California

We flew to San Diego, CA on Thursday, June 3. The main reason for the trip was for me to complete my first marathon, but we also enjoyed a family vacation while we were there. Our days were packed full and we took over 200 pics of the trip. To keep your attention I'll just post the highlights of our trip and a few photos.

Thursday, June 3 - Happy 50th Anniversary to my in-laws and Happy 10th Anniversary to my sis-in-law and brother-in-law.
We arrived in San Diego, took a taxi to the hotel, got settled in and then took a trolley to Old Town San Diego for dinner and some shopping.



Friday, June 4 - We spent all morning and part of the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.




That evening we met our Augusta friends (Traci & Dianne trained for the 1/2 with TNT) and had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.

Saturday, June 5 - We went to the Rock-n-Roll Marathon Expo and then went to a beach. The first beach in the Bay was less than can be desired but the second was a real beach and was pretty awesome. The water was too chilly for swimming but Madelyn loved playing in the waves. That evening we went to the Team in Training pasta dinner. There was a crowd of people there to cheer us on, it was a pretty cool experience.




Sunday, June 6 - I met the team in the hotel lobby at 4:15am and we soon headed to the starting line of the race. With over 30,000 people running it was a pretty amazing site. The first group (corral 1) took off at 6:15am, I was in corral 23 and crossed the starting line around 6:45am. The race went well. By mile 20 I was hurting and the last 6 miles were as brutal as everyone had told me they would be. The last 4 miles were on an island and I felt like I was never going to get off the island. I did have to stop and walk a few times. It was really warm and I saw several people getting assistance from medics and an ambulance drive off with a runner inside. My finishing time was 4:49:55, 4 minutes past my goal time. But regardless it was a PR (personal record). I was so happy to see Madelyn and Ryan at miles 13 and 20 and I soon found them after I crossed the finish line. When we arrived back at the hotel Ryan walked to Wendys and got me a greasy cheeseburger and fries and we spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool. That evening we had the Team in Training Victory Celebration, but by that time just ready to be in bed and relax so we pretty much ate and left.
Before the race....


During the race my personal cheering section....GO BIG MAMA!! :)

After the race....


Monday, June 7 - We took a trolley to Old Town San Diego for breakfast and then the city bus to Sea World. I was very slow moving as my quads were killing me. We went to the killer whale show first thing and got drenched by shamu (or shampoo as Madelyn called it)...but at least we didn't get killed. We also went to a dolphin show that was pretty cool. But the seals were a favorite, especially when they were being fed.







Tuesday, June 8- We rented a car and drove to Anaheim. We were very appreciative of "Shanda" the garmin that came with the car. It was worth every cent of the $12 it cost. We went to Disneyland as did everyone else in California. Madelyn enjoyed getting autographs and pictures with some of the characters and the parade was pretty cool, but all the other was not really our thing. After a day at Disneyland we drove to LA, returned the rental car and stayed in a hotel near LA airport.









Wednesday, June 9 - Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!
We rented a car from a "Luckys" that was located in the hotel. It was a dandy 2 door Toyota Tercel that had lots of miles. But for $25 a day it was a steal. We spent a most of the day at Manhattan Beach in LA and had lunch at a cool brewery.





Thursday, June 10 - Up at 4:00am for an early morning flight home with one tired girl!


It was a great vacation but we were all so glad to be home. I think we packed too much into our 7 days. I will say that we will all miss the awesome California weather. There was no humidity, highs in the 70s or low 80s and no mosquitos.