Jon did not sleep the night before his big Ironman. We met up with Brian and Erica around 5am. I walked Jon to his transition area and then to the swim start. All the athletes were in the water and the race started at 6:30am. It was the hottest day in Nice and there was no breeze. I got a perfect spot to cheer and see everyone come out of the water. Jon jumped on his bike and had a long climbing bike ride and then a long marathon. Jon was happy to have finished despite the flat tire and slow [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thank you to everyone that has sent us comments through the travel blog! We love to get messages from home. Today was all about preparing for the Big Race Tomorrow! Jon, Brian and Erica did a little swim in the morning and I walked the boardwalk. We all went to breakfast and then got everything ready for the Ironman tomorrow. All the bags were filled with shoes, helmets, bike tubes, energy drinks and food. Then we went down to the start of the race so that Jon could drop off his bike and get body marked. This pretty much took all [View Full Entry]

---

---

We coated ourselves in sunscreen, Jon did an hr run along the Ironman course, and I walked on the promenade. We met for baguette sandwiches for lunch. Yes, lunch. Avoiding jetlag when you are pregnant is hard because you cannot take things to put you back to sleep. We were both awake from 1-5 but then fell back asleep until 11:30. There went the morning to jet lag. Jon did a swim after lunch and I relaxed and watched Wimbledon on French TV. There are three channels playing. Too much fun. The weather here in Nice couldn’t be better, warm, but [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Nice with all of our bags at midnight. Amazing after we missed our connection from Heathrow to Nice. We were so happy to check into the Mercure hotel right on the boardwalk and go to sleep. Our first day Jon woke up and built his bike and went on a morning bike ride. I did some shopping while he was riding. We strolled around and had some lunch and then took the scenic bus to see some sights in Nice. We have been to Nice many times but have never taken the bus to see all around. There [View Full Entry]

---

---

We have been waiting a long time for this exciting day to come. Jon is all trained and ready to partcipate in Ironman France. When we planned this trip there were only two of us but now there are four, ok two are 4 1/2 months (18 weeks today) in-utero but they definitely count. We are traveling with one large bike box and two regular suitcases. And of course carry ons. The weather in Nice has been 78 and sunny. We might get some humidity. We will see once we get there. We love to fly Virgin Atlantic and it will [View Full Entry]

---

---

July 17th, 18th and 19th July 17th we were at sea all day sailing from Edinburgh to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin on the 18th for two days in Ireland. On our first day we walked around town on Grafton St. This is a big pedestrian walking and shopping street. We headed to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. This is a very old book created over 1000 years ago in Ireland. The book is the New Testament with beautiful art and design. It is only opened to two pages to see every couple of days. We then saw [View Full Entry]

---

---

July 15th and 16th , 2008 Today the ship docked in Edinburgh, Scotland for two days. We had a fantastic day exploring Edinburgh Castle. At 1:00 we heard the cannon blast. We saw the crown jewels of Scotland and had lunch in the Castle. Then later that evening we had a private ghost tour. Edinburgh is home to the show Ghost Hunters. Our guide was a very good story teller and took us all over Edinburgh telling us of the haunting and then took us under the city to the underground vaults and tried to scare us some more. I didn’t [View Full Entry]

---

---

July 14th, 2008 This is our first Sea Day and also my Birthday. We are sailing from Dover to Edinburgh. In the day we all spent some time at the Aveda spa for massages and facials. This was very relaxing and wonderful. Then we all got dressed for the first formal dinner. Everyone looked great and sang happy Birthday to me. That evening we headed to the Luxe bar and somehow Kim and I ended the night singing karaoke. It was a great Birthday. Thank you to everyone for all of the Birthday wishes. [View Full Entry]

---

---

July 13, 2008 We all got to Dover and boarded the Crystal Symphony. The ship is fantastic. We are all on the 9th floor on the same side of the ship with our rooms almost all next to each other. Wink, Jon and I got off the ship because we did not sail until 6 pm to go see Dover Castle. This is a fantastic castle with a lot of history built in 1190. King Henry the VIII spent some time there. There is a beautiful view of the white cliffs and the beach. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Jon and I were in London for 2 weeks for Ascot and now we are back again. This time we are joining 14 of Jon's family for a cruise of the British Ilse and then we are headed to the South of France. So, we met some of Jon's family in Palm Springs and got on our Virgin flight from LAX to Heathrow. Once we got to Heathrow we boarded 3 vans and came to the Wyndham hotel. Today was our first day in London. Jon's Aunt Melanie and her husband Jeff and cousin Jordan and his friend Dane all went [View Full Entry]

---

---