jackson hole vacation :::: part 3

tuesday morning i got up early for yoga, what a great way to start the day! afterwards i came back to get brad and enjoy the tea that was delivered to our cabin. tuesday was the only morning that yoga was offered so on the other days we got into a great routine of waking up when the tea was delivered, stoking up the fire and having quiet time and reading our Bibles before breakfast. loved it.

the three main things we did were hiking, horseback riding, and fly fishing. i guess it's probably easiest to just post the pics and go from there!

while we were riding shelby taught me a lot about the wildflowers that were all over the place. aaaand i don't remember the name of this one :)

where we stopped to eat lunch on our first ride

my horse for the rides, devish

ready to go fishing!

brook trout!

we fished near those willows on the left and you can see our cabin a little further up

getting ready for our second ride to disappearing lake

grizzly scratches

disappearing lake (it is filled by snow melt, then evaporates by about july)

riding back to the ranch (our new friend faye up front)

we rode into the gross ventre wilderness --- no wheels or machines allowed!

the creek (i saw the moose here when i was running, by myself, with no camera... so everyone acts like they don't believe me)

south ridge

i guess that's pretty much it as far as the ranch went. i completely recommend the ranch if you're into that kind of thing. i hope we'll be able to go back, we both really enjoyed it! 

jackson hole vacation ::: part 1

on sunday brad and i packed our bags and our friend lauren dropped us off at the airport to head to jackson hole, wyoming. asheville's airport is pretty small so we made it through security pretty quickly and had a fair amount of time to kill before our flight. the beauty of living in beer city is that they have all the good local beers on draft at the airport bar [however, it's easy to forget you're at the airport and they will charge you an arm and a a leg].

 

anyways, we had a beer to cheers to a great vacation then boarded our plane. then the captain came in and told us we had to deplane, that they'd found a problem with the plane during their walk around inspection. they had to contact maintenance to see if it was fixable [and if it was fixable it would take at least 2 hours]. 

we quickly got into line at the counter because we knew either way we'd miss our connecting flight from chicago to jackson. long story short they said the earliest we could get to jackson would be the next day (monday) at 230p. a little disappointing but still okay. thankfully we got in contact with our hotel for sunday night (wyoming inn) and they were nice enough to refund our money for the night. that's pretty much unheard of in my experience, so a big THANK YOU to them. we'll definitely stay there if we're ever back in jackson. 

they actually ended up fixing our plane so we were able to get into chicago around 9ish. we had to go to customer service to get a voucher for a hotel and all that jazz. the line was CRAZY long. a really nice guy helped us, gave us a hotel voucher, meal vouchers, and told us where to catch the shuttle. unfortunately they couldn't get us our checked bag [i definitely know better than to put important stuff in there, but i failed miserably]. i hunted down some contact lens solution then we caught the shuttle to the intercontinental hotel. 

we were both pleasantly surprised with the hotel. it was very nice, clean, and modern and the staff was great. when we gave the clerk our voucher he asked if we needed any toiletries or anything, and even gave us free wifi for the night. 

we had a late dinner [and multiple margaritas] and the hotel restaurant, fresco 21. once again, we were pleasantly surprised and i'm pretty sure those were some of the best french fries we ever had [they were only serving their late night menu so everything came with fries].

monday morning we had breakfast at fresco 21 then caught he shuttle back to o'hare.

i really wish i'd had my running stuff because i would have loved to jump on the el and ran down by the shore. oh well, lesson learned. 

our flight to jackson was uneventful but check out the view as we were coming in:

and that's where i'll end for now!

.:weekend in the smokies:.

friday [after my mini meltdown] brad and i headed to tennessee for a weekend with friends. after we made it through the ridiculous traffic we checked our cabin. it had been raining for most of the day but it gave us the opportunity to see the 'smoke' over the mountains. beautiful.

when shannon and chris arrived we went to dinner at the smokey mountain brewery. the food was just alright but the beer was great.

saturday we got up and headed to cade's cove, where we were able to spot several white tailed deer and turkey. after lunch we hiked up to grotto falls. it was a great hike and we also saw a black bear on the way up.

it was a great weekend, and it was so good to see shannon and chris. even if i saw shann every weekend it wouldn't be enough! we lived together for 4 years and i forgot how much i missed just being in the same house as her. i'm blessed to have her as friend.

thank you all for your sweet comments and encouragement about my last post. i hadn't heard of post marathon blues but i'd say i've got all the symptoms! it's nice to know i'm not the only one who's ever been through it, and hopefully i'll get back to my 'normal' soon!

vacation part 2::: NYC day 2

thursday morning i got up and did 5 solid miles in central park [love].

we got ready and then went to lunch at the shake shack.

the burger and shake were amazing. my favorite burger ever. the fries were just ehhh. brad even said he liked it better than in and out [but he made me add that the 'animal style' on a shake shack burger would be the best ever].

we spent the rest of the afternoon in macy's, bloomingdale's, and some other stores. i loved seeing all the Christmas decor!

we went back and got ready to go see wicked! i was so excited that i finally talked brad into seeing this! last time we were in NYC we went to see the lion king because it was one of the shows brad thought he'd actually be interested in. i'd seen wicked on tour with my mom and LOVED it but brad has always had this aversion to it for many reasons, one of which being, WAIT FOR IT... he's never seen the wizard of oz!! but since this trip was kind of for my big birthday, he let me pick.

it was every bit as wonderful as i remembered and brad even said he liked it better than the lion king! i'm so happy he liked it! after the show we were walking to dinner and i got to meet the actress who played Glinda. she was really nice and signed my playbill! we had dinner at joe allen's then we headed to a bar we found near our hotel that we loved. i could not even tell you the name of it, but we ended up there almost every night we were there. they had tons of beers on tap and brad enjoys trying different ones.

so that was the end of day two! one more day of vacation round up to go!

have you seen the wizard of oz?

Vacation Part Two:::: NYC day 1

Tuesday morning we packed up and left Vegas bright and early.

brad was taking full advantage of the the strip's open container policy as long as he could! we arrived in NYC around 7pm. it sucked to lose a day of vacation to travel, but we were together and we weren't working, still a win in my book.

we stayed at the metro apartments, which mostly worked well for us. the studio apartment was tiny, but it had a kitchenette so we were able to make our breakfasts. the biggest problem was more of a problem with travelocity than the hotel. long story short, i made a point to call travelocity to confirm that there was a fitness center on site. we get there and there wasn't a fitness center. i call travelocity and am on the phone for over an hour, without a resolution. greaaaaat.

the first night i honestly can't remember where we grabbed food, but then we caught a late showing of Lincoln.

the next morning we got up and went for a run in central park. i cannot even tell you how much this is my favorite part of visiting NYC. i don't know if it would wear off if you ran there every day, but i can't get over just being in awe of the amazing beauty and tranquility in the middle of such commotion. i also love seeing all the sights that you see in the movies and tv shows. wednesday i ran 3 miles with brad and thursday i did 5 miles on my own.

on wednesday we visited grand central station, rockefeller center and the nyc public library. grand central seemed other worldly to me. i loved it and could have sat in there for a long time. they were having a holiday market too, and a man was playing Christmas carols on his violin. we enjoyed listening to him for a while.

next we ended up and rockefeller center and i spotted magnolia bakery. the line wasn't out the door as usual so i ran inside to get a cupcake. i chose the rockette red velvet. the cake part was delicious but i didn't love the frosting [more marshmallow-y than cream cheesey). rockefeller center looked great all dressed up for Christmas.

the nyc public library was really cool to see in person, and it was decorated inside also.

we had to get back to the room pretty quickly because we had a big date planned. we had tickets to the NYC ballet's performance of the nutcracker at lincoln center.

the dancing portions were amazing, but i had honestly forgotten how boring the first act is. i was pretty bored during the first act, and brad was pretty much asleep! but the second act was a lot better, with more dancing. afterwards we went to dinner at rosa mexicana, which was our favorite restaurant when we visited NYC last year. [quick side note, brad found the biggest lululemon i've ever seen on the way to dinner, SO much product! i found a jacket that i loved and i think i MIGHT be getting it for Christmas... fingers crossed!]
dinner was great, if you're in NYC you should definitely try rosa's. they have chains now, but we ate at the one in atlanta and it just wasn't as good. so we went back to the original one that we had tried before.

more to come on the rest of the week later!!

RnR Las Vegas Half Marathon:::: #10 of 12 in 2012

rock n roll las vegas half marathon, las vegas, nevada

half mary # 11

race# 10 of 12 in 2012

time:  2:12:01

division:  338/1901

gender: 2531/13487

expo::::

we arrived in vegas on saturday and after going to in and out and checking into our hotel, we headed to the expo. we were staying at new york, new york and the expo was all the way down at the venetian, so we took the monorail. i bought discounted tickets for the monorail on RnR's website. the expo was pretty much the same as the RnR Savannah expo. I quickly grabbed my shirt, bag and bib and we headed out. I usually enjoy the expos but for whatever reason I wasn't really feeling it. Brad's never feeling it so we just got in and out quickly. here's a beautiful, no make-up, been traveling since 5 am picture of me [it's the only one i got at the expo so that's the only reason i'm posting it]. 

race morning evening::::

this is the first race i've ever done that didn't have a morning start and it was so odd. i had no idea what to do/how to eat/etc. the half marathon started at 430 so around 3 i headed to the room to get ready. 

i was a big pink mess! 3 different colors of pink on, oh well! my only regret as far as my outfit was that i wish i'd added something fun. i saw so many lighted headbands, necklaces, and stuff like that and also so many sparkle skirts! i've made up my mind, i'm getting one!

after i got all my stuff together i headed to the start line. i took the shuttle from the MGM Grand to the Mirage (start line). i had a little trouble getting into my corral, i somehow ended up on the side that didn't have any entrances so i had to walk back then up to get in. 

the race::::

what is there to say about this course that hasn't already been said? it was definitely a once in a lifetime thing, running down the las vegas boulevard at night and seeing all the bright lights! i was too busy checking everything out and stopping to take pictures to pay any attention to my pace or mileage. i carried my phone for the first 6 miles or so, just because i knew i'd want to take pictures!

the course was flat and the temperature was perfect. my only complaint weather-wise was the crazy winds! i literally almost tripped over my own foot at one point because a huge gust of wind blew my foot into my leg. there were also several times when i just had to put my head down because dust was flying into my eyes (i wear contacts and if they get too dry they fall out and i'm pretty much blind without them!). 

the course was an out and back, beginning and ending on the strip. one of my favorite parts was that we ran through the old downtown part of las vegas which has a lot of casinos and lights too. i'd never seen that part so i really enjoyed getting to see it. we even ran by the pawn stars store! 

the best part was that there was only about a mile or so in a residential area. all the rest of the course was in an area with so many distractions. the course was FLAT too. would be great for PRs if not for the large crowds. 

compared to the horror stories i read last year, RnR really worked out a lot of the kinks. the marathoners had a separate finishing chute for the last 2-3 miles that we ran alongside them. I completely agreed that this was necessary, however there was no on policing it and most of it was just divided with tape (easy to cross). also i felt like the last two water stations were not staffed as well as the first ones. there was water on the tables, but no where near as many people handing them out. 

my race::::

i went into this race wanting to have fun. this race was on my bucket list and i'd been looking forward to it all year. i wanted to soak up every drop of the experience. i stopped to take a lot of pictures and even waited in line for the official photographers to take this pic:

even doing all that, i finished with my second best time ever [brad actually says it's a PR because he doesn't count my downhill race as a PR]. either way, i'm over the moon. it was such an amazing life/running experience

what i'm wearing::::

nike miler shirt

nike running capris

mizuno wave riders (14s) with sweat pink laces

lululemon headband

road id

iPod nano with yurbuds headphones

iFitness double pouch belt

my recommendations for this race::::

get a monorail pass for after the race if your hotel isn't nearby. no one wants to walk the strip after you've run it!

RUN THIS RACE FOR FUN AND SOAK UP EVERY SECOND!

dress up or do the race with a group of friends!

vacation part 1::: vegas

last saturday b-rad and i were up early to fly out to vegas. i got some gorgeous pics of the fog/mountains/sun coming up as we were leaving.

we landed in vegas as scheduled around 1 (via atlanta) and took a shuttle to our hotel, new york new york [no we did not plan this, it just worked out that way!].

our room wasn't ready yet so we dropped off our luggage and made another important journey [the most important thing on brad's vegas list].

he'd been talking nonstop of animal style burgers and fries since we booked the flight.

after in and out we went back and checked in. we were pleased with our room, it was smaller than the last room we had in vegas [at the venetian] but the price was great and the rooms were clean and had everything we needed. well, scratch that, i would have loved a fridge, but no dice.

we took the monorail down to the venetian for the expo and packet pick up. [i bought two monorail passes via the RnR website at a discounted rate and they came in handy. i don't mind walking but the strip drives me crazy because you can't just walk. you have to go up and down stairs almost every block].

dinner the first night was okay. we ate at chin chin which was a sushi/chinese type place in our hotel. then we played some blackjack.

on sunday [race day] we got up and ate breakfast at il fornaio [in ny,ny]. it was convenient and really cheap because they were doing a 2 for 1 deal for runners. i had a waffle with strawberries and it was delicious! kind of nice to carb load at breakfast since i never get to. after breakfast we played some craps then went to a sports bar to watch some of the football games. brad stayed there while i went to get ready for the race [full post on that coming later].

after the race i met up with brad and we took the monorail back to the hotel so i could shower and get ready for dinner. we had reservations for julian serrano [in aria].

most of the tapas were great but those meatballs were not. they were apparently made ahead of time and were served after they were reheated, however mine didn't get reheated. yuck. we have an amazing tapas place in asheville though, so i'm pretty partial to it. [if you're ever in asheville you have to try it, it's called curate].

after dinner... yes brad has on a suit and i have on jeans. my only dressy outfits required heels and that was not happening an hour after 13.1 miles.

on day 3 we mostly walked around and looked at the shops.we had a great lunch at max brenner [in the forum shops] and i fell in love. we split a chicken caesar salad and a bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich [and those fries with the sandwich were the best!]. then for dessert we had this chocolate lava cake with ice cream, berries, and a mini shake. the little tin had warm chocolate sauce in it. sooooo good.

 after lunch brad went to play craps and i went to the atrium in the bellagio. it was decorated beautifully for Christmas.

i can't remember what we did or ate on monday night, so obviously nothing too exciting! we went ahead and packed up because tuesday morning we were flying out to NYC. more to come!