Like Father, Like Daughter...

Jimmy had originally planned to run the half marathon, but with his current work schedule he’s hardly been running. When Veronica heard that he was going to run the 5K, she suggested that they joggle the race together.

I was worried that they’d cause problems if they dropped balls, so they started in the back in an effort to avoid the crowds. Luckily, they didn’t cause anyone to trip when they did drop a ball. Considering she juggled for about half of the course, Veronica’s time was very good at 30:55 .

City-Pier-City Youth Race...

After finishing the second girl in last year’s CPC Youth 2.5K, Ashlynn was determined to try it again this year. It was a bit difficult to tell how she placed this year because it was impossible to tell the sex of some of the runners ahead of her due to their long hair. However, when she finished she was given a tag that said she was the first girl to cross the finish line and to report to the stage. There were no chips for this race, so we don’t have an official time, but looks like she did it in 9:45, which is her fastest race yet at 6:17 minutes per mile.

It took us awhile to find the stage, so she missed the official ceremony, but she was still brought up on stage to get a trophy and flowers.

Love Locks...

While geocaching, we crossed a bridge and noticed that there were padlocks attached to the railing. On closer inspection, we saw that there were names engraved on them. This was the first time we’ve seen love locks, which apparently have cropped up in cities around the world.

More Geocaching in Munich...

Within the Olympic Park and Olympic Village, there were also several cool geocaches. This one was disguised to look like a water main cover.

The one above looked like it might have been a cache, but was actually a bird feeder with a note at the bottom saying “This is not a geocache.” The other looked like a bird feeder and was actually a cache.

















This one was up high, but Ashlynn still managed to reach it.

Geocaching in Munich...

Since all the shops are closed in Munich on Sundays and we weren’t in the mood to go to a museum, we decided to fill our time with geocaching. We were pleased that there were several very cool caches within walking distance from our hotel. We had a tough time finding this one as it was buried deep under this giant blue sculpture.

We walked right past this one, but Ashlynn finally noticed that the warning sign was upside down on this fake electrical box.

We were surprised to find a cache rated 4 out of 5 for difficulty in an urban area. Once we figured out that it was below a low overpass next to a canal, we understood why. No surprise that Ashlynn didn’t hesitate from retrieving it. Are you surprised that Jimmy didn’t hesitate from retrieving another from the bum of this monk statue?

BMW Factory Tour and Olympic Village..

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos during the 2.5 hour BMW Factory Tour. We were a bit disappointed when we went into the first few rooms and the robots (which the guide called rabbits) seemed to be on a lunch break. Perhaps that made it even more exciting once we did see them in action. We especially loved watching the robots painting cars and installing windshields.

Afterwards, we wandered around the nearby Olympic Park from the 1972 Summer Olympics.

While in search of a geocache, we happened past the memorial outside the apartment building in the Olympic Village where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were kidnapped and then later killed by Palestinian terrorists.

Back to Munich...

Normally, we fly home on the Sunday after skiing. This year, the girls had more than a week off which allowed us to extend until Tuesday morning so we could go on a tour of the BMW Factory in Munich, which is only open during the week.

As we passed through the Marienplatz, we managed to see the show of 32 life-sized figures on the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, which was built in 1908. I especially liked the jousting.