Hill School, which is a boarding school that looks like an ivy league campus. We had a great time catching up with Delaware friends that we don't get to see very often. Here are a few pictures from the night.
Very nice ceremony in the Alumni Chapel
Giving the Toast!
I thought this picture summed up their personality pretty good. Always joking.
Enjoying the Reception
The Delaware Crew
Now, there was a bit of a surprise that nobody knew before the wedding, and that was that Burke and Carolyn actually got married last November down in Louisiana with a minister and their moms in attendance. This was the public celebration of their marriage, and they did a good job keeping it a secret.
Last weekend, Diana, Cassie, and I drove out to Michigan to support Phil who was racing in the Ausable River Canoe Marathon. Before I get too much further into this post, I want to acknowledge that we know it was kind of crazy to drive out on Saturday and back on Sunday... if we go next year we will make it a longer trip.
So onto the post, for those not familiar with the "Marathon" it is a long distance canoe race that covers 120 miles from Grayling to Oscoda, Michigan. The unique thing about the race, other than the long distance, is that it starts at 9 PM on Saturday and races through the night for 14-19 hours. The boats use flashlights mounted to their bows for paddling during the night. Phil was racing for the first time with his friend Gary, also from NY.
We arrived in Graying at around 3 PM and met up with the clan before going out to dinner. We were going help as the pit crew, or feeders, or bank runners, or whatever term you want to use. Basically we were going to follow the canoe throughout the night providing food, drink, and moral support. The events started with the introduction of the paddlers, where each team is introduced to the large crowd there to watch the start.
Paddler Introduction! Phil and Gary in Boat 81.
Following the introduction, it was time for them to get their canoe out of the "boat impound." All boats were inspected earlier in the day and were then locked in the local school gym until 8 PM.
Boat Impound
Then it was out to the starting line. Another unique aspect about this race is how it starts. Earlier in the week, all of the canoes competed in a short time trial to determine their starting position. They then line up on the street according to the time trial rank for a sprint to the river when the gun goes off.
Lined up at the start. Flashlight mounted to the bow.
The start was quite the sight with 77 boats sprinting down the street to the river.
After the start, so began the long night of driving, waiting, cheering, feeding, and repeating. Cassie had no clue what was going on all night, and Diana slept in the front seat as best she could from about midnight to 6 AM so she could drive on the way home. Most of the pit stop areas were packed with people and there were portable lights set up on the river. It is a crazy sight seeing a small light bobbing in the distance, then see the canoes come into the light with the cheering spectators, and then disappear into the dark again.
Portage over Mio Dam at ~2 AM.
Pit stop around 4:30 AM. Feeders in the water waiting for their canoes.
We learned that this is as big of an event for the spectators and support teams as it is for the paddlers competing.
As morning broke we were able to get some actual pictures of the team we were supporting. Out of the 77 that started, 12 teams dropped, and Phil and Gary finished 42nd and were the 2nd place rookie team where both paddlers were first timers.
Pit crew hard at work.
Running on the Portage
Paddling hard!
Still going strong
Strong into the finish
Across the line in just about 16.5 hours.
Happy to be done!
Phil and his pit crew!
And here is the Cassie picture. We couldn't keep her out of the river.
So following the race, our plan was to make the 4 hour drive to Muskegon, MI and catch the ferry directly to Milwaukee so we could just sit and relax. Well, half an hour from Muskegon Diana got a call saying the ferry was down for mechanical issues and wouldn't be running... and just like that our relaxing ride on the ferry turned into an additional 4.5 hours in the car. We were not thrilled, and it took a couple days to recover from the weekend. It was quite the experience, and we were glad we could support Phil in his race. They did great! And from the sounds of it, they will be doing it again next year.
