Coronado Island to Carlsbad

Off to a good start - a morning run on the beach is the best way to wake up in the morning.

Yesterday when we finally tore ourselves away from the Coronado, we headed up to Bilboa Park, where we visited the rose and desert gardens, the Timken Museum of Art and met a beautiful white cockatoo named Jojo who was being "walked" by his owner. Jojo was very friendly and even came to sit on my arm and make my acquaintance!

Then we headed north up historic highway 101, passing the coastal towns of Mission Beach, La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas before arriving in Carlsbad, where the wedding will take place on Saturday afternoon. We were invited to the rehearsal dinner and it was great to see cousins I probably hadn't seen for about 30 some years! The wedding couple, my cousin Brad and his fiancee Mary seemed very happy to have everyone there for them. A lot of the wedding guests are staying at the hotel, so after dinner a few of us had a glass of wine together in the hotel bar and caught up on old times.

This morning Mom and I got up early along with my cousin Tom's oldest daughter Kelsea and crossed the road to check out the beach, which is wild and rocky at this point of the coastline. We scrambled down a cliff and took a long walk along the beach, picking up pretty beach rocks and watching the surfers along the way. Today we're planning to do some more exploring around Carlsbad and then go back to La Jolla in the afternoon to see the shops, caves, coves, and sea lions!

Palm Springs CA to San Diego CA

A beautiful drive from Palm Springs down through southern California to the San Diego landmark of Coronado Island and the amazing Hotel del Coronado. We were lucky enough to have an ocean-front room in the original 1888 building, what a treat! I was thankful that we were not in the famous haunted room, because I don't think I would have been able to sleep! There is lots of history here, including the filming of the Marilyn Monroe comedy "Some Like it Hot" in 1959.

We walked on the beach yesterday when we arrived, had some California wine on the patio as we watched the sun go down, and then enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of the restaurants. We still went to be early (that time change is a killer), which meant we got up early again, but by the time the sun came up we were ready to get out and run on the beach. We went north up the beach all the way to the Navy base, and then back, 2.5 miles total. By the time we jogged back to the hotel, I had a bunch of shells in my hand - not too convenient when running, but what an opportunity!

Today we head up north to Carlsbad, where the wedding will take place, and on the way we are going to stop in La Jolla to see the sea lions.

Albuquerque NM - Palm Springs CA

Because of the time change we have been getting up really early, which makes it easy to get a workout in. On Monday we were at the hotel's little workout room by 5:10 and we both ran 3 miles on the treadmill and then did a few resistance exercises with the weights. Then we did laundry, had breakfast and headed west. Our first stop after getting into Arizona was the Petrified Forest National Park, which was fascinating. Not only the beautiful petrified wood, but also the painted desert, the old ruins of pueblos, and petroglyphs (ancient drawings on stone) were there to see.

Then we pressed on to Sedona, arriving just in time for the gorgeous sunset on the red rocks - amazing. We stopped in town for a fabulous dinner at Rene's, where I had at least three vegetarian/vegan main courses to choose from - what a treat! I decided to be decadent and chose the Seitan and Tofu Wellington, which was delicious with a glass of Pinot Grigio from Oregon - mmmmm. I was glad I had worked out in the morning, I felt I had earned the right to enjoy such a yummy dinner.

Our next hotel was in downtown Phoenix. We got there well after dark, so were unable to discover how pleasant and new the city was until the next morning. First thing we did, though, was hit the gym at 6 am, which was a real treat, since hotel guests were allowed to use a full service health club adjacent to the hotel. We both nabbed treadmills and did 3 miles again. After showers and breakfasts, we headed to the Heard Museum, which has an incredible collection of Native American art, historical artefacts and history. I loved it.

For lunch, we had a special place we wanted to try - the Pane Bianco eatery, which is owned by the Pizzeria Bianco people - you may have seen them on Oprah a year or two ago when Gayle was reporting on the best pizzas in America, and they were one of them. Unfortunately the pizza place doesn't serve lunch, but Pane does, where the bread for the sandwiches is made with the same dough as the pizza crust, and they serve their own homemade mozzarella. Yum!

Then it was time to move west again, into the desert for the trip over to California. The desert is beautiful in a barren and desolate sort of way, I am amazed by the long stretches of just nothing, nothing, nothing. We arrived in Palm Springs, found our hotel and relaxed outside in the warm evening air with a few glasses of wine. This morning, up early AGAIN, mom and I decided to take our workout outside and did four miles, all the while enjoying the beautiful vistas of mountains in the distance and the palms and cactuses close by.

Dallas TX to Albuquerque NM

Our first day on the road, and the most miles of all the days we have planned. It was a beautiful sunny day, that gorgeous blue Texas sky smiling down. The driving was easy and since we took turns it never seemed very long. I enjoyed the scrub and brush and the subtle fall colors on the trees and long grass. Notable stops: Cadillac ranch - ten Cadillacs buried front down in a row in the middl e of a field; Midpoint Cafe in Adrian TX, the exact halfway point on the old route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles, and the most delicious piece of blueberry pie, still warm from the oven. Then I was excited to cross the line into New Mexico, a state I have never been to before. The sun was brutal as we headed west into the sunset, but the sky behind us was gorgeous with stripes of blue, pink and yellow, and bright white harvest moon. We arrived in Albuquerque, found our hotel and headed to Old Town for an authentic Mexican dinner - yum!

Happy Halloween!

The 10K race wasn't in our stars today, so we will be running at the trail at Allie's soccer field in a little while - it is a crisp and sunny beautiful fall day. I am in my running outfit and feeling a lot fitter than I did at 2:45 this morning when I first woke up - oh jetlag! I will be ready for a nap this afternoon I think but we need to get ready for our road trip to San Diego, which starts tomorrow.

A HUGE congratulations to Jenny and Mark who both ran PR's in their half marathon this morning - Jenny also placed 2nd in her age group and Mark placed 3rd in his Master's age group - WOW - I am sure proud of my fast sister and speedy brother-in-law! I envision both of them running Boston this spring! Be sure to check their blogs (on my blogroll at left) for their race reports later today.

Landed!

Wednesday morning I still got my last workout in at the gym, but things were so hectic that I never had a chance to blog before I left. I had a smooth flight from Brussels to Washington, the flight from Washington to Dallas was very bumpy and came in two hours late, due to tornados in Louisiana. But it was all worth it to be welcomed home by Mom, Dad, Christy and Allie, where there was a delicious vegan birthday cake waiting for me - Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Struesel from Veganomicon - mmmmm! And some very nice presents too!

Today will be a lazy day and running some errands, tomorrow (weather permitting) we'll be running a 10K in Las Colinas and watching Allie's soccer game.

More craziness

No concerts this week, just lots of crazy errands. So to save time, I walked Felix to school, ran home (I always put my workout clothes on when I get up on days I plan to work out, so I have one less excuse not to get it done, so I had my running shoes on already!) and immediately started doing my usual Monday workout at home, modifying here and there for the gym machines I didn't have. I couldn't believe actually how much of sweat I managed to work up! It still took me 80 minutes, but at least I saved the get there and back time, the locker room time, and the chit chat time!

Now I am off to get some things taken care of - why oh why do I always think I will have plenty of time and leave everything til the last minute???