Marcahuasi, Peru

Marcahuasi, Peru

July 2, 2016

The best feeling in the world is a clear open road with the curiosity of what’s to come. Being out in nature leaves me with a strong sense of peace and clarity that cannot be matched in a meditation room. This week’s trip went to the Andes of Peru (a 4 hour drive east of Lima). Marcahuasi  is known for sightings of UFOs and the Stone Forest-- mystical, natural carvings of faces and animals into the large, energy-filled stones. When reading about this place, I was excited about the mysticism associated as well as natural super-plants found in the area to cure illnesses.

We rode in a bus up the dirt road carved into the mountain to a small town called San Pedro de Casta. After a nice lunch, we started up the 5Km path to Marcausai. Donkeys, horses, and locals moved up the path carrying campers’ gears, campers, or guiding the herd. Thank goodness for the resting huts along the way that gave us an excuse to sit, breath, and regain strength.

At 13,000ft above sea level, we reached the top and were welcomed by a flat ground for camping. The donkeys roamed around trying to munch on as much grass as possible and the campers set up their party spot. Pedro and I napped as soon as the tent was set! I woke up after the sun fully set to a sky full of billions of stars. We even saw plenty of shooting stars!!

In the morning, we climbed the stones to explore some of the area and then descended towards better oxygen levels. The car ride down the mountain was one of the most frightening experiences in my life (my trip in Haiti still ranks #1)! The driver never seemed to hug the mountain close enough or drive slow enough for my comfort. All in all, it was a great trip.

I recommend that you try exploring this area. Take about a day and a half to travel to/from the area, hike, and explore!

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. :)

 

Horse Farm Hundred

Horse Farm Hundred

Gainesville, FL

October 25, 2015

To keep things fresh, we drove up to Gainesville on Saturday morning for a Sunday bike ride. Saturday, pre-sunset, we arrived to the college town and went to the Newberry Corn Maze. We ran through a maze of corn, jumped on hay barrels, and rolled in a pile of corn. Weee!! After seeing pictures of Pedro, I think he’s meant to be a country boy. Saturday night we ate the most delicious food at Jamaican restaurant—Reggae Shack.

Making a 'corn angel'

Sunday, we woke before the sun and biked to the start line. The bike ride was 102 miles through the country side of Gainesville/Ocala, Florida—past a lake, many horse farms, over hills, etc. This annual bike ride is one of my favorite views and activities. Every 30 miles, we took a pit stop for sandwiches, fruit, and candy bars. Yummy! 

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.