Feed on
Posts
Comments

In November, I will be running a relay race that goes begins in San Francisco and ends in Napa. The relay contains 12 runner, running three legs each. This race is called Ragnar. Never in a million years would I think I’d ever run one, but here I am… running with team “She’s Got Legs and She Knows How to Use Them”.

Ragnar threw out a challenge to all Ragnarians to run on the same night. If a certain number of people signed up and ran a certain distance, the total accumulated distance would circle the moon.

Our Ragnar team decided it would be fun to run together that night. Some could not make it, but most of us could. After, we celebrated with “moon pies” (well, I could not find them and had to settle for ‘Pinwheels’) and Full Moon beer….
IMG_7711 IMG_7712 IMG_7714 IMG_7717 IMG_7722 IMG_7726 IMG_7727

I was registered to run the Avenue of the Giants half marathon. However, I had been dealing with vertigo. The back to back road trip to WA/OR, then a couple days home, then headed back out again, made me suffer. By the time I got to Eureka, I was so exhausted from trying to keep from going “full tilt”, I knew I was not in any shape to run the next day.

So, instead, we ended up having a very mellow family vacation. We stayed at the same place as last year, The Carter House Inn. I pretty much stayed in bed for a few days. No one else was interested in going out and exploring, so it was a bunch of TV, video games, and reading.

I did get out once and caught this photo with Alex. This is a local, famous mansion that now belongs to a private club.
IMG_7704

WA State Visit

It was a whirlwind. We packed so much love and good memories into a few days…

Tradition has it that we will always hit up a Pagliacci Pizza when in Seattle. We love their Pagliacci Salad and slices. So good.

IMG_7551 IMG_7552

We went for a walk with Fabio on Green Lake, then had a delightful dinner to celebrate their anniversary at Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor. Their booths were not made for a party of six and we spent the dinner crammed together, but the food was good.IMG_7556 IMG_7558 IMG_7559 IMG_7561 IMG_7572 IMG_7573 IMG_7575 IMG_7580

The next day was spent with our friends, the Smiths. We went on a nice walk along the trail near where we used to live. Ran into some mutual friends, which was a nice surprise. We stopped by and had a quick visit with Shannon and Nick. Then a BBQ with the Smiths and the Potoshnik clans!!

IMG_7590 IMG_7592 IMG_7601 IMG_7604 IMG_7605 IMG_7606 IMG_7607 IMG_7611 IMG_7628 IMG_7631 IMG_7632

Our last day….Michelle and Gary joined us for breakfast, then we went to Auntie DeeDee and Uncle Bob’s place for a big family BBQ. We all ate to bursting and there were still a bunch of leftovers. I love my family and am so glad when I get to spend time with them.

IMG_7635 IMG_7636 IMG_7642 IMG_7658 IMG_7651 IMG_7643 IMG_7642

Cannon Beach 2017

One of our happy places. It had been many years and we were excited to return to the place where we honeymooned and share it with our boys. They were too young to remember our other visits with them.

IMG_7411 (1) IMG_7426 (2)

We stayed at The Ocean Lodge, a fantastic property, located right on the beach. They spoiled us, our kids, and our dogs. We enjoyed ourselves so much,we decided to return for a few extra days after our visit to Washington state.

IMG_7414 IMG_7456 (1)

The boys and I had fun exploring the town one day. They loved the pizza slices we had for lunch.
IMG_7512 IMG_7513

It was my birthday and David and I went out for a wonderful dinner at the Stephanie Inn. It was multi-course and we were so full, we had to bring the dessert home.

IMG_7525 IMG_7526 IMG_7529 IMG_7534 IMG_7539

David and I also had lunch at a local pub. The begging seagull entertained us and annoyed the waitstaff.
IMG_7479 IMG_7482

We bought the pups some new jackets at a cute store in Manzanita.IMG_7496

The last day we were the for the first part of the trip, a ton of velella washed up on shore. Cool to see, but sad to see so much death. And the smell a few days later when we returned…P!U!

IMG_7545 IMG_7549

My fine fellas…
IMG_7542

Our honorary nephew Ricky and his girlfriend Serenity, were driving through on a road trip and stopped by for breakfast before heading home. It was fun to see them, even for a short while.IMG_7669 IMG_7672 IMG_7490

On the road again…
IMG_7692

Race Roster Surprise

A running friend of mine contacted me and said she thought that she received an email about an upcoming race that had a promotional photo with me and Alex in it. I looked it up and sure enough, they used a photo that took of us when we ran the race about five years ago! It was fun to see it. He looks so young, and I was wearing the Vibram Five Fingers minimal shoes!

IMG_7405

 

Our homeschool network coordinated an overnight trip with the Rock-N-Water Christian Camp. They host an adventure that takes you back to the pioneer/gold rush days. The guides are dressed in period wear and speak the way they would have back then, never breaking character.

We started at the Hangtown Gold Bug Park in Placerville. After a sack lunch, the kids played old time group games, then we toured a gold mine and hiked the area.

After that, we headed to the camp. It was raining on and off and we took advantage of a weather break to pitch our tent.  After that, more games and activities.

IMG_7297

IMG_7300 IMG_7316

The camp’s outdoor kitchen. They made a dinner, breakfast, and lunch for us…
IMG_7318

Making rope…
IMG_7319 IMG_7320

Panning for gold.
IMG_7328 IMG_7331

Very tight quarters, but we made it work. It poured down rain the whole night and our floor and items got wet, but we were on mats so we(for the most part) stayed dry.
IMG_7332 IMG_7343

Fantastic after dinner campfire entertainment.  Included square dancing, jokes, music, singing, ghost stories, and the kids learned how to play homemade instruments.IMG_7334 IMG_7335 IMG_7341

Gathering around a campfire before breakfast…
IMG_7345

An nature hike taught us about local edibles, including this miner’s lettuce. Ryan love it and kept eating it.
IMG_7347

They also learned about a type of leaf that helps clear the sinus passages. Native Americans would run with this stuffed up their nostrils.
IMG_7348
Native American grinding rocks. Grinding acorns into a flour…
IMG_7353 IMG_7357

Making candles….

IMG_7368 IMG_7373 IMG_7374

Making tortillas…
IMG_7378 IMG_7376

Lola is a good friend of over almost 30 years. She lives in Portland and we try to see each other at least once a year. She took a vacation to San Francisco and I joined her for a full day of fun and exploring.

We decided to try and focus on the Mission district that day. She had been other places on the other days she was there, and I had never spent any time in that district. Known for bright murals, and good food, it seemed right up our alley.

I picked Lola up at her hotel, called ‘Vertigo‘. It actually contains the stairwell they used for filming Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, ‘Vertigo’. It was kind of cool to look over the bannister. Her hotel was over on Nob Hill. With it being Easter, it was actually quiet for San Francisco standards and we were able to drive to the Mission district quickly.

IMG_7208

First stop: Breakfast at the Phoenix Irish Pub in the Mission district. This place was suggested by a local. So glad we went. I had the traditional Irish breakfast and had blood pudding for the first time. It was delicious.

IMG_7215 IMG_7212

We walked and walked and walked. Took a bunch of photos of many murals. This is just a tiny portion of the many…strong hispanic heritage here.

IMG_7219 IMG_7229 IMG_7250 IMG_7230 IMG_7236 IMG_7237 IMG_7233 IMG_7248 IMG_7240 IMG_7245

This store had a terrific luchador mask collection…

IMG_7253 IMG_7254

IMG_7258
A little chai pick me up…this little bar was located inside a boutique. I can’t recall the name, but it was a neat place.
IMG_7259

Then a stop at this amazing chocolate shop. They make it all onsite…

Dandelion Chocolate
IMG_7264IMG_7266 IMG_7265 IMG_7267 IMG_7269

A platform on the sidewalk encouraging free speech.
IMG_7257

More murals…
IMG_7277 IMG_7284 IMG_7273 IMG_7274 IMG_7275 IMG_7271 IMG_7282 IMG_7285

After a full day of eating, shopping, and photography, we decided to track down some dinner. We found this awesome place, Mochica, a Peruvian restaurant. The day went by way too fast, but special memories were made.

IMG_7290 IMG_7287 IMG_7288

 

Easter Morning 2017

I had a day trip planned with my friend before we discovered it was going to be Easter weekend. We still decided to do it, and I left the table looking like this for the boys…

IMG_7207 IMG_7206

This is a race that happens in a few different locations. Runners can enter all of them. I just did the one, but my run buddy, Mae, signed up for them all. She PR’d her 10K!

IMG_7202 IMG_7192 IMG_7199 IMG_7203 IMG_7201 IMG_7205

Poor thing had some puncture wounds in his abdomen. Hopefully he will be OK.

IMG_7186 IMG_7187

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »