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Hello from Clermont, Florida!



Before starting our long trip down to Clermont, Florida, Karel and I got in a 3700 swim workout at Furman University to start our Monday morning. To be honest, we both had a lot on our mind so it was a little difficult to stay present but we got it done and both felt good with moving blood and getting our heart pumping before sitting in the car for the rest of the day.

After our swim, we went home to eat breakfast and then it was time to pack up the car. Since I had dropped off the cats at my mom's on Sunday evening, it was time to say 'see ya later' to my little golden nugget.

I dropped off Campy at his grandma's (1 mile away) while Karel was loading up my car and then we were off to Jacksonville, FL around 11:15am. While it's always hard to say good bye to furry child Campy, he is in great hands with my mom who loves him (almost) as much as I do and takes such great care of him. Plus, Campy has a bunch of furry friends in her neighborhood so he doesn't mind his home away from home as he can play with his furry buddies. 



Our first stop was Jacksonville, FL. We arrived around 5:30pm. Although it was a chilly gloomy day, with on and off light rain for our entire drive, we were entertained with triathlon podcasts for our entire drive and we switched off driving half way so that neither of us got too tight while sitting in the car.
We also made frequent stops to stretch our legs.

We stayed overnight with our athlete Joe and his wife Erica and baby son Weston (and doggy Reagan) which was nice to relax before making our way to Clermont on Tuesday.

Erica made us dinner, which was delicious! We had brown rice, curry lentils, roasted veggies and Naan (chicken for the meat eaters). It was so good to have a nice homecooked meal after our travels.
With Karel and I in the car all day, we had to get to some work emails in the evening but by 9:00pm, I was ready for bed.  Karel stayed up a little later to work on some stuff on the computer. 



Before getting too far out of Jax, we stopped at the AMAR European store to stock up on some European eats and treats. Since we spent 6 years living in Jacksonville before moving to Greenville, we are very familiar with the area (although it is expanding/changing every year). The European store is well worth visiting if you well, love European food. Karel found himself yumming over all the food so we stocked up on mineral water, chocolates, breads and so much more. 



When we arrived to Clermont, we checked into our Airbnb, which is located just a few blocks from Waterfront park and less than 1/2 mile from where our campers are staying in a Duplex (team house). It's rare for Karel and I to stay in a hotel when we travel and with so much stuff for camp, we need space and a kitchen. 

Karel and I needed to stretch our legs so we went for a (windy) ride around 3:30pm after we unloaded our car and got situated. 



It was nice to be back in Clermont and to ride on some familiar roads. We also used this ride as an opportunity to scope out the route for our Thursday bike workout for our campers on day 1 of camp. 

After our ride, we quickly cleaned up and headed out to the NTC to pick up our custom Canari Trimarni kits, which had just arrived to the Gear for Multisport store (we had them shipped there - thank you Kim and Kevin!).

After the NTC, we made a stop at Publix for groceries and by 6:30pm, we were back at our rental house, ready to eat dinner.
As for the rest of the evening.....from 7pm until 11pm, we were busy! 


Our kits look AMAZING!! 

Karel did inventory on our kit items and I packed sponsor swag bags. It's a lot of work to put together a camp but it's all worth it when we see our campers in action. 


So much stuff!!