Friday, August 04, 2006

Down South

The trip down was uneventful, we arrived at Universal City without a hitch. I'm glad we stayed because the drive from there to San Diego was hot and long.... almost three hours due in part to the traffic and our unfamiliarity of the roads. Pretty much from Universal City we were lost. I must've made every wrong turn and missed most of the required exits at least twice. I usually can get my bearings after a day or two but not on this trip.

Both T and I were hopeless. Everytime we ventured out it was sheer luck that we arrived to our desired destination. T had a better handle on things once we arrived in San Diego, I on the other hand stayed confused. The only time I felt remotely oriented was during my runs, I'm use to winging it on foot I guess.

The first 3 days in San Diego were spent at Seaworld, The Zoo and The Wild Animal Park (this was my personal favorite) In between I managed a couple decent runs despite the heat and humidity. I felt like a old dish rag!! I entered the pool twice...to be honest there wasn't a whole lot of swimming going on, just getting cooled down. We went for a decent bike ride along the Marina in the late afternoon, I needed some prodding to do this but felt energized afterwards...a good reminder on the effects physical activity. Taking the bikes on this trip seemed like a good idea but of course there was the issue of securing them and lugging them to the room.

At the last minute we decided to go to Tijuana. The weather had started to cool down a bit by this time and we shopped for awhile and then returned to our car and spent only hour getting back across the border. T assured me M would not need ID. He and his brother have been to TJ a few times and never were asked for ID (T and his bro are as fair skinned as they come...). M's birth certificate has been lost for years and I keep meaning to get a replacement. When we arrived at the border we had to show our ID's and then he asked for M's. This patrol officer took our lack of preparedness rather seriously and proceeded to lecture us on the ID options available for minor's. He asked me what country I was born in and then asked M the same. I couldn't tell how far he was going to push it but after a few more inqueries he must've felt we were sufficiently chastised and let us move along.

The weather had been considerably hotter the week before but still the grey overcast and humidity was abit oppressive. I mentioned running, HA!!! More like plodding along, a 6 and a 8 miler.... not fun at all!!! I have an even deeper respect for you Anne. The humidity really zapped my mojo. Swimming was means to keep cool. No major training was accomplished on this trip. I'm not even going to step on the scale. T (when I pressed him about it) said I maybe got a bit cushier on the backside!

Food was a bit of a challenge. We brought a cooler and stocked up on fresh fruit and simple breakfast and lunch items but the bulk of our meals were at theme parks and few restaurants ....the best meals by far were at Seaworld. On the last night in San Diego, we stumbled upon Little Italy and soon realized you needed reservations so we settled for Sushi (it was okay) and then gelato...that was yummy!

The last night was spent back at Universal City and instead of staying behind and swimming like I should've I opted to go to Universal Studios with T and M....apparently I am a glutton for theme park punishment. We later had a really nice meal complete with a private wine tasting back at the hotel.

Our hotel rooms were lovely and the view from the Sheraton was awesome. On the first and the last day in San Diego, the sky cleared a bit and the bay was filled with sailboats, dinner cruise boats and kayakers, it was fun spying on the passengers with T's astronomical binoculars.

After another short swim in the morning it was time to head out. We opted to take the scenic route home. The drive through Malibu Canyon was gorgeous and not even the grey overcast could diminish it's beauty. Strangely enough we never stepped foot onto the beach but the drive along the coast was pretty.

As far as rest & relaxation go.... there wasn't alot of that going on.... it was better than being at work and tonight we're going to a Santana concert.

Not sure to what extent the lack of training will have on my performance in my upcoming events, good thing I don't take these things too seriously!