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We got a late start to the beach today. We woke up late and wasn’t in a real hurry to head out. We got all set up around noon and once again had great weather. After being there a few hours RaeAnna said she was hungry and had to go to the bathroom. I came back to the condo, ordered a pizza and we ate it on the beach. Around 3:00 we got an overcast which was tropical storm Hanna working its way up the eastern coast. Around 4:30 it started to drizzle so we packed up and went home. This is always the saddest part of our vacation… seeing it come to and end.

This is our forth time in five years on coming to Ocean City Maryland. This may have been our best year. The kids are old enough to keep themselves entertained and pretty much self sufficient which makes it so much more enjoyable.  There are already talks about coming back again next year.

Today we decided not to walk to the beach... we drove!  That’s right, we determined it is too far to walk that one block from our condo to the beach, so we get in my truck at the condo, drive the one block, unload and go to the beach.

Today was another spectacular day.  I ran the 4.5 mile boardwalk again, came back, ate a quick breakfast with the family and drove to the beach.  We were out there from 10:00 until 3:00.  Today was the first day Shananne and I got a bit burnt.  I put suntan lotion on, but apparently not enough in the chest area.  Shananne didn’t put any on her legs and they are red!  She said she thought an hour or so earlier that her legs felt like they were burning and finally put lotion on an hour before we left.  Actually neither one of the burns is that bad.

Everybody took a shower at the condo, the kids played with megablocks for a bit and they both said they wanted to take a nap.  This does not surprise me as they both played hard at the beach with another set of new friends.

After their nap, we all went out to eat at Hooper Crab House.  I got the all you can eat buffet, which included, Steamed Crabs (seasoned with Old Bay), Steamed Spiced Shrimp, Fried Clam Strips, Hooper's Fried Chicken (fried to a golden brown), BBQ Baby Back Ribs (tender to the touch), Corn on the Cob (Maryland grown) and Hush Puppies.  We had a table that allowed us to overlook the bay while we ate.  Very nice dinner!
 

During yesterday’s run I thought it would be fun to spend time on the boardwalk doing something we haven’t done yet… rent a surrey.  We woke up and headed down to 16th street to rent a surrey for an hour.  What a ride!  I felt like I was peddling up hill the whole time.  We took a short break to get a Dunkin Donuts Smoothie, but we worked up a pretty good sweat.

After the bike ride we headed off to Talbot Street Pier for our 2nd annual Duckaneer Pirate Ship ride.  This boat ride is a hit with the kids, treasure hunting, water fights and pirate chest swag!

During dusk we went back out to an empty beach and just sat there for the better part of an hour while the kids worked on a sand castle.

Day 3, more of the same.  First thing this morning I ran 4.5 miles on the boardwalk (27 blocks).  What a great run, I didn’t even turn on the iPod.  Lots of people, great ocean scenery, great morning weather.

Came back to the condo, ate breakfast with the family and went to the beach for almost four hours.  After taking a nap we ate dinner at our favorite Ocean City restaurant, Fish Tales.  To finish the night off we play a round of mini golf at Ember’s Island.

One last thing that gave the kids some excitement, I got pulled over by a policeman.  I stopped into a gas station to make a quick purchase and left the truck running including the running lights.  I came out, hopped in and took off.  I only went about one block when the officer pulled me over.  I usually know why I am being pulled over :) but not this time.  After waiting about 10 minutes he let me go with a warning.  Yea!!!

Another day in paradise! Same routine again… wake up late, eat breakfast, put on tons of sun tan lotion and hit the beach! Two things of interest today… Jacob caught a one inch crab in the sand. I asked him how he found it and he said “he just dug it up”. I joined in digging for crabs. Before you knew it we had about 20 1-inch-long crabs. We threw a few to the seagulls who would peck at them and eventually swallow them whole. The other thing of interest was we almost lost RaeAnna… in the ocean! We literally set up camp in front of the life guard stand. The waves were rough and we never took our eyes off the kids while they were playing in the ocean. Well, one wave knocked over RaeAnna, I jumped up, and with my superman-like-speed raced into the water as she was swallowed up by another wave. She was totally submerged as I pulled her out. She was a little shaken but continued to have a good time.

Our first full day in Ocean City Maryland! Yesterdays’ check-in to the condo was pretty quick and painless. The condohas three bedrooms, is clean and just a couple hundred yards from thebeach. We followed our routine from years before, wake up, eat breakfast, slap on suntan location and head to the beach. The weather was perfect. If anything, the beach was busier than usual, which was not a bad thing as Jacob and RaeAnna had a lot of kids their age to play with.

Rain or shine, this is the departure I get almost on a daily basis when heading off to work…

This is the first video I placed on my blog and I used two free utilities. Read the guide on how I did it.

Our family will be making our first trip to Sandusky's Kalahari Resort sometime in November and we can't wait! Kalahari promotes itself as “America's Largest Indoor Waterpark that offers something for everyone!” The indoor park has a wave pool, water slides, family tube rides and what I look forward to the most, the lazy river.

I guess its time to exercise more and eat less ice-cream… gotta look good in that Speedo!  Maybe this will give me the incentive to restart the pushup challenge and the stomach crunches I used to do.

Last week I stumbled across the hundred pushups website.  This site claims I will be able to perform 100 pushups if I dedicate 30 minutes per week for six weeks on pushups.  I continue to run several times a week but do very little for my upper body and arms.  So I decided to accept the challenge.

The first part of the challenge is to see how many good-form pushups I could perform.  I was able to do ten, but not sure they were in “good-form”.  While surfing the internet on the proper way to perform pushups, I kept reading good things about pushup assistance devices.  On Saturday I purchased the “Ultimate Push Up”  device from Fitness Trends.  This device claims:

• Ultimate Push Up uses the very latest advances in biomechanics and engineering to power up a press up for a more intense workout.
• Smooth, heavy ball bearing action drives each rotating handle to work with your body’s natural movement patterns.
• This engages more muscles in the arms, chest, shoulders, abs and back, maximizing strength and definition, while reducing the risk of joint strain and injury.

Let me tell you, this device is makes pushup tough!  I went from ten mediocre pushups to zero!  I could not perform one good-form pushup.  According to the week 1 guide, I was to perform five set of two pushups 5(2).  I did five set of three pushups 5(3), but my tummy would hit the floor during each pushup and my arms have been sore every since.   Since I am measuring things that are importing to me in life, you can view my results on my pushup-log page.