Some more Sunburst

Here's those other photos from the Sunburst Half-Marathon (run in early June) that I had promised.

From Sunburst2011

Since then, my running buddy, Cat, was out of action after losing some bark training for a triathlon. I experimented (against good advice) with running barefoot and missed out on the Logan Run due to injury this weekend. I'll be looking to resume my training with even greater intensity soon!

From Sunburst2011

We jubilantly finished the race on the hallowed turf in the Notre Dame stadium.

From Sunburst2011

Soon, I'll post some photos from great summer activities like boating, golfing and having picnics.

By the way, tickets are booked and for those interested, I'll be touching down in Aus come October 11.

May and June runs

Cat, Josh and I ran in a 5 km race at Granger in the second-half of May. Here are a couple of shots that Emily took of Cat and I coming down the home straight. My time was 22 minutes and something-or-other.

From 2011-05-14

From 2011-05-14

Afterwards, Emily and I took a ride along the East Bank Trail in to town for lunch.

From 2011-05-14

And then I was rolled in this game of chess.

From 2011-05-14

Cat and I kept training and then ran, on a sweltering morning in the start of June, in the Sunburst Half-Marathon in South Bend. We finished the race in the stadium on campus. Our time was a bit over two hours. There's a few more photos from this race that I will upload shortly and paste into my next post.

From 2011-06-04

Spring at Notre Dame

The PI's boss was baptised at The Basilica in May. In the afternoon afterwards, some of my colleagues and I stopped for a couple of photos.

From 2011-05-09

You can see that the trees are getting their leaves back here and it only took until May!

From 2011-05-09

The campus is gorgeous in all seasons!

From 2011-05-09

Here's a shot from the Main Building to the La Fortune building, my primary source of tea.

From 2011-05-09

Wow - some blue sky! Ideal running climate settled in at about this time of the year. So, the next post will have photos from 5km and 20km runs.

From 2011-05-09

Morel-hunting

Indiana's climate turned a bit more hospitable in May so I took the opportunity to hike a little in the nearby woods. Spring-time is accompanied by the fruiting of morels. Emily poses with a fair-sized specimen here.

From 2011-05-08

These strange-looking fungi are actually pretty tasty when lightly salted and fried.

From 2011-05-08

Here is another in its natural state.

From 2011-05-08

And then we found this mysterious hatch in the forest. Having watched so much 'Lost' we knew better than to force the hatch!

From 2011-05-08

Savannah, GA (Part 6)

Rattlesnakes on the ground, alligators in the water and fighter-jets in the sky! Jenny and I played a round of golf at the Crosswinds course on Easter Sunday.

From 2011-04-24

Jenny's is going over the water on this par three hole.

From 2011-04-24

That's rattlesnake territory behind me. And in the tree: it's more Spanish Moss.

From 2011-04-24

Jenny and take another walk through Savannah. In the distance is Mercer House, which is prominent in the 1994 John Berendt novel 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'.

From 2011-04-24

A little further south, we came across this fountain in Forsyth Park.

From 2011-04-24

And the following day, we left Savannah and returned to our post-doc jobs. What a beautiful and historic town to visit!

From 2011-04-24

Savannah, GA (Part 5)

On Saturday afternoon, just before Easter, Jenny and I visited the Half-Moon Brew-pub in down-town Savannah. We each ordered the sample paddle and the beers were pretty good.

From 2011-04-24

We took a walk afterwards. Here is Jenny in front of a fountain in another of the beautiful garden squares.

From 2011-04-24

And here's Jen again:

From 2011-04-24

Later, we ate crabs for dinner on the balcony of a restaurant down on Bay Street.

From 2011-04-24

On Sunday, we played a round of golf at the Crosswinds course. We were warned to look out for alligators and rattlesnakes! I'll post a few photos from our game in the next post and conclude my series on the trip that Jen and I took to Savannah.

From 2011-04-24

Savannah, GA (Part 4)

Fireworks erupted from Bay Street in Savannah on Easter Saturday evening. Jen took this photo from the window of our apartment across the adjacent square.

From 2011-04-24

The next day, Sunday, we visited the Wormsloe Historic Site. The estate was one of the first permanent white settlements in Georgia.

From 2011-04-24

Part of the property is bounded by swamp-land, which we walked by en route to a demonstration settlement.

From 2011-04-24

Jen sings out from the little homestead.

From 2011-04-24

Meanwhile I stand at attention for the Union Jack, unfortunately limp at that moment.

From 2011-04-24

This grove was really beautiful and tranquil. The shade was very welcome as, even though only April, the weather in Savannah was decidedly warm!

From 2011-04-24

I want to post up some photographs from our round of golf amongst alligators, lunch at a brew-pub and some other pretty shots from around town. As such, visit again for parts 5 and 6 of Savannah, GA! (And thanks for being so patient!)

Savannah, GA (part 3)

Jen and I traveled up and down the Savannah River.

From 2011-04-24

Many of the old buildings along the waterfront are constructed, at least partially, from British stone. This material was used as ballast in trading ships that left from such ports as Liverpool, as bearing some load improved the handling of these vessels. The ballast was ejected from the ships at Savannah and was recovered for construction and paving.

From 2011-04-24

This statue was erected in remembrance of a woman who lost her lover; he failed to return from a stint at sea and could not fulfill the promise his promise to marry this woman. She waved to ships for her entire life in the hope that her love would return. Many other sailors were heartened to see a woman greeting their ship as it sailed up the Savannah River, so they celebrated her brithday and arranged a pension to support her in her old age.

From 2011-04-24

The cemetery just south of the Historic District is very picturesque. Jen and I strolled around here in the afternoon. You know it's good because people are dying to get in.

From 2011-04-24

These horses work tirelessly in the heat; it was over 30 degrees Celsius every day and humid too. Delicious for us though! Though horse-drawn carriages are a bit tourist-y, I still enjoyed seeing the horses and listening to them 'clopping' around the parks in Savannah.

From 2011-04-24

Next, I will describe the trip that Jen and I made to Noble Jones' Wormsloe Plantation.

Savannah, GA (part 2)

Jenny and I split a pound of steamed prawns down near the river-front.

From 2011-04-24

The next day, we drove east to Tybee and visited the old lighthouse.

From 2011-04-24

The beach at Tybee was packed and the water was... er... brown. Some Aussies are spoilt brats when it comes to beaches.

From 2011-04-24

Fort Pulaski, a civil-war era fort, hoists the 'Stars and Bars'. The advent of rifled artillery meant the end of fortifications such as this.

From 2011-04-24

Kicking back outside the moat. Blissfully unconcerned about rabid raccoons.

From 2011-04-24

Down in the cannon chambers.

From 2011-04-24

The heavily bombarded NE wall is shown below. The fortress was forfeited to Union forces in about a day.

From 2011-04-24

A roof-mounted cannon.

From 2011-04-24

Later, we were having a couple of quiet ones back at the hotel bar.

From 2011-04-24

Next, I'll cover our trip up and down the Savannah River and an excursion to the oldest homestead in the state of Georgia.

Savannah, GA (part 1)

Around Easter and late in April, Jen and I visited the historic and picturesque coastal town, Savannah, in America's Deep South.

From 2011-04-21

The town plan incorporates a garden square at the centre of every 3x3 town blocks (in the historic city). So when strolling around Savannah, you can plan your route to include lots of these beautiful gardens.

From 2011-04-21

This statue depicts a hero of the Civil War, an issue that remains prominent.

From 2011-04-21

The largest church in the area is Catholic; this is the John The Baptist church.

From 2011-04-21

The first golf course in America was, I think, established in Savannah. So, it was only appropriate that Hodgo and I took advantage of the warm weather and got out for a round. Our first nine was at the Hunter course, on a military base, to the South of the city.

From 2011-04-21

Here's Jen chipping one in from a very precarious position!

From 2011-04-21

I hope that this wasn't a ball that went in the drink.

From 2011-04-21

And here's Jen again, about to use an iron to chip on.

From 2011-04-21

Next, I will post a few more photos from around Savannah and others from our excursion east to Tybee Island.