Viva Las ... Henderson!

Truth be told I was dying to title this post "Viva Las Vegas" but that would be like holidaying in Ipswich and telling everyone we were in Brisbane (minus the fear of being knifed of course - Henderson's not like Ipswich at all!).  Technically we did fly in and out of Las Vegas, but in reality we were there for about 10 hours collectively. Nevertheless I can safely say we made the most of our very short adventure in Nevada and before we'd even left Las Vegas we were planning a return in 2012!

I should've seen the signs ... as we sat in the YVR airport lounge having a quick breakfast before boarding the plane Steve informs me he'd forgotten his wetsuit (Race Fail #1). Despite a sudden urge to launch into a "mum lecture" about how he should stop leaving his packing to the very last minute to avoid such things, I stopped short. Why? Because that's how Steve rolls. And I'm completely at peace with that now, as long as I don't cop the blame (it's only taken five destination races in the last few months to get me to this point). Anyway, clearly there was nothing we could do by this stage so we decided we'd just have to rent or buy one when we arrived in Henderson. Apart from this minor mishap, everything else ran fairly smoothly (Steve cleared immigration without hassle this time & I managed to sleep on the plane - #winning).

I don't know why I was so surprised (or shocked?) but as soon as we stepped off the plane we were greeted with a wall of bright, shiny poker machines playing annoyingly catchy jingles - promising so much, but in the end ... delivering so little. In hindsight I probably would've been disappointed had Las Vegas airport been just like any other - after all, it is Vegas. Why should I expect less? The most surprising thing? The bevy of pokies isn't exclusive to the casino resorts along Las Vegas Boulevard (also known as "The Strip") and the airport - they're everywhere - yep, even in the local 7-11, the car rental office ... and since I consider pokies to be largely against my own self-righteous morals (with the exception of the SATC machine), the sight and sound of them initially made me feel a little sick and took a lot of getting used to! 

Airport pokies!!

An addict in the making ... nah, but if I had to choose a machine in which to lose my money ...hard to resist pink flashing lights and the words "big diamonds"

To be honest though, stepping off the plane and walking through Las Vegas airport to the tunes of Elvis, The Beatles and The Eagles ... I knew we'd get along - I was in my musical element! A combination of all of the above, plus a slathering of Vegas show advertisements (Cirque du Soleil, Celine Deon, The Lion King, Jerry Seinfeld etc) throughout the airport meant it wasn't long until I, a self confessed "fun-sponge", was enchanted by the complete sensory overload and just decided to embrace it for what it is - an incredible novelty/resort-city! 

Just a small portion of the awe-inspiring streetscape!

Beers on the Las Vegas version of the Brooklyn Bridge! Yes, you could drink freely in public on "The Strip"!

The Bellagio

More streetscape as the sun goes down ...

The entrance to the Cirque du Soleil's Beatles 'Love' show at the Mirage (I almost had a coronary in the souvenir shop!)

Once I'd overcome the initial shock of everything that encapsulates 'Sin City', seeing my fellow support crew members in Helen & Tony was very welcome! It was really nice to see some familiar faces and catch up in person after being away for so long. After meeting up, we took off in our oh-so-Vegas family van - a sight to see (!) - which was the only car big enough to fit all our stuff in - so family van it was. It wasn't until Sunday driving up "The Strip" (this still sounds so dodgy to me) that we made the observation it wasn't exactly the vehicle we'd envisioned cruising around Vegas in ...

So we spent some good times in that van ... well, on the Thursday Helen & I did anyway ... Steve and Tony? Not so much. Steven driving and Tony navigating was an adventure in itself - but we got to where we needed to be ... in the end. So Thursday afternoon ended up as 'Le Tour de Henderson' and I thoroughly enjoyed being chauffeured around the city, having relinquished my navigator role to Tony. Initially I was a bit creeped out by Henderson - a whole lotta desert and not much else around - every road is pretty much a highway and they all lead further into the middle of nowhere. Combine this with some picturesque mountains (albeit no Canadian mountains) - they are so barren and perfect they look like they've been painted on the sky - and a sprinkling of huge hotels built around the man-made Lake Las Vegas and that was pretty much my experience of Henderson. While the whole thing was hard to get used to at first, I ended up really enjoying my time there and I can see that, in warmer weather, it would be a really nice, relaxing place to holiday - particularly if you couldn't handle Vegas for the entire duration of your time in Nevada. 

Sun comes up over the mountains/looking down on transition

Hotels built on Lake Las Vegas

An amazing view! Check the hotel!

To interject for one moment, I need to share a gripe. Me? Gripe? Never! But I am so over the stupid US baggage handlers having some weird obsession with my Coco Mademoiselle perfume! Every time we travel I pack it in my bag in its little box only to find when unpacking my things that my bag has been opened and the perfume (yet again) has been inspected. While I find it mildly amusing there are some sweet smelling baggage handlers out there with seriously awesome taste in perfume, I want it universally known that there is no way I would ever use my ridiculously expensive Chanel perfume to try and blow up a plane (or conduct other sinister terrorist-related business). I digress! Back to the hotel ...

Our hotel pool area

Our hotel (just a small portion!)

Steve making the most of the breakfast buffet & I had to take a photo of the miniature Tabasco sauce - so cute!!

Vegas and I really cemented our friendship when I picked up one of the designer magazines in our hotel room and the first ad I saw was for Hermes Birkin bags ... then I turned the page and was greeted with a Manolo Blahnik shoe ... and then a Bvlgari necklace ... you get the idea!

Thursday afternoon saw all the countries setting themselves up outside our hotel (ours was the host hotel) for team photos - Tony took the reigns as the official Australian team photographer and began ordering them all around, making sure all their uniforms matched (just like old school days!) and that they all squished up to fit in the frame.  I found this hilarious and very helpful at the same time - it meant I got a better picture too! He definitely made the most of his superior organisation skills and that distinct voice to take some great shots! In fact, the unmistakable voice came in very handy when I was trying to find them amongst a hotel lobby full of spectators and athletes! Post-pictures we all shared a nice dinner at our hotel topped off with some delicious chocolate lava cake (this was not shared). 

Speaks for itself really ...

Aussie Team

Pre race day was fairly standard - Steve spent the whole day sorting out his equipment and I spent the whole day making sure I didn't get in his way. I've found this works best. So I sun-baked (in jeans) on the deck overlooking the pool and reading Us Weekly (J-Lo & Bradley Cooper is this week's latest rumour). I have no shame.

So race day came around. Incredibly slowly for me because I had the worst sleep in the entire history of the universe. I have an inexplicable mental problem. Basically it revolves around my brain's obsession with creating a soundtrack in my head for every city I visit, for the entire duration of the trip. Of course this time it was so easy for my brain - there are so many songs about Las Vegas! So thanks to Katy Perry, Elvis Presley and Anastasia (sorry, can't explain this one!), I managed about 2 hours of sleep.

Here's something I didn't know knew but seemed to forget when it counted (similar to the automatic assumption I always make that if it's raining then the temperature is cold) - it's not always hot in the desert! Not only is it not always hot, but it was absolutely freezing on race day morning. So freezing, in fact, that the International Triathlon Union (ITU) had to cancel the entire swim leg of the race (Race Fail #2) and I managed to get a brain freeze just from standing outside without a beanie on! Not only did I experience brain freeze, but I'm pretty sure I also got eye-ball freeze, gums freeze and nostril freeze at the same time.

Overlooking transition from Ravella hotel

Despite the setbacks it was a great day. It was an awesome experience to see Steve race in the green & gold and I'm sure he was pretty stoked too. Both the bike and run course were incredibly hilly and in taking away the swim leg, I'm sure it was a little frustrating for all the swim/bikers competing (Steven included). Even though he hadn't tapered, forgot his Garmin on the run (Race Fail #3) and wore a jumper for the entire bike leg and two laps into the run leg (yes, it really was that cold!), I was very proud to be a Team Wehlow supporter (as I know both Tony & Helen were too) and am in genuine awe of all he has achieved in such a short time ... we all remember the 2007 Noosa photo...

Getting ready for the time trial start of the bike leg

Tony and our Vegas family van!

Helen & Tony - 2/3 of Wehlow support crew!

The other third ... Fashion Fail: when you're too cold to care!

All smiles on the bike leg (notice he's still wearing the jumper!!)

Run leg

I wasn't popular when I yelled at him to go harder - then I had a fuel belt thrown at me following the iciest death stare ever!!

World Long Course Champs - Check!

Superior athlete :-)

Enjoying post-race delights - coke, peanut butter bagels & chocolate

Thankfully I've recently developed this awesome ability to sleep on flights - so our overnight trip was relatively painless for me. I'm not quite sure about Steven though, given he decided to declare himself a British citizen to the immigration officer when we arrived back in Vancouver (Immigration Officer: "are you Australian?" Steven: "ah English" - we can only assume that in his zonked state he thought Mr. Immigration Officer was speaking to us in French!). I flashed him the 'ZIP IT. NOW!' look and took it from there ... I must admit it was pretty hilarious - particularly at 1am! 

The most important lesson learned from our Vegas trip? Scarves are an essential travel item - not only do they save you from developing pneumonia; they are unequivocally instrumental in blocking unwarranted smells - stale cigarettes in Vegas casinos, vomit smells in Vegas public lifts and unceremonious neighborly gas leaks on plane flights (there's always that one person!) ... purple Saba scarf - you were my saviour!

Next stop on the whirlwind tour of 2011? Cozumel, Mexico!

A little paradise on the Big Island

For those who don't know, for Steve's birthday this year (which was in February) I bought us flights to Hawaii for the Ironman* World Championship which takes place annually in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For people like us who, for some inexplicable reason, enjoy participating in and/or spectating such events, it's a pretty big deal. The biggest, in fact. Speaking on behalf of Steve (What's new? It's the blog!),  I can confidently say that it was well worth the wait. 

Ahhh Kona. One word? Awesome. I guess I would describe Kona as similar to the old sunny coast - spectacularly beautiful, peaceful, chilled-out and unpretentious. Perfection really.  Of course for the majority of the time we were there, it was all of this after a few too many Powerbars and protein shakes!

Just one of the many spectacular views

Oh, and another - for good measure!

Our holiday began on Wednesday October 5th and we were off to a great start when Steve was reprimanded by US boarder protection/immigration officers because he had apparently reported a lost or stolen passport. He had not. So I spent a lovely, peaceful half an hour browsing my way through the duty free shops while he was stuck in a back-room presumably being interrogated by the FBI for his sinister behaviour! I had to laugh (yes, I know it's totally politically incorrect of me) when every second person coming through the doors was wearing a burqa or a hijab or a funny little hat or had a long plaited beard and Steve was the one with the FBI date. Thankfully he was finally released about 10 minutes before we had to board the plane. Phew!

Our flight to Kona was a long and arduous one. It involved a 2 hour flight to LA with a 2 hour stop over (I desperately wanted to spot a Kardashian – the chances were good - there are so many of them - but unfortunately it wasn't to be!), followed by a 5 and a half hour flight to Kailua-Kona. This flight was a big struggle for one reason - no personal tv's! Yes, we got stuck on a dodgy old domestic plane that still had one of those brick style cordless telephones stuck in the back of the middle seat head-rest. I actually got excited when at first glance I thought this was a remote (I don't know why the lack of personal tv's had escaped me?) and then Steve swiftly pointed out how much of an idiot I was... or am.. or both. Whatever. Of course because we couldn't pick and choose what we wanted to watch we were subjected to Cars 2 (Steve actually, and genuinely, yelled "yessss!" when the Captain announced this) and an episode of Hawaii Five-0. Consequently I had the Hawaii Five-0 theme song stuck in my head for the entire trip.

As a first time visitor to Hawaii (and following 25 years of watching Hawaii-based movies and listening to the Beach Boys) I was irrationally excited about two specific things - someone saying "aloha" to me for the first time, and receiving a lei as I stepped off the plane. Was this too much to ask? Apparently, yes. I'm happy to report I came out 50/50. I received my first "aloha" from a flight attendant as I stepped off the plane but sadly, was not greeted with a lei. I didn't realise it at the time, but it seems you have to either A) stay at a really expensive hotel, B) buy your own, or C) complete an Ironman in under 17 hours to receive a lei in Hawaii.

Thursday was spent embracing the Ironman love in the lead up to Saturday's race. Steve took this literally ....

Steve + Chris "Macca" McCormack

Steve + Chris Lieto

Steve + Craig "Crowie" Alexander

I think he almost wet his pants with excitement when he saw how big the expo was. Then he almost fainted when Daniel Fontana (our pro friend from Cancun) walked up and starting chatting to us.  So our first day in Kona consisted of stalking athletes, coffee at Lava Java (a local coffee shop and athlete haunt) and meeting up with one of our fellow Activ cyclists who qualified and was racing on Saturday. We also spent some time walking around the main part of town, soaking up the atmosphere and feeling self conscious about our own athletic inadequacies! After 7 months of no cycling and little sunlight, my pale, flabby body certainly stood out amongst a sea of toned, tanned calves and veiny arms. 

So our hotel was at a place called Keauhou Beach - about a $20 cab ride into the main town. Fortunately for us, there was a town Trolley Service ($2 per person, per ride) that came right past our hotel. Unfortunately for us (and for me in particular, being the anal retentive person I am) the Trolley never ran on time. In fact, sometimes it just didn't turn up at all. So we ended up learning about the concept of "Island Time" the hard way. To be fair the schedule did clearly state "Subject to change without notice" ... yeah, EVERY DAY. In the end I couldn't even tell you how much we spent on cabs, but it was a lot! Nevertheless an important lesson was learned - next time we'll be renting a car!

The view from our balcony!

Some good old Hawaiian surf!

Ah, the Trolley!

So Ironman day (Saturday) rolled around and it was all very exciting. I was particularly looking forward to the swim start - hearing the cannon fire and seeing the whitewash as the age group athletes took off on their respective Ironman journeys. It was pretty impressive!

This is just a small snapshot of a much larger age group contingent. All up there were approximately 1800 athletes!

I must say it was nice to not have to be checking my watch or worried about getting a perfect photo or cheering loudly enough for once! Nevertheless Steve wanted me to show him what the entire supporter "experience" was like - which I attempted to do - however about 20 minutes after the swim start he decided to do whatever he wanted and proceed to tell me every half an hour how "easy" supporting at a long distance triathlon event is. This said, I decided to bite my tongue and instead make a mental note of a few key supporter "fails" - keeping in mind it was my intention (before he hijacked the day) to expose him to the true supporter experience...

It all started with a dream...  several weeks before our holiday I had a dream that we were finally getting married (I know - crazy!). So I made my way down the aisle in front of all our guests, but when I got to the end Steve wasn't there. "Where was he?" you ask? Oh, just in the toilet. So in my dream, my delightful husband-to-be missed our entire wedding because he had more important things to attend to in the lavatory. Charming. And sadly, not at all unusual. This story effectively conveys my frustration for a large portion of the morning of Ironman. Yep. Following the swim start someone had to go to the toilet, so we ended up spending a good 40 minutes searching for one and ended up missing seeing the pro's come out of the swim. Supporter Fail #1 - Putting your bladder before the opportunity to hustle for a prime viewing position and/or viewing crucial race moments.

Steve's Supporter Fail #2 came in the form of Steve missing shots of Pete (our Activ cyclist friend) on the bike leg as he was too busy gas-bagging to someone else. This one needs no further explanation. Supporter Fail #2 - missing crucial photos because you are gas-bagging and/or attending to your own, trivial needs.

Finally, Supporter Fail #3 reared it's ugly head 2 minutes before Craig Alexander (the eventual winner) was about to cross the finish line. Steve was hungry so had decided to wander off and order a panini and a smoothie. Knowing it wasn't long before the pro athletes would begin to cross the finish line, any practiced supporter would opt to suppress the hunger and wait, at least to see the winner cross. But no, Steve orders and then proceeds to get stuck in the cafe waiting for his food. Fortunately he redeemed himself, arriving just in time to take some finisher photos of Craig. Supporter Fail #3 - Putting your hunger needs before milestone athlete moments.

We love the Crowie bandwagon!

Supporting is tough work!

Crowie on his way to the finish line!

Pete (from Activ) finishing his race!

To be honest, he did pretty well overall. Yet I maintain that support crew do it tough out there too. Perhaps not as tough as the athletes, but tough enough. And we should be aptly rewarded. Despite these minor supporter mishaps, we really enjoyed the day. We were lucky enough to get to cheer on some people we knew (which is always a plus) and amused ourselves with shave ice (it's delicious!) and other tasty treats. I also amused myself for about an hour by filming this hilarious Korean supporter - what a champion! The video doesn't do him justice but it will give you a bit of an idea...

Shave ice - yum!

It was a very long day in the end - a 4 am start (to get a good viewing spot) and a midnight finish. We ended up at the finish line at about 7.30pm and cheered for 4 and a half hours consecutively.  Thankfully the music was loud, the people were entertaining and Steve had his 5 hour energy shots (I don't believe in that rubbish!!). And let me tell you Mike Rielly & Co. really put that "Tic-Tock" Noosa man to shame! We were so glad we stayed until the very end and would do it again in a heartbeat - that's when you're really inspired. I've always believed it's not really about the professional athletes but more about the amazing stories and achievements of the "everyday" people. Amongst the finishers we cheered in within the last hour (between hour 16 and 17) when foil blankets seem to be the attire of choice -  an 81 year old man (the oldest male competitor), a 76 year old woman (the oldest female competitor), a mother of 3 who has stage 4 colon cancer and is currently (yes, currently) undergoing chemotherapy and several breast cancer survivors and type 1 diabetics.  The whole experience really cemented my belief - truly inspirational and very humbling.

Steve and his beloved 5 hour energy shot

Let the dancing begin!

This is just a snap shot ...

 

The  triple amputee finisher!!

Above all, I think the most interesting observation I made all day was that when all is said and done, Kona is just the same as every other Ironman event. Everyone is still out there, doing their best, struggling with their own mental battles and pushing themselves to their absolute maximum. The highs, the lows, the trials and tribulations - it's no different. Don't get me wrong - it's a really special experience - but so is every other Ironman event. Obviously what sets Kona apart from the rest is that participants (in most cases) need to qualify, but getting there is the hard part. The most refreshing thing about Kona is that participants can just enjoy their race because, for age groupers, they've really reached the pinnacle.  

Sunday was fairly slow for us, but we did spend the majority of the day chilling out and snorkeling at Keauhou beach with the most beautiful tropical fish and so many sea turtles. The sea turtles were one of the highlights of my entire trip - I could spend hours just watching them. The other highlight of my trip was of course snorkeling with the dolphins which we did in an organised tour on the Monday. I would highly recommend it and would do this again in a heartbeat - it was magical! We spent a good two hours in the water snorkeling with Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins - they are so used to human contact that they come up and swim beside you, around you, underneath you - and during our trip we each swam with up to 10 at any one time. Sometimes they'd let us catch up to them and swim along with them and other times they'd just take off. Truly amazing!

Sunlight on Water - the group we did our dolphin tour with

Spinner Dolphins!

Feeling a little depressed about our holiday coming to an end, we decided we'd rent a paddle board on the Tuesday in an attempt to make the most of the little time we had left - great idea by us! Paddle boarding was so much fun (even though neither of us had done it before) and it was pretty funny when at first we both fell off a couple of times. It took a little while to get the hang of it but once we did it was awesome (except perhaps for the time I couldn't turn it around and ended up almost crashing into rocks on the other side of the beach!). We then completed the day with lunch at the Kona Brewing Company and dinner (before catching our flight) at our beloved Lava Java cafe (oh, we're such triathlon groupies!!).

Paddle boarding

More paddle boarding ...

And a beer at the Kona Brewing Company to salute a great trip!

Not at all commercial, fake, touristy or tacky,  Kona is breathtaking yet simple. It's a truly peaceful place (even in the midst of Ironman) and never takes itself too seriously. Please don't change Kona, I love you just the way you are.

The week that was...

 * Ironman - a long distance triathlon consisting of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike & 42.2km (yes, an entire marathon) run.