Let the Renovations Begin

Sunday 5/21/06





Monday 5/22/06 Renovations started today, the wall between our dining room and kitchen came down, the cabinet came down and all appliances are out.

The Life of Reilly is Two!

Two years ago, Beth was 7 months pregnant, we were a couple of weeks away from moving to Chapel Hill and Beth and I spent most of our day visiting Beth's family on Long Island. The entire day Beth knew something was wrong, she wasn't feeling right and finally, after talking to Nicki, we decided to call our Doctor. She said we should meet her at the hospital just to check it out but she was sure it was nothing out of the ordinary.

I remember that drive like it was yesterday, we rode in almost complete silence as a thunderstorm blew across New York City. We arrived in Stamford and parked right at the front door of the hospital. By 10am the next day, Reilly was born.

Happy Birthday Reilly Boy.

Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often

Let's play a little Jeopardy

A: 10 undegraduate degrees, 5 masters degrees (counting Grace's graduation next week!), and 2 pending masters degrees

Q: How many college degrees does the Whitehouse family have?

Harrison graduated this past weekend, making it eight in a row for Ben and Gladys. That's over 32 years of undergraduate education, half of that at N.C. State, another quarter at Appalachian State. I am going to recommend to them that they write a book on how to finance your kids education, as it is obvious they have figured it out! I look at what they have done (and for that matter continue to do) as THE example of what Beth and I strive to do for our kids.

We all met at a great house in Blowing Rock for the weekend, 1 out of 3 days of good weather is pretty good for Boone in Spring. The house was huge, had plenty of room, and was very centrally located in the heart of Blowing Rock. I especially like the sign over the bar, capturing an excellent approach and attitude towards life.

After a rainy Friday, Saturday turned out to be beautiful, I got up around 7am and went for a nice run on the Tanawah Trail, my trail report can be found here. Later than day the entire family went on a hike to the top of Rough Ridge, one of the easier hikes in the area and definitely the most rewarding views. Later that day, Harry, Ben, Dave, Andy and I made the trek up (straight up) to Raven Rock. This is my favorite hike in this area.

Reilly even made most of the trek up to Rough Ridge, thanks to the excellent leadership of Zak and Emily.

Here are some pictures of the views, Grandfather Mountain is directly in the background behind the Tanawha Trail sign, this is actually the top of Rough Ridge.

Here is a nice shot of the Linn Cove Viaduct, probably the most recognizable landmark on the Parkway.

A run and two hikes make for a great weekend, I was fortunate enough to do it all in one day. Sunday the rain was back but we got to watch Harrison graduate and see the convocation center at Appalachian. All in all it was a great weekend. All pics from the weekend can be found on our Yahoo Photos site

Tanawah Trail Report, Beacon Heights to Top of Rough Ridge

Saturday 5/6/06
Blue Ridge Parkway, NC Tanawah Trail
Beacon Heights mile marker 305.2 to top of Rough Ridge mile marker 303.7
4 miles out and 4 miles back


Information on the Blue Ridge Parkway
http://www.brptrails.com/

Information on the complete 13.5 mile Tanawah Trail
http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/Route/74-Tanawha-Trail.pdf

Elevation Profile
http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/profile/74-Tanawha-Trail.pdf

After a not so great night of sleep, I finally got started around 7am. The house we are staying in is right in Blowing Rock so it only takes me 5 minutes to hit 221 heading South and another 5 minutes to hit the Parkway. It is a beautiful spring day and the temperature is about 45 degrees at the start, warming up to 55 by the end.

I am really excited to be back in this area, an area where I spent almost 8 years of my life, where I met my wife and also got married. I am also excited to try my first run on a trail that I have hiked almost all portions of for years, where each overlook is a cornerstone in my memory bank and the views are permanent fixtures upon which I rely on regularly.


I start my run heading north from Beacon Heights and immediately realize, it’s colder than a Saturday at Wilson Park, there’s more wind than we find in Chapel Hill, and my entire body hurts more than I am used to. I also realize that running these trails really highlights just how rooty, rocky and rugged this trail is. After a very slow start and warm-up, I finally hit the Linn Cove Viaduct parking area and run directly under it and head north parallel to the Parkway. The terrain is very rough and in many places I end up rock climbing instead of running. As many times as I have been on this trail and in this area, I am always awe struck by the beauty of this trail, any look to the right provides a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a look back provides a view of the backside of Grandfather mountain and views straight ahead and down offer multiple stream/river crossings, including Wilson Creek and sections of the Boone Fork.


About one hour into my run, and only 4 miles, I make the climb to the backside of Rough Ridge, a very hard run, but one that is rewarded with one of the best views on the Parkway, Grandfather Mountain is immediately to the right, Table Rock and Stack Rock in the distance, followed by the Black Mountains. To the left there is a great view of another great hike and climbing area, Raven Rock.

The run back was much better, I was warmed up, had gotten used to the terrain and frankly all the steeper climbs were now descents. Eight miles later and I’m sitting on top of Beacon Heights, staring into the Blue Ridge Mountains, thinking this is pretty much how this area looked thousands of years ago. Other than the Blue Ridge Parkway which I know is right behind me, one cannot see one sign of civilization while staring at the view, the mountains are as green as they probably are all year long and during the entire run, I did not encounter one single person. For 8 miles and almost 2 hours, I had this entire section of the mountains to myself. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, made even better to return to a just waking household, fresh coffee and a hot breakfast.


Next time: Beacon Heights to Price Park, 13.5 miles

Owl's Roost Rumble Saturday April 29, 2006

Owls Roost Rumble 2006
April 29, 2006 8:05 am

Picture perfect spring day, chilly temperatures to start, warming up to about 70 degrees by the end. For me, the vibe this year was more relaxed and friendly than last year. I credit being in better shape and knowing more Trailheads. After a casual walk to the start, we gathered near the front of the line and discussed such important matters as Kerndog’s previous Friday in the hospital (along with advice from both Goofus and Zu that he should NOT run), just how fast Monk was going to run this thing, Fang’s Rocky Mountain Oysters, what pace we were going to run, etc.

My strategy for this year was to stay with Tweak for as long as I could. He had not really run in 4 weeks and made a last minute decision to run when someone else dropped out. I figured if I couldn’t keep up with him I had Glassman and Haggis to push me along. 8:05am and we’re off, after a nice jog down the road, we were directed to the right, a nice departure from last year’s loop around the tennis courts. A short run on the greenway followed, including a view of the 8am starters coming the opposite way. The guy that won the thing in 1:16 was already out in front but not too far behind was a very strong looking Monk, De Logger, and Taz, all would go on to have exceptional races.

By the first mile, Zu, Gilly, Ringo, Kerndog and Glassman were out of sight and Tweak led the 2nd group, followed by me, Haggis, Paradocs, Goofus, Fang and Yellow Dog. Around mile 4 Tweak decides to kick it up a hill and I think to myself, “there goes Tweak” but he held back for another 2 miles, eventually distancing himself. Between mile 6 & 7 Goofus and Fang continue to execute their well thought out strategy and turn it up a notch, passing Haggis and I as we reentered the woods starting mile 7. At this point I am felling pretty darn good, averaging somewhere b/w 8-8.5 minute miles, and realize not only can I keep this pace, I might be able to save a little for the last 2-3 miles. Haggis agrees and the two of us, along with a few other runners, march on. Somewhere between mile 7 & 8 we pass a very discouraged Glassman.

Until we hit the road leading up to mile 10, Haggis and I have maintained a decent pace and both of us are contemplating if and when we should pick it up. I was thinking how much better I felt this year versus last year during this point of the race. Last year Yellow Dog carried me to mile 10 only to pull ahead shortly thereafter, I had blisters on top of blisters and I basically struggled to finish. This year I was feeling strong, was coming up on mile 10 and at this point I made the only mistake I can recall during the race, I turned it up and ran the road section much faster than I should have. As we approached the last aid station, we spot Goofus and Tweak heading into the woods, I’m only thinking of getting Gatorade and catching my breath but Haggis wants to catch Goofus, so as soon we enter the woods he turns it up and I have to let him go, as I’m still recovering from that stupid road run. I hated the road section last year and I hated it this year. It appears unavoidable as it’s the only way to connect all the trails but I do wish the race didn’t include it.

I would say mile 10-11 was the hardest for me as it was at this point that I really started to struggle, my legs started hurting, and I was basically just tired of running. Fortunately I didn’t let myself fall too far behind the group of 4 I was running with and at mile 11 I realized there were only 2 more miles. 2 more miles, I can not only finish this thing, I’ve got something left. I also realized the 4 guys in front of me were all slowing down, especially on any uphill, b/w 11-12 I manage to pick off all 4 of them and spot one more guy b/w 12-13 that I pick off. I kept hoping to see Goofus, Haggis, Tweak, any trailhead would have done, as I came down the last stretch but as usual they were all faster than me. Regardless I finished very strong, beat my stated goal time of 1:50 and shaved 15 minutes off last year’s time.

The weather was perfect, the post race celebration, both the Owl's Roost one and the Trailhead one, were the highlights of the day. You be the judge: Owl's Roost post race party= watery keg beer, oreos, bananas, bagels, pizza and cheap prizes Trailhead's post race party = Gumbi beer, bull testicles, clover salad, homemade salsa, naked meat free cutlets, grilled marinated chicken (thanks Gilly!), sausage, salads (regular and fruit), homemade cookies, brownies, and even a cake (thanks Taz!).