Cruising through South California

Temecula, California

January 29, 2016

Pedro signed up for a different version of Spartan Race called Hurricane Heat. This one is in Temecula, California and was Saturday 6-10pm.

Saturday early morning we arrived to Los Angeles, rented a car and drove south to Oceanview-- a cute beach town. After a nap, we drove along the coast to La Jolla admiring all of the beautiful sights. I loved the massive cliffs, waves, and architecture of the houses.

Saturday evening, I dropped Pedro off at his race and drove to Old Town Temecula to explore and eat. I ate dinner at a restaurant called E.A.T. They have a couple of locations and serve good, healthy foods.

Sunday, we drove to San Diego for a quick exploration in the historic Gaslamp Quarter. The architecture downtown was a nice mix of old-school historic and geometric modern. After a rainy drive back towards San Diego, we stopped at a pier in Manhattan Beach. Unexpectedly, a huge wind storm was brewing and produced winds that felt like we were in a hurricane! This was such a thrilling experience. We later learned that the storms from this day caused a lot of trouble for South California.  

Miami Marathon

Miami marathon 
January 24, 2016

I signed up for the Miami Marathon once I realized that I was becoming a scared, shy person in life. Also, running a marathon has been on my bucket list for 5 years...so what better time than now?
After some light strength training and running, I stood at the starting line Sunday morning with a calm, positive attitude. I was lucky enough to have in town my mom, my dad, Pedro, and his friend David as cheerleaders.

   

The first 10 miles toured South Beach, Pedro jumped in with me at mile 13. The race went down to Coconut Grove, near Key Biscayne, and finished downtown. My body tightened after about 20 miles. After finishing, the pain in my muscles was worse than I imagined.



Fortunately, I ate, drank, and stretched after and was recovered within 2 days. Pedro and I have signed up for next year’s race--- Jan 29, 2017!!

Exploring London

London, England
January 15, 2016

**Many of the photos below were taken by K. Latchford. She's a great photographer! 

I finally found my excuse to take another cool trip-- My long-time friend, Katie, was scheduled to work in London for about a month. I picked the best weekend, invited myself over, and planned to explore the city with my ol' pal! Getting to the airport was dramatic (as usual) but the plane ride on Virgin Atlantic was awesome. After a glass of wine and chocolates, I was able to curl up with pillows and blankets for the flight over.

Friday morning was fuzzy with jet lag, sleepiness, and unexpected cold. With my list of recommended things to see/do/eat, I walked around (while Katie was at work) and saw so many cool ethnic food tents set up. The London Eye looked pretty cool with the clear, blue sky.

Once Katie got out of work, we met up for dinner and drinks. We tried speaking in British accents for the weekend but mine ended up just sounding like a southern American lady. :-/
Post-drinks, we saw some sights at night and enjoyed the little alley ways.





Saturday morning, we set out to achieve some more touristy things.



Sunday, the trip ended with a cold, rainy visit to Buckingham Palace. :)