Traveling

As I have mentioned, The Best Man and I did a "quick" 3 week trip to Europe. We went to London, Paris, Barcelona, Salzburg and Munich.

Many people have asked us to pick just one favorite city. I can't do it. I can narrow it down to 3, but that's cheating, isn't it? My top three would be Paris, Salzburg and Barcelona. I loved the art and pastries in Paris (and probably would have loved the wine had it been more reasonably priced for me to try the good stuff). I love, LOVE, L.O.V.E. The Sound of Music and thus loved our short stay in Salzburg. We did a bike tour and got to see over 20 of the sites from the movie. The food was also fabulous. And finally, Barcelona. Ah. The food, the culture, the architecture. I loved it all. While there we took a train down to Sitges, a beach city south of Barcelona. In the future, I would love to stay there and enjoy the beach and food.

We just started our "long drive back to Virginia" last week. We will be going to around a dozen national parks. So far, we have explored Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park. We did a one night trip into the backcountry in Sequoia. The only time I have backpacked was our Grand Canyon REI trip with Tod and Tom in 2012. The logistics were crazy, especially, never having done it on our own before. The hike up to Twin Lakes took about 5 hours with about 3,000 ft of elevation gain. Part way up, we started seeing patches of snow.  Thankfully, we knew there would be some snow up and had packed several extra layers. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would camp in the snow. What an experience!

I will try to post more as we continue on this trip, however internet is hard to come by up here in the mountains.

We are currently staying at at KOA just south of Yosemite and will head into the park tomorrow.  Then its off to the San Francisco area (hello, wine country!) at the end of the week.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Edit: I will try to post pictures when I have a faster internet connection. 

The Best Man Turns 30!

We just got back from a fabulous (ly HOT) trip to Vegas!  I had several birthday surprises for The Best Man.

1) Helicopter Tour of The Las Vegas Strip

2) Penn & Teller

3) The Neon Museum Tour

It was pretty much the coolest trip (to Vegas) ever!

I ran a marathon on Sunday, what did you do?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I decided to run a marathon before turning 30. I had been wanting to do it for years now and figured I should shoot to do it before the big 3-0. Some how The Best Man felt obligated or inspired to do this with me.

Training had been going well until mid January, when we ran 18 miles. My right hip started "talking to me" and then began screaming. I had to limp the last 2-3 miles home. I had "gluteus medius syndrome" from muscle imbalances related to my SIJD (sacroiliac joint dysfunction). With this injury and started a new job our training was slim to none the 6-8 weeks preceding the race. 

The race itself went well. I felt sluggish around miles 14-15, but managed to slog on.  The Best Man began to complain of knee pain a few miles later and we ended up walking a good bit of the last 5-6 miles.  We lumbered across the finish line in just under 5 hours. 

Sub 5 hours isn't sub 4, but it sure looks better than having my time start with a FIVE. 

I had a lot of energy at the end of the race and was dreaming about signing up for another marathon before we even finished. Must. Get. Sub. 4:30. 

Needless to say I was really sore the days following the race, but nothing that was unexpected.  That is, until a few days later.  Monday we took it easy and got to see a taping of Jay Leno.  Tuesday we walked around the San Diego Zoo all day (Amazing!).  Wednesday we had planned to run, but I wasn't feeling up to it just yet, so we walked twice.  The second walk was on the beach. Afterwards, I noted what I thought was a gnarly trigger point lateral to my distal tibia (that's shin bone for you lay persons). 

I tried to massage it out, stretch it out, iced it, took ibuprofen. It was bothering me all Thursday at work and got worse after lunch when I was forced to limp around due to the pain. That evening I tried to diagnose my self like any self respecting hypochondriac would. With all the bending and twisting and tugging I made things worse. 

I couldn't get an ortho appointment until Monday, so I went to urgent care and had some x-rays taken. I am currently sporting a fashionable air cast walking boot while waiting to hear back about the x-rays. Wish me luck!

By the way, The Asics LA Marathon was awesome! The course started at The Dodgers Stadium and went west towards the coast to end near Santa Monica Pier. We got there early and were pleased we were able to hang out inside the stadium for the two hours prior to the start.  What a treat! There were so many great spectators along the course (with the exception of the bit near the end through the VA) cheering, clapping, and handing out goodies (oranges, water, beer, pretzels, candy). There were a few tough hills near the beginning of the race, but otherwise nothing to complain about.  The weather was perfect. The medal and technical tee were top notch.  I would definitely do it again.  Oh and did I mention it was on St. Patty's Day which meant I had an excuse to wear my all time favorite color: GREEN! 

The best parts of my day

I got off work early. By early I mean EARLY. I only worked a half day. The sun was hiding, so I made a beeline for the bed and turned myself into a burrito with the sheets and covers.

I had a lovely nap, half asleep listening to the waves break.  Then My Kid Brother called and I got to chat and giggle and plan with him.  My Kid Brother and A Girl Named Leney will be visiting. In. Ten. Days. Let the planning continue!

I am coming to the startling realization that I may like back scratches better than massages. The Best Man devotes a handful of seconds a day to this. If I were a dog he'd be bruised by my enthusiastic tail wagging. The great thing about getting a good back scratch is that though I want more, I am more satisfied than with a "massage" of the same duration.

In other news. Just. Now. Realized. Our first full marathon is TWO weeks from today. Crap.

Addendum: The Best Man just gave me such a good back scratch that I face planted on my key board and closed all my windows. True Story. 

Dreaming of Aloha

I'm starting to scheme up ideas for my 30th birthday trip + 2nd anniversary trip. Doesn't everyone go on a trip for their 30th?  Isn't that a thing? If not, it most definitely should be and would someone please tell The Best Man it's a thing? 

I haven't decided if it was a good idea or a bad idea to get married two weeks after my birthday. Now for the rest of my life I will be trying to convince The Best Man that these are two separate holidays and need two sets of presents and/or trips.  Hmm, sounds materialistic.  Oh well.

So, I want to go to Hawaii. I should have some time off by May. I get every 7th weekend off, but still have to work every Friday. I'm hoping I can use some PTO (I don't start accruing PTO for another two weeks) and take a 8-9 day vacation. 

Now the trouble is to first get the time off, then to have the money for this trip. We have started saving, but other things have come up to ruin the fun. I broke my implant (tooth) while comping on some popcorn. If you've never seen me eat popcorn, please, lets keep it that way.  It's not a pretty sight. Another problem is that I have to stop spending money in other places in order to have the funds for this trip. Hawaii seems like a good motivating factor, but I need new bathing suits and sun dresses...and sunglasses... 

This is my weekend

It has been hard adjusting to working on the weekend. Mainly because everyone else in the world seems to work 9-5 Monday through Friday.  The Best Man and I have gotten into the bad habit of translating my work days into the corresponding day for the rest of you.  So when I have just finished my 2nd day of work and have two more days to go, that's my Wednesday even though it's Friday. When I finish my last of 4 days of work, that's my Friday even though it's Sunday.

This gets quiet confusing when I have appointments and things to do during the week. I may be calling it Wednesday, but it's really Friday and that means I have Fun Friday at yoga.  I'm getting confused just thinking about it.

I'm trying to get out of the habit of making my work fit around everyone else's schedule and lingo. I'm trying to get The Best Man to do the same. The hard thing is waking up on Friday morning to see all the TGIF posts on the web and knowing I have to get through a few more days until "my weekend." But, on the other hand, it's also nice to finish work on Sunday and read the web to see everyone is dreading going back to work.

Yesterday I spent the day lounging in the sun overlooking the beach, shopping online and drinking champagne brought to me by my waiter...I mean The Best Man. I also did a quick work out that I found on Pinterest from The Today Show.

Today, it's dreary again, so I'm glad I got some sun yesterday (though it was too much sun and now I'm itchy and red).

New Job

Did I mention I got a new job?  I have been moping around the past two months with "nothing to do." That all changes this week.

I will be working weekends (Fri - Sun) in San Clemente, CA.  I get every 7th Sat-Sun off.  And I get paid more to work on the weekend.  I also have the opportunity to pick up shifts during the week.  This means we will be staying in SoCal for an undefined amount of time.  I will have 3-4 days off during the week to play and explore and every other month or so, I will get 6 days off in a row. I am excited because The Best Man and I will still be able to explore, but will be forced to stay put and save up money to one day buy a home.

One of the things I am most excited about is getting a bigger apartment with our own furniture.  I haven't had my own furniture since leaving Greenville, SC in 2010.  I am excited to get a few nice pieces and a few fixer-uppers.  Something else to be excited about is the weather. It can get cold at night (think 30's), but really it's not that bad while the sun is up.  I can't wait to experience summer here this year!

A special shout out to The Crazy Cat Lady for giving me a stellar reference! You are greatly appreciated!

Obligatory New Year Post

Well, it's a New Year.

This past year I lived in Texas and California.  On New Years Day we drove from my in laws to my sister's place in NC.  We ate all the "lucky" food she could think of to give us all luck over the course of the year.

We then stopped in Memphis, were amazed by Graceland and underwhelmed by Beale St.

The drive then took us through some boring states to end up in big, 'ol "Everything-is-bigger-in" Texas!

The Best Man and I lived in Fort Worth Texas for about 7 months.  We lived "downtown" and loved walking to restaurants, shops (well, I did anyway), and the local trail system for running and biking.  The two of us got more into running and ran several races (a couple of 5k's, one 10k and two 1/2 marathons).  We made some really good friends with my local co-workers including other travelers.  The Best Man also found some local work and really liked have co-workers (especially local ones) for a change.

Some how we survived the summer in Texas, though it was not a pretty sight!

We then packed it all up at the end of the summer (including my new cowgirl boots!) and made for California.  Along the way we went to Monahands State Park and sand dunes, hiked the highest point in Texas (Guadalupe Peak), explored the caves of Carlsbad Caverns and wondered at the bats, hiked along and under the rim of Bryce Cannyon, hiked Angles Landing and the Narrows in Zion National Park, stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and hiked to the bottom and back up to the top of the Grand Canyon with hundreds of pictures, a few scraps and just as many new friends and one scorpion sting to show for it.

We've been living in California for the past 3 months.  The weather is perfect.  There is so much to see and do.  We have only been down to San Diego a couple of times, however have plans to continue exploring the city and the surrounding area.

Here's to 2013 and more adventures to come!