A grand old time in Grand Rapids

Last weekend, for the second consecutive year, my parents Bill and Cheryl and their friends Bob and Pam met us in Grand Rapids to participate in the Fifth Third River Bank Run. This year, my sister Britani and her husband Charlie joined us as well. After a delicious and filling pre-race meal at Pietro's on Friday evening, we woke up at around 5:00am to a cool, drizzly Saturday morning. Those of us running the 5k at 7:00am endured the heaviest rain of the day (mostly during our 1st mile), but it pretty much rained all morning. Here are some photos from the race:

5k runners warming up indoors

Dad and I during the last mile of the 5k

I was clearly enthused...

...as was Britani

Pam and Mom lining up for the 5k walk

 All of the wet and tired racers post-race

After the races and some warm showers, we all headed out to Frederik Meijer Gardens for the afternoon. We had a delicious lunch in their Taste of the Gardens Café, and we enjoyed seeing all of the exotic plants. (As always, my favorite area was the Carnivorous Plant House.) We spent a good deal of time goofing around in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden, before taking an entertaining (though cold and windy) tram tour of the outdoor sculpture park, featuring an older gentleman, who liked to put his foot in his mouth, as our tour guide. Here are some of the highlights:

 A pitcher plant in the Carnivorous Plant House

An artificially blue orchid

Britani and Charlie in the tropical conservatory

Red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)

Melissa and I in the tropical conservatory

Britani posing in front of a statue that resembles her as a child

Brit and Dad

Brit and Charlie creeping in the mini hedge maze

Pam and Mom next to a sleeping dragon

Charlie and Brit on a cool suspension bridge in a tree house

Mom and I on the same bridge

Scary-looking giant beaver with a sharp implement

We're already looking forward to River Bank Run next year, and we hope that everyone else is too!