Kentridge High School San Francisco Choir Trip

I can’t believe how “chipper” these guys look after an almost 17 hour, all night, bus-ride! We basically started our day in the clothes we had slept in, our first adventure, The Alcatraz Tour!  

 I have always wanted to go to Alcatraz – so I was pretty excited. The audio tour was really well done – narrated by Alcatraz guards and inmates. 

 
Is it just me or does the Alcatraz flag look an awful lot like the tv show "Survivor" flag?

At first I thought “This island isn’t very creepy or intimidating”and then we started the tour. It was pretty amazing and really interesting.

This is a view from inside one of the solitary confinement cells. Linda wouldn’t come in with me.

 To capture the feeling I took the prison pictures in B/W. 

The view of San Francisco from the island is amazing.

Our next big stop for the day – The Golden Gate Bridge.It was an incredibly windy day – but almost everyone in the group attempted to walk across the bridge.  Maria was my buddy - speedwalking with her knee brace, what a trooper.  Many people crossed the bridge on bikes – I would look into doing that next time.

Dinner was planned for the Cathay House in Chinatown. Linda and I had read terrible online reviews about this place, which concerned us. Honestly – for such a big group it was great, the owner and staff were very, very accommodating. I thought the food was fine – I wouldn’t recommend the broccoli and beef though – that was reeeeeeeeallly salty.

2^nd Day of Adventure:
I think everyone crashed pretty hard the night before – so getting up early for warm-ups didn’t seem to be too much of a difficulty. By the way – Embassy Suites in San Jose was fantastic!The breakfast in the morning was HUGE…so much to choose from. If you asked for bacon they gave you 6 strips….it was awesome.

The choir did a great job and so we decided to reward ourselves afterward with IN-N-OUT burger. It was hard for me to believe that so many people had never had an IN-N-OUT burger! I’m pretty sure we created a few new fans.

After lunch we finally had a free afternoon to explore Pier #39 and the surrounding area. Everyone broke off into groups. Our group did a lot of shopping – and we of course stopped at Ghirardelli for our free chocolate. I also purchased a huge sour dough loaf (be sure to ask them for butter).  It was soooooooooo good.   Oh, and notice the photobomber in the picture below - nice one Maria! 

We found this Maze of Mirrors place on the 2^ndfloor of Pier #39. The guy running it was hilarious. We all paid our $5 (price of an all-day pass) and had a great time. I had fun trying to take pictures without flash and while “disco”lighting flashed in neon colors every few seconds. Robby was the best at scaring us – we never knew which one was really him.

Linda and Megan had their portraits drawn. We ended the day with dinner at Bubba Gump's on Pier #39. The food was great.

 3^rd Day of Adventure:

We got to sleep in and it was HEAVEN!! Then we headed off to Great America.   Again, I was worried because the online reviews were ridiculously horrible.  Honestly - I think everyone had a great time.   It was a beautiful sunny day and we made the most of it.   I suggested we meet up at the bumper cars at 4pm. Everyone showed up and it turned out to be a ton of fun.   I decided against bringing my “big” camera and just took random pictures with my cell phone.   The Awards Dinner & Dance were great – the food was great, they took 2^nd place in their division and they had a great time dancing with the other schools.

Overall – a great trip with a ton of fun people!

Chilly Chicks with Cameras

 My good friend (and running buddy) and I decided to head out to our running trail - only this time with our snow boots and cameras.  It was great to be out enjoying the beaufitul snow - especially knowing it will all be gone in a day or two. Sieze the day!

I Competed in My First Triathlon and I am Hooked!!

Often after trying/doing something new or traveling to someplace I have never been - I think to myself  "I should write down the things that worked and the things that didn't  - the things I loved, and the things I was not a fan of."   So the day after competing in my first triathlon - I am going to take the time to do that.  It's really a post for me to refer back to, but if helps someone else out there - even better!

First off - I am hooked!!  Triathlons are a lot of fun and physically and mentally challenging!  I loved running a marathon (over 11 years ago) and honestly thought I would do more - but I haven't and now I would much rather focus on future triathlons!

What I loved about the triathlon:

• The variety!! I loved pushing myself in three different events....that was exciting!
• The transitions - it was fun in the water one minute and the next minute on a bike!
• It's a group race - but you are really competing against yourself for the best possible time.
• The Sprint was the perfect distance for me to start at - very doable......you can push your self hard and then still have energy to function for the rest of the day.

 

What I was not a fan of:

• Getting knocked around by other swimmers.
• Trying to take off my wet suit as fast as possible while exhausted from the swim.
• Realizing that my ankle timing chip was gone - just as I was about to leave the transition area....GRRRRR...having to run back and strap that on was a serious bummer.
• People passing me on the bike....that was no bueno.
• The transition from bike to run.....the first 1/4 mile was brutal on my calves!

 

What I would do differently:

• Get a better fitting wetsuit that only comes down to the calf (mine was about 4 sizes too big and when I came out of the lake I brought about 4 gallons of water with me!
• Get better at swimming while keeping your eye on the buoy - I am sure I added at least 20 yards to my swim.
• Invest in a road bike with a mileage/speed indicator
• Focus training more on biking and then add speed/spring drills to running routine.

 

What I think I did right:

• Choosing the Bonney Lake Tri for my first. Great Triathlon!
• Having pull lace shoes - that I wore for the bike and run....no socks....saved a ton of transition time.
• Having my number attached to a runner's belt instead of jersey that I would've had to pull on.
• Having family/friends come to cheer on.....that always gives you extra energy!
• Even though my wetsuit was too big - it still helped me to stay on top of the water and that really, really helped in my swim.
• My husband Paul let me borrow his Oakley Thump sunglasses and they were AWESOME!! They allowed me to have music that keep me going and focused on something other than my side ache, cramping calves, and off and on nausea. :)




By far the most important thing at my first was having my family there to support and cheer me on!!

   

My great kids!!  Missing older brother, Ayden, but I thought of him often while running!

Barb, Stuart, Jessica, Martin, Karin, Karen, Fred, me and my Dad, Keith.

Garden before/after/future.....it's a process

Yesterday I came home from my 7 mile run in the sunshine wanting to spend the entire rest of the day in the sun , knowing that today....well, would look like it does.  I headed to my backyard and looked over at my very neglected garden and decided I could be productive and get some much needed vitamin D at the same time!! So the image on the left is what I want my garden to look like and sadly, the image on the right is the entrance toy garden area......a bit of a difference??

Not to make excuses....but a tree from our garden area did fall on our house 8 years ago....

This image is after the tree clean-up.....pathetic I know!

Now - here we are.....up to date.  this is what my garden looked like yesterday morning. Basically a weed farm with potential.

So I went "beast" on those weeds....and got the areas ready to bring in at least 4 yards of topsoil and then the planting will begin. I'll keep you posted..

 

Modern Twist on Pet Photography

My daughter, Linda, and I had a little project to work on this afternoon. I stepped away for a minute and she took some pictures or our dog, Zuma.  When I came back and popped my memory card into my computer I found a great image of Zuma's adorable face.  The lighting was a little off so we played with it a bit and ended with this image.  I love the brown of Zuma's eyes and Linda loves that it has a bit of a watercolor meets modern feel to it.  I promptly hired her on the spot as my new pet photography associate! Pet Photography by Linda available all summer long!

I Found my Signature Washed Up on the Beach!

We were just taking a leisurely walk on Beach #3 near Kalaloch and there it was laying in the surf. I could hardly believe my eyes.  Almost my exact signature designed by nature. Up until just last year my signature was my logo.  See below.....

Quite a resemblence isn't it?!! So Paul took a picture of me all "dolled up" NOT! Then he had the fantastic idea to bring it home for me. How did I get so lucky to have this man in my life??