Ugly House Diaries: Maaronthon Monday!

For those of you not living in Massachusetts, you may not know that Monday was a holiday for most people in the state. It's called Patriots' Day, and it happens on the third Monday in April. (It apparently also occurs in Maine, you can see Wikipedia if you want to know why. They put the apostrophe before the 's.') Three major things happen on this day:

1. The reenactments of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (why we observe the day in the first place)
2. The Red Sox play at home.
3. The Boston Marathon is run, and the day is known to many as Marathon Monday.

Andrew and I still haven't been to a reenactment, though it is on my mental list of things to do in Mass. This year, though, we did watch the Boston Marathon because our good friend Aaron qualified, thus making Monday "mAARONthon monday." (I can't take credit for the fun name--accolades should be attributed to his wife Amanda.)

We headed to Boston on Sunday afternoon to have dinner and stay with Aaron and Amanda. I wasn't sure how I would do being 37 weeks pregnant and all, but we managed! Temps rose above 80, probably near 90 or so, causing race officials to offer participants a chance to not run this year and compete next year. Even with a leg injury, Aaron took his chances and left early to catch his bus out to the starting line.

We watched for him around mile 21 (Newton) near the "Haunted Mile" where runners are descending from "Heartbreak Hill." Another friend from Western Mass, Cindy, cheered Aaron on near the finish line in downtown Boston. Here a few pictures from the day, and despite what a few in the crowds joked about, I did not go into labor due to the heat or trekking around Boston. Baby Floyd is still enjoying the warmth of the womb.