On My Way!

This is the first of many posts to come regarding my trip to Italy!  First off, my flight was long but it included a long layover in the Philadelphia airport where I found this gem.

I found the Liberty Bell made of Lego's in the airport.  I thought it was kind of cool and it peaked my interest as well because my older brother, Jeff really liked Lego's growing up and had a huge collection and one of my friends from college, Kyle, loved the creativity of Lego's and it is his dream job to work for them some day.

Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend started off with a bang… well, more with a crash… literally.  I had just left work to start driving out to California to visit my brother Jeff, and one of my best friends, Jodee.  I made it maybe one-half mile away and hit someone.  There was a guy sitting in the suicide lane waiting to turn across traffic into a parking lot.  When he originally started turning, there was plenty of space for him to complete the turn but for some reason he was moving so very slow (kind of like he pressed the accelerator to start the turn but forgot to keep pressing the accelerator afterwards.)  I saw him start to turn so I slowed down a little bit.  As I continued to approach and he still was not moving very fast, I slowed down even more.  At this point, I went through the green light at the intersection and he was maybe half-way through the lanes and I was maybe 300 yards away.  I slammed on my breaks as I did not know if there was someone in the lane next to me or not in an effort not to hit him.  I even still turned my wheel in another effort to not hit him but I still got him in the back passenger bumper.

This man should not have still been driving.  He could barely write and kept repeating over and over again that he could not see me.  Ummm, my car is blue….. How could you not see me? (And no, he did not say anything about being color-blind.)  Even though I hit him, it was still his fault as he was crossing traffic.  Ultimately after exchanging information, talking to my insurance company, and determining that my car was still drivable and that nothing was leaking, I continued on to California.

It has been a few years since I have made that drive but I do not remember it taking that LONG!  Maybe it was because I left right after working all day.  I kept having to stop and take naps; better to take multiple naps and arrive safe and in one piece then in less than one piece…

I finally arrived in Walnut Creek at Jodee's about mid-morning.  I took a most heavenly shower and then Jodee and I were off to get brunch at Denica's Cafe!  I tried Eggs Benedict for the very first time and it was better than I was expecting.  I am not a fan of any eggs with runny yolks, which is why I have not tried them before.  I like my eggs hard and kind of dry without any chance of anything being runny.  I think this goes back to growing up on a farm with chickens and every now and then finding something in the eggs.  I would not go as far as saying Eggs Benedict is my new favourite dish but I would probably eat it again.  Denica's had free chips and salsa (so good!) and they even had cinnamon rolls that are bigger than your face!

Jodee and I then went to go visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.  The whole premise of the house is interesting in and of itself but part of why I was excited to go see it is because a couple of months prior, I had listened to a podcast about it.  Initially, I did not put two and two together when Jodee first mentioned it until she started talking more about the history of the place.  It was just kind of cool to go see something that I had learned about randomly on a podcast.  You can learn more about the house on their website (www.winchestermysteryhouse.com) or you can always wikipedia it (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House).

Until you do, enjoy some pictures in the meantime.

                



After the Winchester Mystery House, we hit up the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  I have never been before and even though it was starting to get a wee bit chilly, it was still a lot of fun.  We walked around for a bit, rode one of the aerial view rides over the boardwalk and then rode my first roller-coaster in YEARS!  I may or may not have pulled out my camera while we were on the roller-coaster in an attempt to take a few pictures of Jodee and I on the roller-coaster.  I did so well that the picture they always take of you on a ride for you to purchase shows me taking a picture of the two of us!

 

The next day, I drove into San Francisco to spend the day with Jeff.  We hiked around in Land's End, headed down to Golden Gate Park, walked up the Sunset stairs, explored the park around the Golden Gate Bridge, and then finally ended up at Mels Drive-in eating some delicious food.  Long day but SO MUCH FUN!

 

 

 

The adventure did not end though!  Jodee, Jeff and I met up in Walnut Creek do have some more fun before I had to start the LONG drive back to Utah.  We headed out to Lafayette Reservoir to walk around, explore, and rented a paddle boat.  I am so glad that it was more of a relaxing paddle boat ride than a vigorous one as my calves were so sore from all the hills and stairs Jeff and I had done the day before. 

We finally reluctantly headed in to have lunch at Fenton's Creamery in Oakland.  Fenton's has really good food and delicious ice-cream.  And if that is not enough, their servings of ice-cream are ENORMOUS!

On the way home, we made one final stop for some goodies at an old-fashioned candy shop that even carried some international candy.

The weekend was fun and lots of new memories were made that definitely made the long drive worth it.

A Marathon in Hawai'i, Part 3: The Race (and a few others thrown in)

The first few pictures are some random scenery pictures I took while driving out to Lahaina to pick up my race packet and to explore the surrounding area.

                    

In the middle of Lahaina lives a ENORMOUS banyon tree.  There is even a Banyon Tree Park. It covers an entire block in the middle of the town.  The pictures below do not even do justice to how truly immense this banyon tree is.

 

 

On the way to pick up my race packet, I had a little bit of a minor freak-out  moment.  I had a few moments where all I could think about was how crazy I was to even be thinking about running a marathon while working two full-time jobs, that I could not do it, what if I did not have it in me to run a marathon, especially one that just kind of happened, etc….  Luckily, I have a very good friend in Quinn and he helped to calm me down.  (By the way, Quinn ended up not coming to Hawai'i with me as he had the opportunity to go to Haiti for school to finish up his bachelor's degree about 3 weeks before we were supposed to go to Hawai'i and could not do both due to timing and work.)

I did fine.  I ran the marathon and I survived.  Despite working two-full time jobs and never getting enough sleep, I successfully ran my first marathon!  Honestly, for me, running a marathon was always just one of those maybe-one-day-I'll-run-a-marathon-things.  I never really thought I would though as I have never really been a big runner…until last summer when it just kind of happened. 

I did not stop to take any pictures along the way as one of my goals was to not stop at all; I had to be running or walking at all times.  Unfortunately I do not take the best pictures while walking so it kind of nixed taking pictures while walking.  I came close to my goal time but I am still proud of my time for my first marathon that I ran while working two full-time jobs, having limited training time, having a rather large elevation gain in the middle of the race with it being slightly uphill the rest of the way, and the fact that I struggle with hills.  I was standing in line to use the bathroom prior to the race starting and there were a lot of marathon clubs there and some of them were talking about timing, pacing, who they were going to run with, and some general smack talk.

I kept up a pretty good pace for the first half of the marathon.  (I would love to be able to run a half at the pace I had going!) I was feeling pretty good and I even had someone comment about my pace and how good I was looking.  It made me feel good. :)  I was able to keep it up pretty much until I hit the huge elevation gain right around mile 13.  After that, I struggled a lot more, especially as after the huge elevation gain, the rest of the race was slightly uphill.  I definitely needed to do more hill training.  I jet really dislike hills.  I made it over the hill and finally saw some whales breaching!  January is prime whale watching and since we were running the race along the coastline, we were supposed to be able to see lots of whales along the way.

The red is the race course.  We started in Wailea and finished in Lahaina.

I was ready to be done with the race right around mile 20/21.  I think that part of it was that I really really really really wanted some fruit (every other longer race I have run has always had fruit during the race).  I was dying for some fruit but all the aide stations thus far had offered water, powerade, chocolate of some form, candy, and/or clif bars.  However, I made sure that I kept moving and I finally came across an aide station that had some watermelon.  It was like manna from heaven!  As part of my run/walk efforts the last few miles or so of the race, I made sure to still pass people and to make sure that they did not pass me in return.  That was another goal of mine for the race: that when I got to the point of wanting to be done with the race, that I would start to pass people and I would not let them pass me.  There was one lady who I played tag with a few times during this phase but I kept the advantage with a couple of miles to go.  Something else that made me really happy was that a lot of the people I was passing were wearing marathon club shirts!  It just made me feel really good to know that I, running my very first marathon, was passing people who had run marathons before.  In the last half half mile or so, there was a lady behind me who picked up her pace in an effort to pass me but it was in vain as I just picked up my pace as well.  

I think one of the best things about finishing (aside from being done!) was that they had a misting station after they handed you your medal and took a picture.  It was so very very nice.

I am planning on doing the race again at least one more time.  If nothing else, I want to do it just to see what time I can get when I actually have time to sleep and train properly while not working two full-time jobs.

                           

                                

Lastly, another beach picture because that is what I did after the marathon.  I went and found a nice beach, played in the surf some (eventually), relaxed, and read a book.

A Marathon in Hawai'i, Part 2: The Road to Hana

I finally made it to Hawai'i!  Technically, it was the island of Maui that I was on but it is still Hawai'i.  I stayed on the north side of the island in the Banana Bungalow Hostel. I did not do too much on the first day I was there as I had a sleep migraine that did not want to go away.  The second day was a different matter though.  I took the day to do the Road to Hana and started early.

These are both pictures along the coastline driving out.

There were plenty of places to stop and see numerous waterfalls, short little hikes, and old bridges.

 

This is the path leading to Haipua'ena Falls.

Upper Puohokamoa Falls

Ke'anae Peninsula was really interesting.  You start to see the peninsula from above as you are driving and it strikes you as different.  It strikes as being different because of the terrain and the greenery.  The rest of the drive is very green and lush and then you come around the corner and see a peninsula that is more volcanic, rocky, not quite as lush, and a little bit more primal.

Overlooking Ke'anae Peninsula from the road

A closer look at Ke'anae Peninsula.

Overlooking Ching's Pond where a lot of cliff divers will come to jump.

You stand on this rock and prepare to dive.

You jump.

You have to jump very very carefully into Ching's Pond.  There is only one spot in the pond that is deep enough to dive/jump in.  If you are not careful and misjudge where you land, you land in the hospital.

     

A flower at Wailua Valley State Wayside on the path to overlooking Ko'olau Gap.

One of the many fabulous approximately 100 years old bridges all along the way on the road to Hana.

So many of the old bridges remain on the road to Hana because the residents of Hana do not want two-lane bridges.  They would get two-lane bridges though if federal funding ever had to pay for or to fix the bridges.  The county is perpetually low on funds so unfortunately at some point these fabulous bridges will be going the way of all things.  

About three-fourths of the way to Hana, I took a detour to explore the black sand beach and blowholes at Wai'anapanapa Park.  The detour was DEFINITELY well worth it!  The beach was so relaxing and the water was nice with a fun surf to play in.  I took some time out from the drive to relax for a bit and to read a book.

 

The black sand beach.

                                              

Blowholes

Shortly after my break at Wai'anapanapa Park, I reached the town of Hana itself.  Down by the pier is one of the red sand beaches as well.

                                       

I grew up watching a movie called "I.Q." featuring Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins.  At one point, Meg Ryan's character, Catherine, mentions wanting to go to the Seven Sacred Pools and how going in them is like being licked by a giant tongue or something like that.  Well, Maui is where the Seven Sacred Pools happen to be located.  However, the name the "Seven Sacred Pools" was a marketing ploy from back when nobody had ever heard of Hana.  The real name is 'Ohe'o Gulch.  Depending on the weather conditions, you can go swimming in the lower falls but you cannot jump off any of the falls due to liability and lawsuit risks.

          

 

Views of the Seven Sacred Pools because let us face the facts:  The Seven Sacred Pools just sounds so much cooler than 'Ohe'o Gulch...

An old FX London taxi outside someone's house.

I also ran into a very famous person's grave along the way.  Prior to coming to Maui, I had no idea that Charles Lindbergh was buried here and that he had a long history with Maui before he came to pass away.

The rest of the pictures are from the drive back from Hana on the other side of the island.