We are back from my two week vacation in Argentina & Chile (Patagonia and Mendoza). Melinda and I had a fantastic time. We hiked, camped and visited some beautiful sites at Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia (10 days). The final days of our trip we relaxed in Mendoza, Argentina Wine Region. There, we walked everywhere in the city, did a wine tasting tour and biked along the some family owned vineyards of Maipu (small County in Mendoza), Argentina.
Below are some photos.
Quick Video- “Winds of Patagonia!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6NUHunQ2zQ
Photos of our Vacation in Argentina & Chile (Patagonia and Mendoza)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Our vacation in Argentina & Chile (Patagonia and Mendoza)
Monday, October 13, 2008
2008 Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon - San Jose CA: Race Report
My race was OK, not as planed but OK. I had to fight really hard to get mentally into the race. The past three weeks have been really busy and I was really tired before I left Austin to go to California. I arrived at San Jose Airport at 11:00 PM CST and by the time I went to bed it was 1:30 AM. For those who know me I go to bed at 8:30-9:00 PM.On Saturday, I got up and picked up my packet and hard a really good lunch at "Good Karma Restaurant", however for some reason I was craving black bean soup and sushi for dinner... This is a not a good pre-race dinner!
On race morning I was feeling terrible, still tired and now I had a stomach ache. At the start line I decided to continue as planned and run 5:30 per mile pace. After the first two miles I had to stop and walk, my head was hurting and had to use the bathroom. I hard to work really hard to convince myself to continue. At mile 4, I had to stop again (bathroom) and toke off my bid number. Again, trying to bargain with myself to take it easy and use as a training run. I decided to start easy and a nice lady screamed at me go "Green Shoe Guy", I smiled and went out running. My goal was a sub 1:09, however I was OK with my 1:18.
My lesson was, travel to a race with more than 24 hrs to get adjusted to accommodations and time change, stick with nutrition plan/guidelines that have worked in the past and always remember why I love to run!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
World Scrabble Championship... Nederland CO.
The World Scrabble Championship is the most prestigious title in competitive English-language Scrabble. It has been held every second year since 1991. The current World Scrabble Champion is Rolando Roman from Puerto Rico. Rolando grew up in Puerto Rico and did not speak english until he was 20 years old. Rolando (33 years old) won the title at the 2008 event held in Nederland, CO. He beat John and Jenny Stokes and Melinda Owens all born in the USA and they have been crying ever since he won. Photo of the three defeated player.
On August 19th the four met again for a rematch and once again he won. He is now the champion of the Universe.
Sponsorship formerly alternated between Hasbro and Mattel, respectively the owners of the Scrabble trademark in North America and the rest of the world. However, Hasbro declined to sponsor WSC 2005, and instead Mattel organised and sponsored WSC 2005.
The number of players invited to the tournament has risen steadily over time, from 48 in 1991 to 104 in 2007. A set number of places is allocated to each competing country and it is then up to individual countries' national associations to determine which of their players will represent them. This is typically done by means of anational ratings system or qualifier tournaments or some combination of the two. A good performance by a national team according to specific criteria will earn further permanent places for that country.
The dictionary used is colloquially known as SOWPODS, which is the word authority used in the majority of English-language Scrabble-playing countries.
For more details go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Scrabble_Championship
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Me, on a Trapeze?
This Memorial Day weekend Melinda and I decided to stay local and not drive to the Hill Country to stay at a B&B. With the price of gas being so high we decided to spend the night a local resort (Holistic Resort) just 7 miles away from our house.The Crossing is a beautiful hidden gem. In the middle of Hwy 620 and Volente Beach. I would consider it a great place to escape and still be close to home. So, for those thinking about a vacation, perhaps this might be a good place to go without taking time off or spending too much $.
Our good fiend Maggie recommended us to do one of the activities offered at the resort, Trapeze! Yes, hanging upside down as high as 25-30 feet. The experience the exhilaration of flying and catching, the joy of a unique skill, and the satisfaction of a fun supportive environment with Melinda.
The photos speak for them self. Give it a try, you might have a career change!
Gallery: http://slideroll.com/gallery.php?s=evvq5em1
Slideshow: http://slideroll.com/?s=evvq5em1
The Crossing has a great package for each night stay, it includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have all type of food options, meat, fish and vegetarian. Lunch was fantastic, dinner was very nice and we'll see breakfast...
After lunch we changed into our swim suits and dipped into a 54 degree cold hole... Yes, a hole! It was so cold my feel were numb after 45 sec. Melinda did better than me, she lated 55 sec.Tomorrow I will get up and run along the trail (3 x 2.5 miles), then meet up with Melinda to get breakfast and go for a hike. It should be a relaxing day. We'll probably leave after lunch. The nice thing will be that we will be rested and ready for the week! Until our next adventure.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Heading back to the homeland!
Tomorrow (11/21), Melinda and I fly out to Puerto Rico to visit my family. It's going to be a short trip; Wed-Mon, however I'm exited. It should be relaxing and nice. More to come.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Last days in Colorado- Rest & Recovery
We pulled into the center before it opened (at 9:00), so we walked, or tried to walk, around the grounds and toured the sculpture gardens before going on the tour. The tour lasted about an hour. We saw a short video with snipits from past Olympics and then walked around the grounds. We looked at the area where gymnastics are performed, swimming, wrestling, shooting, and weight lifting. It was a very nice facility. It reminded Rolando of his days as a wrestler.
Next, we headed down to memorial park to see the velodrome. There was a gate, so we couldn’t see too much. We also walked around a Farmer’s market and smelled the fresh fruit and veggies. Mike and Karyn were inside the skating rink, so we met them inside and watched a little of an old man’s league of ice hockey. We were starving, so decided to grab lunch in downtown. Nothing exciting or really good, but it was food.
The next stop on our tour back to Golden was at the Airforce Academy. We stopped and toured the visitor’s center and then walked around to the cadet’s chapel. It was really impressive from the outside, but pretty plain from the inside.
We arrived into Golden around 3:00. We picked up the bike case, packed the bikes, and then dropped off the rack. We were on the road to Denver by 4:00. 
As we were approaching town, we began to run into rush hour traffic. Karyn wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café to get a t-shirt, so we went into downtown. We didn’t see much, just stayed in the car. Due to traffic, we didn’t get to the hotel until almost 6:00. Rolando was exhausted and decided to take a shower. We ordered some takeout and picked it up and ate in the room. We didn’t get to bed until 10:00 and were up at 6:00 on Tuesday to head to the airport to fly back to Austin.
It was a great trip, but we are tired and need a vacation from our vacation. Glad that we are arriving mid-afternoon so that we’ll have time to go to the grocery store and get some laundry done before heading to work on Wednesday. Thank goodness it is going to be a short workweek! Thanks for reading.
Until our next adventure,
Melinda & Rolando
August 2007
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