WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A TRIATHLON aka GIRLS OVER FORTY RULE!

Big smiles before the race!

Our running Mayor!
Cousin AJ in blue and yellow shined bright all day!!
EB's fan club!
AJ's biggest fan!
My two heros!
AJ reaches the finish line in style!

I've always wanted to congratulate our Mayor, Carolyn Kirk, on a job well done and today i finally got the opportunity to tell her i'm her biggest fan.

Men in Plaid!

Don't worry...i didn't compete! I'm a gym rat these days but there's no way i could do a triathlon...bum knee or not. But I am in awe of my cousin and my friend who competed with style, grace and courage. I'm in awe of our fabulous mayor, Carolyn Kirk, who competed in the running portion. In fact, I'm in awe of everyone who competed...teenagers, old folks, military men and women and everyone else. But let's not forget that i'm especially proud of AJ and EB! They rocked it in the Women > 40 division! You go girls!!! It was a bit tough to drag our lazy bodies out of bed at such an early hour on a Sunday to go downtown and watch but we're really glad we did. Glosta...you did a darn good job putting on a good show! Kudos to all. I love it here all the time...but on days like this I'm especially proud to be a Glosta Girl!

VIVA SAN PIETRO! ST. PETER'S FIESTA 2009

Catch up continues. I'm almost done with diary posts looking back at Summer '09.  I think it all comes down to being blessed; blessed to live in such a wonderful part of the world, and blessed to have a year filled with events that keep us busy no matter what the season. Too much fun stuff to document and not enough time to get it all posted! And who wants to stay inside uploading pix and blogging on a glorious summer day? Plus it's a lot of fun to look back. 

"Many have walked it... few have conquered it."

Gloucester's summer started out really cold and rainy. But even crappy weather could not keep the revelers down during Fiesta that last week in June. For almost a week Gloucester is the center of the world. It's a bigger holiday celebration than Christmas, New Years, Halloween and Easter all rolled up! For weeks our little city gets dressed up. The carnival sets up in St. Peter's Square right next to the grand stage. The aroma of cotton candy, grilled sausage and fried dough almost drowns out the usual fishy smell of "Gloucester-by-the-smell". Everyone turns out--some more dressed up than others! Confetti canons are set up along the parade routes. Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Mayor Carolyn Kirk, our visiting friend Dave and thousands of others hit the shores and streets of Gloucester for Seine Boat Races, The Greasy Pole, Sunday's services & procession, Ambie's famous sausages, Paul Ciamantaro's swan-song days at Cafe Sicilia , brewskis at Elliott's at the Blackburn and lots more. St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen is honored, and our fleet is blessed. The Portuguese and Italian communities (and others) come together in honor of San Pietro.  Legacies are honored, records are broken, and wins are celebrated. There's no more spirited city in the world during this June weekend. In the front window of Bananas on Main Street, St. Peter was honored right alongside recently departed icons Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. By the end of Fiesta we are all totally pooped--and all we do is spectate! And totally stuffed from eating at least three nites of sausage and cannoli dinners! For weeks you can find  bits of green, red and white confetti as little reminders of fiesta-past. I can't help but think of the Vegas slogan when i think of Fiesta..."What happens in Gloucester, stays in Gloucester!"