Congratulations Abby!!

Posted on November 18, 2017November 13, 2021 by Innkeeper

Abby has had a monster week.

It started on Saturday, November 11th, with the Miss Parkview Pageant in Lilburn where she was the first runner-up. Her cheering gallery included Mom & Dad, Chace, Julie, Izzy, Gramma Jan and Bill.

Abby, Izzy and proud Dad John

Second up was the Parkview High School Cross Country Awards Banquet on Tuesday night, November 14th. She received a number of awards including her third varsity cross country letter (count does not include her track letters), the scholar athlete award, and a Coaches Award from Coach Richard King. The latter was very special to Abby, as it was totally unexpected and is a good commentary on Abby's improvement over the four years she ran for Coach King.

Abby with Coach Richard King

Abby with John and Sharon

Third was hearing from the University of Georgia on Friday, November 17th that she has been accepted into their Class of 2022 through their "Early Action" process. Abby was nervous about her application given the competitiveness of being accepted at UGA these days. She had a few fallback schools, but really wanted to join brother Chace at UGA. Her efforts and prayers were answered.

Congratulations Abby!! We all are proud of you!!

Click here to see more photos of Abby's week.

Abby’s 2016 Cross Country Season

Posted on October 24, 2016November 19, 2017 by Innkeeper

Abby at the Coach Wood Memorial race

Attending Parkview High School cross country meets has become a staple part of our fall activities since Abby took up the sport during her freshman year. We have enjoyed watching her develop as a runner and have gone to as many of her meets as possible.

We missed a good bit of Abby’s 2016 cross country season due to our swing through Canada, but got back in time to enjoy the last three events – the Coach Wood Memorial on October 15th, the 7A Area 4 Championships on October 22nd, and the State Championships on November 4th. Photos of the events are included in the Gallery (see links above).

These meets were special to Abby and her teammates. First, individual runner performances at the Coach Wood Memorial were used to select 7 Parkview varsity runners to be on the state team. Second, the results of the Area Championships determined which teams would go to the state championship meet, and third, participating in a state meet is just way cool.

Abby qualified for the Parkview state team, the team reached the state meet, and they ran well, finishing 16th out of 24 teams in the 7A category.

Gramma Jan and I attended the end of season banquet for the Parkview High School cross country team on November 15th to help Abby and her teammates celebrate their season. The team’s three coaches did a great job of recognizing the efforts made by and results achieved by each of the students who participated this year. Abby made several trips to the awards podium. She received another school letter (her fifth sports letter in three years; earned in cross country, track, and lacrosse), she was recognized as a scholar athlete based on her academic performance, and she received the “Most Improved Female Varsity Runner” award.

Well done Abby! We are very proud of our #1 granddaughter!

Kickin’ Back in the Keys

Posted on October 8, 2015December 5, 2016 by Innkeeper

Sunset at Curry Hammock State Park on Little Grassy Key, Marathon FL

Mom and I will wrap up a delightful week and a half at Curry Hammock State Park in the middle Florida Keys tomorrow. We’ve had a very relaxed visit, spending our time enjoying local attractions, reading, and sampling the local watering holes and restaurants. We did make one quick trip into Key West for an event Mom wanted to see.

Weather has been surprisingly nice during our visit. We were expecting rain due to Hurricane Joaquin, but with a few exceptions skies have been clear with a few clouds scattered about.

We can see coming back to the area for another visit, but if we do it will take place a bit later in the fall or early spring. This visit turned out to be a bit ahead of tourist season, so quite a few restaurants were not open or are just now opening for the season.

When we leave the Keys tomorrow (Friday), we will head to Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando. Abby is running in the Disney Cross Country Classic Saturday and we plan to cheer her to a good finish. After that we’ll head south to Bradenton and Sarasota to visit Claire and Sarah and their families for a few days before heading home to prepare for Pat Colon’s visit the following week.

We have a short timer …

Posted on April 3, 2015November 19, 2017 by Innkeeper

John, Abby, Chace, and Sharon at the Parkview Track Senior Recognition event in Lilburn.

Chace has officially adopted a “short timer’s” attitude. I asked what he was looking forward to this spring, and his answer was “getting out of high school”! We’ve been there Chace and can commiserate with you. Mom Sharon is doing her best to motivate him to stay on top of his remaining studies.

Parkview’s Track Senior Class of 2015 was recognized on April 3rd at the Parkview Stadium. It was nice to see the coaches and team recognize the Seniors for their contributions over their track careers at Parkview. A few photos are in the Gallery; click here to view them.

After the ceremony, we adjourned to their favorite local Mexican restaurant to continue the celebration and send off John, Sharon, Chace, and Abby to their vacation cruise (they left home at 3:30AM the next morning).