CrossRoads Blog

I had been looking forward to this race since last year. My preference (or at least the old knees) is running in the dirt and the Cactus ChaCha is one of the very few ‘Trail Run’ races anywhere near Phoenix. I was really pumped up for it last year and of course about 3 weeks or so before hand I got that ugly ankle sprain running down Piestewa Peak. I still ran in the ChaCha last year but had to do just the 3 Mile Run (they have 2 courses, a 7 Mile and the 3 Mile), and had a huge wrap on my ankle.

The course is in the White Tank Mountains in Waddell Arizona. Really they are the Mountains visible from pretty much everywhere in Phoenix by just looking west. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from our house, so not too early of a wake-up call is required race day. We really like the White Tanks, it’s a great park and we have done several hikes in the hills there. It’s another favorite place to bring out of town friends and family for a hike and picnic. It’s particularly nice when the desert is in bloom with lots of Arizona vegetation and of course AZ critters too (seen a few of those during our visits!).

Anyway… back to the race: The day was very fun, made even more enjoyable as we ran into running buddies Richard and Danielle Castro. Both participate in the West Valley Runners group we join for our long runs many a Saturday morning. Seems more and more when we go to local races we are seeing folks we know. So Kimberly grabbed the camera and took a few pics of the three amigos. With the Komen Race for the Cure on tap for the next morning, Kimberly was sitting this race out as she wanted to be well rested for a strong run tomorrow. A little warm up, plug in the ipod shuffle, and off we were.

The course ended up being a little more of a challenge than I had expected. The 3 mile course starts in the same area and for the most part has only minor up and downs (a wash here and there). But the 7 Mile course was a different story. You start out with what seems a gradual accent for the first 2-3 miles with a down and up wash along the way. It’s pretty much single track after the first little bit and if you are passing or being passed it can be a little hairy in spots with the uneven rock. In fact, I saw a couple of nice wipe outs today and one didn’t look too nice. After the gradual accent you are hopeful (seeing it is an out and back course) that the elevation change is about over and you get to do the slow decent back – NOPE. All of a sudden a nice little group of switchbacks and 300ish foot hill pops out. It’s not quite as big as the one I do at T-Bird, but being a race it always adds a little extra challenge. I Did say this was fun right?

After the hill it’s more of just get the lungs back in order, don’t trip along the way and finish the second half. I crossed the line in 57:28 for 38th place overall of 282, and 2nd in my age group of 20, so not too bad. One of the cool things about the ChaCha is the after run food includes breakfast burritos, so you know I enjoyed that. We hung for a little bit, said goodbye the Rich and Danielle and were off – big, big day at the Race for the Cure tomorrow!

So good news and bad news. The bad news, the ‘third annual’ Vegas Bellydance convention was easily the most subdued of all years. The good news, the ‘third annual’ Vegas Bellydance convention trip was easily the most subdued.

Actually it was a great long weekend. While it did not feature some of the comedic value of Belly Dancers rolling on the ground at 4:00 AM in the middle of a casino, nor playing VIP with Bottle Service at an Ultra Lounge as in years past, it was no less enjoyable as we were able to spend a great deal of the trip hangin’ with good friends Misty and Jim (Jimbo, the Jimster, the Jiminator…).

We played nice with the drinking goggles this trip, though not that we didn’t give it a run, nor for the lack of it hanging around (umm.. Misty just suggested she wanted options as she pulled 6 bottles out of her suitcase and put them into the fridge. But for the most part, grading on the Vegas curve we were good little boys and girls (or at least good little boys – you know them belly dancers…).

During the days while the girls were doing that shimmy thing over at their Bellydance classes, me and Jim did the typical Vegas Walkabouts – cruising around the Hotels and Casinos getting some people watching grins and looking at all the crap in the stores that it’s hard to believe anybody buys? Though come to think of it, I did score some really comfortable black leather Drivers at Barney’s and we found a most excellent sushi kinda’ place we really enjoyed called Woo even if the portions were a little high on the artsy and low on the quantity scale.

Being Vegas you know we got in some good eats. Kimberly and I hit up Rao’s again. I needed a redo on the Chicken Cacciatore mmmmm. And you know Payards is across the hall there at Caesars. We did the seafood thing across from our hotel one night, but the best meal of this trip was a Puck’s Trattoria Del Lupo again. We just have never had a bad dish there, they are always on it. That dinner also provided some of the trip’s entertainment as well. The table to the right of us featured one man and about 10 woman. Yep, 10-1 and they all seemed to be playing the smile and giggle notice me game. It took a bot to figure out who the heck it was, but once you saw that trademark clock you knew it was Flavor Flav. Yeah, I guess this is one of his good half decades (seems he does the the 5 year up and 5 year down life). Being husbands of belly dancers, Jim and I could only smile and nod as the woman folk hopped up to partake in the Flav paparazzi moment (like they would miss a chance to get their picture taken… please). I will say though, Flav did a little belly roll thing with the girls that was closer to bellydance than his rap is to rappin’ . Ahhh…. Just 11 months and 28 days until version Quattro!

A few PICS HERE (we didn’t take much this year)

Well, it may not be ‘the’ happiest place, but it seems every time we have hung out in that neck of Anaheim CA, it comes darn close. Kimberly and I got to play SoCal life for a long weekend this last week. I swear sometimes you can look back over 60 hours time and go “wow, we did (or accomplished) all that in that short of time?” Then other times you can have a weekend come and go and seems all you can remember doing was eating some pizza, taking a nap and playing a little Wii or some such.

It’s nice when you can tie some business around a fun weekend, and the opportunity lined up for us to do so and participate in the Disneyland Half Marathon. We started the weekend of fun right as soon as we arrived in Anaheim. The Expo for the Race was at the Disneyland Hotel and we shot right over to pick up our bib, park tickets and other goodies. The Expo was a little disjointed – though I shouldn’t have been surprised with all the lines, it was Disneyland after all! We finally were able to get our shirts, bibs (personalized with our names – cool), and bags. We walked the Expo some, ate a Cliff bar and Kimberly got a cool Disney running outfit. After a nice dinner at Roy’s, Kimberly’s Sea Bass was excellent by the way, we called it an early night. A long Saturday in the land of the Mouse was planned for tomorrow.

As part of the weekend race we had gotten a Park Hopper Pass. This allows you to get into both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure Park. Considering we couldn’t be out too late with a 4:00 wake up call for the race Sunday morning, we dragged our behinds up early so we could get over to the parks and do as much as possible before the lines got long. Within minutes of the park opening we were walking down Main Street USA with smiles on our face and bustin’ a move to Big Thunder Railroad (the Coaster with the Kimberly max up and downage’). Amazingly the line was nothing, a couple of ooo’s and aaah’s and we were headed over to Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain is the scene of what has to be a top 5 all time favorite picture of mine. We did it with the boys circa 96’ or so and the picture they snapped just as you head down the big drop from that trip is freaking hilarious (terror captured!).

Splash Mountain was a riot as always, and also amazingly, as it turned out to be all day, almost zero lines. After Splash, a quick ride through the new (to us anyway) Pirates of the Caribbean (pretty cool), and another memory lane ride on Indiana Jones and we had knocked out pretty much everything we wanted to hit at the old Park before 10:30. We scored some ice cream and candy (it is Disney you know) and headed over to California Adventures, which is 50 yards from the Disney Park exit to the entrance.

It’s a decent Park with what seems to be a focus on Family and little ones. They are still building a good bit of the Park out, but we did get a chance to see most everything that was worthy with the exception of the shows that there was just no time for. The star attraction some visual light show, and the ‘Cars’ land (form the animated movie) is still being completed (M3 is going to love that place!). We did the giant Ferris Wheel (non spinning car), a very cool simulated ride that “Fly’s over California with you zooming above some of the coolest spots in the state, and our favorite ride the river adventure ‘Grizzly River Run’ (yep, we got wet). We toured the Mission Tortilla Factory and a tour on making Sourdough Bread that were both interesting. After a decent lunch, some souvenir shopping, a few pictures, and we had had enough. We walked back to the hotel, settled I and tried to wind down as early as possible.

Sunday morning, 5:45, we kiss and head to our corrals. We have been up for almost two hours and are less than 15 minutes from the start of the race. It’s always pretty exciting standing there in the dark with thousands of people all ready to kick it in. The scene was about as you would expect from Disney, colored lights flashing, Goofy on a monorail right in front of the start wishing us well, Mickey doing the wave, and everyone with a smile plastered to their face. The flag drops and we are off!

The race starts right near the Disney Hotel, and within seconds you are cutting through the Downtown Disney area of shops and restaurants and heading into the park itself. You stay in the park passing all the characters and rides, and of course the Castle, for the next couple of miles before you head out into the streets of Anaheim. After about the 7 mile mark one of the coolest parts of the race has you entering the Anaheim Angel Ballpark. You run around the stadium and the Warning Track and you can even see yourself on the JumboTron. Both Kimberly and I when we were in the Stadium took the time to run along and slap the hands of the cheering boy and girl scouts that were there – awesome. Just as you leave I was even able to hear my name (through the headset even) called as ‘Michael Miller from Glendale Arizona is leaving the Stadium”. The next miles you pass several bands, and cheer leading groups and many other well wishers. The final mile or so takes you back through the park and even into California Adventure before you run down the finishing shoot.

Kimberly and I both did real well form a time perspective. Kimberly had a new Half Marathon personal record even beating the time from Bryce Canyon (which was almost all downhill)! Her time 1:55:20 was fast enough to be in the top 5% of her group and 10% among all 12,000 plus that started the race! I wasn’t able to get a PR but did finish in 311th place overall 1:39:36 which was nice.

After the race we connected up with Kimberly’s cousin Shelia who was at the race as a medical volunteer and made plans for dinner later that evening with her and husband Kevin. We grabbed our ‘bling’ (a big gold looking Disney Castle) and decided to head on over to the beach to find a nice place for lunch and do some walking so we didn’t stiffen up to bad.
Forgetting that it was Labor Day weekend at Newport Beach, after about a half hour of frustration looking for a parking spot we succumbed to the $40 per day spot. We did a nice little walk on the Pier, a stroll down the boardwalk, and had a decent ‘bucket’ lunch on the patio at the Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina (we have eaten there several times before when in Newport). It was nice, sunny, a good breeze, and people everywhere in a good mood.

The near perfect day was topped off at Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. We were treated to an excellent meal and great company by Shelia and Kevin. We even had the live Cajun music vibe for most of the night as our table was right next to the stage. Shelia and Kevin were especially gracious to still come over and do dinner with us considering they hadn’t slept the night before as their daughter was spending the night in emergency room all night (all okay thankfully now – though a long not good story!).
Again, all in all just a great trip and amazing when I think all was just 60 hours or so start to finish. Makes those lazy weekends hard to justify… dang it!

PICTURES HERE

With age comes wisdom (I think anyway) and one thing for sure the older you get the more you realize how precious time is. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish half the things you need to do let alone the things you want to do. So my wisdom with age – screw it, if I’m not going to get to all the things I need to do anyway, I might as well allocate more time to the things I want to do! Seeing for me, nothing is more important in life than health family and friends, those are the things where all my ‘wants’ are focused.

I got the long, long overdue chance to spend some of that ‘want to’ time this week when younger brother Dominic left the Big City (NYC) to visit us desert dwellers. I’ll stay away from giving him grief like ‘bout’ damn time, and just say: I really, really enjoyed his company, and we darn sure will not go so long between visits anymore. I mean, we don’t have the ‘busy raising the kids, cats in the cradle’ excuse, and he doesn’t have the working on my ‘whatever’ degree one – I mean how many more educational credentials can you get? See brother Dom is the academia man of the family. Yeah, he got the brains, I couldn’t get the looks and the brains of the family too right? (as a quick aside, in case our Sister Kerry ever reads this post – errr ummm Sis you got both brains and looks !

Anyway, where was I… oh yeah, so he came to visit and we all got to hang for a few days of reminiscing and waxing poetic about the fun and trials and tribulations of our youth – and of course the rock stardom of our now adult lives. We didn’t get anywhere per se other than a quick little hike (sorry Sis), simply because it was so nice just shootin’ the breeze and catching up. Amazing how you find you share so many similar passions as your family isn’t it? I think he is even more nutrition crazy than me and Kimberly if you can believe that one!

The good news is we will all hook up again soon - it looks like this Thanksgiving in OK will be a big family get-together. And other news, brother D may even be moving out SoCal way soon. That would be way cool, as much as it is nice having a free place to hang in NYC, we get over to San Diego much more. In fact brother D, errr umm, don’t make plans for the extra bedroom the months of July and August okay?

Oh, one last thing just for my Brother: Dude, the haircut. Umm I can share because I love you and I’m family. Unless it’s some fancy fashionista New York City thing, I’m thinkin’ a short sleeve white button up shirt and a pocket protector and you got the “IRS Agent circa 1954′ thing nailed…

Last week I was able to test and pass for advancement to Blue Belt level at my Tae Kwon Do Studio. I felt like I had a pretty good testing, with the exception (seems like as always) of a couple of the specialized Self Defense techniques that I mixed up. Everyone else seemed to have a good testing as well. One of the better overall efforts I have seen by our team. It turned out to be a long day for both students and the judges with testing beginning before 9:00 and we didn’t leave until near 3:00 in the afternoon. I need to remember to bring a little something to eat next time.

I am proud that I have so far managed to maintain (for the most part) my commitment to Cho’s and my teachers (and friends). It is not easy some weeks with trying to maintain the passion for running and get my butt up to the Dojang on the nights I am dog-tired. The good news is I have so far, the bad news, it won’t get any easier as I increase my run miles in anticipation of Zane Gray 50, and as I advance and have more responsibility to my Dojang. Alas, trying to stay young as you get old is so much fun isn’t it? ….

I don’t know about you, but when I think of New Orleans there many words and phrases that come to mind; The Big Easy, ‘The Crescent City, Jazz, Blues, The French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Hurricanes (the drink and sadly the Katrina type too), Mardi Gras, Voodoo, Low Down and Funky, Beignets (K no like – she says they are just Indian Fry Bread Donuts), The Garden District, Beads, etc. etc. So in that vein, I have a couple more to add: Apple Pie, Charred Oysters, Peanut Butter Burgers, Mardi Gras Indian Walking Pots, and Lateefah Wright Clay. These were the new discoveries for us during our few days in ‘Nawlins’.

Our accommodations were decent enough, and we got a screaming deal. We stayed at the Prince Conti located in the Quarter about a block off Bourbon. Let me say there is a reason for our ‘screaming deal’ and why Hotels are extremely reasonable in the City and Quarter this time of year – because it is freaking HOT. And by hot I mean HOT AND HUMID. We did many runs while here, which were great by the way (we zigged and zagged throughout the Garden District, we did a couple of runs up and down about every street in the French Quarter, we ran on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, etc), but I cannot ever recall being that sweaty. You can’t imagine how sopped our clothes were after the runs. We would hang them in the bathroom, and still days later they were wet. Anyway, it was warm and humid, or as the locals may say (putting a positive spin) just plain old “warm and sultry”.

Now on to the important items like food, drink, and music, I mean we are talking New Orleans here. The food, the food, the food…. That piece begins with GW Fins. Outstanding is all I have to say. Without question I think Kimberly’s Scallops were the best I have ever tasted. I know they can be hit or miss based on just a few seconds of time on the grill/pan, but these were amazingly good. My fish was also easily one of the better meals I have ever had. We could not have been happier with the meal until the desert came. When you think of the best deserts I bet Apple Pie would be fairly low down the list. Well, without question, this was the best desert I have ever eaten. Unbelievable, almost worthy of the trip to New Orleans itself. Truly not an exaggeration, this thing was incredible! That chef cut a deal with the devil (along with a some lard and cheddar cheese in the crust that you could not taste). Do not miss this restaurant each and every time you hit the city.

Next food commentary is the Oysters at the Acme Oyster House. Man-o-man life is just good when you get to sit down and do a few dozen. Had I not insisted to Kimberly she make sure I stop at 3 dozen, I think we may still be sitting at that table. And by the way, I normally just do the raw (and I did a couple dozen this time of course), but I also tried the char grilled. Wowzer! Just get the sauce and parmesan they serve it with on the size, dip just a small corner of the oyster into the sauce, then into the parmesan – heaven, true taste bud heaven!

Okay for the final food comments; (does it seem like I spend an inordinate amount of time talking about food? Well, it is one of ‘life’s true pleasures’. Anyway, with all the seafood and such we had been enjoying we decided on a burger one night. But not any burger, we wanted the best around. The folks at Tripadvisor (a great source for feedback from real people) really seemed to like a place called Yo Mama’s. In particular, many suggested their Peanut Butter Burger. I couldn’t do the PB Burger, but really did enjoy my choice, Kimberly took the PB plunge and enjoyed it as well. Odd but good were her words. Though, the PB burger normally comes with bacon and she passed on that – I happen to think that is what likely made it a favorite with the sweet and salty. Speaking of passing on the bacon, Kimberly also suggests passing on the Beignets (Bin-Yahs). Now sitting down to a Beignet and coffee at Café Du Monde is a New Orleans tradition. Being Ms K’s first NO trip, I had to take her. From my side, what’s not to love about a powdery sugary doughnut? From Kimberly’s perspective, it’s just a mini greasy Indian Fry Bread. I think that will not get her invited to the Louisiana Woman’s Auxiliary Ball.

As for drinks and music – we of course played tourist. The hurricanes on the Patio at Pat’s was a must, a real Absinthe (now that they are legal) at the Old Absinthe House was a given, and of course more than our share of other assorted libations up and down Bourbon. We hit the Blues joints and could several good acts. You have to love that you can just bar hop 20 feet and catch another live act. Man the music scene in this city is as good as it gets. They have more live artists on a Tuesday night in the off season that we have all month. Of course our favorite seems to always be the Funky Pirate, where we were treated to a couple of really enjoyable sets by house band Big Al Carson.

New Orleans is about the arts in just about every way, not just music. The local artist representation is real strong, and you can walk the Quarter and other districts and really get a huge flavor for all the offerings. What I love about it, is what I love about N.O., it’s all unique. No same-old-same-old in this town. And that goes for the potters. We found a couple that just blew us away. One is Lateefah Wright who does very ‘New Orleans vibe’ pieces. She is doing a lot of what I guess you would call dolls in addition to other unique items. She has a lot of pieces at a place in the Garden District called Poets Gallery on Magazine street. It’s a very cool place to check out if you get there. Another we liked was an artist co-op place down south of Jackson Square called Dutch Alley. They have a ton of cool art but I was most attracted (and had to pick one up) the pieces by local potter Joy Gauss. Her pieces are very ‘local’. Her designs include the Mardi Gras Indians (I got a Walking Pot), and some Bone Gangs pieces as well. Some interesting stories behind these two groups, you should check it out. Last “New Orleans Vibe” purchase was a very scary, but quite unique ‘Poison Ring’ for the Mrs. Ummm, it is a coincidence that I just got some extra life insurance a couple months back right??

All in all it was an excellent visit to the Big Easy even with the heat. Of course never enough time to get even close to doing it all. But as always, it’s a great way to leave the US for a few days without really leaving the US.

Pictures, including a ‘city night walk’ HERE

It was exactly what we hoped, for the most part anyway. We got the perfect ‘romanticized Southern Plantation life’ and also the ‘horrible realities of the real deal Plantation life’ all in pretty much a 24 hour period.

What a perfect way to spend a pre New Orleans night and morning. Just up the Mississippi about an hour or so from the Crescent City is ‘The Great River Road’. Basically a stretch of the River where there were (and some survive) many Plantations that were built back in the dark days of Slavery. Most of these plantations are all Sugar Cane as the soil from the river was perfect for growing the profitable crop back in the day. One of the best preserved, and most beautiful Plantations is Oak Alley where we spent a wonderful afternoon, night and morning. What makes Oak Alley particularly spectacular is the ‘Alley” of Oak trees that leads almost from the levee on the Mississippi up to the big house. What’s extra cool, is the Oaks pre date the Plantation itself, in fact they are over 300 years old. When the folks that built the Plantation were looking for a spot, they saw these already perfectly planted 180 year plus (at the time) Oaks and built the house based on the trees location. Aside from the Alley of Oaks, there are Oaks throughout the property. The Oaks are the highlight of this place. They have to be seen to be appreciated. We took a ton of pictures, but they truly do not do them justice.

They have several out houses on the Plantation including a couple of cabins. We took one of the cabins for the night. Though the location is remote, it was perfect. We did our own dinner (full kitchen) and then were able to walk the grounds of the whole plantation by ourselves (only folks staying there are allowed to so this. It was so neat, just the two of us walking around at dusk, in a place that made you harken back to Rhett and Scarlet. Course Kimberly is for sure driven like Miss Scarlet but perhaps a bit less crazy, as for me, I like to think I do have some of that Rhett Butler suaveness . Either way, it was special walking around that place with MY Southern Bell Miss K.

The next morning we did what we do – it was time for a long run. Seeing we had spent the night on the banks of the Mississippi, what better place to run then. All along this stretch (and presumably most others) there is a levee. The top of the levee here more or less is about the width of a single road. Nice packed sand made it perfect for a run. The weather was hot and muggy. Not ideal, but the hazy foggy like conditions made it way cool visually with the River and the Sugar Cane and the Trees and the quite, it was definitely a ‘destination run’. We did get indoctrinated to humidity as by the time we were half way back on the levee with each step I took my shoes squished like I had stepped in a mud puddle. They had to have been 3 lbs extra weight – crazy!

After the run we did a quick clean up and headed over to the onsite restaurant for some great morning southern cooking. The breakfast was included in our stay as well. A quick tour of the gift shop, and it was time for an inside tour of the Plantations main house. It was nice, kind of what you would expect, though not many original pieces as over the years it had seen its share of owners and up and downs. The best part was the view of the Oaks from the Balcony. We again did a few pictures up there you will have to see. After the tour Kimberly partook of the obligatory Mint Julep and started talking in Gone with the Wind accents for the next 20 minutes.

Leaving Oak Alley mid day just up the road is Laura Plantation. A whole different vibe at Laura. Though not truly a ‘historical account, a fairly close representation tour of what life was like for the Creole (means first generation by the way) owners and the enslaved peoples. This tour was much more enjoyable, the property took some damage in a fire a couple of years back but it is getting close to being restored. There is also a few slave cabins on the site and the grounds offer some decent walking around. A worthy stop on the Great River Road for sure. After the tour, we had a quick snack bar and buckled in – within an hour we would be in New Orleans - and within an hour of that, I bet sitting in some low down funky Bourbon street bar drinking and listening to the Blues…

PICS HERE

Heck it had been three and half months already, must mean time to go see the Grandkiddo again right? Well, true that but this time we wanted to send a little love Great Granny’s way as she had some (as they would say on the old Beverly Hillbillies show – which seems appropriate seeing we call her Granny..) ‘doctoring’ going on as of late. It was a very enjoyable visit as always – we love dem’ Okies ya’ know. Though of course, AGAIN, everyday it seemed to either be storming or threatening a storm. They tell us it’s just a coincidence and aberration that this has been the case every time we visit but frankly I have their weather on my iPhone now, and it’s not so odd peoples . It’s called tornado alley for a reason!

Truthfully we did catch one decent weather day. And by decent I mean non-rainy, because it still was hot and muggy. We took advantage of this by scooting up to a little festival on Lake Eufaula with M2, Antoinette and the Grand Mikey. M3 being a young sawed-off still wasn’t able to do all of the rides, but Grandma took him on the Carousel and his Daddy slide down the (somewhat scary in a cheap Carni’ put this ride together sort of way) sack slide thing. FYI he enjoyed both ‘rides’. We got him a balloon, a fish, and whatever else he wanted before he just plum tuckered out. Joan Jett was to play later that day and we planned on being part of his first concert experience – but alas, he wasn’t the only one beat down by the heat and humidity. So we grabbed a lunch at Gator’s on the lake, did a quick little Jellystone Campground stop and headed back home.

We mostly chilled the rest of the days enjoying everyone’s company and hanging out. One of the best days was the day we picked up this cool Horse tree swing thing for M3 and got to watch him swing and play with it. It might not yet be the favorite over the sandbox, but I think he will have years of fun with that thing, and we got some cool pictures to boot.

Well, I am sure it will not be long before we are back in the “OK” state again. In fact, from all the talk, sounds like I may be watching the Lions get beat down on Turkey Day in McAlester this year. The good news (no not the Lions) is that we now have another shower option just outside ‘our room’ thanks to Great Grandpa…. You da’ man!

PICS HERE

For folks that like to run races there are a lot of options out there (well except for maybe Phoenix in the Summer). Seems like just about every mid size or bigger city has a Full or at least Half Marathon at one time of the year. Smaller 5K’s and 10K’s are almost a weekly thing in the larger cities. Many of those are tied to some charity as it’s a great way to do a little fundraising, promote the cause and have some fun. Because we fall into the ‘love to race’ category you get to (have to) be choosy on what races you attend (of course the qualifying races like Boston etc. are an exception). So when it comes to what are called ‘Destination Runs’, those races that require at least an overnight stay somewhere, we are really particular. Net is, if we are going to go somewhere the run just has to be part of the whole package, we want to be able to explore the area, or take advantage of doing something while we are there. Heck sometimes it even works the other way in that if we have to be somewhere for business or family, we look for a weekend race in that area while we will be there.

So… long explanation to how we ended up running in the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon. First seeing we had road-tripped it to Tahoe, it was on the way home (or close to it anyway). Second, it would for sure qualify as a true ‘destination run’ as Bryce Canyon National Park and the whole area is an amazing place and considered one of the top US National Parks. And the one that cinched it – guaranteed PR (Personal Record, as in we would almost for sure have the fastest race we ever have ran because the race is essentially running down the canyon the whole 13.1 miles!).

The weekend pretty much was exactly what we expected. With an amazing race that is run on the main road leading into Bryce Canyon National Park being the highlight. You get views of the famous Hoodoos almost the whole run. The race descends some 1700 feet over the whole course with a couple of spots being so steep you actually have to slow yourself (let’s just say our thighs are still sore…). Kimberly and I both set PR’s as expected. Kimberly’s time was good enough for the top 25% of all females, and my time was in the top 8% overall. This is nice of course, except that I don’t think we can ever match those times unless we run a similar downhill type course!

We did hit the Park for a nice hike the day before the race. Even though we knew a hike down into the Canyon and out would not necessarily be best before a run, we just couldn’t come here and not get down into the Hoodoos. So we packed a lunched and had a great day hike. One rub was the trail said 2,000 feet elevation change. We figured okay, that’s not too bad, less than half of the Grand Canyon inner trails back up from the river. EXCEPT what they fail to mention is this is more like ‘from top of trail to bottom is 2,000 feet change’ and not the hike itself. Turns out the hike we took went down into the canyon, then back almost all the way up, then down, then up, then….you get the picture. I think this is as big of contributor to having sore as heck quads as the runs effect.

Overall the Canyon is a very worthy trip. We might not do the race again (and btw if we do, we would book it early so as not to have a “cabin” as our accommodations – just ask us about the slanted room), but would for sure recommend a trip to the National Park as it is an amazing place.

Check out the PICTURES HERE

I got two things to say; first and foremost I will never hack on my sister again about her buying a timeshare. Second, we want to spend every Summer on Lake Tahoe! Man-o-man did we dig this place. It’s got the perfect vibe and a lifestyle that matches up exactly on how we like to spend Summer days.

Since the boys ‘left the nest’ for good, we have been of course contemplating the old ‘what’s next’ from a living type of perspective. Staying in a two story family oriented home sure doesn’t make sense. Seems we spend 99% of the time in one of three rooms – and that’s counting the backyard as a room. So one thought was to have a couple of smaller condo type places, one here in AZ and one somewhere the Summers are Monsoon free. For darn sure, the Lake Tahoe area just moved to number one on that Summer spot wish list. So will someone please buy our family house so we can have a place in Tahoe? I promise you can visit all you want

There was some work I had to do every day, but for the most part it was eight days of hikes, bikes, runs, beaches, sun, Blues festivals, Shakespeare, perfect weather, and even daily views of snow capped mountains! Having a kitchen in the timeshare made it even more perfect because we were able to do our own meals (yeah we have become such picky eaters this is a must).

I really could go on and on about the whole Lake Tahoe area, we truly enjoyed it that much. Instead I will just touch on a few of the highlights for us. Just do know, it was like a cruise in that you just could not come even close to getting to all of the enjoyable things you could do in this area in a week or so – heck, I’m not sure a month would do it.

We stayed in the town of South Lake Tahoe which is in California but right on the Nevada border (so yes Casino’s walking distance away too), but the whole Lake Tahoe area covers a fairly sizable area and you could pretty much stay anywhere. There are four major ski areas on the Lake; Heavenly (our timeshare was right at the base of the lift), Squaw Valley (site of the Winter Olympics in the 70’s), Incline (a very cool area of the lake), and Northstar – plus about 10-20 other areas. There is more weekly type resorts, hotels, cabins, camp sites, etc on the lake than I have seen about anywhere. There are a zillion hike and bike paths and trails to explore. So needless to say, more than anything this area is all about outdoor activities and being in nature. It sure makes sense, because as from a ‘beauty in nature’ perspective, it doesn’t really get much better – it just has it all.

Okay, before I sound too much like a Tahoe Visitor convention commercial, on to some of the things we enjoyed most. Without question it was the hikes and bike days. We even did one bike trail 2 days, though a little different track. For sure if you get there you have to do I guess you could call it the ‘SLT Bike Trail’. For the most part they have created a bike path that parallels the road in one of the cooler parts of the Lake. There are several great stopping and exploring stops along the path, or you can just make you own way and explore. For sure connect up with the guys at Anderson’s Bike Rental. They were just good guys who will give you the low down on what to hit, a map, and whatever else. By the way while I am at it, not only were the guys at Anderson’s like extremely friendly, so was everyone in this area. It was almost to a point of being weird. Everybody seems extra nice, friendly, courteous, etc. Even the dang teenagers where great. I guess living here does that for you? Or maybe it’s a California thing?

Anyway, back to the bike trip(s). Along the trail is several cool stops, each of which you could easily spend a whole day at. Camp Richardson is an old camping, campground, forest service type area. The Camp may have the best ice cream stop in all the US! It’s like this old school little shop that is perfectly matched to the area. We hit this place both days. Advice is to order the kids size and split it – the regular portion singles were like a half a carton I swear. Next along the trail you have a couple of historical areas that are pretty cool. Basically early settlers to the area in awesome homes, and outhousesright on the Lake (Tallec and another I can’t recall the name). There are two awesome beach stops (Pope, etc.) that are huge with full ‘whatever you want to do on the lake’ activities. We stopped for lunch one day , check out the duck with the cheetos on his face (no of course not from us!). Then there is an area called Taylor Creek Preserve which is very cool. Another couple of beaches, or you can cross the road over to the Fallen Leaf Lake area (we did this the second trip and had a great ride and lunch) or you could even head to the road and toward Emerald Bay. Anyway, a great place to do a bike ride for sure.

We have taken a lot of hikes in our time. And I have to say, perhaps other than the Grand Canyon inner trips, the Rubicon Trail through D.L. Bliss Park has to be my favorite. It’s like every 10 yards had views and images you wanted to stop and take pictures at. How do you beat walking a trail that follows a cove and then lake of emerald and blue waters that are so clear you can see 100 feet deep? You do this while hiking in a forest with giant Pines and Cedar Trees that have been there for ages. And you have these wild looking (I think) Sugar Pines, and cool rock formations framing the views of high majestic mountains with snow caps! It was most excellent. The hike starts, and ends for that matter as we did an out-and-back at a place called Vikingsholm Castle. Vikingsholm is a historic home right on Emerald Bay now owned by the CA Parks (thankfully so it is a preserve area). We did the tour after the hike and it was nice. Our tour guide who works for the Parks dept actually lived there when she was young. She was the first CA Park female ever hired and I think must be 70 years old and all still loving her job. She even wrote a book about the place. Very cool, check out the pictures we took.

One of our days consisted of doing a nice trail run up on the Northwest side of the Lake. Kimberly fell and got a little boo-boo but it didn’t distract from what a perfect spot for a run this was. Again, through a great forest following the lakeshore of Emerald beaches and coves. Which by the way, a few of them happen to be ‘clothing optional’. There is another story there too, but we will save that for the verbal version of our trip. That night, after a nice nap of course, we got to see a ton of great Blues and Soul Artists at the Lake Tahoe Blues Festival. The lineup included Elvin Bishop, three Chicago Blues legends: Lonnie Brooks (more Texas to me), Jimmy Johnson, and Eddie ‘the Chief’ Clearwater, and even the most excellent Ms. Mavis Staples who’s version of ‘Wade in the Water’ brought chills to my soul! It was a great show. Actually the one cooler night of the trip, but the Cabo Wabo’s and wine helped warm us up!

Another day we did a hike up top of Heavenly. You ride the gondola up to the ski area and essentially you can head anywhere from there. Even though that day we were at 11,000 feet or so, it was still a warm hike. But like most days, we found we were about the only ones on the trail and we just pulled up a big rock for the most excellent lunch location. We did a beach day one day at one of those perfect Emerald Coves secluded spots. That night we hit a Tahoe annual staple the Shakespeare Festival and saw an outstanding performance of ‘Measure for Measure’. Again, it may seem like I am repetitive but it was a perfect night. The venue is actually on the beach. You look at the stage with the Lake maybe 50 yards behind it. We brought our own cooler (as does everyone or you can get just about everything there too) with wine, cheese, veggies, etc. You just sit in the beach chairs with your feet in the sand, under a blanket with the one you love (it cools at night for sure), drinking the vino, munching the chocolate, and enjoying a great performance. Just another ‘it doesn’t get any better’ experience.

We of course also did a ton of running. You put in your headsets there and just run and enjoy the views. The elevation you get used too. Makes it a little tough, but everything else more than makes up for it. We hit the spa a couple of nights. We did one meal out and it was great, a place called Blue Water Bistro where the food matched the perfect sunset you get sitting on the outside patio tables right over the Water. We hit a little Art Festival where Kimberly helped one group of performers with some South Pacific dancing (I have video I’ll get on the site someday). Lastly we had a great little breakfast at this place in Incline Village after a long run one morning that we really enjoyed. It was a Sri Lankan place if you ever get there check it out.

I guess that’s about it. We obviously took a lot of pictures, which you can see HERE. Also did a decent amount of video but that won’t make it to the website until I get to last year’s videos. And again…. Please buy our home so we can get a place in Tahoe for the Summer.

They say there is a correlation between happiness and getting older. Seems the older you get the happier you get. I always thought that this was odd, why would you be happier the closer you get to the end of the party? But the older I get the more I understand it. I could say it’s because you truly learn that it’s all about family, friends and health and the rest is just minor nothings so why sweat it – and you don’t. Or we could say that getting comfortable with who you the older you get are plays a bigger role. Or maybe even there is some genetic thing? Well I have a different take. It may be all of those, but the BIGGEST reason you get happier the older you get – because your kids move out of the house!!! (I’m only half kidding here ).

But of course we love our kids, and when you they are gone you miss the heck out of them. So when Zac told us that he and Amanda had planned to vacation out Phoenix way we were thrilled. We wouldn’t get to be seeing the youngin’s as they are off doing their Summer thing, so Zac and Amanda would be by themselves this trip. Bummer no little ones, good news it means a couple of day’s Adult time in Vegas would be on the agenda!

We ended up having a great time. We got to really get to know Amanda a lot more (we really like her by the way ). The whole time they were here I think we were on the run, which is fine for the twenty something’s, but afterward we needed a vacation from their vacation.

The day after they arrived we were headed up Sedona way and hiking the West Fork. This is our ‘must do’ agenda item for every ‘out-of-towner’ that comes AZ way. We had a great hike, took lots of pictures and did our packed lunch on the creek. After walking the shops and scoring some Mackinaw recipe fudge, we were headed back home and sill had time for a nice night hanging in the pool and doing up some BBQ.

The next day we did the Scottsdale thing during the day as Zac and Amanda wanted to do a little shopping. We did one of my favorite local joints, Dos Gringos for lunch – hard to beat Margarita’s and fish Taco’s on the Patio in old town for lunch. That night the Robinson clan came over for dinner. We reminisced with some old Zac stories for Amanda and had a nice night. A short sleep later and we were off for Vegas (the other thing you do when visitors come to town..).

Vegas was the typical lots of walking and good food trip it always is, though a little check in issue at TheHotel was a little frustrating. We hit Sea Blue in MGM with Zac and Amanda and the next night we split up with Kimberly and I hitting up Rao’s and Payard again (man do I love that Chicken Cacciatore – and we both think Payards is the best chocolate on the planet). During the jaunt we also spent one whole day hanging at the Mandalay Pool. They redid the design some, and improved on what is still my favorite pool/beach in Vegas. They even have a nice ½ mile or so loop around the outside that Kimberly and I ran that morning.

All in all a great trip and so nice to spend the time with Zac and Amanda. And of course then back to that happiness after – we love you, great to see you, now time to go, momma and daddy be likin’ the empty house

PICS HERE

Well we did it… We are now officially “Marathoners”! Kimberly and I completed our first (of which I am now sure, or at least hopeful, will be many) 26.2 mile full Marathon at the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon. It was without a doubt everything it was ‘cracked up to be’, and worth every weekend morning training long run we did - which actually, was not that many. The reason being, we decided to do the race only a couple weeks before it took place.

Typical training logic dictates that you are suppose to train some 17-20 weeks prior to running a Marathon. You are supposed to have 15 weeks where you have at least one ‘long run’ (growing distances from about 12 miles each Saturday when you start to about 22 the couple weeks before the race. Plus, you are to do another 15-20 miles each week in addition. So…. it’s not that we do not buy into this logic, it’s just that we only had 3 weeks before the race when we decided to do it. In any event, we came out fine and had an amazing experience. I don’t think you could wipe the smiles off our faces (even if it looked like a painful grimace after 20 miles) the whole race.

The whole weekend was about perfect. We arrived in San Diego and the very first thing we did was hit lunch at Anthony’s Fish Grotto. The Fish and Chips there are the best we have ever had, and this week was no exception. It’s like our San Diego ritual, and it never disappoints. After lunch we checked into the Hotel and did our last little easy run before the race. A nice little 3-4 mile slow pace run along the (kind of) boardwalks and pathways around Seaport Village. It’s a great vibe running along the water, seeing all the people, the cool shops, and the unique vegetation of that area. After the run, we headed back to the hotel, and chilled for a bit before heading out toward the Gaslamp District for dinner.

We did what you do in the Gaslamp , you walk all around, and up and down 5th Street gazing at all the restaurant menus, before you decide which one to do. Wanting some sort of pasta dish of course, we settled on Trattoria La Strada. It was great. They even had a ‘Marathon special’ on the spaghetti with meatballs (made of beef tenderloin..yum..). Some more walking around on a perfect night with my lovely wife, a stop at Morton’s Steak for a glass of Vino at the bar, and we called it night.

The next day was all about the Expo, walking around Seaport village shops, and an easy pace. We picked up our bibs, and all the swag at the Expo and spent a good amount of time walking around all the booths. So many free samples stuff I don’t think we were that hungry for the Spaghetti Factory lunch. After the expo we walked over to Seaport and did some more walking around (getting the body good and tired so we could sleep early hopefully considering we had a 3:45 wake up!@). Late afternoon we hit up the local Ralph’s grocery for our dinner food which we could have back at the hotel (a big homemade sandwich with lots of bread and some baked chips). We pulled the drapes, laid out all our items we would need in the morning, and tried to hit the bed.

Considering all, we actually both got some decent sleep. I think we figured about 4 hours each. Which again, considering the nervous excitement of the day ahead and such an early rise was pretty good. Sleep is mooey-importanto when you are our age and have that long of run.

We had our breakfast of Oatmeal and bananas (thanks to the microwave in the room) and scooted off to the Start area which was about 4 miles away at Balboa Park. Luckily when we went downstairs there was another young lady headed that way too so we were able to split the cab. Unluckily, I think we had the only cabbie in town up that early that had no clue there was a race with 20,000 people that morning and a ton of the roads were closed! A little drama, but we did end up getting there with plenty of time to spare.

The morning was perfect, about 58-60 degrees, a slight mist even and a good marine layer cloud cover. In fact the whole race ended up being pretty nice at least until it warmed up late. We walked a bit with the other 20K people in the darkness as the light came up. Had a couple more bananas, me another cup of coffee, kiss the wife, hit the corrals, and before you knew it we were off.

The course for the most part heads around Balboa Park (where the Zoo and a ton of Museums are) then heads back toward downtown, through the Gaslamp, around by the harbor, back up toward Balboa, onto the freeway for awhile (way cool running on a freeway with no cars – except for the slant of the road which was tough), and then does a full loop around the Bay before you finish on a Marine base. The whole course is really a tour through San Diego and all its areas. The crowd support was incredible. Aside from a stretch on the freeway, it seemed that people lined every street and cheered the whole time. There must have been 40 bands playing along the way, a ton of aid stations and spectators galore. It really makes you feel like a rock star when you pass cheering people and you are really the only one around – hey – they are cheering for me! What a cool feeling. Kimberly even got an ‘Otter Pop’ along the way from one of the crowd and supporters. In one neighborhood there was even a group of 20 guys dressed up as cheerleaders doing cheers as you passed. Gotta’ love that one.

As happy as I was crossing the finish line, and trust me, I WAS HAPPY TO DO IT, there was a part that still wanted to be out there cruising around. I got my Bling (runner talk for the finisher’s medal), pounded some more water, ate a banana, and found a good spot in the bleachers to watch my woman run down that finishing shoot with the crowd cheering. It was another one of those ‘never forget moments’ in life watching and cheering Kimberly as she sprinted toward the finish and crossed the line beating her goal time. A proud man I was seeing that Grandma rock 26.2!

We took a few pictures that weekend, not too many but they are HERE in our race folder. We both were also real happy with our times considering it was out first Marathon. I came in at 3:41:05 which was in the top 10% overall and Kimberly hit 4:58:31 which was better than goal and in the upper 50% of age, gender and overall – beating more than half the men even.

Now…back to real training and the next planned race (a crazy Race in 110 degree temperatures and up and down hills, some that are over a mile each!). Life is good…

Did we mention that it gets hot in Phoenix? It may only be mid May but it’s been a hot one here in the Valley of the Sun. We are not complaining, heck the weather is one of the main reasons we live here. That said, there is a couple of times the heat is not so convenient. When you are planning on running n a Marathon in a few weeks and need to do a training run of 20 plus miles being one of them. We have braved the heat for the last couple of week’s runs, but afterward were just dragging big time. Wanting to get in a good Long Run (the term ‘Long Run’ is used in Running as the typically once a week longest run you do when training for Marathon’s or Half’s, normally done on a Saturday morning) and do so with a good effort, we decided to hit the road for a cooler local, so off to Sedona it was.

While we were only going to be there one night and one morning, we still wanted to take advantage of being in one of the most amazing places on the planet. I wrapped up work early and by midday Friday we were off to the Red Rocks. Upon arrival we went over to the area around Boynton Canyon where we planned to run. After a quick drive up and down the area we figured that would not work out too well. While I wasn’t too excited about the space on the side of the road, it was the brutal hills that put the whammy on running 3 hours in this area. Long story short with no time to really look for better spots, we ended up settling on Bell Rock Trail (plus connected loops). While it would still be lots of hills and elevation changes, it was off the road and would be a gorgeous place to run.

We spent a the rest of the day doing the obligatory Sedona walk around – this time Tlaquepaque Shops and galleries, then called it an early night and headed back to the Hotel. We had packed our normal Friday night homemade pizza dinner (better to eat good when you have to get up early and run) in the cooler along with some salad. We enjoyed the pizza, put on a movie and tried to get to sleep a little early.

We were on the trail by 7:00 am (pretty much first light). The trailhead is just off 89A and West of Bell Road about 2-3 Miles as the crow flies. It turned out to be a great place to run. Not only was the view just incredible all morning – I mean how do you beat Bell Road, Cathedral Rock, Pine, Mesquite, Junipine, Birds, Rabbits, etc being your morning views – but the trail was not too rocky at all in most places. With views like that Kimberly and I kept smiles plastered on our faces the whole time… well maybe except the big climb back toward Bell Rock the second time out and back. We ended up running for 3 hours total. The weather was still very hot by the way, even if it was less than in Phoenix. But this run was the one that let us know that we would be good (enough) to go for our first Marathon upcoming in a couple of weeks in San Diego.

After the run we headed back to the Hotel, had a nice breakfast and hoofed it back to the Valley. We were going to need a nap as that night we had tickets for Miss Saigon at the Arizona Broadway Theater, and it was with the whole Bellydance cast of characters (so who knew what evil may happen afterward)

Our recent trip to OK for the Half Marathon was really not for the race at all. In fact, it was just good fortune that it lined up. There were actually three other reasons we needed to get over to the ‘heat-humidity-tornado alley’ neck of the US woods. First, of course there is the fact Grandma needs to see Michael III every few months or she gets to be ornery. Second, good family friend Michael Larose was tying the knot with the lovely and already his much better half Marianne. And lastly, it would give us an opportunity to hang out for several days with Clay and Kathy – which means great company, lots of golf, amazing pine nut pasta, and good vino that I didn’t have to spring for (how can you beat that?).

The whole couple of weeks were perfect as planned. Though if we could get some non rain days in McAlester it would be nice. The grandson is growing by leaps and bounds every time we see him. I am sure next time will be the same. We also got to meet Zac’s ‘very close friend’ Amanda and her wonderful brood of youngin’s. We got to score M3 his first bike (yeah it’s a tricycle so what) – we can’t wait until he is big enough for his first Electra Rat Rod! And of course as always it was enjoyable hanging with the old folks , M2 and Antoinette.

Down in Texas Mike and Marianne’s wedding was great. A really cool island vibe, a lot of sentiment, and a good night for sure. We ended up topping that night off with a trip down to The White Elephant Saloon in the Ft. Worth Stockyards to see a very young talented singer-guitar player friend of Kathy and Clay’s that was performing that night.

The week at Chateau Reeves was great as always, and of course included all of the aforementioned vino, pasta, golf, and great company. The only bummer in Texas was they canceled the Mayfest and Mayfest run because of the swine flu thing going on… that’s just silly!

As always, you know we got some pics of the trip. You can view them HERE

It was one of those ‘everything lined up perfect’ situations. We were well due a trip to see the Grandson and family again (at least according to Grandma Kimberly). I also needed to get down to Texas to see Clay, do a little business, play a little (or a lot of) golf you know the story. So we picked a couple of week stretch that seemed to make sense and started to make plans. As I do now when we travel like this I search to see if there any little local running races close to where we’re are staying that would give us a little something to do on the weekend. Well low-n-behold, not just a little race but the OKC Memorial Marathon and Half Marathon events and was the weekend we would be in OK. Not only that but when we were in Texas the Mayfest Run was going on over Memorial weekend! (the Mayfest ended up being canceled because of the swine-Flu – stupid, but a whole other story). Anyway, we signed up for the Half Marathon and we were good to go.

We got into Oklahoma a couple of nights before the race. We would be staying with family for the next week so it was nice to get in early and check out Oklahoma City some. The race is ran in honor of the victims (168 lives lost over 600 injured), survivors and all the people who helped out during the tragic bombing at the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. In fact the whole race and weekend are really focused on the event. This would be the 9th annual event. It starts and ends right at the Memorial (which is of course on the grounds of the old Federal Building).

Like most big races (this one has 19,000 runners and walkers for all the events) there is a pretty big expo where you pick up your bib and other items. This one was at the OKC convention hall just up the street in downtown OKC. We got there early on Saturday to walk around and grab the freebie stuff too (always fun). When first walking in we noticed a table with volunteers that were talking about the victims. Turns out, one of the things you can do (and many do) is run in honor of one of the victims. Of course many locals would have known someone directly or where touched by the bombing somehow, but we did not so we really did not know who to ‘run in honor of’. One of the ladies there suggested that there were a many of people that no one was yet signed up to run for. Well… that was perfect, it made it feel like we really were honoring their memory then.

Kimberly found a young little three year old girl named Peachlynn Bradley who was at the daycare. Peachlynn’s Mother, four month old brother, and Aunt were also victims (her Aunt and Brother perished and her Mother was severely injured. I found a father who was a Stevie Ray fan, loved his kids and was and seemed like a kind soul named Lucio Aleman. We already knew this race would be an emotional one. Now it was going to be that much more. What was cool was there would be banners (we actually found them before the race so we would know when we passed) along the course with Peachlynn and Lucio’s names.

Along with your race packet came admission to the Memorial Museum at the bombing site. We had not seen this when we were here before. We had seen all outside the museum is the reflecting pool, the chairs, the Memorial Tree and of course the fence with all the items left in remembrance. So after getting all the Cliff bars and free rubs and GU’s we could, we went over to the museum.

They did an amazing job I think with the museum - a perfect balance of honoring and informing without exploiting. We really appreciated our time there. There were so many heart-wrenching stories and so many amazing volunteers. The place brought smiles and tears for sure. The only part we skipped was the area where they had a bunch on the trial of the piece of #%$% that did this. In my mind no reason to invest any time learning about him.

Jumping forward to the night before the race, we have to give a huge plug for the Italian restaurant we ate the night before the race. When I think OKC, I sure don’t think Italian, but we needed some pasta carbs and rolled the dice. The place was amazing – Bellini’s. Both our dishes were outstanding. In fact, Kimberly’s pesto may have been the best I have ever eaten. For sure if you ever get to OKC check it out.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some rest and watch the tv for weather updates. We were actually getting a little concerned that we may not get to run the race. There had been extreme storms and tornadoes for the last couple of days in the area. Each night the storms barely missing OKC with the worst, but still huge winds, rain, and hot humid weather. It was for sure a risk. That night in fact less than 20 miles from us there were tornadoes and 100+ MPH winds. Luckily, we fell asleep, and awoke to what seemed like weather that would be hot, humid and WINDY – but no severe storms.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed this race. The city is great, the support from the fans and neighborhoods you run through was amazing. And the emotions….wow. From the very start where you observe 168 seconds of silence (in honor of each victim) until the end where you run down the finish line shoot to huge fan support all cheering you on, this race is great. The weather was another story. Both Kimberly and I were very thankful we had Lucio and Peachlynn helping us over the hump. There is a stretch of the run from about mile 9-11 I think that seemed all slightly uphill the whole distance, plus the winds of about 25-40 MPH were right into your face. It was tough, but it was where Lucio and Peachlynn’s banners were too – so it was the extra kick needed when we passed those.

We both had good runs. I weaseled into the top 4% overall at 1:45 and Kimberly hit 2:11 which was top 20% in her age group and woman overall. After the run they gave out Carl’s Jr. burgers – HA. Funnier yet, we both had a half. We walked around a little more, dropped off our bibs with special messages for Peachlynn and Lucio at the fence, then hit a real lunch and within a couple of hours were sitting on the porch with our Grandson on the lap. Life is good….

SOME PICTURES IN OUR RUNNING FOLDER HERE

After about an hour and a half of going through the boarding and baggage process, we were on board Conquest by noon. We were hungry so in true cruise ship tradition we ate. Also as you do on cruise ships after you board, you walk around and check her out. We spent the next couple of hours walking around the ship, checking out the pool, gym, spa, lounges, etc. We finished on the outside decks just in time for the Bon Voyage sail way. With drinks in hand we waved goodbye the island and were off by late afternoon.

It was only an hour or so into our trip (you could still see land) when we thought all might go south. We were stopped. Dead in the water. No reason, no logic, just crew members scrambling everywhere. It ended up being a 3 hour delay for a passenger who had fallen and had to be life-flight off the ship. The good news was this did not affect our itinerary which was good because everything is so tight and we didn’t want to miss out on any excursion we had planned.

For the most part we had a chill night back at the room. We had pre ordered some wine to be delivered, (plus we brought some), and Kathy and Clay had thoughtfully sent us some delivered to our room. So we popped a couple of corks and enjoyed the view from our balcony the first night.

After a great sleep we woke up and headed on down to breakfast. We chose to do the Monet room this morning (Conquest has 2 main formal dining locations plus of course the buffet areas and the other one off eating places). Thankfully they were able to make us egg white omelets (you know on a cruise you will overeat, so you try to limit the damage). After breakfast we got the run shorts on, and did the outside track on the very top deck of the ship. It’s a nice little 440 or so loop. While you hate the monotony of the constant circles, running around a ship in the middle of the Gulf (and then Caribbean) was pretty cool. Form the run we went over and did the gym for a little while, steam room and all. Very nice, not huge but it would be great for our next few days.

The rest of the day was pure get into chill mode. Drinks from a Coconut at the pool, flip flops, and being lazy. That night was the first Formal dinner night (of 2) so we donned the fancy duds, and did what you do on a cruise for Formal night – we stood in several lines for photos with all the backdrops – then we ate :-). Our assigned table just had one other couple who we ended up really enjoying their company, Kenneth and Gwendolyn form Louisiana. Our waiters were great the whole cruise (as they accommodated our ‘meal finickiness’ with no issues the whole cruise. Aside from the one night we ate at the Supper Club (an amazing meal well worth the small added price) we made sure to have dinner here every night avoiding the buffet like the plague. Another espresso or two, some more vino, and another night cruise night was done.

The second full day was also at Sea all day. We did some more running, drank and hung at the pool again digging on the Reggae band setting that groove, had a surprisingly good Indian lunch, did this whole Mardi Gras Party theme thing at night (check out the photo album for the funny face paint jobs), and did another party on the deck late before calling it a day. We wanted to be fresh for our next day’s planned port excursion in Jamaica.

We watched from the balcony as we docked in Montego Bay. The weather that looked a little risky was clearing and it was going to be a great day. We were all packed up the night before with our suitcases. Because our planned excursion was several hours, we would only have a couple of hours to explore before having to head back to the ship today. So we wanted to make sure we were ready to go as soon as we docked.

Getting off a ship at port is never a quick process…. We hopped off the ship and right at the port was our line for the Zipline Tour. Oh yeah, we were going to spend the day attached to a rope sliding through the jungle and over rivers. We could hardly wait. After a slight delay and a (best described as) harrowing 1 hour ride up the mountain, we were fitting up for our belts and zipping through the jungles of Jamaica. We both really enjoyed the tour. Including the one zip where you are hundreds of feet above a rive going 40 MPH for near quarter mile. The whole thing was over way too fast, and after another scary trip back down the mountain we spent a little time in Hip street, scored some Blue Mountain Coffee, a couple of Reggae shirts (our Bob Marley homage), and trinkets, we were back on the ship. That night we celebrated our anniversary formally with dinner at the Super Club (mentioned above). It was outstanding. I was stunned a cruise ship could provide that level food, but the did – or at least the bottle of Merryvale Profile we shared (we brought on board and had been saving for 3 years) pushed it over the top.

Looking at the water as we were pulling into Georgetown, Grand Cayman Islands is like looking at a postcard. Amazing, the deep blues, go into light blues, into turquoise, it’s all just crazy cool to look at. We had been looking forward to this port. Georgetown is home to Seven Mile Beach, considered one of the best beaches on the planet. Let’s just say, I have never seem a more beautiful beach.

We were again all packed and ready as soon as we hit the bay. The ships can not dock at Georgetown so you have to tender. It was a fairly easy process and before you knew it we were on the white sand of Seven Mile beach right in front of the famous Royal Palms Bar. Sadly (or it turned our good) our planned excursion for the day was canceled. We had planned a trip to Stingray beach (you play with the Sting Rays) along with your own boat and then a snorkel tour of underwater caves. Sad to miss, but we can do that next time. Our day worked out perfect anyway.

As I have talked about in other blogs, running has become one of the ‘what we do’ in our lives. Getting a chance to run on 7 Mile Beach in the Grand Caymans! How do you say it – doesn’t get any better. We even had to run with our backpacks as the lockers were not yet open to drop them. It didn’t matter. Sweat and all, it was incredible. This beach is perfect. I swear I think if even a shell gets onto the sand they have somebody clean it up? Anyway, we ran the full length of the beach (which oddly is not 7 miles?) and then pulled up a lounge chair right on the beach at the Royal Palms and enjoyed a couple of Miami Vice’s. Ahh… life is good

After a good chillin’ at the Palms, we heading back into the main port area, did some shopping (Black Coral is legal when harvested dead by locals is all I am saying), had some Conch (fried sadly) and some other good stuff at Big Black Dick’s (yes that’s the real name), and enjoyed the good life. Grand Cayman is quite expensive to visit, and I can see why. I do think however that it is more than worth it.

Back on the ship that night was Formal night two. More pictures, another good meal, some good company, and more vino in the room. I keep saying it – life is good.

Our last port was the one most look forward too – Cozumel Mexico. And it did not disappoint. Cozumel is incredible. With good pre-planning we got to see so much in such a short time it was almost like we were there for days. I purposely had not booked any excursion this day. I wanted to get out ourselves and check out the island. We started out but taking a cab over to our rental car. There were cars to rent right at the port, but not what I wanted. We got this old VW bug ‘convertible’. Basically a 60’s area bug with the roof cut off and replaced with a soft cover. It was red, well cared for and perfect for the Island. We hopped in the seat, put the stick in first and headed toward the other side of the island. We had a plan to do what amounted to a loop around half the whole island with our stops in between.

My wife might have 25 more years on her, but she has never been more beautiful than she was when we were riding in the bug on a sun drenched day in Cozumel with the wind in her hair and a smile on her face riding down a fairly deserted beach road. Say it with me– life is good!

We had a couple of places planned to stop, but riding down the street almost in the middle of nowhere we see this Tequila Museum, talk about up my alley. We whipped in, and several shots of great 100% Blue Agave, a cool tour by a Mayan Cowboy, a big Gila Monster and a few pictures later we were back on the road (good thing I was in a slow moving VW on a deserted road). BTW: The ‘factory’ was not at all, and it was a little corny but a great time non-the-less.

Our next stop was at the Famous Coconuts Bar and Grill. It did not disappoint. Coconuts sits on a Bluff above the amazing azure waters of the Caribbean. You have little tables in the sand with palm trees and an incredible view. We got the Conch un-fried (cerviche) and some other good fish taco’s. You have to check out the pictures from here, and for sure hit it up if ever in Coz.

Back on the beach road, very little of anything on this side of the island, except the occasional Bar and Grill and Palapa on the beach – which is perfect! The drive itself with the views was worth the trip itself. Speaking of, another quick little pullover found us at a place called Blowholes. Aptly named as in this location there is several spots where the tide comes ripping up through the volcanic rock and it resembles a Whale spout. Very cool. Kimberly wanted to take a picture of me so I hoped out on one of the bigger rock areas and was looking back at her when I looked down and saw water 30 feet below. Whoops, almost stuck my foot in a big hole would not have been fun.

Another 15 minutes up the road we arrived at our planned destination – Punta Sur. The area is a whole nature dedicated preserve area you could spend days at. With just a little time we planned on doing the old lighthouse. It lived up to the hype. About 150 single little narrow stairs and you are atop this little circle top lighthouse where the views are about as good as it get in every direction. Easily some of my favorite shots of the whole trip came from up top here. We also saw a Mayan ruin in the area (if you could not tell scale form being there the picture makes it look huge – it’s not.

Sadly late afternoon we had to head back into town and return the car. We did some touristy walking and shopping, and then headed back to the boat.

We had one more day at sea before arriving back at Galveston and back to the real world. We did the gym again, the pool again, walked around the ship and did the picture taking thing, and overall just relaxed while we could. Then it all was over……