From the Mountains – To The City
Back in June, Wife and I headed up to Canada for some much-needed R&R. This is a post we finally decided to finish so it might be a little off seeing as the trip was 6 months ago and don't remember everything exactly as it happened. Enjoy!
Alas, it was our last day in Whistler. We spent the morning cleaning up our little one bedroom apartment before checking out. We cleaned the place so well it looked like we had just checked in (if we did not they would have charged us for dirty dishes).
We had time to spare, so Wife purchased some postcards and postage, wrote some notes to her grandmothers, and put them in the mail in hopes that they would arrive in San Diego before we did. After that, we walked down to the bus station and played cards on the grass while waiting. Once the bus arrived, the bus driver informed us that he would make a few stops and that one would be real close to our hotel in Vancouver. That meant we did not have to get a taxi once we arrived, which was great. The drive down was fairly uneventful but took longer than our drive up.
Once in Vancouver, we walked the few blocks (it seemed like a lot more when you are tired and do not know where you are going) to our hotel eager to check in and lie down for a few minutes. Once we found the Barclay Hotel, we checked in and walked up the stairs to our closet...I mean room.
Our first room was about a square foot or so larger than a typical walk in closet. With our two sets of luggage and the furniture, we could not move around the room without tripping. The bed and the desk sat so close to together that you could not pull the desk chair all the way out. We grabbed our luggage, walked downstairs to the front desk, and asked to see a bigger room. The attendant showed us to two choices of bigger rooms and we decided the medium-sized room would be acceptable (the chair actually came all the way out).
The size of the room and the age of the building (it needs to be updated, but that would cost money) were the only problems we had because its prices and location were ideal. It sat in the center of Vancouver with easy access to the water, parks, transportation, and restaurants. We walked down one of the main streets and dined outside at an Indian restaurant. There we decided we were ready to come home and to move our flight up by a day since we would be headed to the Cayman Islands just a few days after we returned.
After dinner we walked along the water and tried to spot some of the areas Wife had visited when she came with her mother before leaving on Semester at Sea. We found a few of them and then just enjoyed the rest of the scenery (like a dentist chair that faces out to the water). The big thing we noticed was how all the high rises had really large glass windows. The city obviously did not sit on or near a fault line and as Southern California natives, we were both impressed.
Tired from the drive down from Whistler (funny how traveling, even for a few hours can make you tired), we called it an early night and went back to the Barclay to plan our last day in Canada and to sleep.
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- The Bridge of Death
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- Postcards to be Sent
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- Whistler Finally Gets Cloudy
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- Waiting for the Bus
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- Flowers
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- Flowers Again
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- Flowers Upclose
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- Flowers, Flowers, And More Flowers
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- Wife on the Waterfront
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- Dentist Chair on the Water Front
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- Why Yes I Am!
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- Thinking of Buying a Boat
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- Helping an Old Lady Out
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- City of Glass (No Earthquakes)
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- Our Hotel Sign
Ran Like Girls
This past Friday, Wife and I flew up to San Francisco to run in the Nike Women's Half-Marathon. We arrived late Friday night and my sister Trista picked us up from the airport and drove us in her new (well new to her) fancy Corolla back to her place where we spent the night. The next morning she played Martha Stewart and prepared an excellent breakfast for us in a kitchen the size of a small walk-in closet. You can see some of the breakfast below:
After we picked up our running bibs we drove out to the East Bay for lunch and a tour of my brother's new house. The cats decided to hide from the tour, but they probably felt more relaxed when we left to meet up with the other San Francisco visitors/runners. We waited for a little over an hour to eat at Nob Hill Cafe because we wanted to eat carbohydrates for the next morning. It was worth the wait, and our crew would definitely recommend it. After dinner we actually made it to bed at a decent hour.
The early bedtime was met with an early rise at 5 in the morning and luckily our hotel was only 4 blocks form the starting line so we took our time preparing. A little after 7 (okay about 10 minutes after 7 am) we started to run. A few frustrating walkers and a little over 2 hours later we crossed the finish line. I must say that this is in the top two of my favorite runs (tied with the Carlsbad Half-Marathon). The only thing holding it back would be the sheer amount of people running which made it frustrating to move in the first 5 to 6 miles (as I said before a lot of walkers!!). However, the cheering of my Mater and the 11 to 12 mile run with my college friend Andy made the race a lot more fun. Our official times were:
Husband - 02:16:07
Wife - 02:16:09
A post race lunch celebration was followed by a nap and then another post race celebration dinner and drinks at the Noc Noc. Afterward, Wife, Andy, and I visited Joe's new apartment and then we all headed home.
The next morning we relaxed in our hotel room and then took BART down to the airport. Even though I had a 2:30 in the morning run to Walgreens for cough drops to battle the sickness I caught, I must say it was a fun and relaxing trip. Will we run next year? Who knows!
San Francisco 2008
Last year I flew to San Francisco to visit my friend Joe and some of the family. Here is a short video of some of the things I did:
From the Mountains – The Way to Whistler
We slept in because our flight was not scheduled to leave until 12:30 pm which gave Wife and I the morning to finish cleaning, packing, and take the dog for a walk. My mother picked us up at 9:45 am and dropped us off at the airport to begin our Amazing Race (Wife's favorite reality show).
A few weeks ago, unbeknownst to us, Alaska Airlines changed our flight from 12:30 pm to 10:30 am because they canceled our first connecting flight from Seattle to Vancouver (they said they sent an e-mail and called but we never heard from them). The agent changed our first flight back to the original with our Vancouver arrival time moving from 5:05 pm to 7:15 pm meaning we would miss our Greyhound bus to Whistler.
Wife was understandably frustrated but I focused our Amazing Race energy into alternatives. I reserved a one-way car rental from Avis (no credit card required) and made sure we knew the other bus schedules which were scheduled to leave at 7:30 pm. Remember we arrive at 7:15 pm.
After arriving in Seattle we settled down for some lunch and chatted with a former Cal Poly SLO professor (not one of mine but a nice lady). Wife then beat me (it hurt) in War twice. A few hours later we walked out onto the tarmac and boarded our puddle jumper.
Luckily the flight only took 30 minutes and we arrived at 7:00 pm. In Amazing Race style we ran off the plane towards customs. Once through customs we found an information desk and book two tickets that would take us directly to our hotel (a much better drop off spot than the Greyhound station). So we hopped on the bus and headed for Whistler.
During the drive up and after the beat boxing passenger left we chatted with another passenger and the bus driver hearing them say "eh" a lot. After 2 hours we arrived at our hotel ready to lie down.
We checked in and after a lengthy description of the places around the resort (free arcade games!) Wife and I went to our room and what a room it is. You can see it in the pictures below and the video above. We relaxed and Wife enjoyed some television while I wrote this. So here is to much less traveling tomorrow.
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- Waiting
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- Crossword
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- It Has Zombies!
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- Enjoying the Couch
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- The Living Room
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- Our Kitchen
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- The Bedroom
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- Jacuzzi
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- The Dining Room
Mario’s Wedding
In November of 2008, my cousin Mario, and his fiance Pam, had their wedding. So my parents, sister Trista, wife, and I all headed out the the beautiful Phoenix, Arizona for some fun in the sun we never get here in San Diego.
Early Friday morning, 4 of us (parents, Wife, and me) hopped into the PT Cruiser and began the long six hour journey to Phoenix. The night before, Wife and I stayed up late to do laundry and pack which meant that for the first three hours we slept in the back of the car while my father drove. Of course at the 3 hour mark we had arrived in Yuma, AZ. Just in time for some breakfast. We stopped at the Cracker Barrel, as is now customary when driving to Phoenix with my mother, for a hearty breakfast meal. After the heart clogging meal, we crammed ourselves back into the car as I drove the remaining three hours to my Uncle's house.
Now the plan for the day was to arrive at my Uncle's place, drop our stuff off at my cousin Mini's brand new palace, and then head to the Arizona Science center for some free fun (I had someone who worked there leave me some tickets). Of course what happened was only the first two items on the list. We arrived at my Uncle's house only to leave soon after to help load tables and chairs from the Guadalupe church into a truck to be transported to Mini's palace. After loading everything, we headed over to Mini's palace. Mini and her family had just moved in to their brand new 200 bedroom and 205 bath house which was actually affordable in Arizona dollars. This place was huge and we found out it would also be the place for Mario and Pam's rehearsal dinner. So soon after we arrived and had received our tour, we helped unload the tables and chairs and began the preparations for the dinner.
After we finished getting the palace prepared we napped, showered, and dressed for the evening. Santino, my cousin, arrived with the food, from the Macaroni Grill, that he received at a heavy discount thanks to him being a general manager and the attendees began to eat. We all sat outside on what turned out to be a gorgeous evening (mostly because Wife and I made the outside beautiful with our string lights and candle work). Once I finished with dinner and talked to the adults, I played with my little cousins, of which there are many. They had glow sticks that are more fun than anything in the world. Wife had so much fun with Mini's boys and the other little cousins she changed her mind and now has her fingers crossed for a boy (hold the phone-this is NOT an announcement-this initiative planned for sometime after 2011). However, they had to go to bed, so all the young people went over to Ramon's house to play with his Kalashnikov (unloaded of course).
The next morning, Saturday, the plan was now to go out to breakfast with Wife's cousin, go to the AZ Science Center, and then head off to Mario's wedding. Of course one of those plans did not happen. Wife's cousin Grace and her husband Billy picked us up and drove us over to Denny's for some breakfast. After the obligatory French Toast with eggs and bacon, we headed off to the AZ Mills Mall to do some of that famous mall walking. Of course that required a stop into the mall's pet shop where you feel horrible until you see how much the dog will cost you. We left the mall after walking the huge circle (the mall is indoors and a big loop which is used in the morning by the elderly to walk around and get exercise, I know this because my Uncle used to do it) and Grace and Billy dropped us back off at the palace. Unfortunately it was too late to head over to the AZ Science Center.
So instead of having lots of fun, we napped for about 10 minutes, showered, dressed, and picked up my sister from Ramon's place. Then we headed off to the church for some wedding fun. We laughed pretty hard because this was the first time we had seen, and I think the Guadalupe church had seen, so many white people in the church. Normally, the congregation consists of the Guadalupe Hispanic population. We sat in the corner with all of the Bernasconi's, while Pam's family took up most of the church. The Mariachi band attempted to sing and play music and for that I say good job. I know that the highlight of the wedding should be the actual marriage, but in all reality most of us were impressed when my uncle, a deacon, kept the wedding portion short, not his normal 45 minutes, and not too much about farm workers. After the beautiful wedding we waited in the receiving line to congratulate the newly married couple. Then we waited around trying to get directions from someone on how to get to the reception.
Upon arrival at the reception site my father decided it was time to hit up the bar before everyone else did. He picked up a few red and white wines along with some beer. Most of it was to share with our family friends, Sister Alyce and Debbie, whose car unfortunately broke down in El Centro where they had the honor of spending the night and ripping a phone out of the wall! People began showing up and being disturbed out by the creepy security guard who asked to see everyone's ID. I am guessing they have had problems in the past but come on, it was a wedding reception. Sister Alyce and Debbie finally arrived in their rental car and my dad, the gentleman that he is, attempted to park their car while running over my cousin, Santino. Unfortunately, Santino quickly jumped out of the way. The bride and groom finally showed up and the festivities began. Food, drinks, laughing, and dancing. Mostly the laughing at me dancing. However, as the night wore on, people left and so did the bride and groom and all the young people once again headed to my cousin Ramon's house for the after party.
On Sunday morning, everyone staying at Mini's palace left without telling us, so we awoke to an empty house. Luckily my parents came to pick us up and take us to the morning after party for some menudo. Actually, we did not eat any of the menudo but my cousins certainly did. We hung out for a while and then headed back to the highway for the drive home. Halfway home we stopped in Yuma for some food at the Cracker Barrel where my mother, Sister Alyce, and Debbie spent their time shopping in the gift store and Wife got to pick out a Christmas ornament to commemorate the occasion. After the early dinner, Wife took over the drive and thank god she did and I did not have too. On the way home we encountered high winds, sand storms, and rain. I am glad I took the second part of the drive out. Once home after the drive, we thanked our house sitter for her work and headed off to bed.
It only took me 2 months to edit this video so I hope you enjoy it: