CrossRoads Blog

Tradition is by definition something that is ongoing - you have done it before and expect to again. There are many great family traditions surrounding the holidays. One for me growing up was we always went to my Grandfather’s lake house on Christmas Eve with all my Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. We would all exchange gifts, eat a ton of food and cookies and listen to my Uncle Keith make cracks about the $10 he got from ‘Howard’ (my grandpa), score a Central Michigan shirt from my Aunt Lisa, take goofy pictures and laugh. I loved that tradition. Can’t tell you how much I missed it the first year I was away some 30 or so years ago - and even today think about those nights every Christmas.

The immediate family always tried to keep that Christmas Eve thing going on and about 12 years ago our house became the gathering place for all of us to get together and share a great night of family, food, gifts and laughter. We would always do Kimberly and Kerry’s birthday presents first and then it was Christmas time. But sadly, like going to my Grandpa and Grandma’s the tradition of having everyone over to our place has kind of faded some in the last few years too. With my folks and now the boys both being in Oklahoma, we are now down to just Mom and Dad Lohstroh, Mike, Kerry, Josh, Heather, and us. So while we still get together, we still do the birthday thing, and Kimberly and I still try to do a special ‘ethnic theme meal’, it’s just not quite the same old full crazy house with everyone here.

But as some traditions die, others are born. And one of the new ‘traditions’ (seeing it has been two years now and will hopefully go on forever) is ‘crazy gift gaming’ (for lack of better term so far). Essentially everyone buys a ton of odd - weird - funny - nice - practical - impractical, (basically you name it) little gifts. The only criteria is that it cannot be over $10. So after dinner we all sit around and play some game - whatever is short, (it was Five Card Stud Poker this year), and the winner gets to pick a new gift or steal one that someone else has already gotten. Last year being the first year we had a riot. This year with everyone knowing all year it was coming, turned out to be even more fun. I think we were not the only ones who kept an eye out all year long for ‘the perfect items’.

The net was it was a great time, and a great ending to a very nice Kimberly & Kerry Birthday slash Christmas Eve get together with family. I may have missed out this time on the Monkey Butt Powder and the Redneck Telescoping Fork but I did score the musical Elvis singing Blue Christmas Ornament which went right on the tree and 10 rolls of toilet paper (don’t ask)! Let the search for 2010 gifts begin… Oh yeah, and the Tenderloin Filet’s on the grill and Au Gratin Potatoes made for a great meal (of course the 5 bottles of wine may have helped the palette) and Kimberly loved the Kindle I got for her Birthday.

The thing Kimberly and I both recalled about last year’s Frosty’s Run is that it ‘earned’ it’s name. It was cold! I remember being very happy when we got to start running and warm the body. The other thing was how much we enjoyed the race. So there we were again, trying to get an early sleep Saturday and getting our not-so-young selves up at 4:50 AM Sunday morning to do a race. The difference being, this time even though the temperature was suppose to be better, we were far better prepared. For me that means double gloves, for Kimberly that means long pants and the little earband thinggie’ she has.

We got to the race in time to mingle a little and say hello to some of the familiar faces. Funny how many of the same cast of characters end up doing many of the local races. On the positive side it was also much warmer than last year, but that said, it is still cold as heck in the desert before the sun comes up. The race supports the local Hospice community and is held at Reach 11 Park just South of the 101 and Tatum. It is 10 Miles and ran entirely on the dirt trails in an area called Horse Lovers Park. Kind of odd in that the race is all on dirt trail (nice on the knees) and seems like it is in the middle of nowhere running the whole 10 miles, yet you are less than a mile from Desert Ridge and a couple from the busy Scottsdale/101 area.

Kimberly and I had good runs and in fact both ended up getting a medal for our age groups. This was kind of surprising in that last year we remember that Frosty’s had some really fast folks that ran it. Kimberly knocked a ton of time of her last year result and finished just over an hour and a half at 1:30:14 good for 57th overall and 3rd in her age group. Funny thing was, had the race been just 4 days later (after her birthday Dec 24th) she would have won her age group. Yet another good news - bad news thing about getting older . I crossed at 1:13:51 which was 2nd in my age group and 7th place overall.

The downside of our medal success was that we had to hang out to receive them. Which meant waiting until everyone is done with the race, they have gotten organized etc. Normally not a big deal at all, and happy to do it. This time however it proved an issue… We are in the midst of training for the P. F. Chang Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 4 weeks. Because of this our schedules called for about 20 miles or running this day. Now most people just skip the races and do the 20 run like they wisely should - but we like to race to much. Other people who maybe do like us and do the race, just say the 10 miles is enough seeing it was a race and call it a day. Well…. not us stubborn types. We are suppose to do 20, then we need to do the race, then just go out and do the same 10 mile track and we will have our 20 in. Net result of this stubbornness and having to wait 1 1/2 hours in between the two 10 mile runs - PAIN. And I do mean PAIN in all capitals. There seems to be a window of time were you can run a race, hang out and then run again. I am not sure what it is, but I know what it is not. After about 8 miles into run two (and BTW the temps were now up 25 degrees), I turned and looked at Kimberly and said “I have had enough, how about you?”. Let’s say there was not an pause before her answer. Sadly it was still 2 miles back to the car, though it did allow us plenty of time to come up with justification on calling it a wrap 2 miles early.

We will be back next year hoping for warm weather and NOT planning to run after….

Sometimes Kimberly and I are running around and next thing you know the whole day is gone, or the weekend for that matter, and we go “man what happened, were did all the time go”. It’s like time really does just fly by. Neither of a has a job that is outside of the house, we have no traffic time, no kids piano or Tae Kwon Do lessons to go to, no PTA, no etc. - but yet it seems like we don’t ever have a spare minute one. Yesterday, I think this was the epitome of ‘no rest for the wicked’ as we were running (ummm.. no pun intended) right from the get-go!

Our morning started with a 4:00 A.M. rise. We quickly did the breakfast thing, and got ready for the Saturday long run with the West Valley Runners. Seeing we were starting the run at 5:30 so that we would be finished by 8:00 ish, this meant cold weather gear, gloves, packing the GU shots, music charged, headlamps on, watch, recovery bars, spi-belt, etc. We wanted to still make sure we had at least a little time after the run to go over to Starbucks and hang with the guys before we had to scoot quickly home and get things going for the next part of the morning. So Kimberly knocked out the 18 miles she needed and I got in my 21.5 and we went over and said hello for a bit with the gang for coffee.

We couldn’t stay long, because we had to run home and get ready for the Annual Tae Kwon Do Party in the park by 10:00. Seeing we had committed to bringing the breakfast Burritos that meant a ton of veggie chopping and cooking still to be done (to say nothing of cracking and separating 5 dozen eggs as we only wanted the whites). So we were flying with showers going, four burners cooking, the electric skillet rockin’, knives, chopping boards everywhere, wraps, aluminum foil, it was nuts. But we did manage to load the food (about 30 plus Burritos), grab some chairs, throw them in the truck and make it over to the park only 30 minutes late or so.

The get together was good fun as always. Way more food options than we all need. I scored some home processed sausage and even ate a doughnut (I ran 21 miles that am so I figured it’s all good). We spent some time shooting the breeze with the whole gang - the folks and the families of our Dojang are all great people. After stuffing ourselves it was time for the annual soccer game. I had a riot, even though I had to play much more in control than last year seeing the hamstring is still very tender. Kimberly wisely watched from the cheering section. I think we played for at least an hour and half before the crowd started breaking up and we all called it a wrap.

It was now time for a late lunch and little store running we had to do. We got the shopping done as fast as we could, came home, ate, hit the shower again (funky from the Soccer and being out in the cold), and got ready for the night. Kimberly’s fellow Belly Dance troupe friend Laura was having a birthday get together. The cool part was that it was going to be the Coyotes Hockey game playing the Sharks. So I was down with that for sure. Only thing was, the gang was all getting together before the game over at Westgate for dinner and drinks meaning we had to be there by like 5:00. Seeing by the time the late lunch and showers were done it was now 3:30, there would be no hoped for nap.

We had a good time at the restaurant and game, it was nice to catch up with everyone. Seems like it has been forever since we have had a night out with some of the Belly Dance gang. It was also nice to see the Coyotes playing some good hockey (it’s been awhile), but sadly we had to book it after the second period so we could rush home and get ready for the Annual Boat/Xmas Party at the Courpe’s. Good news is we are only about 15 minutes from the stadium, I think it took more time to walk to the Truck than it took to get home once out of the parking lot. So within one hour of leaving the game we were in the Christmas(ie) duds with Kimberly’s homemade cookies and a bottle of Vino in our hands walking into the Party.

Alan and Ene always put on a great holiday party, and this year was no exception. Seeing there was no Boat Parade that meant no kiddo’s. No kiddo’s I am sure meant a much more ‘adult’ vibe to the later hours of the party - which sadly we did not get to see. We said hello everybody, had a few cocktails, some vino, hung as best we could, but by about 11:00 we had to fess up and admit we were getting too old to party into the wee hours. Still by the time we hit the sheets it was a 20 plus hour non-stop day. I still wonder where the heck the time goes and how we used to do it back in the day with kids around….

This will be one of the trips that I as time passes I will look back be able to focus more on what was great about the trip versus what was not. In that vein, I will start out with the ‘not’ so I can get to all the fun and good times.

I woke up the day after getting back from McAlester a little sore. Not too unexpected seeing we just had a 16 hour drive the day before, but Kimberly said she felt fine. I didn’t think anything of it until I went out for my run a couple hours later. Originally we had the planned on doing the Half Marathon at the coming weekend’s Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon. Only seeing I have been pretty much doing Marathon quantity training miles per week (and I needed 20 miles that day not 13) I was fairly sure I would switch over the do the full and just treat it as a training run for the upcoming Chang’s Full in January. Which meant my plan for that Monday was 12 miles or so. Only as soon as I started to run I felt my right hamstring was sore. Hey, we are used to soreness in certain areas, so I just decided to keep running and it would go away. Problem was as soon as I picked up the pace after my warm-up - OUCH, it felt like I ripped the whole thing from the back of my knee. I hobbled home as the realization that I was likely at least fairly injured started to sit it. I won’t bore you with lot’s more, but the story ends with I was still jacked 6 days later when it was time to run in Vegas. The good news was that as long as I didn’t push the speed too much I could run - so I was able to run. The great news was that while a little painful to go at her pace, I was able to run with Kimberly and we crossed the finish line together (a great photo opportunity)!

Now the rest of the great parts of the trip… It was Vegas remember, so you know there was fun to be had. The first night in town we checked out the new City Center area, or at least the parts that were open. This place is going to be amazing if it ever gets to what it was to be. Makes me wonder though with all the economy issues if this will be one huge casualty. In the meantime, it truly is a ‘City in a City’ (and to think we used to say that about some individual hotels. A cool aside, I think they named one of the Hotels in City center after the Granddaughter (Aria). Of course we did a whole lot of walking around; the Venetian Shoppes, Caesars’ Forum, The Fashion Show, etc. Got some incredible shopping deals because of all the options and the economy. Kimberly had her first Wolfgang Puck Pizza, we had a nice meal at ‘The Company Store’, and of course one night did the carbo load at the Paris Buffet.

But this trip was all about the race and hanging with our runner friends. One really cool aspect was that even though it was not a ‘local’ race, we still got to hang with a bunch of running friends. Quite a few of the West Valley Runners (a local run club we run with) were in town to run the Half and the Full. They are a bunch of great folks and we didn’t get to hang with them as much as we would have liked, but we did catch up a couple of times. Sunday night we missed them sounds perhaps like it could have been a fun one. We heard something about Coyote Ugly, crazy drinking, belts, welts, etc (we will keep quiet on the rest :-). We were also able to connect up with some runner friends we have come to know from Twitter (Kimberly’s friends really). It was nice, we hung a little at the expo, and had a drink with them at Mandalay one day. I’m sure it will not be the last time we hang with that crowd…

All in all, like I said a great long weekend in Vegas. I might be bummed about the hamstring, but I got to run down the Las Vegas Strip with my wonderful wife, see a bunch of friends, eat at some great Vegas places, and just hang in town we love. Heck if I would have stayed home it would have been to clean the pool and do yard work - I’ll take the jacked hamstring please…

Some PICS HERE

I know I have said it before, but I am going to say it again - nothing is more important than family, friends and our health!! All the other is truly not that important or simply the stuff we fill in life’s empty spaces with (not to get to Roger Water’s-y). I also seem to be getting more and more sentimental the older I get. So when it looked like all was lining up to have a Thanksgiving this year with as big a family group as we have had in years, we were pretty excited. In particular because Brother Dominic was coming in from New York. Sister Kerry was also making her first trip to the hometown of our Grandson. Becky and Rolland and there youngin’s would be there, of course M3 with parents in tow, Zac and his clan, and the ‘old’ folks would all be sitting around the big house with us smelling the bird in the oven and watching the Lions losing on the TV. Yep… time for that old cliché - it just doesn’t get any better than that!

What can I say, it was a great week, including: talking old times, catching up with Dominic, playing with the Grandson, cooking with my wife and my Mother, eating, eating, eating some more, going to Wal-Mart (again - this is what you do in McAlester), lot’s of pictures, watching Zac’s clan enjoy the easel, doing the Tulsa Mall Black Friday trip and just like last year we got the M3-Santa Picture and scored some cool Jordan Nike’s for him, eating German chocolate cake, eating pumpkin pie, eating pecan pie, and did I mention eating?

The find of the trip was the local track up at the High School. We of course needed some runs, including some speed work while we were there and we found the track open, just up the street and a great place to run. Not only did we do our speed work there one day, we did our long run on it as well (so much better on the knees and joints versus running on Carl Albert Hwy there). Having never ran on a track (least in forever) it was really nice, and I think we both had our fastest 4X mile repeats ever (I was doing sub 6:15 average which is fast for this old man).

The best part of the trip of course was all the catch up and laughing about old times with everyone. It was extra special having both Dominic and Kerry to shoot the breeze with. I think it’s been 10-12 years since we did that. I know it won’t be that long before it happens again. The grandkid was of course his same old perfect hambone star-of-the-show self. I think you will see evidence of this by checking out all the pictures (this time they will only be 75% M3 shots versus 90% normal!). In particular you will want to scope the Santa costume shots because you know we had to get him some get-up for this trip’s pictures. Kimberly also captured a great video that portends of his future rock stardom (check it out on youtube HERE). It was also nice to see how Becky’s family has grown so, her and Roland sure raised some great kids.

We had a great ride home too as the old man had joined us for a quick trip to the Valley of the Sun. Along the way we even got to catch a little early ‘White Christmas with some decent snow around Amarillo and the area. Seeing we had ‘road-tripped’ it, it was nice we had driven OB2 (which stands for “Old Blue Two” in honor of buddy Clay’s old Ford Truck he called Old Blue) with Four Wheel Drive. Even though we really didn’t need it, it was nice to know we would have been fine had the road gotten worse, and the same could not be said for the Coupe.

As always, it won’t be long before we venture back to the land of the Sooners and Cowboys - but next trip will be very, very special because: we got a Grand Daughter on the way!!! Some PICS HERE

They call the Big Sur Half Marathon a ‘destination race’ (one of the top 3 in the country), and it more than lives up to its billing as a ‘must run’. The Central California Coast is just an amazing piece of our planet. When we heard about a race that starts in Monterey, heads down Cannery Row, through Garden Grove and along an amazing stretch of the Pacific, umm, book it Dan-o was an easy decision! As with most destination races, the race itself is only just one piece of the overall experience. And with our hotel in downtown Monterey, essentially two blocks from the race start, one block from Fisherman’s Pier, and just a little walk to Cannery Row, there would be no doubt of this. Even before we the road I was having visions of Cioppino Bowls dancing in my head.

So upon arrival Friday while we didn’t make a complete beeline for the seafood (we checked into the hotel first) I think it was less than two hours after we got there that we had an awesome piece of Blackened Pacific Red Snapper and a nice Halibut steak in front of us at a little place called Monterey Fish House. The place is very small and really caters to locals, but it was well worth the squish and living room environment.

Saturday was as full as day as we could cram in considering we always like to call it an early night the day before a race. We started the day with an early stroll along the water and piers. Of course we had to do a little walk around Fisherman’s Pier and reminisce about the time we had the boys with us and we ate at the little restaurant at the end of the pier and Mike and Zac put Dungeness Crab exoskeletons (their dinner) on their heads (PIC HERE) - ahh where did those days go? Then we headed over to the Race Expo to pick up our bibs and race packets. Seeing it was going to be a cold one, I grabbed some of the cheapo gloves and Kimberly picked up a pair of compression pants she could wear under her shorts - the girl may always wants to look good, but is will to sacrifice for warmth always :-). After the expo we took a little walk down to the Cannery Row section of Monterey. A very cool little stretch that was once full of Canneries of course, and now consists of shops, restaurants and the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

After walking around some of the shops, having some more excellent seafood at Louie Linguine’s (an excellent spot in the Cannery with great views, a fun vibe, an really good clam chowder) we got some tickets and headed into the massive Monterey Bay Aquarium. We immediately realized that to do this place right you need a full day, and we sadly only had a couple of hours. We did manage to hit all the main areas and attractions but did not do the place justice for sure. I took a ton of pictures, of course shooting through glass you will not get what you hope for, but some of them actually came out pretty decent. The star of the show right now has to be the Seahorse exhibit. These things really are amazing. There is one bred that has even developed legs and arms that look like branches - it’s scary cool evolution. Do check out some of the shots, a couple I got zoomed right in on the sea creature - some it may even take you a minute to find it as it blends in so well. After a little more walking around we headed back to the room, ate some of the homemade pizza we brought (as is a pre-race night tradition) and called it a night.

A 6:15 start time means a 4:00 alarm clock even though we could walk to the start line from our room. While we for sure lay out all the ‘gear’ the night before, there are many things to get done before a race including a little warm up run and most importantly the oatmeal and coffee! We both sleep fairly decent, though not long, neither of us had any major injuries and we were feeling pretty good - all good omens for a great race. We put on the gloves, downed B12 and headed over to the start line. I gave Kimberly a kiss, we headed to our start lines and before you knew it we were off.

The course was spectacular. Aside from the runs we have done along the Rim of the Grand Canyon perhaps, I can’t think of a more scenic place we have ever ran - in fact I repeated the course the day after the race by myself. You start off right next to the piers, circle back through Monterey and run down the center of Cannery Row, then you are right out running with the Pacific on one side and the California cool homes of Garden Grove on the other - sweet! It’s more or less and out an back course with slightly different return. The last bit is especially nice as you run along a stretch of a bike/pedestrian path that runs about 18 miles totally along the coast in that area. The course has a few little hills but is fairly flat and fast. In particular the last couple of miles are slightly downhill so if makes for a nice finish which comes right back into the Fisherman’s Pier area and close to the Hotel. We both had very good runs. Kimberly had a new Half Marathon PR with 1:55:03 and the top 15% of her age and of all women. I ran in 1:36:13 which was top 4% overall and a new PR for me too by 10 seconds or so. We hung around the finish line for a bit and got our very cool pottery style medals.

After the race it was still early and we wanted to take advantage of the area. So after a quick shower we headed 10 minutes south to the ‘perfect’ little town of Carmel by the Sea. We tried to walk off the race legs, stopped into a few of the shops, tried to find something out of place in the town to no avail (even a leaf) and finally got my bowl of Cioppino at Flattery’s Seafood Grill - which was most excellent by the way. After lunch we drove a little further south and stopped at Point Loma Reserve. What an amazing place. When you picture that idyllic view of mountains and California coast, this is the place. We did a nice little hike and took some pictures of the Sea Lions and amazing shoreline. This is another place where I wish we had a full day to hang out, but it was getting late in the day and the bodies were starting to fade fast. We headed back to town, took a little walk to the local Sprouts and picked up some easy foods we could eat in the room - no fancy dinner celebration required, just some turkey, a little chocolate and a good bottle of Vino in the room - a perfect night to cap off a perfect trip. PICS HERE

It’s really nice when my business and our running (err ahh..) habit can come together. It’s particularly nice when it does so in support of a great cause. Such is the case with the ‘Race To End Domestic Violence‘ a 5K running event sponsored by the Arizona Foundation for Women here in Phoenix. It’s a great organization and one Kimberly and I are honored to support. There are a lot of options out there for your help, but when you see some of the stories that this group is here to put an end to, you know it’s worthy. A couple of staggering statistics…. Every 36 minutes in Arizona, a police officer responds to a domestic violence incident where a child is present. Every 30 minutes in Arizona, a family is turned away from a shelter due to lack of space. Every 19 minutes in Arizona, an arrest is made as a result of domestic violence incident. There is a domestic violence related death approximately every five days in Arizona!

My business industry is one of the largest contributors to the cause and always puts together a sizable team to run (or walk) in the race. This year in order to have an even bigger turnout, the race was ran in conjunction with the 34th annual Phoenix 10K (one of the oldest and largest races in Arizona). In fact, they set it up so that you could run one race right after the other - which of course me and Kimberly were one of the 150 out of 2500 runners who did both!

The race is held downtown and ran basically on the same roads as the Komen and every other downtown Phoenix race (flat and fast). That meant a fairly early rise and drive. It was a nippy day and we had to park a ways from the start at the Bolin Plaza so the cold was a good motivator to get the running started. Kimberly and I had a little different strategy for the races. Seeing 5K and 10K’s are fast and normally all out type runs, and this being the first time we ever tried back-to-back, deciding how fast to run them was tricky. Kimberly decided to run the first race (the 10K) more or less all out (as much as you can as your body knows you have another fast 5K coming) and chill on the 5K somewhat. My plan was to try to run both equal, kind of like I was running a 15K race speed.

We both did very good, Kimberly got a PR in the 10K at 51:10 and followed up with a 26:25 in her 5K (both top 10% in her age group). I did 44:38 in the 10K and 21:36 for the 5K which was good for top 10% overall in both runs. We were happy with the results considering most people just ran one race, in fact in the combined overall I finished 22nd and Kimberly was 56th place.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the mall and seeing what we could find for the grandkiddo and those other little ones in the land where the wind comes whipping down the plains. Next week we are off to the beautiful California Central Coast and Monterrey Peninsula for the Big Sur Half Marathon!

Halloween is suppose to be ‘Spooky’ and ‘Kooky’ - and this year fit the bill. Only from a little different slant than is typical I guess. The kooky part was running down a dirt trail at 5:15 a.m. in the cold morning with a headlamp on your head to meet your wife in an hour so you both can do another 12 miles in addition to the 9 it will take to get to her. I think there are some that may say that’s a kooky way to start a Saturday Halloween morning?

By midday we were still scrambling around trying to find us a costume for an event we had later in the day. Seeing a 21 mile run in the morning was not enough, we had signed up for a 5K run at the new City North at City Center (a new local retail and urban living development) called “Freaky 5K“. While it was not a requirement to run in costume - how could you not? I was hoping to be a Sheik and Kimberly a Belly Dancer type that matched (kind of). Sadly there was nothing even close to a costume like that and we went to many place. Seeing nothing else was appealing we decided Kimberly would still go as a Belly Dancer (I know a stretch right? But she would have an awesome costume!) and I found one that while would not be as easy to run in as a Sheik gown, would be very funny to look at. It was essentially an ostrich that made it look like you were riding them when wearing. It even had a little motor to poof out the tail and rest of the bird. Very funny stuff - I therefore looking like I was cheating on the run as I was riding an ostrich.

Let’s just say it is not too easy running in a blow up bird. Though the looks I was getting from the 2-6 year olds was worth the price of admission. We both had a real good run and time too considering the costumes and the length of the morning run. But having already been a nonstop day we were well ready to do some chillin’ and hanging with friends and family at Kerry and Mike’s get together in Anthem.

Sis and Brother in law do like we always do for the spook night - they setup shop (food drinks, chairs, fire pit, the whole nine yards) out in the driveway and hang with the friends while the little trick or treaters swing by for the high fructose buzz in a wrapper stuff. It’s a great way to meet (or see) the neighbors and a perfect reason to partake of good food and drink. Speaking of which, Mike had some good chili made up and I brought some too. Along with some other way good food goodies from everyone, I think I ate and drank back the 24 miles worth of calorie burn :-).

It was also great to see Mike and Joleen and their furry one again. Heather was there and in great spirits (little credit for working the ’spirits’ into the blog?) - she looks amazing and is doing so good on the path toward her first Marathon!! We are thrilled for her. Louie was hanging looking good, the fire was cranking, the chili was spicy and my ‘Reese’s peanut butter cocktail drinks went over pretty good (though not exactly what I had hoped for from a taste perspective). All in all a great night, that finally ended about 20 hours after it started.

Oh yeah, the “Spooky” part of the day I alluded to….. I give you:

There is something inherently cool about this town. It’s low down and funky but with a laid back sophistication. Kind of a California old hippie vibe but with an Arizona desert town tough slant. It’s just hard to describe - but what is easy is to say how much we dig this place. I’ll say it again, if you have not been to Bisbee, go, simple as that.

I had even a little more excitement in anticipation of this year’s Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb. We had such a riot last year, the whole trip was perfect (Blogged about it HERE), with the exception of the race. The race is self was great, in fact it quickly became my favorite, but the rub was I was still feeling the effects of the ankle jack and was not real happy with the effort I was able to put forth. This year I was all heeled up and ready to hit a goal of a ‘first page finish’ (top 100, last year I was 122 or something like that).

We again stayed at the Gym Suites. A perfect place really for folks like us who enjoy cooking their own meals, okay.. and are a little picky about what they eat. The place had a great bedroom, a living room, dining, full kitchen, and a balcony overlooking town all for about half the cost of what we pay at a typical Marriott. The place is like an apartment really, must be close to 1200 sq ft. A perfect choice for someone who wants to spend a week in Bisbee.

The whole weekend was again exactly the perfect vibe you hope for - chilled, easy going, great people, great food, interesting characters, and one heck of a challenging 45 minutes or so. We did the typical town walkabout pretty much the whole time we were there and not sleeping. Unlike a lot of places the antique shops here really have antiques - or at least unique old crap sold at a decent price . In fact along those lines, after 10 years of looking Kimberly found an old ‘Lucy Table’ and chairs that fit perfectly in the Red Kitchen motif. The art and artists of this town are also enjoyable. Very talented folks that I think just love the area so they do their thing and sell it at reasonable prices. I love supporting local artists and when you can buy a cool piece of handmade clay for less than a case of soda you gotta’ love it. I also much appreciate that you can walk to a couple of small stores and have access to a nice selection of organic fruits and veggies. Here we are in the middle of nowhere pretty much in some old mining town and I had the best pear I have had in 20 years. Why? Because it came from some guys trees down the road. I know this because when I went back the next day to score some more they were gone and she told me because his tree was now empty…. Bisbee (see what I’m saying).

Race morning came and it was a perfect day. Perfect from a 70 degrees and sun perspective, not so perfect from a ‘you have to run 4.4 miles and do 1003 steep skinny stairs along the way’ perspective. In fact, it was the warmest day by 10 degrees in the history of the event. Both Kimberly and I had great runs and a most excellent time. Though having said that, it took only by the second group of (there are 8 total) stairs to be reminded that this is about the most challenging cardio race that I can imagine. A Marathon may last hours, but you never get close to the heart rate - lung death of this thing. Wow… even the most fit of the young people are looking like zombies well before half the race is over.

As for results I did and did not make my goal. While I finished 65th overall (of1340) and 5th in my age group at 40:56, it was not the ‘first page’. Dang race folks changed the print out from 100 to 50 per this year! Dang it, now I got the same goal next year I guess - I will have to move up 15 spots and hope they don’t change it to 25 per :-). Kimberly had an awesome time of 47:06 cutting a ton of time off her last year mark. She was 6th in her age group of 95 total and beat a ton of those young healthy 20 something men types!

Right after the race we were able to hook up with a ‘new friend’ Zuleika which was very cool. We walked around the little festival, and watched some of the Iron Man - yeah don’t ask, I skipped it, wussed out, gave in, etc. - next year for sure if we are there.

We celebrated the race just like last year as well with dinner at Cafe Roka. Everything was again outstanding. This chef could do well in Manhattan I think, he just decided he likes the Bisbee vibe and setup shop there. We also got a chance to take a peek into the huge mine which is something to see. We never had done so because it is on the other side of town but we needed some tie-downs for the table and chairs and drove past it this time. Some more walking town, packed up, and headed out. Another ‘annual’ Bisbee trip that met the high expectation. Some PICS HERE

My first experience with the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure was 10 years ago. Michael, my sister in law and I ran a Susan G Komen Race for the Cure when I was two years free from cancer. It was awesome and a very special run. We had a goal to finish but since none of us were runners it was more of a statement of support for us than a race. The organization puts on a great event as well as does an outstanding job of making survivors feel special. The whole experience was wonderful and very emotional. Reading the ‘in memory of’ bibs of those who were there walking and running in memory of their lost loved ones brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of how lucky I was.

2007 marked ten years of survival for me and Michael suggested that I should do the Race for the Cure in celebration. It was a marvelous idea so about three weeks prior to the race I started running. It felt really good. I ran the 2007 race and by estimation came in 7th in the Survivor Race. It felt great to have done well but it also felt like a challenge. I thought that if I could come in 7th with just three weeks of training that there was a possibility I could place (1st, 2nd or 3rd ) with more training. I set a goal to run again in 2008. Meanwhile I fell in love with running. It happened so slowly that I cannot say exactly when it happened. Instead of being a chore it was a pleasure that I looked forward to. When the 2008 race came along I was now running in celebration of eleven years free from cancer and also running for my mom in law who had recently had breast cancer. I felt ready and raced hard. Although I did better than my previous year it was not enough to place. I was a bit disappointed but because the race is so special the disappointment did not last and I set a new goal to place the following year.

As the 2009 Race for the Cure approached this year I was more nervous than the previous years but I was also more prepared. Michael and I had trained together for the race and he was going to pace me. We were running in celebration of 12 years of survival for me and also from my mom in laws survival-2 great reasons to celebrate. The morning of the race I felt great. It was a beautiful October Phoenix morning. We got to the race early and enjoyed the Survivor spoils (Pink Hat Café, Survivors’ goody bags…) then warmed up and got in place for the race.

The horn blew and we were off. Right away I was in the lead following the police motor cycle but how long would that last? I questioned if I had started out to fast (in 2007 I had been in 1st place for about 2/10th of a mile because I took off like a bat out of hell-rookie mistake!). The first song on my shuffle finished and I was still in first- I figured each song was worth about a half mile. Michael told me not to look back but to keep running so I did through the second and third song-still first then the fourth and fifth song still first and just after the sixth song started we rounded a corner and I could see the finish line. I sped up but Michael said to save it because I had this one. I slightly slowed but excitement kept me at a pretty fast pace. As the finish line got close my sweetheart went to the side (the race was for survivors so he did not want to cross the finish line out of respect) and let me cross in first place. I finished first.

Even as I write it now it amazes me that I really did it. It was a goal I had set and something that I worked hard to achieve. Something that I failed to achieve on the first try but that I was willing to try again and willing to train even harder to get. It made me feel strong and empowered. Twelve years ago I won my race against breast cancer. With early diagnosis, a supportive family, good doctors and luck I am still here and healthy. That is the real celebration but damn if it doesn’t feel pretty amazing to have come in first.

Some PICTURES HERE

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