Where's the Beach?

Sunday Recap The morning started off chilly, but sunny. Denise and I ended up hitting Group Ride at 8am. She had never tried the class before, so she was excited to at least try it out. I was so happy we had that as an option. I didn't have warm enough running gear for a 40-degree run. It was a great class; the instructor was high-energy. After we got back to the house, we loaded up their dog and the boys and hit Lincoln Park . The idea was to walk the dog and take in some gorgeous views. I decided to get in a short little run while we were there. Jason tried to get some pictures of the Olympic Mountain Range. It almost looks like clouds if you aren't paying attention.   Post walk/run, we headed back to their house and got cleaned up. The next stop of the day was the Fremont Market. We went the last time we were in town and really enjoyed it, so we thought it'd be fun to go back before heading out on their boat. First Terron had to make sure we saw "The Troll....

Saturday in Seattle  Saturday was another fantastic day. It started off a little rainy and cloudy, but it did clear up eventually. We had really hoped to hit Vancouver, but ended up deciding to do more of a driving tour of the area. We hit the Skagit Tulip Festival first.           After the tulips, we made our way to the cute, quaint town of La Conner for lunch. We stopped at Nell Thorn's . Such a cute little place with fantastic food and several vegetarian options. I had the vegetarian chili and Jason got their portobello sandwich so we could sample both. We did start with the hummus. Terron had the calamari to start and a burger. Denise had polenta cakes and a cup of the vegetarian chili. We all left (in Terron's words) "fat and happy."       After stuffing ourselves, we decided to hit up a couple of wineries...since we were in the area and all. We had planned on going to Snoqualmie Falls , but it was starting to get a little late...

Delayed Ghetto Plane & Long Flight So after the gym on Thursday, I was feeling much calmer about the flight to Seattle. I took half an Ativan to start. We got to the airport on time (one hour early like they say). Then we find that the flight is more than an hour delayed. We should have had an hour and a half layover in Houston. Instead, we had 15 minutes to get from one concourse to the other, which in included a train ride. Thank goodness I'm in shape and don't mind running full speed with two carry-ons! While the Ativan had me fairly calm, the waiting on the first flight started nagging at my nerves. And then the plane arrived...the tiny thing it was. We had to walk out on the tarmac to board. And then the ghetto-ness of the interior just about undid what the Ativan had so successfully done for me. So I took a whole one at that point. Rough looking plane enterior During take-off, Jason looked at me and said, "At least you're not as white as a ghost though...

Last Workout It was so nice to walk into work this morning with sunshine. It was really chilly (especially compared to the temps we've been having), but I'll take that over storms right about now. I managed to get everything mostly packed for our trip. I had to leave some things out - hitting the gym and will need to get cleaned up so those things go in last. I must admit something, it's been 10 days since my last rest day. I know that's bad (no scolding). I know I preach the importance of rest days. I try to never go more than 6 days without one. However, in Seattle, I'm not sure I'll be able to get in any workout. I'm hoping to con someone to go for a run with me at least one day (our friends live near the water, so I would love to run that route), but other than that, probably nothing more than walking around the city. For those concerned, I really have listened to my body though and honestly would not have pushed through 10 days if I truly felt the ...

Sunshine and Spin Class Thankfully last night's round of storms seemed to skirt mostly around us. And today, finally some sunshine! I really would have loved to have gone for a run, but the wind was crazy gusting. I like to run, and I'm often a glutton for punishment, but even I have my limits. So, instead of killing myself with a run, I killed myself with a spin class. Thankfully it was finally a different Group Ride track. It wasn't the best track ever, but it was a great class, and I was a sweaty mess after. Too Much to Do Tomorrow we leave for Seattle around 2:30 (CST). That means I have to get my rear into gear and finish packing tonight. It's hard to pack for major temperature differences though. It's supposed to be 50 there. I thought I was mostly done with sweaters and boots. Guess I will have to pull some back out. I'm trying to stick with one color theme for the trip as well so I can take fewer shoes. I am terrible at over-packing. My sister is...

Rest Day Well, as much as I had hoped and planned on getting in cardio this morning, I had to be honest with myself. It just wasn't going to happen. Period. My body is pooped. I really didn't want to have to take today as a rest knowing how long I would be sitting (7-2 at work then the rest of the time at airports or on a plane). But there was just no way my body was going to cooperate with my OCD mind. I did finally rationalize that I could get in a run tomorrow on the waterfront. I mean I'll take that! So last night, after tons of rearranging, we managed to pack everything into two carry-on bags. I have a huge purse to carry other items like the laptop and such and Jason had a bag that he could carry as well. Fretting, Planning, Worrying Does Not Equal Control I spent most of my morning at working trying really really hard not to think about the pending flight. The only problem was having my parent calling me and chatting it up about flying. They both love it. I do...