Girls, Giggles, & Grapes

October 17-18. 2015
Atlantic City, NJ

Girls Weekend!! 

I learned a new term this weekend, “phantom trip”. My mom and I organized a secret trip for my sister and aunt in order to celebrate their recent birthdays and give a break from their busy lives and long work hours. The clues: pack warm clothes, you’re getting on a plane, it’ll be just us ladies.

Four gals got off the plane and were greeted by refreshing air, a soft sun, and colorful leaves. We piled in the rental car and drove in the direction of the Italian Wine Festival. 

We took a quick pit-stop at a flower/produce store to admire the flood of colorful flowers and odd-shaped pumpkins. The drive through the back roads was beautifully lined with slightly autumn leaves and woods. Once we arrived to the festival, everybody layered on clothes, scarves, hats, boots, etc…. and started the wine sampling. Once the giggles started, we sampled all of the foods offered and even ventured to sampling the grapes off the vine (A+ for flavor and freshness!).

We got back in the car heading toward Atlantic City (don’t worry—Mom was a sober designated driver only drunk off of laughs) and found a farm stand on the side of the road selling Apple Cider Donuts! This moment was probably the highlight of our trip—donuts at the “Funny Farm”.

Saturday evening, we were planning on a night of parties…. But fatigue set in after some pub food and a tour of downtown.

Sunday morning had a fresh start with the beautiful air and crispy car ride along the coastal villages to south New Jersey. Mom conquered driving over a large bridge, Laurie set her spirit free on the beach, and Lindsey lit up just breathing in the cold, beachy air. 

A few hours later, we made it to Cape May. Little children in costume hinted us to the awesome downtown strip of shops that were invaded by cute children (and adults) dressed as their favorite characters. We saw a fuzzy cookie monster just learning how to walk, baby Frankenstein, and a laundry machine girl. The stores were giving out candies and the fudge shops gave out samples of their best treats. 

For Floridians searching for fall festivities, this place was a pot of gold! To finish out Cape May, we visited a local winery and sat by the fire. 

Sunday night, we walked the famous boardwalk and met up with an old family friend inside the Trump hotel. 

Spartan Ultra Beast

Tahoe trip
October 2-5,2015

If this trip were a movie, I imagine it would start with various extreme contrasting flashbacks. Probably starting with the long, calm, quiet uncomfortable ride in and airplane seat or with the loud, blinding wind on the cold mountain top...

The trip to Tahoe was planned and settled back in January 2015. Pedro, in his obsession of Spartan obstacle course races, decided that he was going to take a stab at one of the most difficult Spartan races. I planned on attended but didn't purchase my entry into the race until June or July. (I'm not one to enjoy watching from the side lines and I've read too many motivational books about taking giant leaps outside your comfort zone.) In those 9-10 months, we tried preparing and training for the race through other races, gym classes, and beach runs (though I'm not sure if I've ever felt completely prepared for a race).

The race was on Sunday, so we flew into San Francisco the Thursday before race day to give time for acclimation. Friday, we drove around San Francisco with Pedro's family-- saw some main highlights and even got to stop by Tartine Bakery for a sample of the original classic sourdough bread! Additionally, we ate lunch at a mole restaurant. Can you believe it? An entire restaurant for MOLE?!!? (Here's a reference to my obsession with Mexican mole sauce.) 

 

After 6 hours of grueling traffic, we arrived in Tahoe Friday night for our stay in a yurt. I found this awesome place off AirBNB and have to say that it was a wonderful (glamping) experience.  Saturday was an antsy day.

 Sunday was race day. At 5:30am, we showed up to the starting line with layers of cold/wind/sweat-resistant clothes on, a head lamp, camel-pak of water, packets of energy bars and gels, and the wishful thinking that we were going to be part of the 50% in that crowd to actually finish the race.

About a half mile in, I decided that this was a bad idea. About 3 miles in, I found out that the race was not 26 miles... But 30 miles! From mile 6 to 8, we climbed straight uphill (the first 5 miles were uphill but nothing compared to the next 3). 

Once we reached the top of the mountain, my fingers and hands were swollen to twice their size, my left ear drum felt frozen, we were literally in the clouds, and the wind was preventing me from standing up straight. The downhill wasn't fun, but i figured it may make the situation better. Around mile 8, I tried convincing Pedro to continue without me-- rolling on the ground under barbed-wires for about 125 meters killed my spirits even more. He said he wasn't going to leave me and tried giving encouragements. 

We finished on lap (16 miles) and took a break to re-fill our packs with fuel. We continued on for the second lap (figuring that we wouldn't make the goal of under 12 hours but probably able to finish in the cut-off time of under 15 hours).  Neither of us truly believed in completing the 29 mile double-lap course, but we were stubborn. The second lap mostly consisted of walking. Knee pain started around mile 17.   
It got dark with about 5 miles from the finish line. We somehow finished the course with a time of 13hrs 56min. My entire body hurt worse than ever before. Every joint and muscle felt the need to punish me. A big race is a funny experience. There's very little celebration when you finish and you're even too tired yourself to celebrate. I think my favorite part of the day was snacking and enjoying the rush of energy after consuming calories. My racing partner was an extra bonus too.