Before the Virgil Crest Fun Run

OK, there's nothing for it; just write....

The packing for VC was way different than for Peaks.  I didn't have the lists that were carefully thought out.  I hadn't thought and thought about what I'd need.  When Rick asked what I was bringing, I said the fan.  I wanted to be able to sleep the night before.

The Squirrel rode with us.  We stopped in the Berkshires for lunch and to show Mindy my home town.  I hadn't been back in at least four years.  Lots had changed in that amount of time, but it was really still the same.  It is quite beautiful.

That little side trip added almost two hours to an already long journey.  When we pulled in to the Love Nest, we were all very happy to get out of the car.  Ian had told us he had the room keys and just to head on up to 517.  George and Ann had been in touch, too.  We were gonna drop our stuff then head to the race packet pickup.  From there, we'd head to dinner with them.

In 517, James, Joe, and Ian were already cooking.  They were eating in.  Being the old, I mean only, married couple, Rick and I got the room with the queen-sized bed.  Nice!  Actually, everything about the place was really nice.  There was a cool spiral staircase leading up to a room with 2 bunk beds.  I confess to never going higher than the 3rd step, but the Squirrel swears the bunks provided a very cozy nest.  There was also a jacuzzi and bathroom up there.

The race packet pickup was fun.  It had that buzz of people gonna do something.  We met up with the Jedi and his Annie :)  We picked up our numbers, dropped our drop bags (thanks to Ann, the fun run team had matching bags!), had our race pics taken.

We also ran into NJ Dave, his Mindy, and Jordan.  They checked out the pasta dinner before deciding to follow the fun run team to Hairy Tony's. 

Grilled Stone-fruit Salad

Yikes!

Back at the Love Nest, James and Joe were already bunked down.  Ian was looking to go out for a walk.  He wanted to figure out how long it took to get to the start;  I love R Ian!  The Squirrel decided to head up to make a nest in a bunk.  Mindy and Dave were still working on race day plans and Jordan was still up when Rick and I went to our room to turn on the TV, turn on the fan, and turn in.  I think I was asleep by 10:30.  It's the best I've ever slept before a big run.

The next morning, I woke up a bit before my alarm.  The Love Nest was already a hub of activity.  People were cooking food and figuring out their day.

Joe resting his feet on our bear friend

The breakfast table

 gIANt organized the TMs in the Love Nest going ultra that day for a pre-race photo.  When he posted it on FB someone wanted to see the post-race group.  I love what he posted.

pre-race

post-race