CrossRoads Blog

We arrived in Galveston early in the evening, checked into the Hotel and plopped down for a little rest before dinner. There were 2 places we really wanted to hit and it was a hard decision. While we would have two more nights in town before the cruise, we were doing Madri Gras parties with the ‘Krewe of Who?’ both of which had dinner, so tonight would be the only eat out in Galveston night. It came down to Giado’s (an excellent and darn near historical sea food place right on the Seawall) or Mario’s, a pizza joint that had so many good memories for us and the kids back in the day, plus they had great Pizza. We chose Mario’s. Mostly because we knew with the cruise coming, and the parties, likely we had a whole bunch of good seafood on the agenda. While the pizza didn’t end up being as good as we recalled, it was a great old vibe just like we remembered.

We awoke to sounds of the beach and the smell of the Gulf. The first thing we did was throw on the running cloths and hit the Seawall. It was great taking a nice run down the Seawall and the beach. I think every time Kimberly and I glanced at each other we both had the biggest smile on our faces. We were running in Galveston on a great day, about to do 48 hours of wild Mardi Gras fan and then head out on a cruise. Is it any wonder we had smiles painted on?

After the run we hoped in the car and went on over the walk the Strand. Let’s just say, we really got to see how devastating Hurricane Ike really was on the Island. We sure noticed on the Seawall, with the Flagship and all the other damage, but wow, we had no idea. Unlike what you would expect, Ike did most of the damage on the backside of the Island. In fact, while lots of business had just recently re opened on the Seawall, I would say more than 2/3 of the Stand shops and stores were still closed. As you can see in the picture, Ike went will over head high. I think because Katrina was so in everyone’s mind that Ike never got as much attention as it normally would have. It tore up this Island and it will be some time before it ever get all the way back. We did spend some time in the places that were back open, and had a decent lunch at the Fish Market before heading back to rest up for the Krewe of Who Event that night.

The Krewe of Who? Ball was a Black and White Theme for the year. We were all set going into the night except for a mask. Luckily we had found one on the Strand at the last minute. It was a great night of hanging out with some really cool folks. Anyone familiar with Mardi Gras traditions knows that getting into Krewe parties if you are not a member is impossible. Our hosts (Ann in particular) were amazing. Actually spent both nights of parties with us and made us feel more than welcome. The party featured a great seafood buffet, a really fun Second Line Processional where Kimberly got the umbrella a rockin’ and of course some bead throwing. And more bead throwing and collecting. Let’s just say, we got some bead-bling that night (actually and way more than we can handle the next night too)!

We slept in a little from the party night, got up and ran the Seawall again. Coming back from breakfast (we ran to it) we even ran on the beach for a bit. After the run we headed south on the island down to the Jamaica Beach area to hang out for a bit. We used to bring the kids here too, it was just south of the main Galveston area and a nice beach to relax. We didn’t stay long though because this was the day of the biggest Mardi Gras parties, parades and fun. The Krewe of Who? Had a balcony on the Stand to throw beads all day and watch the parades (for those who do not know, Krewe’s are the ones that throw the beads form the balconies to the masses, and I mean masses of people jammed below with arms stretched catching them).

By the time we got to the party the Stand was rockin’. It was way windy, but it did not seem to damped the enthusiasm of the crowd. I think they all were just happy that the party still went on this year despite Hurricane Ike. We had a riot, we watched the parade and threw a ton of beads from the balcony, had great meal and drinks while an excellent Zydeco Band played, and rocked all night long. Only downside was trying to get back to the car with all the people on the street took forever and it was windy!
After a good night’s sleep, we awoke, looked out from our balcony and a few miles in the distance, there she was, having arrived that morning – the Carnival Conquest - our home for the next 7 nights.

What can I say? As soon as we hit Houston City limits we were on our way over to Goode Company Barbecue. For those that have not experienced it – in my not so humble opinion, it’s as good as it gets. There is ‘Que’ that might come close, but the sauce at Goode Company -wow, nobody does it like that. Anyway, we found a new location (though I would miss the charm of the old Kirby Road dive) up on Hwy 290 that was close to where we met and spent the first few years of our marriage. Seeing our plan was to swing by some of the places of old, it made sense to stop at that one. I of course got two meals, a cool coffee cup souvenir and some sauce for the suitcase to bring home (ahh the first memento of the trip!).

After lunch we began the old places tour. Fist stop as it was closest was the apartments where we lived when Michael was just born. As they were gated, we had to park and walk in and ask the lady at the office if we could get in. She let us of course, but we did get kind of an odd look like “umm are these people here really to see the outside of an apartment they lived in 24 years ago”? Answer ‘Yes, yes we are’. And if she were of an age where she was celebrating her 25th, she would understand the sentiment factor in seeing the pool where you hung with your first child. Or the steps up to the door you carried your beautiful baby. Or the French patio doors where you can still picture your lovely wife waving goodbye as you head out to work. Anyway, I digress. The old place held up decent, we took a couple of pictures and were on our way to the next location – the place we met.

Sun Forest and Forest Glen Apartment no longer exist, least in name anyway. Frankly, they really need to no longer exist in function too. But I am getting ahead in the story.

We pulled into the parking lot of (whatever they are called now) our first apartments. Pulling in off Tidwell street my mind was back to when I first saw that amazingly beautiful redhead of mine. I was a young, unsettled, pool volleyball playing’ bad boy that lived there and she was an innocent girl on vacation from a small town in Michigan, heart of gold, youngin’ (who by the way filled out those old Levi Jeans in a way that made me get a quiver ).

The short story is this was the place we fell in love, the place where our first child was conceived. And….a place that as it turns out had more than felt the 25 years we have been gone. Wow, how would Chris Rock say it “I’m not saying it’s the hood – I am just saying it’s hoodish”. Okay, Chris may say hoodish, I am saying it’s the hood. The place was beyond a dump, it was almost downright scary. While the charm was gone, we were able to get some good grins, looking at the window of my old bedroom that instead of having glass, was boarded up looking like it had been like that for weeks. Needless to say, we just took some pictures from the car, and left shaking our heads and smiling.

We finished up the old school tour with one last stop at our first house. The neighborhood seemed mostly the same. They even took better care of the yard then I did (surprise..). We took some shots, reminisced about the old days again and the front steps, etc. etc. and headed for the beach.

It’s really almost stunning when we think about. I guess it’s like they say ‘time fly’s when you are having fun’. It has been twenty-five years since Kimberly and I said “I DO”. Twenty-Five years… WHAT? We aren’t that old right? Isn’t the Silver Anniversary for folks with Silver Hair and pants pulled up too high? Well, in any event, we won’t think of it that way. Just going to be an Anniversary that is a biggie.

In hindsight I don’t think I screwed up at all. But when it first happened….big whoops. Let’s just say I had been tracking a particular ‘special trip’ plan for some time. I had not booked it because the pricing kept going lower. Finally it was getting close so I went online to lock it in, and GONE – DONE – SOLD OUT. Let’s just say I was big time bummed. I wanted a special trip and here we were now just a few weeks out and without a plan. In the end though, it all worked out as we came up with a new ‘theme’ to our Anniversary trip. We would do a ‘back to where it all began’ type excursion.

Kimberly and I met, were married and had the boys in Houston Texas. With some perfect scheduling and lots of research, we were able to map out a pretty exciting agenda. We would do the old-school bit in Houston, head on down to Galveston (old school for us too) and play Mardi Gras for a couple of days, and then hop on a Caribbean bound cruise ship for a week of fun, sun, and foo-foo drinks.

If any anytime before the last couple of years someone would have told me in one year I’d be making my 5th trip into Oklahoma I would for sure have told them they were nuts. I couldn’t have imagined 5 trips in my life, let alone one year. Ahhh… what a difference a Grandchild will make in your life!

Kimberly and I were again lucky enough to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with family. I think this trip she and I were as much looking forward to seeing our Sons and the rest of the gang in OK as we were seeing young Mr. Michael III again.

We came up to McAlester after a great visit with Clay and Kathy down in Texas. It was nice to have a relaxation type of week for the Holidays after all the running around it seems we have been doing lately. I swear sometimes I don’t know how the rest of the world does it – I work at home and never seem to have enough time to do half the things I need to get done in a day.

Of course upon arrival it was all kids and grandkids. For that matter, aside from pigging out on just about everything in sight (what else is Thanksgiving for anyway) the whole week was about kids and Grandkids and Parents, and family.

The good news with all the food we ate, (including an amazing cake my Mother cooked) we found a great gym in McAlester. In fact, it was super nice, had some great equipment and the lockers and dressing areas were almost spa quality. This was really a great find and something we will take advantage of on all our McAlester future trips.

The week was pretty chilled out. We had a great Turkey Day (we won’t even mention the Lions), and did a little Xmas shopping with M3, Zac and Antoinette up in Tulsa on ‘Black Friday’. We had a nice Dinner with everyone at Pete’s Place (the local Italian restaurant), hit up Wal-Mart about 20 times, played a little with the rugrat, had a nice 10 mile run around a new neighborhood, and did a little ‘good for the soul’ yard work with the old man.

Family….does it get any better?

Kimberly (in Mom and Grandma mode) wanted to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with her boys and the grandson because with Mike’s new job they would not make it out for this coming Christmas. So road trip time it was again. Everything seemed to work out perfect. We would head to Texas the week prior, I could do a little work with best buddy and business partner Clay and we could weasel a little golf as well. We decided to go to Texas the week before the holiday because Kathy was in town that week – the following she was off to Germany.

The first night in town was a quick reminder of one of the things I miss most about that place – Meat. Man-o-man did I quickly get into a meat fest. Clay’s Dad was celebrating his birthday and the whole family was going to celebrate at Texas De Brazil. I would absolutely recommend this place. Not so much for all the meat (served Brazil style) though it was good, but more for the vegetable/cheese/everything (if you can call it that) bar. It was outstanding. Anyway… enough about food (though you know I didn’t make it longer than 30 minutes in Ft Worth before I hit Angelo’s).

We had a near perfect week. We had a chance to golf twice, both with clients/friends and also with family. I stunk up the place one of the rounds, but got back a little in the groove the second time out. I just need to get out more I guess. After one of the rounds a friend of Kathy and Clay’s at the club was having a birthday party and we all went over and had a drink and then hit this place with some great fish taco‘s called Fuzzy’s.

One of my favorite nights we spent in Fort Worth was when we put on the duds and got our Havana vibe going on. Clay and Kathy have been going to a local club called Embargo. On Thursday’s it’s all about the Salsa Dancing and they even do a free lesson before things get heated up for the night. I did get into the groove a little bit, but I especially enjoyed the club and the overall groove of the night. The place is really designed and decorated in a unique way that makes you feel you truly are in Havana circa 1960. There was a great live band (even on a Thursday) and we had a chance to meet some very cool and fun friends of Kathy and Clay’s. Fun, fun stuff.

Our last full day there we hit the TCU vs. Air Force Football game. It was enjoyable to see a college game this year, but the best part was all about the tailgate. Clay’s folks and some friends who work with Clay’s Mom (at TCU) all get together before every game and tailgate. (oops I’m talking about food again…) Well, I have to say the spread they all set out was something. I made some chili for my contribution, but there was everything and anything you wanted. We tailgated before and after the game. Another perfect day with the Reeves.

The only downside about the trip is leaving Clay and Kathy. I sure do wish we lived in the same town. And as much as I love Texas food – it’s them boneheads that gonna’ have to move this way

PICS HERE

The other night we finally got around to using the Arizona Broadway Theater Tickets that Kerry and Mike had gotten us for Christmas last year (or was it for Kimberly’s birthday?). I guess that shows how busy we have been in 2008. I think last year we got up to see shows three or four times. This year, we had free tickets sitting so long we had to use them before the November ended and they were no good.

We of course we very happy we did get out. The show was enjoyable, and the food much better than it had been in the past. Plus, it’s always nice to get a little dressed up and got to live theater. Kind of makes you feel special even if it is less than 5 miles or so from the house.

We saw Cabaret, the play that was adapted from the Movie starring Liza Mannelli. Kind of backwards from normal on that one. It was actually a little more risqué than I had expected. It was a little funny seeing the mostly over 65 crowd get their chuckles on with all the gay and lesbian jokes and innuendo. Guess it’s a changing world - thankfully!

By Kimberly

Today is a day that I am not only proud to be an American but am also proud of Americans. I am not proud that we elected a black man but am proud that we elected the right person for the job and that skin color did not get in the way of it. As I watched groups of Americans cheer and cry as Obama won I knew that although I am understanding of some of those tears coming from fellow Americans of African descent I could never really understand exactly how they felt. Decades of prejudices had marred so many people’s past and to finally see a victory of a man who has dealt with those same prejudices but overcame them all from a black Americans perspective must have been amazing. From the view of a white woman I was so proud of fellow white Americans who have finally backed up what they have claimed to believe for so long. That a man should be judged by what he does and not the color of their skin.

It made me teary to know that for all Americans justice was ours last night and that we are beginning to live the dreams of the late great Martin Luther King Jr. who said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

King’s entire speech is worth a reread on this day. As you read I hope it brings to you not only a reminder of some of Americas ugly past but I hope it inspires you by the knowledge that we have overcome so many of our errors and that together all of us with all of our many backgrounds and descents can and will come together as one single group, Americans.

See here: KING’S DREAM

It was going to be hard to top the first few days of Pat and Beth’s visit seeing it included Grand Canyon and Vegas, but we sure tried. We arrived back home early in the week and mostly chilled for a couple of days, though we did get a nice dinner in at Buca Di Beppo and Kimberly and Beth did a little shopping too.

Before you knew it the weekend was upon us. Halloween fell on a Friday this year. We did our normal Halloween night gig and setup all the decorations out front, made a bunch of crock pot food, took out some chairs and spent the night in the front yard saying hello to neighbors and trick or treaters. I think it had to be one of first times Pat and Beth could hang outside and be somewhat warm on Halloween (can get a bit nippy late October in Michigan).

The next morning we were off to Sedona with the Cousins. I just love showing family and friends Sedona when they come visit. It’s an amazing place – about as close as you can get to being in the Grand Canyon without doing it. Actually it’s really not Sedona as much as it is Oak Creek Canyon, but that’s another Blog.

Anyway, as we got into town we did a quick little stop at the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The church has such a beautiful location and has a great spiritual aura. We left the Church and headed up Oak Creek to our favorite hiking spot ‘The West Fork’. We really, really love the West Fork but I do have to say, there are times of year it is getting too crowded. We may have to find another spot to show family and friends – though it will be tough to match this place for sure. We had a nice hike out, after a few miles and several creek crossings we had a picnic lunch, took some pictures and then headed back into town for some tourist type shopping before driving home for the night.

On Pat and Beth’s last day we took them over to Cave Creek for the Art Festival. How perfect were they could get the ‘old Western vibe’ of Cave Creek (and a great lunch spot) and also all the ‘upscale side artistry’ that you have at the festival.

We left the festival mid afternoon and headed over to Kerry and Mike’s for dinner and fun. I want to in particular point out the picture here that shows everyone getting a good grin except for me. In my picture in case you do not notice, let’s just say I am ‘waving with one finger’. It’s a long story and it includes a weird orange substance, 2 shirts, Kimberly getting some stuff on me, and everyone in on a joke that I only figured out seconds before these pictures were taken - hence the laughter for all but me . It was all in fun of course as was the rest of the night. It was nice for the Cousins to spend some time with Mike, Kerry and Josh too.

The next day they were off back to Michigan. I hope they enjoyed the visit as much as we enjoyed having them. And we all hope it won’t be long before we get to see them again!

SEDONA PICS HERE

What a truly enjoyable couple of weeks we were able to spend with family. It is times like this that really emphasize how blessed we are to be flexible enough to take some days and really enjoy when family visits. We had such occasion again when Cousin Pat and his wife Beth Dhooghe from Michigan came down for a visit.

Pat and Beth for sure wanted to get up to the Grand Canyon and the rest of the visit would fall around that. Without a doubt, the Canyon is ‘the’ place but we wanted to make sure they got the full ‘Arizona Experience’ so we mapped out quite a run around agenda while they were here.

After hanging around the homestead for a day of rest after arriving, we were off to the Canyon. We headed out early enough to make sure we would have time to get to the South Rim, walk around the main village area for a bit, get back to check into the The Grand Hotel lodge (we were staying outside the Park entrance in Tusayan) , and still get back over to the park for the Sunset. Making sure Pat and Beth caught a Grand Canyon Sunset and Sunrise was something I had been focused on from the time I heard they were coming.

We arrived at the Park by lunch. Having planned ahead we had packed the cooler with some sandwiches so we could experience a ‘lunch table’ like no other. We all pulled up a rock and just stared out in amazement at the incredible views of the Grand Canyon. Pat and Beth were of course in awe – but so were we. I don’t care how many times you see this place, it was Pat and Beth’s first and Kimberly and my fourth or so just this year – it’s still the same, it is just utterly stunning.

After lunch we walked around the village, Pat and I even headed down the Bright Angel Trail a bit below the Rim and of course enjoyed the nice climb back out. We then left out the Park to check into the lodge and get a quick little rest before heading back over to the Park to catch the Sunset. Just before we got to our view stop, we spotted a whole herd of Elk. They were right there in front of us, so we stopped the car, grabbed the cameras and started following them along the woods. How cool it was to see these great creatures up close in the wild like that. Pat is a HUGE Elk fan and was just so tickled that he got a chance to see the herd. I think before we left we had seen just about all the Arizona animals.

After a nice dinner that night at the country themed restaurant with a live singer, we hit the bed early. The plan was to leave over to the Park at about 5:10 the next morning to make sure we caught the 6:20 Sunrise. Like most good spots at the Grand Canyon, you will have some hiking to do after you park the car. So while the drive from lodge to parking was only 15 minutes or so, the hike to our spot was a good 25 plus. Anyway, the sunrise experience was of course incredible. While this time of year it does not rise in the perfect spot, it still is something special to see the Canyon come alive like that. It was a cold one, it required some good hiking, but it was more than worth it of course. After watching the Sunrise, Kimberly and I dropped off Pat and Beth at the village for some breakfast and we had a chance to do another run along the Rim. We did 8 miles again along the S. Rim trail and it again confirmed to me there is no better place in the world for a morning run.

After we left the Grand Canyon with Cousins Pat and Beth we headed up to Las Vegas for a couple of nights. I like to say, kind of like going from one of the God’s most amazing creations to one of Mans most amazing. It was the typical Vegas experience: lots of walking, little rest, great food and entertainment. We hit Lawry’sfor the Prime Rib, we walked Venetian and Caesar’s, and Pat and Beth got a chance to see the Cirque De Solis show Mystere that night.

The whole Canyon-Vegas loop was such a great time with the Cousins. Even all the hours in the car seemed to pass quickly as we got to catch up on so many great old times. I sure hope it’s not too long before we get to do this again with them…

GRAND CANYON PICS HERE
VEGAS PICS HERE

By Kimberly
Bisbee Arizona is located not too far from Tombstone, AZ and is a great little place to visit anytime of the year. It is full of unique art and antique shops and even more full of history as an old mining town. There are cement stairs all though out the city that the copper miners used and most of the steps are still in working conditions thanks in part to the Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb Event. The event is a unique combination of running 4.4 miles and climbing the aptly named 1000 stairs.

This was the 18th year of the event which had us and other runners trekking through the streets of the city and up 8 separate sets of stairs totally actually 1037 steps. Although the mileage is not huge the elevation of the run and the steps and just the fact that the city is at a high elevation makes for a challenging but thrilling run. The first (almost) mile is a downhill run (nice due to what is to come) and then the first set of steps makes one realize that the run will not be too easy. Mostly on the steps due to the amount of runners, individuals are walking briskly upwards and then taking off when reaching the top until getting to the next set of steps. The steps are old but well managed and since there are houses situated at all levels in the city so most of the time the runners are going past homes as they rise upwards. Many of the city’s “eclectic” citizens cheer on the runners from their yard offering words of encouragement and smiling faces. As a participant in this year’s race I really appreciated and enjoyed the kindness of everyone, not only the people putting on the race but also the other racers – it was a great vibe. This was a very competitive event and chip timed but there was no pushing or rushing one another on the steps. People allowed others to pass if they desired and if one had to step aside to get a breath they were given easy access back to the steps when they were ready. What a great race.

Michael and I both did very well. We both came in 11th for our age/gender category out of 61 in my group and I think 64 in his (RESULTS HERE). Michael was 116th overall with a time of 44:32 and I came in 321st with 52:37 – out of a total of over 1100 runners. It was not only a great race but also a great weekend. We enjoyed being able to eat our own food (our old hotel had a kitchen), we meet some great folks from Phoenix (Bill and Greta – and their Aunt too), and Oh By The Way if you get to Bisbee eat at Cafe Roka! It was the best meal Michael and I have had in a very long time! I had the artichoke and mushroom lasagna and it was a flavor explosion! Michael had the Chicken and said it was better. Great service and outstanding food.

Overall Bisbee is a great little weekend trip anytime, but for sure was a special weekend for the Stair Climb. We will be back next year – and Michael says look out Ice Man Competitors (this is another event with 155 stairs and a 10lb block of ice….)

Last year’s Komen Race for the Cure was about as special a day as can be in life. It will be a day that stays with me forever. We talked a little about it in THIS BLOG. There was something special that day and I doubt there will ever be another one like it. But having said that, every Komen Race day is pretty amazing and special for us, and this year was no exception.

For those maybe not as familiar, the Susan Komen Race for the Cure is one of the biggest events that support the foundation. They have many of them throughout the US in the bigger cities. Phoenix this year had near 40,000 runners and walkers, including about 800 plus Survivors (woman who have had Breast Cancer). It’s a day of celebration and remembrance. Everything is based around the run, but they always have a neat setup of ‘walk around’ activities and vendors at the Race location. The vendors all really do a great job, as does the Komen group, of making the Survivors feel special. This year even included a Survivors parade before the race that Kimberly participated in (in the 10-14 year Survivor Group!).

A couple things made this year very special as well. Mostly because this last year my mother was diagnosed and treated for Breast Cancer. In fact she really just finished the radiation treatments about the time for the Race. So we both of course were ‘running for Mom’ this year. As you would expect the runs are really about celebration and remembrance too – in fact we always wear the signs that say who’s survival we are celebrating (and others who are being remembered).

Kimberly was pretty pumped up for the day. She had the added motivation of celebration for Mom to add to her Race. In case you didn’t know the Misses is pretty competitive. And while the Komen is ‘non-competitive race’ (not chip timed) they still give awards and recognition to the top 3 finishers overall and among Survivors. Having finished 7th or so last year, and knowing she now is a couple of minutes faster on her 5K time, there was a decent chance she could move up paces and maybe even had a shot at Top 3. She of course did amazing improving to 5th overall and cutting a huge amount of time off her last year results. I was so proud again, it’s pretty cool to have a wife with that kind of drive, strength and commitment.

The day started way too early – about 4:30, in order to get ready, get down there, walk around, park, do the parade, etc (so little sleep of course). The rest of the day beside the race was walking around, getting the pink goodies, eating some banana’s and taking lot’s of pictures. Kimberly even got to see a couple of her Racer/Survivor friends she met last year (pretty cool). She did an interview with Channel 12 just before the Race (she’s quite photogenic you know). Speaking of photo’s I was the camera man again and had to quick run over to the car to drop off the bag so I could run the race as well when the rest of the group started. I had a good run considering I ran in the ChaCha yesterday morning as well.

We of course are already looking forward to next year’s race. We will raise more money for the great cause, celebrate 12 years for Kimberly and 1 for Mom, and we will have better race times

As we have talked about in a lot of this year’s Blog’s, Running has become one of our ‘gig’s’. When now officially even look for races and unique cities to run around for our weekend fun. It’s a riot, healthy and cheap… all hard to beat. From an event standpoint, most all runs are some sort of street run of a fixed distance (5K, 10K, half marathon, etc.). So these have been our focus, as that’s really what the options are. Having said this, occasionally there is a unique event that is not just the typical street run. For example our upcoming Bisbee 1000 which is 4.4 miles and 1000 plus stairs (yeah sounds like fun huh?). And another I just had a chance to compete in; the Cactus ChaCha Trail Run.

The Cactus ChaCha is right up my alley. While I am still fairly new to running, I will always identify more with Trail Running. I enjoy the dirt and rock much more than the street or a treadmill. Sadly though, there are not just many organized trail running events. In fact, aside from the ChaCha, the only other one in our area each year that I know of is the Lake Pleasant Good Dam Run we did in April and that is only ½ trail.

In any event, the ChaCha has a 3 mile and a 7 mile race. I had planned on the 7 miler (fairly close to what I do a couple of times a week now) but with the ankle still a little jacked (I wrap it) I thought I better stick to the 3 miler. I had a great time. The course was at the White Tank Park Competitive track. It is a good track, small rocks everywhere but not too much elevation changes. The exception being a nice little wash near the end. I ended up coming in 14th place overall (7th gender) out of 170 in the 3 mile race. My time was 23:19 which I was mostly happy with considering the ankle and the trail conditions. The event was well ran and a good group of folks out there (trail runners are a little different breed I think). As example: the ChaCha had breakfast burritos for the runners at the end along with the typical banana.

I am looking forward to next year, no ankle issue, and hopefully it will not be followed the next day with another race as this year’s was (we do the Komen Race for the Cure tomorrow).

Last Night Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech for the Democratic nominee for President. As Kimberly and I watched it seemed with every passing moment a sense of history was being made. I mean, of course this was a historical night, but it felt ‘Historical’, even perhaps ‘Generation Defining’. Needless to say it was at a minimum a very inspiring and captivating 45 minutes of ‘Hope in Words and Emotion’.

I am now old enough to have seen a lot politicians talk-the-talk only to never walk-the-walk. They give us that glimmer of hope that this time it just isn’t bullshit rhetoric but true sincerity – yet we always end up with more of the same. But today, at least for this moment in time it feels right. So I will again drink (okay maybe ‘sip’ for now) the kool-aid of hope for change here. This man feels like he really could elevate the pride in our country, our trust that government can be for all Americans (and not for 3% of them), and most importantly he will make the decisions that drive us toward a world where I will worry far less for my Grandchildren.

I guess history will tell whether last night was the beginning of something special for our world….but at least right now, we have the hope.

Seems like I have talked a lot this year about ‘those moments’. A special day or few hours or even just a blink of an eye where you get a chance to say to yourself “it doesn’t get any better than this”. For me those moments can be bigger event type situations like getting to see a World Series Game live, or perhaps sitting on the balcony of your cruise ship as you pull into an amazing new location on the planet. But they can also be little blips in time like smelling your grandson’s hair while you hold him in your arms, or looking over at the love of your life sleeping right before you turn off the lights to fall asleep. For me, this is life – it’s those moments and those special times. Not that the rest is not great too, it’s just when we tend to look back, it’s not the day-to-day stuff that we can recall, it’s ‘those moments’. So for sure seems the key is to have as many of those experiences as you can cram into our way too brief lifetime.

All of the above it to say, had a ton of those again this last weekend. Kimberly and I shuffled up to the Grand Canyon National Park on Friday and had a near perfect little trip. It’s funny, the Canyon really is, as Kimberly mentioned just before we pulled in to the park about 3 ½ hour’s drive from home, “in our backyard”. This time we just camped out atop the South Rim at Mather Campground. Our campsite was a nice wooded area only about a 10 minute walk or so from the Canyon edge.

The whole weekend was great, but the “moments” included; a couple hours of running together along the Rim Trail where you have an ever changing view into the Canyon almost the whole time (Run Details and Map HERE), smores at the campfire (both nights!), the smell of pine and burgers cooking on real charcoal – and eating those burgers , checking out the new visitor center, sitting around a ‘campfire gathering’ and listening the Park Ranger talk about the trivia of the Grand Canyon, and many, many more including getting to see and experience an incredible sunrise over the Canyon at 5:50 am while holding Kimberly’s hand (of course after I got some cool pictures….. SEEN HERE).

A hot one is was…. So we paid the price of waiting to decide where we would do our hike this week with a ‘nice and toasty’ hike in the nearby Spur Cross Conservation area. Seems like whenever we procrastinate in deciding where we will do the hike, we end up a closer to home - which of course this time of year means it’s gonna’ be a hot one.

We scooted over just North of Cave Creek (not too far from the Go John Trail we hiked earlier this year) to the Conservation area. It’s about 5-6 miles from Cave Creek and only an hour or so drive from the house. We planned to hike the Elephant Mountain Trail. Assumed we would have about a five miler because the trial itself was 2.1 each way. We ended up doing about 7 1/2 miles because the trailhead is well out, and you must do parts of a couple of other trails as part of the overall loop (Spur Cross being one of them and it is very well maintained).

Aside from being hot it was another great hike as always and we even trail ran some of it. Our little 15 minutes snack break just below the saddle by Elephant Mountain, where you got a great view of how it got its name - not the outline formation, but from an elephant in the rocks so-to-speak - it’s pretty cool, see the pictures.

We would recommend the hike for sure. In particular the Spur Cross trail looks like one of the far better maintained trails around. The Elephant Mountain Trail not so much, and for sure you need to be prepared for a good cardio workout on its portion of the loop. A few pictures HERE - though we did not take many (as a ‘feeling the heat; redhead was none too happy about pictures pauses on a 103 degree day hike with 7 plus miles and 2600 ft. of elevation gain…

Find our hike info from the GPS (maps, trail, speed, etc.) HERE

Kimberly and I love spending time together, and we seem to have a growing addiction to running. Though it has been tough to combine the two as Kimberly likes running the streets and the treadmill and my preference is for the trails and rocks. So, other than when we do the races, it’s been kind of a ‘something we both like that we do not do together much’ type situation. But while up in Michigan on our recent trip this all changed, and it couldn’t be cooler as we have now ‘found a new gig’.

When traveling it can be tough to find time (and a way) to exercise. Without a gym, running around wherever you are tends to be what you do. Being away from home this last month presented many such opportunities. I think the first time we ran together was around a hotel in Texas. We needed to get some runs in before the upcoming races so we thought what they heck might as well do it here. We put on the ipods, and just started running around the hotel area. It was pretty cool, even though we were both in our own music world and not talking (though sometimes we would) it was something we were doing together and we were really enjoying it. An unexpected part was how fun it felt that we were ‘seeing a different place’ on the run even though in this case is was just around a hotel in Amarillo. We did it again when we were in Oklahoma and then on the way to Michigan outside a hotel in Indiana.

Next thing you know, we start thinking, why not combine a nice run with anytime we check out a new city (small town, tourist town, beach area, whatever). It would give us a great way to see a ton of the town, maybe spot something we would not have noticed, and because we would have seen most of the place we might have a better idea of where we want to hang after the run. We did it in Michigan a couple more times (a great run around the beach town of Saugatuck included) and we now have added it to our weekend fun options and an alternative to hiking.

Which I guess finally brings us to the reason for this blog :-). This weekend we headed up to Jerome, a great little town about 100 miles north of Phoenix. Jerome calls itself a Ghost town, because at one time it was about dead (used to be a big copper mining area way back when), but it is a pretty lively little artsy community now. It is also essentially on the side of a hill, many of the houses are on stilts because the pitch is so steep. Anyway, we headed out early, got to Jerome, parked the car and did a great run around the town. Seeing it is fairly small, in the hour and five minutes we ran around we did a couple loops of most everything. This run was especially ‘fun’ in that you are either running downhill or uphill the whole time. Jerome has about zero flat land.

After the run, we walked around the shops, took some pictures (ask me about the ghost house in the one overlooking the valley – WEIRD). We then headed over to Prescott (up the mountain and down the other side) and walked around the festival they had and did some antique shops for the rest of the day. A perfect “Arizona Saturday”.

We are really looking forward to doing many more runs together as we explore many more new sites and towns. Some PICTURES HERE