We celebrated Andy's 40th birthday a few weeks ago. It was a busy weekend, but I was able to coordinate a dinner out with friends the Saturday night before his birthday. We went down to the Loew's Hotel to The Stilwell. The food was good, and because Andy's meal was late coming out to us, they threw in a champagne toast for the birthday boy. Staff was great, and I think everyone had a good time.
The next morning I got up and quickly put out some decorations, and then made a big breakfast after Church. The rest of the day we were off to games, and then we got some Italian for dinner. The night was capped off with French Silk Pie and his big surprise gift that he asked for. A compression system for your legs. It was a busy day, and maybe not the most ideal way to spend a birthday, but that is a 40th birthday in the midst of raising a family.
On that Thursday, we packed up the car, and we were on our way to Memphis, TN for Andy's Half Ironman. It was a rainy day which is never fun to drive in, but we made it. We went down to the village for Andy to check in, and walk around the park a bit before going to dinner. We had dinner at a family owned Italian place that one of my sister's friends recommended. It was good, and our server was really great.
The next day, Andy went for a swim while Briley and Baylor went for a run. We then went to the National Civil Rights Museum. I have wanted to check this museum out for a long time. It is in the Lorraine Motel, which is where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. I thought it was very well done, and I think all the kids got something out of it.
After the museum, we got some lunch, and then met Andy's parents who had just gotten to town. Andy went to drive the bike course while the rest of us got ready for the Ironkids run that was at 4:30. Of course, the skies unleashed just as the race was getting started. We were all soaked by the time they were done so we went back to the hotel to get changed, and then went to dinner at Germantown BBQ Commissary. Again, it was a cute little place, but I wouldn't say it beat KC's BBQ.
The next morning, we were up at 5:00 to get to the Ironman. It was raining because that seemed to be the theme of the weekend. We layered up in our raincoats, ponchos, and umbrellas. I do wish I would have brought my rain boots because my shoes were sloshy all day. We were able to follow Andy for most of his swim, and he broke away from the group so he was easy to spot. We then cheered him on as he got his bike, and then we found shelter for a couple of hours. It is nice that you can follow them online so we knew when he was getting close, and we would run out in the rain to cheer him on, and then back to cover.
He finished his time in 5 hours and 5 minutes. He placed 8th in his age group, 61st in his gender, and 71st out of 1,641 racers. Pretty amazing for his first race. After training for two years, it was nice to see him finally cross that finish line. So proud of him!
After he got his things, we said goodbye to Andy's parents as they were driving to St. Louis. We then went back to the hotel to clean up, and eat. That evening, we went to a restaurant called Soulfish that was recommended to us. This might have been my favorite place we ate at while we were there. Such a good meal to end our trip.
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