January 31 (179)

Here is the sixth Hawaii shirt (also see August 9 shirt).  This one is from a race Jodi and I did in Volcano National Park last July.   The course was supposed to go around the rim of the Kilauea Crater but they had to reroute the course because there was an active volcanic 'vent' (a 'vent' the size of a large house) demanding a certain level of respect and distance.   The character on the shirt is a famous (and very swift) Hawaiian runner, Makoa, who lived in the time of King Kamehameha.

January 30 (178)

Here is a shirt from our favorite breakfast place in Kona.  It's called Lava Java.  It's a great place to sit outside, eat a big breakfast, watch the ocean and survey the ironman swim course (where we just worked up our appetites). 

January 29 (177)

Here is another Hawaii shirt.  This one my mom gave me this summer after receiving it at a picnic from another relative who had recently traveled there.

January 28 (176)

We like the Big Island, but I certainly have no complaints about Maui.  This seems to be a popular place for the Hawaiian state fish -- the humuhumunukunukuapua'a.  

January 27 (175)

Here is a shirt from another island -- this one in the Pacific Ocean.  The Big Island of Hawaii is one of Jodi and my favorite places.  We  like Kona, the triathlon mecca, the beaches and of course the volcanos and lava.   This Lava Dirt shirt I got in 2005.  There is a honu on the back.

January 26 (174)

Here is another St. Thomas, USVI shirt (I think I also swiped this one from Jodi who assisted with the dog-sitting).  The back of the shirt shows the tails of the dogs!

January 25 (173)

Following the dog-sitting Island theme here's an excellent shirt from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.  Once again I've not been to this island but I was in possession of a dog whose owners were there.   WOOF!!

January 24 (172)

Here is another Cayman Islands shirt I believe following the same dog-sitting event.  This shirt originally belonged to Jodi but either I filched it or she gave it to me.    Anyway, it's mine now!

January 23 (171)

I've never been to the Cayman Islands but that is where this shirt came from (... from whence this shirt originated??).  Anyway, it would not be in the spirit of the shirt to worry about sentence structure.  I got this after dog-sitting while Uncle Stevie and Aunt Susan were Jammin' on a Caribbean cruise.

January 22 (170)

Here is the first in a series of Caribbean/Island theme shirts.  This one I got in St. Martin (West Indies).  I particularly like the fish which is all teeth.  There's a big one on the back.

January 21 (169)

Here is another addition to the ice cream shop shirt collection.  This is one Jodi got for me from Abbotts in Naples, FL where they serve up some excellent frozen custard.   Mmmmm... frozen custard...

January 20 (168)

For Inauguration Day Amy gave me this excellent Obama shirt to commemorate the swearing in of the 44th President of the United States of America today in Washington, D.C.  Thanks Amy!!   

January 19 (167)

Here is a shirt I got after the Naples Half Marathon yesterday.   The race was partially sponsored by the Gulf Coast Runners in Naples, FL.  They put on an excellent race.

January 18 (166)

Here is a shirt from a half marathon Jodi and I did this morning in Naples, FL.  It was a perfect morning for the race -- cool, overcast and no wind.  It was a pancake flat course that wound through some very nice neighborhoods in Naples.  One street had great Banyan trees all along it.

January 17 (165)

Here is another snorkel adventure related shirt.  This one I got after going on a snorkeling day trip out of the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Jodi hung out on dry land (Turks and Caicos have great beaches) while I joined a group heading to the French Cay.  The first thing I saw when I got in the water was a big Barracuda.  There was also lots of great coral and other fish too.    As I swam over the top of some of the coral I looked down on the other side and saw a nurse shark -- not big as far as sharks go but bigger than anything else (besides me).   A little later I saw another bigger nurse shark (maybe more my size).  Pretty cool.

January 16 (164)

This is the shirt that wins in the category of 'went the farthest to get it'.   I got this shirt in Cairns, Australia after going on a snorkeling cruise with Jodi to the Great Barrier Reef with an outfit called TUSA Dive.  We were in Cairns for a weekend in July and wanted to pick a good calm day to take the two hour cruise out to the reef.  When the organizer at TUSA said that the wind and waves would probably calm down by September or October we decided not to wait and set up a cruise for the next day.  It was windy and wavy (Jodi did not like the boat ride) but I thought it was awesome.  We saw lots of cool marine life including a giant clam but no sharks -- Paddy the dive instructor later informed us that you never see the Australian sharks anyway because they always sneak up on you from behind.

January 15 (163)

Here is a shirt from the Las Vegas Half Marathon (January 25, 2004).  They've changed the course since 2004 but that year it was a point to point race downhill into town from 13 miles out.  It sounds fast but in January it gets super windy in Vegas and we were nearly blown off the course in the second half of the race.   Definitely an excellent race.

January 14 (162)

Here is a free shirt that I got at a race expo somewhere (at least that is what I recall).  I've never figured out exactly what 'asimba' is except that a google search seems to indicate that it is some internet fitness site.  Anyway, its a nice thick, free shirt.

January 13 (161)

Here is another free shirt I got from sending in proof of purchases from Saucony running shoes, which I used to wear.  The shirt says 'made with pride in Bangor Maine'.

January 12 (160)

Here is a candy bar t-shirt.  I got this shirt a few years ago from dad.  I've got a couple Nestle Crunch bars leftover from our Halloween stash that I've packed for a snack later this afternoon.

January 11 (159)

Here is another Cheesasaurus Rex shirt that I got from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese boxtops.  In honor of today's shirt I had a box of Mac and Cheese for lunch.  Tasty!

January 10 (158)

We're back on the food theme.  Here is a shirt from the Cheese and Macaroni Club which I got not as long ago as one might expect.  Cheesasaurus Rex likes his mac and cheese and so do I.

January 9 (157)

On this date in 1988 I did a cross country ski race organized by the University of Minnesota's nordic ski team.  I think it was held at Phalen Park in St. Paul.  Here's the shirt.

January 8 (156)

Here is a shirt I got after buying a box of Powerbars, probably sometime in the late 90s.   I've since learned that buying an entire box of Powerbars is not always a great idea especially if you get a flavor that is not particularly appealing even just eating one of them.    On the plus side, Powerbars out-perform other energy bars in the 'you can stick them to your top tube for easy access on long bike rides' category (at least if it is not raining in which case they basically disintegrate into a gummy mess -- trust me).

January 7 (155)

Here is a good breakfast t-shirt (I stuck with the theme and had a bowl of Cheerios this morning).  I'm not sure how old this shirt is but it is definitely a little on the small side.

January 6 (154)

Today we move on to other food courses (Jodi approves that we basically started with ice cream).  This is a pretty old t-shirt that I think dates from the early 80s.  I've painted something in this shirt but appear to have been pretty neat about it, at least in terms of the shirt.

January 5 (153)

Here is another ice cream shop shirt.  This one is from Woodside Farm Creamery in Hockessin, DE.  They have lots of different flavors: I'd recommend the cake batter flavor or the dirt flavor.  YUM YUM.

January 4 (152)

Here is another ice cream store shirt.  This one I picked up in Hayward, WI on my way through there this summer.  It's only a block or so off main street but does have some competition with Dairy Queen.

January 3 (151)

Here is a first shirt in a series of shirts from ice cream establishments.  This one Jodi got for me yesterday from the Giffords in Rockville, MD.   The back of the shirt advertises Giffords as a Washington tradition since 1938.

January 2 (150)

Here is another Rehau Resolution 10K run shirt.  This is the one from New Year's Day 2008.  I like the 2008 shirt better than the 2009 shirt.

January 1 (149)

Here is a shirt from a race Jodi and I did this morning.  It was the Rehau Resolution 10K run in Leesburg, VA.  It is an excellent mostly off-road course.  Happy New Year!