RIP Grandma

Tonight my grandmother passed away. She was a wonderful lady who loved me very much. I miss you already Grandma! I hope you are making your chocolate chip cookies for everyone in heaven. I'm glad your pain is gone, but it is those of us left who suffer.

Happy Fourth of July!

I got up at 5am this morning to drive to Coronado for the Independence Day 15K (it rhymes!). The place was packed and I didn't run well. In fact, where I usually am at the 10 mile mark was what I finished in....But I walked back to my car and had at least 15 cars drive by asking if I were leaving. I realized I was parked just a block from a 4th of July parade and had a prime parking spot--and parking was at a premium. So I decided to stay and watch the Coronado 4th of July parade, which was three hours long. Wow! It ran the gamut from a moving, living statue of Iwo Jima to Star Wars characters on segways. But at least I did something 4th of Julyish. As I left Coronado Island, all I saw were cars trying to get across the bridge and I have no idea where any of them will park.

Disneyland--Because aren't we just all kids in adult bodies?





For the holiday weekend I went to Disneyland on Saturday and had the best day ever. How can you not? It's the happiest place on earth.

Lessons learned at Disneyland:

1. While everyone knows I am not a big fan of kids and Disneyland by no means cured that (especially after 7pm when kids were so tired and restless standing in yet another line), it was cute to see their faces light up when a Disney character walked by and all the girls dressed up in princess costumes.

2. Disney does it right. They funnel people in and out of the park like clockwork.

3. Disney also shows an appreciation to single people. On a couple of rides, you can tell the attendant you are a "single rider" and they give you a pass to cut to the front of the line. Literally. One ride had a 50-minute wait, but I was given a "single rider" pass. So I rode up a special elevator and as I came out, I walked right onto the ride. Very VIP. Thank you Disney for recognizing the fact that not everyone goes to your park with kids and strollers in toe.

4. I love Disneyland. I didn't want to leave. I ate beignets in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears full of powdered sugar and honey...because beignets shouldn't be eaten in any other manner. I rode my favorite ride since I was a little girl-- "It's a Small World" and my second favorite "The Tiki Room." I climbed the Treasure Island tree house, watched a 4th of July fireworks display and fell in love with all things Disney all over again.

Saturday I went to Downtown Disney just to stay around the park a little while longer. My original plan was to go to the beaches at Newport Beach, but that plan was thwarted with excessive traffic, so I decided on Laguna Beach, but also ran into insane traffic. So I went to flip a U-turn and found myself at the head of a massive trail system with hikers, totally by accident. Well, being as I was already in my workout clothes, I grabbed a water bottle and got my cross-training on (and burn off those beignets). I hiked for 2 hours somewhere off of the 133 highway in the middle of nowhere OC. A park ranger saw me and said I looked like I was going to go for a run. I like to think he said that because I look like I have a runner's physique, but then I realized I had a bright T-shirt that had "Marathon" splashed in bright gold across the front. So maybe he could just read. Or maybe I really looked like a runner. I then stopped at Oceanside at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I like it because they serve all-you-can-eat mango salsa. And any restaurant that serves all-you-can-eat mango anything will certainly get my patronage.

Tomorrow I run in a 15K Independence Day race. Too bad I am still sore from my Seattle Marathon and now from trail running (and sick to my stomach from eating too many beignets and mango salsa).