Sunday, Sunday

What a great day!!! Hubby had a meeting in the Bay Area, so DD#2 and I tagged along, having him drop us off at a BART station so we could ride into the city. (Now, hubby HATES the BART and he was convinced we wouldn't make our way back to our designated meeting station later that day.) Who knew kicking around San Francisco for only a few hours could be so much fun?! Driving 3 hours to have lunch here and do some shopping was absolutely worth it! DD#2 happened to be the only daughter with nothing else going on today...thus her luck in being my shopping buddy. She scored well - got a very cool James Dean shirt at the diner, then found an amazing purse at Forever 21. For me? Well, somehow my menu collection grew today. Nuff said. :o)

BART passes, $20
Lunch, $25
T-shirt and amazing handbag, $55

A day in the city with one of my four awesome daughters? Priceless.

Is it really camping if...

OK, I have been told this IS NOT camping, but I really must disagree. This weekend I had the opportunity to go with one of my old friends to pick up her new-to-her Casita travel trailer that she bought from a man a few hours north of Fresno. Her kids were with their dad and she was nervous about going alone (OK, I was nervous for her, too), so I said I'd go - it'd be fun to hang out together. Honestly, I really didn't think it would come together and figured I'd be off the hook, while still being a good friend and offering. :o) (Kidding, Lisa!)

Lisa picked me up midday Friday and we had a few stops to make before really getting on the road, so we didn't arrive to her Casita-in-waiting until around 6pm. The convenient thing is that the trailer was parked in the driveway of the seller's mother-in-law, who happened to live next door to the seller. (Now, lest you think we're parked in track homes, this is in the mountain, huge lots, tall redwood trees, etc., so it wasn't as cheesy at it may sound, but we didn't have access to mother-in-law's shower, kitchen, etc.) The seller (Bob) took about an hour showing Lisa how things worked, with a promise to return the next morning and teach her how to hook it up to her truck for travel. Since he was leaving before noon the next day, she would need to be a quick study. After Friday's tutorial, we settled in and cooked dinner on the gas stove in the Casita. There was also a toilet and shower, and though they were about the size of my laptop when opened, when nature called, I was grateful for not having to experience a REAL camp potty. Because we were hooked up to electric, we then fired up the laptop ("Don't leave home without it!" is my motto!) and watched a DVD before bed. Morning brought pancakes, hook-up tutorial, then a trip into Arnold and Murphys, CA for a craft fair and some shopping. Nothing thrills me more than to find something COOL and DIFFERENT at a craft fair and when I saw this booth, I was hooked. I could have spent literally hundreds here. OK, I did spend my fair share - on a Rod purse, of course. :o) It was worth every penny and I plan to add to my collection as time goes on. So...Saturday night meant cooking dinner on a propane stove, another movie and sleeping in the trailer, then a Sunday morning departure and 4 hour drive home. Because the shower was a challenge, I felt dirty, unshaven, with dirty hair, but it was fun to be with my friend and have no agenda.

So...in my mind, I went camping this weekend. And as fun as it was, I think I hear the Marriott calling my name...

Marathon, part 2

It's a sad thing to have your husband complete a marathon and walk away without ONE picture of the event. Somehow things got too busy in the volunteer area and ... well ... I have no pictures of Hubby at the finish line. In fact, the camera didn't even come out of its case the entire weekend. I do have a few pictures on my cell phone but, oddly enough, these are of scenery around San Diego. So much for that. Hubby's official marathon time was 4 hours 16 minutes. He was disappointed, as he had hoped to finish in under 4 hours. He still had a good race and recovered pretty quickly, then took my volunteer t-shirt and proceeded to help volunteer at the finish line for the next few hours. Recycle fanatic that he is, he even filled two huge trash bags with empty plastic water bottles from the finish line and hauled them home. His idea for next year is to take the kids and gather ALL of the bottles left behind. With 20,000 runners, each having 1-3 bottles, there is approximately a $2000 profit to be made during this weekend. The money is an aside; keeping that many bottles out of the landfill would be the best payoff. Yes, we're freaks.

The weekend was nice in spite of no pictures. I highly recommend http://www.gofishanthonys.com/grottoabout.html where we had the best seafood of the weekend. We returned home to a house that was still standing, kids that were still alive and well, and even our plants were still alive, so really, who can complain? :o)

Marathon Sub-culture, part 1

Hubby and I are in beautiful, sunny San Diego for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon. Well, it's not really been sunny here today, more like temps in the low 60's and overcast, but beautiful and fun nonetheless. We worked our way to Downtown San Diego for the marathon packet pick up and health expo. I'm telling you - I could sit and people-watch for hours at a place like this. People in every age/size/shape are here to participate in the marathon. It honestly is inspiring to see these people who have trained and prepared for this event. I can't imagine RUNNING 1 mile, much less 26.2. I am a sloth.

So, aside from being inspired, it's actually hilarious to watch some of the hard core athletes. You can pick them out of a crowd with ease - they just have "that look." Even Hubby fits in to a great extent. His search in the expo was for a product called "Gu" gel - http://www.gusports.com/ When he finally spotted the Gu booth, his face lit up like it was Christmas. The only disappointment was in discovering they have discontinued his favorite flavor, but he will make do with his second favorite.

Then there was the OroWheat bread booth. In an attempt to attract people to their product, they had free samples of toasted bread and toasted whole wheat English muffins. Sounds good. BUT...they then spritzed them with a butter-like product. Not butter. A product full of chemicals. Tell me this: why would athletes who have trained their bodies to compete want to put a chemical butter substitute into their bodies? Is it just me or is that backwards? I could see the bread and fake butter product at perhaps a weight loss seminar/expo, but at a seminar for the presumed purists? Hmm. I will say this - the whole wheat English muffins were very good - fake butter or not.

So it's after 8pm and time for bed since we must get up at 3am. I will drop Hubby off at the start line, then drive to the finish line where I will volunteer. Hopefully I will time it right and get to see my honey cross the finish line. His anticipated time is "under 4 hours - hopefully closer to 3.5 hours." I can't nap for that long without getting worn out. LOL OK, maybe not really, but again, my hat is off to those athletes, old and young, large and small. Tomorrow I will have pictures. :o)

Til then...how far can YOU run at one time?