Winter trip to South Dakota

A quick trip report on our quick trip to Rapid City to visit my sister-in-law and her kids...

We left Friday morning and followed Tim's parents since they knew the way. Several hours on I-25 and then even more hours on two-lane, in the middle of nowhere roads, almost running out of gas! We didn't realize we'd be on that many nowhere roads or we'd have gotten gas each time we passed a station! About 10 miles after the "empty" light went on we found a gas station - with the out of service plastic bags on the pumps! But the guy inside thought we could get a few gallons out of one of the pumps. We got about 12, which was plenty for the rest of the trip, thank goodness, as we'd probably not have made it to the next gas station, which was I think 30 or more miles away. Probably 8 1/2 or so hours after we started the trip we made it to Traci's house and then opened Christmas presents with her family. I think the gifts went over well with Amanda and Tori.

Saturday was a lazy morning, except I went for a 3-mile run. A bit chilly at 25 degrees, but the sun was out so I warmed up after about 10 minutes. The afternoon was a trip to Boston's to watch FSU play Wisconsin in the Champ's Sports Bowl (his sister doesn't have cable or satelitte TV). A pounding victory by FSU was enjoyed, along with too much food and some beer.

Sunday was Amanda's 15th birtday. She has some friends coming over (to play this awesome game called Guitar Hero!) so Tim and I went with his folks up to Mt. Rushmore. It was a bit chilly, but again sunny and not too crowded at all. I can check this national monument off my list!

When we returned, I went for another run (gotta burn off all the holiday treats!) and we passed the evening with a trip to Storybook Island for the lights and then TGI Friday's for Amanda's birthday dinner.

This is Amanda as typically seen with her cell phone texting friends.

This morning Tim and I hopped in the car and headed back to Colorado. We took a different route (still rural in-the-middle-of-nowhere roads) but knew to keep the tank full of gas! We're back home hanging out with Juno for the evening!

My Holiday Mix

I suppose these winter holidays are a time of reflection for many people. For some it is a religous and spiritual season. For others it is a time to appreciate family, friends and to give back to the community.

I was raised as a secular Jew. I learned enough to appreciate the traditions and heritage of the Jewish people. I married a "catholic school drop-out." Let's just say by the 6th grade he was asking too many questions and the answers he got didn't make sense to his analytical style of thinking. So it wasn't hard for us to make our holiday mix as we combine tradition, not religion.

The menorahs come out every year at Hanukkah and he's learned to recite the blessing. I have a few dreidels and will make latkes. We put up a Christmas tree (a fake 6-footer we bought at Wal-Mart years back). The christmas holiday decorations are kept pretty secular, with snowmen and such. Next year I think I will decorate the tree with dreidels. Then maybe it will truly be a Hanukkah bush!

When we lived in Illinois, we would make the drive to Iowa to spend Christmas with his parents. Now they usually make the drive out here. His parent's enjoy the giving spirit of the season so we always have way too many gifts for the two of us under that tree.

Tonight is christmas eve, and it is also the 4th night of Hanukkah. My brother and his wife and son came over for dinner with us and the in-laws. It was nice to light the menorahs with family around. They left early as Joey was looking ready for bed and about to start fussy time. Then we took Tim's folks and played some Wii together - Sonic and Mario go to the Olympics - and burn off some of the chocolate creme pie we ate. We are looking forward to christmas morning and opening all those presents. (really, who wouldn't!) Just like waiting for the last night of Hanukkah as a kid when we could open up what was left of the gifts. Even though I'm "old" that excitement doesn't get old, though it's probably a little more muted.

I am thankful this holiday for time with friends and family to share tradition. Enjoy it, appreciate it, and try to learn something from everyone.

Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel...

What's Hanukkah without the dreidel? Here's a great story I heard on my way home from work today:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98610612

Happy Hanukkah to all!

Nice weekend to a rough week

I suppose the week could have been a lot worse, had I been one of the people getting laid off on Monday at my place of employment. I feel for all the people (about 250) who were let go at our site this week. Losing your job this close to the holidays has got to be rough. It is the economy that put the company in the position to lay people off. When you make microchips for stuff (cars, GPS, video games, cell phones, etc) and people aren't buying, we aren't making. I just hope that those laid off are able to find work soon, but in this economy the job market isn't looking the greatest. Since Intel left town, there really isn't much in the way of semiconductor manufacturing in town, either.
The situation at work made for a few distractions during the week. Last night all the photo engineers got together and went for our annual late lunch and "crawl" downtown. I think all of us needed the break from work stress to just relax, hang out, and partake in adult beverages. I left around 10pm - I think others were out much, much later! I had my last scheduled swim lesson today so I didn't want to drown. :-)
It was a cold week weather-wise, and only about 20 degrees today. Driving to Denver for the lesson I was hoping the water would be warm, as swimming isn't something that usually comes to mind when it is that cold out! The water was great and I had a good lesson. I still have quite a few things to work on (a lot of the same things from the other lessons) but I am getting better - that is evident on the video.
Later this afternoon Tim's parents arrived. They will hang out with us until Christmas, then I think we are all driving to South Dakota to visit Traci, Amanda and Tori. We've not visited them in Rapid City so it is time to head up there. Amanda's birthday is a few days after Christmas so we should finally be able to celebrate with her this year.

Valet Parking at a Mall?

With all the horror stories of the economy, you wouldn't guess it was all that bad looking at the mall parking lots today. I drove up to Denver for my last drum lesson (more on that in a bit) and on my way home thought I would stop at the Park Meadows Mall in south Denver to do some shopping. I'm not super familiar with the area, but it is right of the interstate and C-470 so finding it isn't hard. I made my way into the mega shopping complex (and I mean MEGA) and needed a place to park. I don't mind a bit of a walk, but I didn't expect to see valet parking! Why would a mall need that? $7 a car. Then I saw that the parking area was completely full. That's why they need valet parking. I was not interested in that kind of crowd so I decided to skip the mall and get back on the interstate. It took me at least 20 minutes in thick traffic to figure out how to leave the parking lot and go the 1/4 mile to the interstate on-ramp. Everyone must have been out and about today! If they are buying, so much for poor retail sales! Don't know who would want to fight that kind of traffic mess if they weren't getting anything!

Once back on the interstate, I headed 10 miles south to the Outlet Mall in Castle Rock. Although it was full as well, it is a much smaller mall and I could handle these crowds. I found a kids clothing store with cute things to buy for Joey's first birthday. Spent a little too much (thank goodness for the items on sale!), stood in line for maybe 10 minutes and was on my way out. While in line, one register was ringing up a couple who had about eight big bags full of clothes. Lord help them if they have that many kids! I can only wonder what they were shopping for.

Back to my drum lesson. It was my last of the free lessons I won in the silent auction, so David filled my notebook with some classics. My Sharona and Brick House are a couple just to name a few. It should keep me busy for a while. If anyone in the Denver area needs drum lessons, I do recommend David at Littleton Drum Studios.

First real snow

wow. it snowed all day. Nothing too heavy, probably 8-10 inches total. But it just kept falling. We did go out to get groceries and check out the Linens-n-Things close-out sale. They are closing the store here so we found a few things to get at a good price. will keep checking back for even better deals. I had a lot of inside time for a spin on the bike, laundry, dishes, played my drums, restrung my bass guitar and goofed with my recording software.
a little ditty
Also took care of a background check for USA Triathlon coaching certification and did some online holiday shopping. even shoveled the drive. guess it was a moderately productive day! but I do hope the sun comes out tomorrow since it is time to head back to work!

Goodbye Mars!

We put Mars down tonight and he will be missed terribly. His mobility was degraded such that it didn't seem fair to him. He was still a happy dog with a great Rottweiler appetite, but his quality of life just didn't seem to be there. I like to think he's in a better place now, able to run in the fields, play in the streams and chase as many little dogs as he desires.

Here's his story....

We got Mars in April of 2000 from the Champaign County Rottweiler Rescue. He was 10 weeks old and had been born into a shelter. We were told his birthday was 2/14. (I believe that since he was the biggest sweetie ever!) We took him home to meet Juno, the rottie we rescued at 10 months the previous April. He didn't seem fazed to be in new surroundings with a lot of people (Tim's family was visiting). He and Juno had a blast running around the back yard and the playing in the bushes.

In 2003 we were thinking about leaving Illinois for Colorado. One evening, I asked the dogs if they would like to go to Colorado. Mars immediately ran for the garage door, where he would run when were were about to go for a car ride. That sealed the deal - we were going to move!

Mars enjoyed the winter weather out here, especially the snow. One favorite game would be catching (and then eating) snowballs!

I remember taking him to the dog park and he would love to engage his herding instinct with smaller dogs. One visit the chosen herd was chihuahuas. I'm pretty sure the little chihuahuas were yelling "ooooooh shit!" as they ran from Mars. Too funny!

He had a very laid-back personality and loved to give kisses. When he was younger and my dad was visiting, Mars would sneak up behind my dad sitting on the couch and lick the top of his head. He was also known to my dad and family as 'Big Giant Head."

I took the day off from work today and hung out with him. We went outside to the front yard so he could sniff and enjoy the cool, sunny day.

I could go on and on about how Mars was the perfect dog with a great personality and temperment. We loved him very much and will miss him a lot. But I thank him for all the wonderful memories over the last 8+ years. Goodbye Mars! We love you!

Mars Drummer

2/14/00 - 11/21/08

The Lesson of the Day

Actually, today I had several lessons! The good kind. After a morning of a 45 min spin on the trainer, cleaning (getting ready for next weekend's halloween party) and a little college football, I headed up to Denver, well, really Highlands Ranch if you want to be picky. First was my swim lesson at SwimLabs. This place uses endless pools (the equivalent of a treadmill for swimming) and mirrors and cameras so you can see yourself from all angles. The coach/instructor then gives you feedback on your stroke and you can watch what you just did. They also have "stock footage" of ideal swimming so you can see what you are supposed to look like. Yeah. I have a ways to go. But they did give me something to work on. I actually signed up for a 4-pak so I have 3 more lessons - I'll go every 2 weeks. I figure that is enough time for me to work on the drills and improve, but not too long in case I'm not doing something quite right.

After that I drove over to Littleton for my drum lesson with David from Littleton Drum Studio. It was actually in the back of a music store - they had tons of used stuff for sale. Wow. Anyway, I had a 60 minute lesson - we started at the beginning - the basics of drum set playing and went through some lessons. Even though I already know how to play, it didn't take too long before we found a "hole." So now I have more things to work on! I like how he incorporates actual music into the lesson. It's quite a bit different from when I had lessons back in high school! He had all the stuff on his computer so he just printed the lesson for my notebook. He also had a flat screen mounted to the wall and used iTunes to pick songs related to the particular lesson. I'll enjoy this. I'm hoping to find 30 minutes about 4 days a week to practice.

The drive is just a little over an hour, so it wasn't too bad. After dinner Tim and I carved our pumpkins. A devil face and a howling wolf. Hooray to the guy who invented carving templates!

40-miler

With a projected high of 75 degrees, sunny skies and not much wind, who could resist a bike ride today? I joined up with the Bicycle Village group ride - we met at the store and headed out at about 9:30am. Since the store is just a few miles from my house, I decided to ride there instead of drive. Then we headed out on what turned into a beautiful ride through town. For those of you who are familiar with Colorado Springs, we headed out from the store, winding our way to Vickers, then Flintridge to Dublin. Dublin west to pick up Woodmen near I-25, then up Woodmen to Rockrimmon to Vindicator. Then we chose to climb Flying W, which is a little hill of 200 feet elevation gain in just over half a mile. Fun! Well, it was beautiful on that side of town with the rocks, hills, rust and orange and yellow vegitation and the ride down the hill is a blast! Next we wound our way to Garden of the Gods and over to Balanced Rock. Then it was time to work our way back home, which we did through Old Colorado City and downtown Colorado Springs. Hooked up to Mark Dabling to get back north (woodmen and I-25) then back over to Dublin and I just headed back home on Vickers instead of stopping back to the store. My total ride was 2:53 and 40 miles. I was planning on a 25-30 miler with perhaps not so much climbing (3300ft). So what, my legs are a little tired now. But it was too good of a day to not be outside as much as possible! I wish I had a camera with me to capture some of the fantastic fall views. I'll try to remember next time!

Running with the pros

Tuesday night is Jack Quinn's Running Club and tonight we took a field trip to the Boulder Running Company for PowerBar night. We ran the typical distance (5k) and was joined by pro athletes Josh Cox and Amanda Stevens. Mark (a co-worker of mine) and I got to run the second half with Amanda so we chatted a little about triathlons. She'll be competing in next month's 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. After the run they held a Q&A - normally I don't have questions, but since it seemed people were a little shy, I asked the first one - what is their favorite meal the night before a race. Pasta and stuff with carbs. Not a whole lot of protein. My personal favorite is chicken and rice. Whatever works! They had some great advice on training/race nutrition, stretching (of which I need to do more!) and such. It was nice to have a change of scenery from the typical downtown run and of course it's always great to be able to meet some pro athletes!

Weekend Report

Started the weekend off with a 23 mile bike ride on the east side of town. Pretty flat with less than 900 feet of elevation gain. Then some cleaning, a necessary evil. Florida State played Miami at 1:30 so I watched the first quarter before heading to Mimi's for lunch with some Taekwondo friends. Next was some shoe shopping (shoe carnival is right next to Mimi's) for shoes for Saturday night's event - a fundraiser gala for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. The local Porsche Club raised money for the foundation so the group had a table. It was at the Hyatt Regency in Denver (Tech Center). There was tons of stuff up for silent auction, including signed sports memorabilia, wine, paintings, spa treatment and all sorts of stuff you'd expect. There was also a month of drum lessons. I guess it wasn't the most popular item so the starting bid had been reduced when I saw it. I thought it might be fun so I bid and won! :-) So this week I'll see about scheduling those at Littleton Drum Studio.

Alpine Mountain PCA members, Jim McDonald, Dave Arnold, Tim and me, Chris & Kathleen Lennon.

Today (sunday) we slept in - I got up at 9am! Haven't slept that late in a long time. Typical Sunday of getting groceries, but then we headed up to the property with Mars and Juno to see the leaves. I forgot the camera, but here's one my brother took Saturday in the mountains. Our property is probably less than 20 miles from this photo - same terrain.

Ate a steak lunch with some friends up there at our "chateau." By the time we got back it was time to get ready for another week. This was certainly a weekend that went by too fast.

Got Life?

Today's bike ride was in memory of Mike Kessler, who I knew from Bicycle Village. I found out last week that he had passed away at the end of June and that this Saturday's group ride would be in his memory. About 25 of us met at the B-52 parking lot on the Air Force Academy. The organizer, Chuck, spoke a few kind words about Mike and then Mike's wife, Monica thanked us all for being there. It was a beautiful morning, a tad cool but sunny, a day Mike would have enjoyed. We took a 25 mile loop through the Academy (the first time I've ridden it clockwise!) and the Black Forest. We had green trees, blue sky, and everyone appreciating what gifts Mike had given them. He was a regular coach on the Saturday rides, always making sure everyone was doing OK. I would always give him a hard time in the store since he was a hard-core Gator fan. I didn't realize he was almost 70 years old - I thought he was in his mid-50s. A great day to appreciate life.

Nicole to the Rescue!

I felt like a firefighter or Shaq (but no vitamin water) when I got the neighbor's cat out of a tree in my backyard! Yesterday evening when I let the dogs out after they ate Juno jumped into our new landscaping wall (about 2 feet high) and was barking at the tree. Mars wobbled his way over to check it out. There was definitely something moving in the tree - thought maybe a squirrel. But squirrels aren't black and white. Turns out it was the neighbor's cat. I directed Juno inside, but wasn't too worried about Mars with his limited mobility. Couldn't quite reach it standing on that landscape wall so I went off to grab a ladder. One was handy since we'd been putting up halloween decorations over the weekend. I was able to grab the kitty and bring it to safety of the neighbor's house. I'm glad it was a friendly cat and didn't freak out. It actually was reaching towards my hand with its paw and meowing when I tried to reach it the first time. It seemed to know I was there to help. I don't think the cat will be hanging out in our backyard again any time soon!

Part II - Sebastapol to LA via Monterey

OK - so time for my jouney from Sebastapol to LA. Left M&S's a bit after 7am. Filled up the Sonata and got some coffee at the nearby drive through. Then over to pick up the 101. Southbound I was to Monterey. Hit some traffic before San Francisco, but then got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful morning, with the fog rolling under the bridge. Wow. Then took 19th (ave, I think) to connect with I-280 which took me to San Jose. A shout out to Atmel's corporate HQ somewhere out there. On one section (near SLAC) I saw some smoke on the road - then passed a car that must have been going too fast and it had slammed into the median (which was a dirt and trees, not concrete). Someone had stopped so I kept on driving. Hope everyone was OK.

Following the signs I ended up in Monterey in time for lunch. Took in the great views, the sea lions barking on the rocks, the ambulance assisting a diver in need (!) and the history of John Steinbeck, though it is mainly a tourist trap now. Lunch at a little cafe and then off to LA.

Found my way back to the 101 and south again! This part of the drive was brutal. Just before Paso Robles I was getting really tired so I stopped at a rest stop. It was like walking into an oven. Now I know hot and that was HOT. That and a boring straight road was probably why I was a little tired. The roads got a little more interesting after that, which helped. Got gas in Buelton, home of pea soup and location of some Carmichael Training Systems bike camps. South some more, through Santa Barbara's 4pm friday traffic, made it to LA a little later than I wanted to, but I survived LA freeways. Phew! Also found my grandparent's house. I've been there many times but never actually driven there.

Final installment - coming soon! A couple lazy days in LA!

Back from DC

The Nation's Tri was awesome! Tons of money was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (in the millions!) by both TNT participants and the race itself. A nasty hot and humid day slowed the run down, but the swim in the Potomac was managed and everyone said it was a great shaded bike course. FUN! The team did great - everyone finished, even with one riding their rim the whole bike due to a valve stem issue. Hard core! Another rocky mtn region finisher was 7th in his age group. Phenominal! I think we all had a fabulous weekend in the nation's capitol city.

Heading to DC

I get to be coach again this weekend at the Nation's Tri for the Team in Training Rocky Mountain Chapter. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow to get my flight, so no time to post about my California adventure tonight. Not sure if I will have computer access in DC, so I'll be back next Tuesday! maybe one of these days I'll get caught up with my posts.

Post HTC - Leg 2 continued - Sebastapol

Sebastapol is outside Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, CA. Wine Country. Lots of grapes. Lots. When I arrived at my aunt & uncle's house out off some winding country road, I was looking forward to meeting Pete and Gladis, their bull terriers. When Stephanie came out to meet me, Gladis was there, but no Pete.
Where's Pete? Pete's in the hospital. !!! What happened to Pete? Pete got into the neighbors medical marijuana that was turned into 'pot butter' gone rancid and thrown out the window yesterday. !!!
I knew for sure I was in California! :-) We were able to pick up Pete that afternoon and he was back to his old self. (I took Mark's word on that since I'd never met Pete.) Guess it wasn't enough a little activated charcoal couldn't cure.
Then there is Gladis, who is actually still a puppy and a minature bull terrier. She's got some issues she's working through. Gladis is a "spinner," which apparently is a form of OCD. Gladis is on Prozac and they are working on some behavior with her. She really is a sweet dog, but can get in her zone where she just chases her tail. When she does this, M&S put her in puppy time out (restrained on a short lead attached to the wall so she can't spin - but she's on a doggy bed and gets a toy.) Patience!
That afternoon was lazy, took Gladis for a walk and had dinner at a local brewery/resaurant. We had their crispy squid (aka fried calamari). Next day was another relaxing day. Time for bed now so I'll add that tomorrow....

...ok - it's tomorrow night. Day 2 in Sebastapol consisted of taking Pete and Gladis to Portuguese Beach (near Bodega Bay....ahhhh...the Birds!!!) and then getting a massage at a local day spa. Oh did I need that! Post-massage ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's hit the spot. It was really summer out there (some heat finally! -it's been a relatively cool Colorado summer I think). Dinner was homemade pizza and salad. delicious! being that Mark owned a restaurant, it better be good! :-) It was a fabulous 2 days with my aunt and uncle and "cousins."

The next morning it was off to LA via Monterey....that journey will get posted tomorrow.

Race Report - Tri For Your Cause

Here's a quick and dirty race report from Saturday's Tri for your Cause. But before I start, this race donates entry fees to non-profit of the athlete's choice. I chose the American Cancer Society, as we all know too many people affected by cancer.

Packet pickup was Friday night so I had to drive to Boulder after work. Yuck - long drive took almost 2 hours due to Denver traffic. Took about 3 minutes to get my stuff, then I headed to Safeway to get some breakfast foods and drove to Arvada to crash at Mare's house. She was a Team in Training participant who was nice enough to open up her guest bedroom to me.

Saturday 9/6: Wake up a tad before 6am, shower, grab my stuff, eat the bagel and banana I had bought (thanks Mare for the PB!). Then around 7am I head back to Boulder. 30 minutes later I'm getting my bike out of the montero and heading to the transition area. As I have only been in the pool a few times in the last month, and haven't done much at all in the last couple weeks, I'm not expecting too much out of this race. Just wanted to get out and do one more this season.

I'm in wave 3, which starts at 9:06am. At 8:40 I'm out of the transition area and getting on my wetsuit. I take in a gel and head over to the water. A brief warm-up to the dock and back a couple times and it's almost time for my wave to go.

Swim - 20:27: pretty much what I expected. Slow and steady. There was a guy doing the breast stroke who was next to me almost the entire time. I'm going to have to hire a coach to figure out what is keeping me slow.

T1 - 1:27: Not too bad. The wetsuit wasn't the easiest to get off, but I somehow got it off without pulling a muscle. Then it's just shoes, sunglasses and helmet.

Bike - 1:21:13: My best bike split ever on a boulder res course. 19.2 mph. I'll just say Nelson Rd was FAST. It did seem like forever for my heartrate and breathing to get in a managable zone, but probably about 6 miles into the course I was getting into a rhythm. Got passed by several men and a few women, but I did end up catching a few of those women towards the end of the course. My bike split was definitely in the top 20% of female competitors. Was good about drinking most of my electrolyte drink and had a few bites of a cliff bar.

T2 - 1:27: I didn't have the quick laces on my shoes this time so I actually had to tie my shoes. that added a bit of time. Decided to take a water bottle with me as the aid station was a mile 2.

Run - 32:51: Ick. My legs were heavy. I kept breathing pretty hard. Had my GPS in my pocket so I didn't focus on pace, just on moving and breathing. I could really feel the uphills (and it is a pretty flat course). Had about 2/3 of a gel at mile 1, as I wasn't sure if I'd had enough calories on the bike. Might not have enough time to get in my system, but oh well. After the turn around, which was at the bottom of a small hill, I could really feel my hamstrings. Had a bit of a side stitch on the last mile. A young girl caught up to me who I had passed with a few miles left to go on the bike. That motivated me for a bit of a finishing kick (not that I have a finishing kick). But at least I ran strong across the finish line!

Total time - 2:17:21 - 9/33 in the 30-34 Female age group. I'm pleased, as I haven't really been training for the last month!

Post HTC Adventure - Leg 2

the adventure continues....

Tues 8/26 - I picked up the rental car - a black Hyundai Sonata - and headed south on I-5. The first part of this trip will be on the interstate. When I hit Eugene, I stopped to find the University of Oregon. I found the campus and a park called Hendricks Park. I drove through - looks like it would be a nice place for some hilly trail runs. It was tucked back in what appeared to be behind the campus in a very Oregon forest setting. Then I found my way back to the actual campus, saw the bookstore and bought a track town USA shirt. For those who don't follow running, one of running's finest, Steve Prefontaine when to school there. This year the USA Olympic Trials for track and field were held at Hayward Field on Oregon's campus. Anyway, it was nice to see a real college campus again.

The driving continues - I stopped for lunch in the small town of Oakland and ate at Tolly's. A great taste of old Americana and the old-fashioned soda fountain. For me it was a cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper. way better than the stuff in the cans.

Next - head over to the 101 via 199 through Grant's Pass. Took the opportunity to fill up with gas, though I'd only gone through 7 gallons in over 200 miles. Nice. Anyway, oregon has no self-serve, which was pretty strange. I suppose in the winter it would prove to be a nice convenience!

Some town later I stopped to get Tim an Oregon shot glass for his collections and kept driving. Now the drive was getting interesting. Picked up the 101 in Crescent City (after being stopped to make sure I didn't have any fresh produce or plants at the border). Then I get to drive through the redwoods. Totally amazing! A fun, curvy road drive with HUGE trees. HUGE! And the views of the NorCal coast. Wow! too bad my camera batteries died - didn't get any pics of the coastline. But I did pull over at many "Vista Points" to take in the views.

My stop for the evening was Eureka. I had already made a reservation at The Rodeway Inn and got checked in. Then time to find a place to eat. Hit the Lost Coast Brewery and took in a couple Alleycat Ales and some soft tacos. Chatted with the guy next to me for a bit while he was waiting for friends and watched the baseball that was on the TV. It was just nice to "chill out" for a while. Got back to the hotel to crash, as tomorrow has a morning full of driving.

Wednesday 8/27 - Got up, skipped the free continental breakfast at the hotel and headed out. Decided coffee and something to eat was a good idea so I stopped at the Eureka natural food Co-op. Looked pretty much like a small Whole Foods. Anyway, coffee and a pastry (sounds like a continental breakfast) and I was back on the road. More redwoods and coastal views.

A few hours later I'm in wine country. Not quite as green, but plenty of classic rolling hills. I wind my way to Santa Rosa, then Sebastapol and then find Mark and Stephanie's house. There's a great story here...it'll get told tomorrow.

Post-Race Adventure - 1st Leg

After the awards ceremony (we came in 7th so didn't get anything) on a breezy, misty Sunday morning, my aunt Amy and uncle Dennis from Salem came to pick me up. I spent a couple days with them. On the scenic drive (couldn't see the beach - too rainy and cloudy) we stopped in a small town to have lunch (oh did a real meal sound great!). The 'Thong Distance Runners' were there, complete with thongs (the underwear kind) on their heads. yup. Next was a stop at the Tillamook cheese factory. The production lines weren't working, but we still got some samples of cheese and I got a dish of "Cows in Brownie Batter" icecream. I'll let you figure out what kind that is.

A relaxing evening was in store. A high school friend (fellow band geek from the days) and now a fellow triathlete, Andrew, came by for dinner. He lives outside Portland so it wasn't too bad a drive down to Salem. We had some discussions about wine and hill climbs on bikes. Very nice to catch up.

The next morning I borrowed my uncle's 20 year old mountain bike and took it for a spin around the neigborhood. I think that helped some of the soreness in my legs - IT bands and calves were a bit tight still! Next was a visit to an old Woolen Mill with Dennis. They were missionaries to the indians turned wool products manufacturers. Lunch with Amy (she works for the government) and a brief visit to the state capitol. Is it a dixie cup on top?? After lunch we walked around a park at the Willamette river and then back home to hang out with Chicory (the bird) Cinnamon and Ginger (the cats). After dinner was a trip to Konditorei - a cafe that sells huge slices of cake. Oh yum. my saying: where there is cake, there is Nicole.

Next I rent a car and head down the coast. Leg 2 of the post race adventure will be posted Saturday night. I'll be in Boulder Friday night/Sat am for one last triathlon of the season.