Luminere Antiquity Art Neuvo

Wednesday Apr 27, 2005

So here is the light fixture that caused so much trouble getting it from France back to the US by way of London. I had no idea that I might be qualified to hook it up, but wow, if this high tech thing doesn't work out, maybe I'll get a little more dangerous and be an electrian.

We had to order special lightbulbs to match the sizes used in France. Rewiring would have been expensive and apparently reduces the future price should we need/want to sell it. Also, wires are wires according to my electrical engineer old college roommate, so why go to the trouble... We purchased the bulbs from NothernLighting.com. We were quite pleased with the service and prices, so I will use them again.

I couldn't believe that the threaded rod that held up my old chandlier (look on ebay soon) matched exactly to the threaded rod that came on the chandlier made in the 1920's in Pyrennes Mtns. in France... Aren't standards great.

Here is a picture of the light itself

And here is how sure I was in my work.

Running Hills

Tuesday Apr 26, 2005

After reading this months RunnerWorld magazine, I have realized that I dread running hills. Often while running, I will taking walking breaks up some of the more severe hills on my run. That said, I'm still walking at a 14:00 pace or less and it isn't exactly a pretty walk, but it gets me up the hill and I'm actually refreshed after say 30-45 seconds of walking. If you do the math, I ran about 8:20-8:40 minutes per mile and once in a while, I slow to say 13:30 minute/mile pace for several hundred meters. I usually look down at my GPS/pace device after my "walking break" to find that I'm faster than normal.

I do have "concerns" on whether or not these walking breaks are a smack at running - i.e. Am I being lazy? I will still average about 8:45 over a 5 mile run including 1 or more walking breaks.

Getting back to the hills. After deciding that hills are my biggest pain, I decided to start a hills program. Not sure if my style is Kenyan or Ethopian (not that is a funny statement and would have been more so 12 months ago), but I have a quick steep hill right across from my driveway. So I'm running about 2 miles to warm up and then sprinting the 500 foot route before walking back down. I averaged about 33 seconds per climb 2 nights ago doing 6 hills. 500 ft. = +/-.09 of a mile... So I did about 1/2 mile of hills at a full sprint for me (which was about 6:35minute/mile). I'll keep updating my progress and see if I conquer the hill or the other way around.

Happy Running.

Copyright 2005 Scott Jolly

More Fat Guys guide to running (by starting walking (fast))

Monday Apr 25, 2005

Part 2 of Starting Running

My first race was last year in a 3 mile walk/5 mile run that took place in my neighborhood. My wife thought it would be great for the entire family to walk so she signed all of us up, my kids really wanted the race t-shirt. Race day came and it was only 2 of us (I pushed my son in the jogging stroller). Both of the Jolly men are extremely competitive and we decided to run the 3 miler. I pushed the stroller on any uphill section and some of the flats unless my son’s friends were on the side of the street and of course, he ran those parts. A 6 year old doesn't realize that if it is just he and I and the stroller is empty that his friends might determine that he was riding for part of the time. Since all of his friends are 6, they never figured him out.

It took the two of us 37 minutes to finish 3 miles. How sad. But it was a start. On the cool side, I was so sweaty and so slow that I was able to finish with some of the 5 milers and play it off. The course merged back together about 1 mile from the finish, so no one really knew which course I took...

That race started me to get out and get running. It may be that you walk to start and lose some weight (walking so fast that you look silly burns almost as any calories as a slow jog). At the end of last season, after a lot of running, I ran a 10k in 48 minutes. This was more than twice the distance of my first race (6.2 miles compared to 3 miles) and only 11 additional minutes. I was so pleased with myself.

Most of the University of Virginia swim, tennis and lacrosse teams were running in the race. My running buddy, Sara is the most competitive person I know. You can't pass Sara in a race or she will have to pass you. My strategy with her was to start at the back of the pack and we would pass tons of folks, rarely did anyone pass us. The race was a out and back so at 3 miles, the course turned around and you went back to the start/finish. At about 3.5 miles for us and 2.5 miles for a bunch of the lacrosse guys said to each other as we met, "those old folks are kicking our asses". Sara and I got peeved for a second and then doubled down, we ran as hard as we could for the remainder of the race.

That was the first race that I finished early enough that the massage folks weren't busy, but I didn't quite get the concept so I got a drink and went to cheer for the lacrosse guys. I finished my gatorade and made a point of waving with the empty bottle (wow, I must have been standing there for a long time) when they came by...

Just remember, you have to start to improve.

Complete (in order) version of the Midi Canal cruise

Sunday Apr 24, 2005

This is the same as the first 3 travel log entries, but given the reverse order of the postings (oldest last), it was rather confusing. So this is a recap of the complete journey on the canal du Midi.

Last year while trying to determine what "big vacation" we would take this year, we saw something on The Travel Channel on canals in Europe. We did what anyone would do, google the topic and ask for brochures from different boat operators that we came across. In the end, we choose to go with Crown Blue Lines. They had great looking boats and their US office is in Annapolis, MD. Not that I ever needed to visit their office, but it was a comfort to have them within a few hours drive, just in case.

We made plans, chose our starting point on the Midi canal as Castelnaudury and our final destination near the Mediterranean (literally 1 kilometer from the base - an easy bike ride). Knowing that a redeye with the kids would be tough, we set out with extra days on both sides to pad the boat trip. We flew Virgin Atlantic from DC to London on Wednesday evening March 30. Virgin Atlantic had great service and really looks out for families with children. The video games and movies in each seatback made it tough for my 6-year-old son Paxton to want to go to sleep. I had to promise that I wouldn't ask him to do a thing on the return trip to the US (other than play games) if he would turn off the movie and go to sleep. From the time we landed until we made it to the taxi was only 45 minutes. I couldn't believe that we could get off the plane, collect our baggage and clear immigration so quickly. I had prearranged taxi service from Heathrow to our departure airport of Stansted that had direct service on Ryannair to Carcassonne.

Thursday

Landing in Carcassonne in the early afternoon, you could see the landscape and the massive walled medieval section of town, La Cite. The scale of the walled castle is hard to believe. La Cite is a UNESCO Heritage site and very impressive. After checking into our hotel just across the street from the main entrance to La Cite, we let the kids crash for a few hours and when went into the fortress. Cobbled stone streets and plenty of places to sell you a plastic knights sword. The kids loved running around trying to imagine fighting off the "bad guys" as happened centuries before.

Friday

We slept 13 hours overnight, as we had little to no sleep on the redeye. The front desk called to tell me that the breakfast that I was paying for was about to end in 10 minutes. Being cheap, I hustled down and ate and brought back some snacks to the room for the rest of my crowd. After exploring in La Cite for a couple of hours, we called a taxi for the ride to pick up the boat. Carcassonne is a small town and the taxi driver from the day before came back to get us. I was quite pleased that I didn’t cheap out on him with regards to the tip, and he seemed quite pleased to see us again as well.

After arriving at Le Petite Basin in Castelnaudury, we did the needed paperwork and picked up the boat several hours early. The departure staff for Crown Blue was really helpful and put our mind at ease as they showed us all the tricks and tips for operating the boat. We decided to walk to the supermarche to get some provisions for the week, you know the important stuff: Diet Cokes (yes, you can get Diet Vanilla Coke in France), bottled water, wine, cheese, and all the other comforts of France. After checking out in the grocery line, I asked the store manager if she could call a taxi. After 2 phone calls and no answers, I started handing out the groceries to the kids and my wife and our travel buddy, otherwise known as Grammy Pam. The store manager stepped in and asked one of her cashiers to drive us back to our boat. The kindness and generosity of the manager really started our vacation off on a great note.

I honestly had low expectations of the boat itself. Our brochures claimed less than 2 years old. I went to a local candle shop to combat any possible cigarette smoke, mildew or another random smells. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The boat was almost brand new; I think we were one of the first to use the boat. We had tons of storage space (we brought a bunch of clothes, sadly some of them the wrong kind for the upcoming work of operating the boat – more later on that). The twin beds in each of the 3 bedrooms pushed together to make full size beds, a real plus. Here is our boat. And a picture of the kitchen and the kids room.

After getting back to the boat and putting away the food and supplies, I decided to race off and make it thru the first set of locks, which was within sight of the departure point. Let’s know get to the wind. To say it was windy doesn’t do justice. It was tough to walk and certainly my non-existent boating skills weren’t helped by the wind either. The first set of locks was four locks, that were connected. I thought that I could pilot the boat AND work the ropes. When the lesson was given by the departure staff, I listened while Cathy was unpacking. I was totally on my own and it was a bear to say the least. I tried my best to keep my brand new boat off of the locks and glide smoothly to the mooring spot inside the lock. The lockkeeper with a heart of gold came over to give me the 101 on the locks. She should me where and how to place the ropes and then went back to the controls to watch me try to pilot the boat and then muscle the ropes to move my 43 foot long canal boat. The stories she can probably tell.

Note to Crown Blue – you guys should have offered to go thru the first set of locks (within site of your building) for rookies. I didn’t ask for the help and didn’t realize that I needed it until I was in the lock and wigging out.

After having the lock get the better of me and the boat, we decided to moor for the evening, the next lock would be only several hundred meters away and all of the locks close at 6pm. The schedule for the early season was 9am (never really, more like 9:15) with a lunch break for 12:30 to 1:30 and then the prompt closing at 6pm. Also, don’t plan on getting to a triple lock at 10 minutes before closing and expect to get through; it doesn’t happen. I think the lockkeepers are unionized.

When I went to tie off the boat for the evening, it occurred to me that I had no clue how to tie any proper boating knots. It had been a long time since boy scouts. So I wrapped the nylon rope around the piling as many times as I could and limped into a knot that I could still untie the next morning. Please remember that the canal is only about 50 feet wide, yet the wind had created waves that pounded the boat and made quite a noise all night long. Add in a few limbs falling per hour from the plane trees that majestically towered above the canal and I was a nervous wreck and didn’t sleep at all the first night. I had that sense of dread that has plagued me while camping when you have a feeling that every noise you hear is a bear or some other large creature up to no good.

Canal boating tip #1 – Bring leather work gloves for all on board that will be working the ropes.

Canal boating tip #2 – Learn some basic boating knots and practice before leaving home. Great site for help. I recommend the bowline and clovis hitch.

Saturday

Weather was light rain and all of the wind from the day before. With no sleep under my belt, I wasn’t the most fun person to spend time with in a confined space. The locks were still getting the best of me, but now instead of driving the boat and doing the locks myself, I was screaming at my wife and doing the ropes. Vacations are great. At the end of the day, we went thru a lock with another boat. The crew could tell that I was having a tough time and they helped me with the ropes and we exchanged greetings. It was almost 6pm so after the last lock, we followed them until they stopped just past a bridge in the town of Bram. Bram is built around a 13th century church that was quite cool to see. As to not get too close we moored about 50 meters behind them and on the opposite bank. I got the kids dressed and we went out to ride bikes and would happen to go by the other boat. It was still raining and the kids were starting to protest as we watched the entire crew of the other boat coming our way. Minutes later, with drinks and some fine Aussie rum in hand, we met the folks that saved our vacation: Ray/Donna, Paul/Sue and Paul/Vicky. Within minutes, I mentioned tieing knots and was given a quick clinic. As we were standing outside of my boat, I practiced with the guys watching me and providing guidance the entire time.

Paul – I still can’t tie the knot in the dark. Several rum and diet cokes later with the knowledge that our boat was secure and another boat within shouting distance, I was ready to collapse and finally get some sleep.

Sunday

Light rain and cold today. We raced our Aussie buddies to Carcassonne. We didn’t have a ton of time on Friday to spend in La Cite and wanted to see the castle in the middle of town. We left La Cite and taxied back to the boat and tried to find a grocery store to replenish the provisions. Sunday afternoon is a really bad time to be in need of groceries. We ended up finding a bakery that also sold sandwiches, bread and cold drinks.

Cathy was getting to be quite a boat pilot and the locks were starting to get a ton easier. Amazing how big a role the wind had played for two days. I would so much rather have rain than the wind we had the first 2 days. We headed down stream not knowing where our new friends had gone and got stopped at the lock at VilleCarla. The rain had stopped so we decided to go for a bike ride. We found that the Aussies had stopped after going through the lock so we were moored about 200 meters apart. After the boat ride, I went down to take them some extra food; both of us had been searching for a grocery earlier in the day. Several beers later and a really interesting discussion on compulsory voting in Australia and politics in the US, I decided that I had better get back to my boat. I slept like a rock. The next morning before the lock opened, everyone on both my boat and the Aussies went to get a closer look at the Châteaux VilleCarla which was just 100 meters from my boat. It was awesome and almost hidden from view.

Monday

There was a yellow thing in the sky, it turned out to be the sun. We went to Trebes and were in serious need of groceries. We arrived to find our Aussie buddies had gone into the tourist office and gotten direction to a supermarche about 1 kilometer away. We also found out that many shops in France are closed on Mondays. After quite a walk thru really busy streets, we found the supermarche. Paul (our Aussie friend) described the market as a treasure hunt. Things were all over the place and didn’t make sense to any of us, but we did finally find everything we were after. With a bunch of groceries, we now need to get back to the boat. As the groceries weighted more than my 4 year old in the stroller and her always wanting to be carried, I did the right thing and loaded the stroller with groceries and carried my daughter. While waiting for the lock to open, we had lunch on the top deck and enjoyed the sunshine. Here is a great photo of our new friends from Down Under having lunch on the top deck of their boat.

We decided that it was time to top off the fresh water before we left Trebes. The boat carries all of it water and when the engine runs it heats some portion of the water and I must say that we never ran out of hot water. Our Aussie buddies topped off their water while enjoying lunch and we didn’t make the first lock out of town with them. We did pass there boat at Marseillete. I guessed (correctly) that Paul was catching out the town cemetery that was the most visible part of town from the canal. We missed the lock at Aiguille by 1 minute. That turned out to be a great thing. The lockkeepers building/house was the site of a beautiful outdoor artist studio. The lockkeeper was quite creative and anatomically correct. His elephant and monkey were quite interesting. The artist/lockkeeper had some great ideas and totally executed on them. He had a face carved into the base of a living pine tree with a plague showing the name of Homo Sap-ein. My son loved his life size alligator on the spillway at the bottom of the lock.

After dinner, we decided to make the best of the newly improved weather and take a bike ride into the village of Puicheric. The 2k bike ride (each way) was nice and flat although for all of the relaxed atmosphere in the South of France, I must say that most drivers thought that they were rehearsing for the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. The middle of town featured an 11th century church. It was almost totally dark when we were at the church, our photos with our digital camera (Kodak EasyShare 4.0 Megapixel) came out great with a little brightness added via the included software.

Monday

After leaving the artist's lock at Aiguille, we had no locks for 9 kilometers. Finally the first mate (me) could go for a run. I just started running last May after another vacation where I wondered who the fat guy was hugging my wife in a picture. With the help of a former manager, (thanks Brad K.) and several neighbors that run and the desire not to be fat, I laced up some Asics and off I went. Subject for another blog, another day. Running has now become a part of my life and I get a bit nutty if I don't run, so the idea that in the South of France, I took take off for a run with the canal to my left and vineyards as far as I could see on both sides of the canal was unbelievable.

Tuesday

Woke at Puicheric (pictures of church in last blog) and got through the artist lockkeepers gate at 9:10am or so. Stopped in LaRedorte to find the Chauteau in the middle of the village. It was totally run down and in end of some love. Anyone want to go in on a bed and breakfast???

Went into the local bakery to get some fresh bread (getting bread daily is an awesome thought). Being second in line, I thought I would beat Cathy, Grammy and the kids back to the boat. Little did I realize that speed and being in a hurry isn't a french thing. The conversation took more than 5 minutes and for those that know me, I'm REALLLLLLY patient. I smiled the whole time and tried not to be a typical American tourist. In case you are worried about my calorie count on the trip, I eat like a champ and lost weight on the trip (from working the ropes).

We motored down the canal and had lunch in Homps right in the middle of town near the bridge. The locks were closed and we needed to kill some time and having someone else fix lunch was a great break. I had Croque Madame (melted ham and cheese with a egg over easy on top); it was great.

It was getting hot and we thought it wise to apply sunscreen, wow, thanks are really picking up. We ended up blowing right past Argens-Minervous even though we planned to stop and look around and do laundry. Finding a laundrymat wasn't an easy thing. Oh well, unti the clothes start walking away, all is well. Once we pasted the lock in Argens, we didn't have another lock until Beziers more than 50 kilometers away. No more stopping at 6pm and having to wait until 9am to start. We stopped in La Somail to see the Libarire Antique (old classics bookstore) but at 5:15 they were closed despite the sign that said that they were open until 5:30pm (hey, it was a nice day). We ended up picking up a small oil painting, partly to reward the shop owner as she was the only open. We cruised that night until 8:30 or so and stopped outside of Capestang.

Wednesday

Weather was cool and cloudy, the sun tried to break through and just couldn't seem to do it. We went slow this morning given all the time we made the day before and with no locks, we are way ahead of schedule. In Capestang around 10am. The old catherdal was awe inspiring. While the Crown Blue tour book shows no bakeries, there was one on every corner. Sadly the church was closed until 4pm, it was market day. The market area at the base of the church in the town square was bustling. One could buy shoes, clothing, fresh fish, veggies, hardware items, etc.

Leaving Capestang, we handed down canal and went to Domaine du Guery.

We were blown away to see a 2nd grade class on fieldtrip there. We were asked to wait outside while the schoolgroup was clearing out. One teacher entertained about 35 students while 3-4 other teachers were inside doing some tasting and making purchases. We in the US are so uptight when you think about this fieldtrip.

Having press ahead too hard at the beginning of the trip, we stopped at every village on the canal today. I'm quite pleased not to see a lock today. Poilhes was quite beautiful and clean like all the other villages we had seen to this point. I rode my bike around town and didn't see a shop open. I only shop one shop and it was closed. Blows my mind to think of no shopping. That said, they aren't far from Capestang and maybe they were at market day there. The French countryside towns don't seem too concerned about making $$ off the springtime tourist.

We also stopped in Columbiers and hoped to do some shopping and see some sights. The village was quite pretty but sadly rather empty. There was Cht. du Colombiers which was a fine restuarant and 2 other places to eat. Without the few places around the boat rental docking base station, the town would have been empty. So we all took a nap, which is truly a vacation.

We left Colombiers after dinner and tried to get closer to the massive 6 step locks in Beziers (the Fonserannes). We moored near another boat, 2 English couples and they even helped us tie up. The other boats have been quite pleasant and supportive.

Tip - You will get quite dirty doing the ropes, dress appropriately.

Tip - When coming into a downstream lock, throw the back rope over the first (rear) piling and wrap it around twice. The boat will come to a quick stop, letting the rope do the work, saves your back and arms. Then you can pull the front of the boat around using the front rope around the front piling. Once the boat is secured, un-wrap the back rope so it is only around once.

Thursday

Overcast and a bit cool, so much for the sunscreen from 2 days before. It only took 20 minutes for us to get lined up for the locks at Fonserannes.

The locks are open from 8:30 - 9:30 for downstream boats and they don't open again until 1:30 for downstream after the morning. The locks were impressive and at least 20 feet deep each. We went into the first lock on time at 8:30 with the English couples. With no wind and 5 days of driving, Cathy made it smoothly through the locks. We had a schoolbus load of high schooler watching as we went thru the locks. I tried to get one of them to help me with the ropes with no luck. I kept the ropes dry for the first 2 locks only to get them wet on the third. So that no one thinks I'm a nut, the wastewater from the canal boats (shower, sink and sadly toilets) goes directly into the canal. So the thought that the ropes are in the canal and then you do all of the handling isn't too cool in my mind. So a focus on keeping the ropes dry is a big deal in my mind.

After the Fonserannes locks, you have to take an extremely hard right. The Brits gave us the heads up while in the last lock, otherwise, it would have been ugly. The next lockkeeper (only 1 kilometer away) was over 40 minutes late. A couple walking by mentioned that the same lockkeeper was 2 hours late one day last summer and had 10 downstream boats and 8 upstream by the time he arrived.

We decided to blow past Beziers and make it to our departure point. At many points along the journey the city of Beziers was put down by other Frenchman in other villages. Cathy asked about antique shops in Beziers and the tourist office worker in Columbiers rolled her eyes. The canal view of Beziers was terrible to say the least. The canal water was littered with trash and industrial feel of the city didn't mesh with the vineyard settings of the entire trip. I would tell friends to change the course of the trip to go to Narbonne instead of going through Beziers. We were also told not to overnight near Beziers for fear of robberies. Have I made my point on Beziers?

As we neared the destination base, I saw a large extended family that was an hour into the trip. They were all on deck and helping as they went through the first lock of their trip (and my final). I yelled over to them to press on as hard as they can until they pass Beziers and then start enjoying themselves. Had I started with Beziers with the weather I had at the start, I may have turned around...

After reaching the Crown Blue base and getting checked in a full day early, Cathy really wanted to go antique shopping in Pezemas. She had even practiced her french learning to say luminere antiquity artneuvo... 50 euros later, we were in Pezemas and had an arrangement with the taxi driver to be picked up in 5 hours at 7pm. Pezemas was described as the Versaille of the Languadoc. What a great town. As with the rest of our shopping experiences in France, it was closed for the most part. It was about 2:30 pm and most shops had posted hours of 4pm - 6pm. We weren't too sure of the signs given earlier towns. Several shops were open and we went thru looking for our new old chandlier. We decided to hit the bakery in the middle of town and refuel. Pezemas is known for Petite Pate, which is a mincelike savory treat with lamb, raisins, curry and other fruits. It is shaped like a castle and served warm, yummmmy.

Much to our delight, all of the shops did indeed open around 4pm. The shopkeepers English was typically better than our French. We found the perfect chandlier. We agreed on price, after a few minutes, had the shopkeeper pack it twice so we could take it with us and transport on multiple taxi and two different airlines. After all of that, I handed him my Visa card. He shook his head and said only cash or check. Good grief, I rarely write checks in the US and certainly didn't bring my checkbook with me. The price was also waaay over the typical $300 limit for ATM withdrawls, so I was feeling pretty bad for Cathy at this point. Without saying anything negative, certainly a first for me, I ran (not walked) to the other side of town to the only ATM in the village. I decided to be bold and asked for the entire amount of the light and much to my surprise I was able to withdraw the entire amount. I'm talking a lot more than the US daily limit for ATM's, this chandlier was meant to live at my house from this point forward.

After making it back to the boat and not having exchanged contact info with our Aussie friends, we looked up at the dock to see their boat right next to ours. The aussie flag was snapping in the breeze. A bit later the whole gang appear on bicycle, they had biked to Meditterean to take a look. Paxton and Emma showed them all of the treasures that we had picked up since seeing them and Ray took the Aussie flag off of the boat and presented it to my kids. They were thrilled. Paxton was offered to come to Sydney for a year after he graduates from high school. Knowing him, in 11 years, he'll go.

Conclusion of the cruise

I would highly recommend Crown Blue Lines (ask for Debbie if you call the 800 number on their site). I would also recommend the Midi Canal from Castalnudary to Narbonne. Or if going through Beziers, just close your eyes and keep on chugging. Going thru the locks was physically demanding unless your boat pilot is REALLY good. On the Aussie boat, they had several boat owners and those guys made it look easy. Still, I think the number of locks makes the cruise a 2 or 3 couple thing. I'm happy to trade emails with prospective cruisers and share more war stories. But honestly, my account in this blog really wasn't sugar coated. Just remember that you can bring a boat to a dead stop by putting it quickly into full reverse.

In case it wasn't clear, I would like to think my Aussie buds, Paul*2, Ray, Donna, Sue and Vicky for making our vacation way more enjoyable and fun. Thanks folks.

My favorite picture of the whole trip...

A Fat Guys Guide to Running

Thursday Apr 21, 2005

It will hit you one day, probably around the age of 35, that you might not be the person you once were. It hit me at age 36, when looking at pictures from vacation, I saw this really chubby guy hugging my wife. And my kids. It was me.

Being too cool to be fat, I thought long and hard and realized that all of the healthy fit folks I know run.

Not knowing much about running, other than if it was so great, why didn't everyone do it; I laced them up. I walked out my front door, stretched a bit, and started off on a slow jog. I made it about 10 houses, probably about a fourth of a mile and walked for 2 houses and then jogged again for another 10 houses. This went on for 1.5 miles, which happens to be the distance from my mailbox to the end of my street and back.

All in all, I was pleased. I had done it. I didn't quit. It sucked, but still, I was now a runner. The next day, I did it again. I tried to add a house or two between my walking points and 1.5 miles later, I was back home and a sweaty mess. This happened about every other day for 2-3 weeks. (TIP - don't start too fast and do get some rest between runs.)

One day I came in and had run the entire 1.5 miles, I was so pleased with myself. At that point, I started adding distance and tried to pick up the pace as well. Somewhere in the middle of all of this running, I decided to start recording my progress and timing myself.

Being a gadget guy and knowing that if I spend $$ on a GPS device, I certainly would stick with running for a bit. I also started to log my runs into the Tracking Database on the Nike Running web site. I highly recommend the site as it has a great newsletter and now has a new training plan section to help get ready for upcoming races.

You will also want to pick up a copy of Runners World magazine as the newest member of the running community.

Final thought for today - start jogging. Don't go too hard, you should be able to hold a conversation with a buddy or be able to sing your favorite song if you aren't yet ready for a running partner. Read some of the newsletters from Nike or get a copy of Runners World and realize how much better you will look and feel in a few weeks. One day you wake up and WANT to go for a run and be a nutter if you can't run, that day, you will know you are hooked.

The Boston Marathon is today...

Monday Apr 18, 2005

I'll get into why I started running and how quickly and easily you could start running soon. My dear friend and neighbor (and running mentor) is running today in the Boston Marathon. Each runner has an RFID chip that they are wearing so I will get email updates of Heidi's progress all afternoon or actually for about 3:30 hours this afternoon. Using the RFID chip and the updates that the chip will facilitate, anyone can go online and determine where their favorite runner is and how are they doing. In a big race like this is a really tough for friends and family in attendance to catch a glimpse of their runner. While I'm not there, I can get updates and track her progress so in a day or two, I can relive the race with her... As for me, I plan to register for the Richmond VA marathon on Nov. 12, 2005 today... More later on the BAA race.

Still cruising the Midi Canal with kids

Friday Apr 15, 2005

Monday

After leaving the artist's lock at Aiguille, we had no locks for 9 kilometers. Finally the first mate (me) could go for a run. I just started running last May after another vacation where I wondered who the fat guy was hugging my wife in a picture. With the help of a former manager, (thanks Brad K.) and several neighbors that run and the desire not to be fat, I laced up some Asics and off I went. Subject for another blog, another day. Running has now become a part of my life and I get a bit nutty if I don't run, so the idea that in the South of France, I took take off for a run with the canal to my left and vineyards as far as I could see on both sides of the canal was unbelievable.

Tuesday

Woke at Puicheric (pictures of church in last blog) and got through the artist lockkeepers gate at 9:10am or so. Stopped in LaRedorte to find the Chauteau in the middle of the village. It was totally run down and in end of some love. Anyone want to go in on a bed and breakfast???

Went into the local bakery to get some fresh bread (getting bread daily is an awesome thought). Being second in line, I thought I would beat Cathy, Grammy and the kids back to the boat. Little did I realize that speed and being in a hurry isn't a french thing. The conversation took more than 5 minutes and for those that know me, I'm REALLLLLLY patient. I smiled the whole time and tried not to be a typical American tourist. In case you are worried about my calorie count on the trip, I eat like a champ and lost weight on the trip (from working the ropes).

We motored down the canal and had lunch in Homps right in the middle of town near the bridge. The locks were closed and we needed to kill some time and having someone else fix lunch was a great break. I had Croque Madame (melted ham and cheese with a egg over easy on top); it was great.

It was getting hot and we thought it wise to apply sunscreen, wow, thanks are really picking up. We ended up blowing right past Argens-Minervous even though we planned to stop and look around and do laundry. Finding a laundrymat wasn't an easy thing. Oh well, unti the clothes start walking away, all is well. Once we pasted the lock in Argens, we didn't have another lock until Beziers more than 50 kilometers away. No more stopping at 6pm and having to wait until 9am to start. We stopped in La Somail to see the Libarire Antique (old classics bookstore) but at 5:15 they were closed despite the sign that said that they were open until 5:30pm (hey, it was a nice day). We ended up picking up a small oil painting, partly to reward the shop owner as she was the only open. We cruised that night until 8:30 or so and stopped outside of Capestang.

Wednesday

Weather was cool and cloudy, the sun tried to break through and just couldn't seem to do it. We went slow this morning given all the time we made the day before and with no locks, we are way ahead of schedule. In Capestang around 10am. The old catherdal was awe inspiring. While the Crown Blue tour book shows no bakeries, there was one on every corner. Sadly the church was closed until 4pm, it was market day. The market area at the base of the church in the town square was bustling. One could buy shoes, clothing, fresh fish, veggies, hardware items, etc.

Leaving Capestang, we handed down canal and went to Domaine du Guery.

We were blown away to see a 2nd grade class on fieldtrip there. We were asked to wait outside while the schoolgroup was clearing out. One teacher entertained about 35 students while 3-4 other teachers were inside doing some tasting and making purchases. We in the US are so uptight when you think about this fieldtrip.

Having press ahead too hard at the beginning of the trip, we stopped at every village on the canal today. I'm quite pleased not to see a lock today. Poilhes was quite beautiful and clean like all the other villages we had seen to this point. I rode my bike around town and didn't see a shop open. I only shop one shop and it was closed. Blows my mind to think of no shopping. That said, they aren't far from Capestang and maybe they were at market day there. The French countryside towns don't seem too concerned about making $$ off the springtime tourist.

We also stopped in Columbiers and hoped to do some shopping and see some sights. The village was quite pretty but sadly rather empty. There was Cht. du Colombiers which was a fine restuarant and 2 other places to eat. Without the few places around the boat rental docking base station, the town would have been empty. So we all took a nap, which is truly a vacation.

We left Colombiers after dinner and tried to get closer to the massive 6 step locks in Beziers (the Fonserannes). We moored near another boat, 2 English couples and they even helped us tie up. The other boats have been quite pleasant and supportive.

Tip - You will get quite dirty doing the ropes, dress appropriately.

Tip - When coming into a downstream lock, throw the back rope over the first (rear) piling and wrap it around twice. The boat will come to a quick stop, letting the rope do the work, saves your back and arms. Then you can pull the front of the boat around using the front rope around the front piling. Once the boat is secured, un-wrap the back rope so it is only around once.

Thursday

Overcast and a bit cool, so much for the sunscreen from 2 days before. It only took 20 minutes for us to get lined up for the locks at Fonserannes.

The locks are open from 8:30 - 9:30 for downstream boats and they don't open again until 1:30 for downstream after the morning. The locks were impressive and at least 20 feet deep each. We went into the first lock on time at 8:30 with the English couples. With no wind and 5 days of driving, Cathy made it smoothly through the locks. We had a schoolbus load of high schooler watching as we went thru the locks. I tried to get one of them to help me with the ropes with no luck. I kept the ropes dry for the first 2 locks only to get them wet on the third. So that no one thinks I'm a nut, the wastewater from the canal boats (shower, sink and sadly toilets) goes directly into the canal. So the thought that the ropes are in the canal and then you do all of the handling isn't too cool in my mind. So a focus on keeping the ropes dry is a big deal in my mind.

After the Fonserannes locks, you have to take an extremely hard right. The Brits gave us the heads up while in the last lock, otherwise, it would have been ugly. The next lockkeeper (only 1 kilometer away) was over 40 minutes late. A couple walking by mentioned that the same lockkeeper was 2 hours late one day last summer and had 10 downstream boats and 8 upstream by the time he arrived.

We decided to blow past Beziers and make it to our departure point. At many points along the journey the city of Beziers was put down by other Frenchman in other villages. Cathy asked about antique shops in Beziers and the tourist office worker in Columbiers rolled her eyes. The canal view of Beziers was terrible to say the least. The canal water was littered with trash and industrial feel of the city didn't mesh with the vineyard settings of the entire trip. I would tell friends to change the course of the trip to go to Narbonne instead of going through Beziers. We were also told not to overnight near Beziers for fear of robberies. Have I made my point on Beziers?

As we neared the destination base, I saw a large extended family that was an hour into the trip. They were all on deck and helping as they went through the first lock of their trip (and my final). I yelled over to them to press on as hard as they can until they pass Beziers and then start enjoying themselves. Had I started with Beziers with the weather I had at the start, I may have turned around...

After reaching the Crown Blue base and getting checked in a full day early, Cathy really wanted to go antique shopping in Pezemas. She had even practiced her french learning to say luminere antiquity artneuvo... 50 euros later, we were in Pezemas and had an arrangement with the taxi driver to be picked up in 5 hours at 7pm. Pezemas was described as the Versaille of the Languadoc. What a great town. As with the rest of our shopping experiences in France, it was closed for the most part. It was about 2:30 pm and most shops had posted hours of 4pm - 6pm. We weren't too sure of the signs given earlier towns. Several shops were open and we went thru looking for our new old chandlier. We decided to hit the bakery in the middle of town and refuel. Pezemas is known for Petite Pate, which is a mincelike savory treat with lamb, raisins, curry and other fruits. It is shaped like a castle and served warm, yummmmy.

Much to our delight, all of the shops did indeed open around 4pm. The shopkeepers English was typically better than our French. We found the perfect chandlier. We agreed on price, after a few minutes, had the shopkeeper pack it twice so we could take it with us and transport on multiple taxi and two different airlines. After all of that, I handed him my Visa card. He shook his head and said only cash or check. Good grief, I rarely write checks in the US and certainly didn't bring my checkbook with me. The price was also waaay over the typical $300 limit for ATM withdrawls, so I was feeling pretty bad for Cathy at this point. Without saying anything negative, certainly a first for me, I ran (not walked) to the other side of town to the only ATM in the village. I decided to be bold and asked for the entire amount of the light and much to my surprise I was able to withdraw the entire amount. I'm talking a lot more than the US daily limit for ATM's, this chandlier was meant to live at my house from this point forward.

After making it back to the boat and not having exchanged contact info with our Aussie friends, we looked up at the dock to see their boat right next to ours. The aussie flag was snapping in the breeze. A bit later the whole gang appear on bicycle, they had biked to Meditterean to take a look. Paxton and Emma showed them all of the treasures that we had picked up since seeing them and Ray took the Aussie flag off of the boat and presented it to my kids. They were thrilled. Paxton was offered to come to Sydney for a year after he graduates from high school. Knowing him, in 11 years, he'll go.

Conclusion of the cruise

I would highly recommend Crown Blue Lines (ask for Debbie if you call the 800 number on their site). I would also recommend the Midi Canal from Castalnudary to Narbonne. Or if going through Beziers, just close your eyes and keep on chugging. Going thru the locks was physically demanding unless your boat pilot is REALLY good. On the Aussie boat, they had several boat owners and those guys made it look easy. Still, I think the number of locks makes the cruise a 2 or 3 couple thing. I'm happy to trade emails with prospective cruisers and share more war stories. But honestly, my account in this blog really wasn't sugar coated. Just remember that you can bring a boat to a dead stop by putting it quickly into full reverse.

In case it wasn't clear, I would like to think my Aussie buds, Paul*2, Ray, Donna, Sue and Vicky for making our vacation way more enjoyable and fun. Thanks folks.

My favorite picture of the whole trip...

Cruising the Midi Canal (in France) with kids (part2)

Thursday Apr 14, 2005

Saturday

Weather was light rain and all of the wind from the day before. With no sleep under my belt, I wasn’t the most fun person to spend time with in a confined space. The locks were still getting the best of me, but now instead of driving the boat and doing the locks myself, I was screaming at my wife and doing the ropes. Vacations are great. At the end of the day, we went thru a lock with another boat. The crew could tell that I was having a tough time and they helped me with the ropes and we exchanged greetings. It was almost 6pm so after the last lock, we followed them until they stopped just past a bridge in the town of Bram. Bram is built around a 13th century church that was quite cool to see. As to not get too close we moored about 50 meters behind them and on the opposite bank. I got the kids dressed and we went out to ride bikes and would happen to go by the other boat. It was still raining and the kids were starting to protest as we watched the entire crew of the other boat coming our way. Minutes later, with drinks and some fine Aussie rum in hand, we met the folks that saved our vacation: Ray/Donna, Paul/Sue and Paul/Vicky. Within minutes, I mentioned tieing knots and was given a quick clinic. As we were standing outside of my boat, I practiced with the guys watching me and providing guidance the entire time.

Paul – I still can’t tie the knot in the dark. Several rum and diet cokes later with the knowledge that our boat was secure and another boat within shouting distance, I was ready to collapse and finally get some sleep.

Sunday

Light rain and cold today. We raced our Aussie buddies to Carcassonne. We didn’t have a ton of time on Friday to spend in La Cite and wanted to see the castle in the middle of town. We left La Cite and taxied back to the boat and tried to find a grocery store to replenish the provisions. Sunday afternoon is a really bad time to be in need of groceries. We ended up finding a bakery that also sold sandwiches, bread and cold drinks.

Cathy was getting to be quite a boat pilot and the locks were starting to get a ton easier. Amazing how big a role the wind had played for two days. I would so much rather have rain than the wind we had the first 2 days. We headed down stream not knowing where our new friends had gone and got stopped at the lock at VilleCarla. The rain had stopped so we decided to go for a bike ride. We found that the Aussies had stopped after going through the lock so we were moored about 200 meters apart. After the boat ride, I went down to take them some extra food; both of us had been searching for a grocery earlier in the day. Several beers later and a really interesting discussion on compulsory voting in Australia and politics in the US, I decided that I had better get back to my boat. I slept like a rock. The next morning before the lock opened, everyone on both my boat and the Aussies went to get a closer look at the Châteaux VilleCarla which was just 100 meters from my boat. It was awesome and almost hidden from view.

Monday

There was a yellow thing in the sky, it turned out to be the sun. We went to Trebes and were in serious need of groceries. We arrived to find our Aussie buddies had gone into the tourist office and gotten direction to a supermarche about 1 kilometer away. We also found out that many shops in France are closed on Mondays. After quite a walk thru really busy streets, we found the supermarche. Paul (our Aussie friend) described the market as a treasure hunt. Things were all over the place and didn’t make sense to any of us, but we did finally find everything we were after. With a bunch of groceries, we now need to get back to the boat. As the groceries weighted more than my 4 year old in the stroller and her always wanting to be carried, I did the right thing and loaded the stroller with groceries and carried my daughter. While waiting for the lock to open, we had lunch on the top deck and enjoyed the sunshine. Here is a great photo of our new friends from Down Under having lunch on the top deck of their boat.

We decided that it was time to top off the fresh water before we left Trebes. The boat carries all of it water and when the engine runs it heats some portion of the water and I must say that we never ran out of hot water. Our Aussie buddies topped off their water while enjoying lunch and we didn’t make the first lock out of town with them. We did pass there boat at Marseillete. I guessed (correctly) that Paul was catching out the town cemetery that was the most visible part of town from the canal. We missed the lock at Aiguille by 1 minute. That turned out to be a great thing. The lockkeepers building/house was the site of a beautiful outdoor artist studio. The lockkeeper was quite creative and anatomically correct. His elephant and monkey were quite interesting. The artist/lockkeeper had some great ideas and totally executed on them. He had a face carved into the base of a living pine tree with a plague showing the name of Homo Sap-ein. My son loved his life size alligator on the spillway at the bottom of the lock.

After dinner, we decided to make the best of the newly improved weather and take a bike ride into the village of Puicheric. The 2k bike ride (each way) was nice and flat although for all of the relaxed atmosphere in the South of France, I must say that most drivers thought that they were rehearsing for the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. The middle of town featured an 11th century church. It was almost totally dark when we were at the church, our photos with our digital camera (Kodak EasyShare 4.0 Megapixel) came out great with a little brightness added via the included software.

I'll finish the trip tomorrow or Monday in this blog.

Cruising the Midi Canal (in France) with kids

Thursday Apr 14, 2005

Last year while trying to determine what "big vacation" we would take this year, we saw something on The Travel Channel on canals in Europe. We did what anyone would do, google the topic and ask for brochures from different boat operators that we came across. In the end, we choose to go with Crown Blue Lines. They had great looking boats and their US office is in Annapolis, MD. Not that I ever needed to visit their office, but it was a comfort to have them within a few hours drive, just in case.

We made plans, chose our starting point on the Midi canal as Castelnaudury and our final destination near the Mediterranean (literally 1 kilometer from the base - an easy bike ride). Knowing that a redeye with the kids would be tough, we set out with extra days on both sides to pad the boat trip. We flew Virgin Atlantic from DC to London on Wednesday evening March 30. Virgin Atlantic had great service and really looks out for families with children. The video games and movies in each seatback made it tough for my 6-year-old son Paxton to want to go to sleep. I had to promise that I wouldn't ask him to do a thing on the return trip to the US (other than play games) if he would turn off the movie and go to sleep. From the time we landed until we made it to the taxi was only 45 minutes. I couldn't believe that we could get off the plane, collect our baggage and clear immigration so quickly. I had prearranged taxi service from Heathrow to our departure airport of Stansted that had direct service on Ryannair to Carcassonne.

Thursday

Landing in Carcassonne in the early afternoon, you could see the landscape and the massive walled medieval section of town, La Cite. The scale of the walled castle is hard to believe. La Cite is a UNESCO Heritage site and very impressive. After checking into our hotel just across the street from the main entrance to La Cite, we let the kids crash for a few hours and when went into the fortress. Cobbled stone streets and plenty of places to sell you a plastic knights sword. The kids loved running around trying to imagine fighting off the "bad guys" as happened centuries before.

Friday

We slept 13 hours overnight, as we had little to no sleep on the redeye. The front desk called to tell me that the breakfast that I was paying for was about to end in 10 minutes. Being cheap, I hustled down and ate and brought back some snacks to the room for the rest of my crowd. After exploring in La Cite for a couple of hours, we called a taxi for the ride to pick up the boat. Carcassonne is a small town and the taxi driver from the day before came back to get us. I was quite pleased that I didn’t cheap out on him with regards to the tip, and he seemed quite pleased to see us again as well.

After arriving at Le Petite Basin in Castelnaudury, we did the needed paperwork and picked up the boat several hours early. The departure staff for Crown Blue was really helpful and put our mind at ease as they showed us all the tricks and tips for operating the boat. We decided to walk to the supermarche to get some provisions for the week, you know the important stuff: Diet Cokes (yes, you can get Diet Vanilla Coke in France), bottled water, wine, cheese, and all the other comforts of France. After checking out in the grocery line, I asked the store manager if she could call a taxi. After 2 phone calls and no answers, I started handing out the groceries to the kids and my wife and our travel buddy, otherwise known as Grammy Pam. The store manager stepped in and asked one of her cashiers to drive us back to our boat. The kindness and generosity of the manager really started our vacation off on a great note.

I honestly had low expectations of the boat itself. Our brochures claimed less than 2 years old. I went to a local candle shop to combat any possible cigarette smoke, mildew or another random smells. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The boat was almost brand new; I think we were one of the first to use the boat. We had tons of storage space (we brought a bunch of clothes, sadly some of them the wrong kind for the upcoming work of operating the boat – more later on that). The twin beds in each of the 3 bedrooms pushed together to make full size beds, a real plus. Here is our boat. And a picture of the kitchen and the kids room.

After getting back to the boat and putting away the food and supplies, I decided to race off and make it thru the first set of locks, which was within sight of the departure point. Let’s know get to the wind. To say it was windy doesn’t do justice. It was tough to walk and certainly my non-existent boating skills weren’t helped by the wind either. The first set of locks was four locks, that were connected. I thought that I could pilot the boat AND work the ropes. When the lesson was given by the departure staff, I listened while Cathy was unpacking. I was totally on my own and it was a bear to say the least. I tried my best to keep my brand new boat off of the locks and glide smoothly to the mooring spot inside the lock. The lockkeeper with a heart of gold came over to give me the 101 on the locks. She should me where and how to place the ropes and then went back to the controls to watch me try to pilot the boat and then muscle the ropes to move my 43 foot long canal boat. The stories she can probably tell.

Note to Crown Blue – you guys should have offered to go thru the first set of locks (within site of your building) for rookies. I didn’t ask for the help and didn’t realize that I needed it until I was in the lock and wigging out.

After having the lock get the better of me and the boat, we decided to moor for the evening, the next lock would be only several hundred meters away and all of the locks close at 6pm. The schedule for the early season was 9am (never really, more like 9:15) with a lunch break for 12:30 to 1:30 and then the prompt closing at 6pm. Also, don’t plan on getting to a triple lock at 10 minutes before closing and expect to get through; it doesn’t happen. I think the lockkeepers are unionized.

When I went to tie off the boat for the evening, it occurred to me that I had no clue how to tie any proper boating knots. It had been a long time since boy scouts. So I wrapped the nylon rope around the piling as many times as I could and limped into a knot that I could still untie the next morning. Please remember that the canal is only about 50 feet wide, yet the wind had created waves that pounded the boat and made quite a noise all night long. Add in a few limbs falling per hour from the plane trees that majestically towered above the canal and I was a nervous wreck and didn’t sleep at all the first night. I had that sense of dread that has plagued me while camping when you have a feeling that every noise you hear is a bear or some other large creature up to no good.

Canal boating tip #1 – Bring leather work gloves for all on board that will be working the ropes.

Canal boating tip #2 – Learn some basic boating knots and practice before leaving home. Great site for help. I recommend the bowline and clovis hitch.

More of the vacation to come, I had better get back to the grindstone at work for now...

Introducing myself and my blog

Wednesday Apr 13, 2005

I would like to introduce my blog by giving my background and my current role at Sun and in life. At Sun, I'm the US Software Product Boss. I didn't pick my title, if I had I would be the US Software Product Manager or something clever, but the Boss actually means something to folks in higher places than mine, so there it is. That said, I still have last years business cards and they work just fine.

As Product Boss, I have a part finance, part sales operations, part putting my fingers in the holes in the floodwall type of role. I'm a one man team and hopefully have multiple people that think I work for them. At the end of the day, I try to help a variety of folks in the US field sales org be better able to talk about software, sell software and make sure that the different groups work together to further the software cause at Sun.

I have been part of Sun's (and formerly Netscape's) software team since 1997. I joined Netscape as a consultant and was part of the implementation team for the best software product ever built, ECXpert and TradingXpert. As a consultant, working with customers, I was such a pain to the product management team for ECXpert that they decided to hire me. I took the position of product manager and created the TradingXpert product. Netscape gave me $100,000 to get the product off the ground and we did $6M in sales in 6 months with the TradingXpert product.

Those are still the good old days for me. It was a shot from the hip kind of place in late 1998 and tons of fun. You know how some folks are stuck in their glory days from high school. Occasionally, I find myself stuck in early 1999...

I have since bounced from product management to being a field specialist and then a presales System Engineer and then more management type roles all the while staying close to the software.

I'm now living in Charlottesville, Virginia with my wife of 12 years and two little ones that keep me jumping. At ages 6 (almost 7) and 4, my son and daughter keep me from getting too wrapped up in stuff that in 5 years might not matter as much as it does right now.

I plan to blog on software, running, traveling with kids (a subject that i think I really have down pretty well) and other random topics that I'm scare to categorize.