California Fun

Wow, I can't believe its been 2 1/2 weeks since the San Francisco Marathon! You'd think that my feet would look normal again by now .. but anyways. David's brother Ken flew out to San Francisco for the weekend of the race and then came down to San Diego with us to spend a week escaping the East Coast heat. This was reminiscent of two years ago when he came out for a week starting with me running the Rock N Roll Marathon as a member of the Foot Locker Challenge Team, ending with us heading up to San Francisco for the weekend. It was like the same trip in reverse! (More on my blog A Week of KA in CA)

RNRSD 2009 Foot Locker Challenge Team

Ken flew in late Saturday night and David and I picked him up at the airport after having our carbo loading dinner with Christina at Unicorn. He was pretty hungry from traveling all day so where did we go? Where out of towners who love burgers always want to go - In N Out! (I totally don't get the obsession with In N Out ... but whatever.) We had dinner, came back to Christina's to prep for the race, and before you know it alarms were going off at 4am and it was time to get ready for the San Francisco Marathon. 

Doesn't this sound like a great way to start off a vacation? Fly cross country, go straight to bed, wake up at 4am, and then stand around and traipse all over the city watching two people run a marathon? THANKS KENNY for your support! :) Anyways, fast forward through the race, my BBQ, the drive back down to San Diego .. and it was finally time for the more fun part of his vacation to start. (More details on the SF Marathon race weekend here on my blog San Francisco Marathon - The Big #14)

My Dad & The Allen Boys 2011

My Dad & The Allen Boys 2009

After a long day of driving we didn't have much energy to do anything too big, so on Monday night we went to go see the movie Captain America. I was hoping to go see the Smurfs in 3D while the boys watched Captain America, but David talked me into joining them at the last minute. *yawn* The movie was okay. I still wish I saw the Smurfs. :(

The next day I had to head back to work and David and Ken went to Sea World to hang out with Shamu. We were also planning on going to Universal Studios later in the week and the guys scored by buying a package deal on the tickets for the two parks. When I got home from work we all went out to eat a Buca di Beppo. I hadn't been here in YEARS and just remember the place having horrifyingly large dishes. Buca seemed to be *the* place to have a birthday dinner when I was in college since everything is served family style. We ordered a salad, two pasta dishes ... and then a brownie sundae. Oink. We didn't finish either pasta dish but mowed down the sundae. Yuck, good thing I just ran a marathon. 

David's Scared of the Brownie Sundae

Not sure if it was because the guys were in a food coma from the Buca dinner, but the next day they took it easy and hung out at home for most of the day. When I got off work they picked me up and we headed north to K1 Kart Racing in Carlsbad. When we got there we were disappointed to find out that there was a 2 hour wait before we could race. ARGH!!! So ... we headed off in search of food to kill some time. We ended up at a place I had driven by many times but had never tried - Joey's Smokin' BBQ. It wasn't great, I should have driven by once again. 

The BBQ was okay and it felt like the food took FOREVER. The onion rings that we ordered to share were also startlingly huge. Perfect example of why America is fat. Why would a restaurant create such a monstrous dish? Gross.

Monster Onion Halves Rings

We finally got to race and ended up in the same circuit as a bunch of pretty serious looking racers who came with their own helmets. Uh oh. Right before our group went we also saw a bunch of people crash and two women walk off the course. Errr... this made me pretty nervous and toned down my driving a bit. The race went pretty fast and my main goal was to not finish last. Thankfully, David came in last! haha. ;o) xoxo David.

Getting Ready to Race!

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place

Since I had worked two days that week so far it was obviously time for another day off. ;o) I took Thursday off and we all drove up to LA to spend the day at Universal Studios. We left mid-morning and I didn't expect to hit much traffic, but of course we did! Ugh. It took over 3 hours to get there. By the time we got there it was lunch time so we had lunch in Universal City at Karl Strauss (on IPA Day!) before heading into the park. 

$15 Off Universal Studios w/a Coke Can!

David and I had come to Universal Studios a few years ago and had instantly thought that this was a place his brother (a movie buff) would totally enjoy. It was smoking hot this day in the valley (mid 90s) but we had a good time at Universal Studios. My favorite ride by far (and not just because I'm a Simpsons fan) was the Simpsons 4D experience. 3D movie with a 4th dimension of movement and feeling. (Stuff blowing at you, spraying at you, and smells.)

Just Chillin' at the Kwik-E-Mart

After a full day at Universal Studios, another meal in Universal City (yeah, we eat a lot), and we headed back to San Diego. Thankfully we didn't hit traffic on the way home. 

Universal Studios Hollywood

David Shunning my Kiss at Dinner - haha

The week went by way too quickly, and soon it was Friday. Ken was heading home on a redeye that night so the guys had the day to hang out before picking me up and work and us all heading north for my friend Devika's birthday happy hour. Thanks to traffic (I am so sick of California traffic) we pretty much did a pop-in at her happy hour before heading down to Del Mar for our "fancy" send-off dinner at Poseidon. 

Happy Birthday Devika!!

Poseidon is one of the nicer restaurants I've been to in San Diego and is a great place to take out-of-towners since you get to eat almost on the beach and get the feeling of really being in Southern California. The food and service at this restaurant are top notch, and watching the sun set over the beach is amazing! If you haven't been here, go check it out.

Another meal complete .. and it was time to take Ken to the airport. Hopefully he had a fun time and will come back in a few years!

5 Days of Family Fun in France

Bonjour tout le monde, c’est Domo! Domo is back again to tell you about his exciting European adventures in Paris! Domo spent five days in France last week and had a lot of fun!

  

Walking Through a Paris Garden

If you find Domo’s writing boring and long winded, Domo will summarize his key thoughts about Paris and Parisians below:

• The national pastime appears to be smoking
• Parisians eat their body weight in baguettes
• You always sit next to each other on a sidewalk café not across from each other
• People drive like CRAZY in Paris – lanes are ignored and roundabouts are free-for-alls
• Even though they eat and drink a lot, Parisians are rarely obese. Americans can stand to take note.

First Day – Travel, Movies, & Family Dinner  

Domo left on Saturday from Phoenix but with the two flights (14 hours of flight time combined), the layover, and the time change, Domo didn’t arrive in Paris until early Sunday morning. Domo was excited to be on a new Airbus plane that had a personally controlled TV at each seat! Domo could choose from a nice selection of Movies, TV shows, Music, and Games. Domo tried very hard to sleep on his flight to Paris and even took a sleeping but, but unfortunately couldn’t doze off for more than 45 minutes at a time. Domo was able to keep himself busy though during the flight and finished his book “Sense of Urgency” and watched the movies “Date Movie” with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell (so funny!), “Alice in Wonderland” with Johnny Depp (interesting and weird), and also watched episodes of the show “Big Love” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, two of his HBO favorites.  

Domo Travels in "Coach" .. Purse

Upon arriving in Paris on Sunday morning Domo immediately turned on his Blackberry to see if he could get a roaming signal as he did last year on his old phone, and as he did this year on his current phone in Aruba. Domo’s phone did not work! Domo was very sad. Domo might have what you call Crackberry addiction. Without the use of his phone to call his shuttle (Super Shuttle is now international by the way!) Domo had to find a pay phone to make the international call. Domo can’t remember the last time he has even touched a pay phone. Maybe five years?

Domo managed to get to Monika’s mom’s house without a problem and had a nice breakfast with her and George, and then took a nice five hour nap to catch up on his sleep. That night Monika’s mom had planned a welcome party at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant for Domo! Yes! For Domo! Not Monika! ;o)

Family Welcome Dinner

Monika’s cousin Mark from Australia and his wife and baby had just gotten in that morning as well to Paris. They were about to start week one of their FIVE WEEK vacation! Domo was very jealous. Monika’s other cousin Laurent from France also came to the dinner as well, along with a handful of Monika’s mom’s friends from this social site “On Va Sortir” (Let’s go out!)

Second Day – The Pantheon & Family Dinner 

The next day would be Domo’s first day sightseeing in Paris. Domo bought a Paris travel guide at the airport and had gone through the book and marked all of the attractions that seemed interesting. Domo’s first choice was Les Catacombes and his second choice was the chapel of St. Eustache.

The Pantheon

Sadly almost all museums are closed on Monday! Domo arrived at Les Catacombes to find out they were closed. Domo then tried to go visit the chapel but couldn’t find parking there. Luckily Domo had his trusty travel guide and was able to find something that was open – the Pantheon! Domo enjoyed visiting the Pantheon and his favorite part was the huge pendulum in the center of the building.

 Pendulum at the Pantheon

That night Domo was invited over to Monika’s cousin Larent’s house for dinner. Laurent and his wife were cooking dinner for him and he got to meet their baby for the first time.

Gracious Dinner Hosts

Third Day – Swimming, St. Eustache, & Les Catacombes

On his second day in Paris Domo started to feel guilty for not having run for a week. Domo had a half marathon coming up and hadn’t trained for it at all! Domo remembered how much Monika’s mom loves to swim, so Domo asked her if she would take him swimming the following morning. On Tuesday morning Domo got up bright and early and headed over to the local public swimming pool to try to get some laps in. Domo has never liked to swim and couldn’t believe he had asked to go swimming. But what else could Domo do? Domo need to get some type of workout in! Domo tried to think when he had last swam laps and couldn’t even remember. It had probably been 10 to 15 years! Yes, Domo is old.

Domo Enjoying a Chocolate Croissant

Domo’s biggest issue with swimming is the initial plunge into the cold water, and the sensation of being cold all over whenever you stop moving. Luckily for Domo, the water at the pool was so warm! Domo tried out some laps with the breast stroke and freestyle and was amazed by how much his heart was racing after each lap he swam! Domo was being a little bit of a wimp and stopped swimming to take a little break after each lap or so. Domo swam 20 laps in total (1000 meters) in 45 minutes. Domo was pretty proud of that.

Domo Ready to Swim

After swimming Domo headed out to visit Les Catacombes! Domo read on the sign that they’d be walking for about a mile total from entrance to exit. Domo was tempted to log that on his dailymile site, but didn’t. Upon entering Les Catacombes Domo had to climb down a never-ending spiral staircase. It felt like you were climbing down into the center of the earth, and you couldn’t stop since you had a line of people behind you. Once you got down there you walked through a dark, narrow path in the rocks. Domo felt like he walked forever before he finally saw something interesting – stacks of bones! Wow, creepy!

Les Catacombes

Domo was amazed, intrigued, grossed out, and bewildered by the amount of bones he saw stacked along each side of the path. Domo walked further and further and couldn’t believe that the bones were never ending. Towards the end the path was wet and the ceiling was dripping, and Domo was not happy to be walking in his open sandals through the water and started wondering if there was ancient bone residue in the water as well. Domo was grossed out and walked faster towards the exit. Upon climbing up another never ending spiral staircase, Domo was back outside into the light! There were two guards at the exit who asked to look through Domo’s bag. Domo was confused but then asked “Oh! Is this because people try to steal the bones? Gross!” They answered yes, and pointed to a stack behind them. Ewe! There were two skulls and three long bones behind them that people had tried to take. What is wrong with people?

Creepy Bones!

After the bones, Domo headed over to the chapel of St. Eustache. Domo thought that this chapel was very beautiful and enjoyed walking around and looking at the paintings, stained glass scenes, and statues.

 Beautiful Scenes at St-Eustache

Pipe Organ at St-Eustache

Fourth Day – Swimming, Moulin Rouge & Family Dinner 

The next day Domo attempted swimming again, but this time Domo decided that he would only let himself take a break every five laps. This went well and Domo finished another 1000 meter swim in only 33 minutes this time instead of 45! Domo felt good about himself.

After swimming Domo went out to eat at a local Pho restaurant for lunch. This restaurant is known for serving you a plate of beef bones along with your pho. Domo did not find this appetizing, but his company did.

Beef Bones Lunch

After the dinosaur bone dinner, Domo headed over to check ou Moulin Rouge. Domo wanted to see the cabaret show there but passed due to the price of the tickets. They were $120! Domo decided that taking pictures in front of Moulin Rouge would be good enough. Domo was dissppointed to find that Moulin Rouge in real life wasn't half as magical as it was in his favorite movie Moulin Rouge. Sigh. Domo was sad.

Moulin Rouge

Fifth Day – Swimming, Parc Asterix & Family Dinner

Domo’s last full day in Paris was an exciting one, he went to Parc Asterix! Asterix is a French cartoon character and Parc Asterix is his theme park. Domo thinks this might relate to Mickey Mouse and Disneyland?

Domo Treated Like Royalty by Asterix and Friend

Zeus Overseeing the Park 

Zeus Has Flowered Undies!

Domo hadn’t been to a theme park in years and was looking forward to going on some rides! Domo likes roller coasters! Domo rode the roller coaster Goudurix two times in a row and thinks his brain was scrambled a bit. According to Wikipedia the ride Goudurix held the world record for “greatest number of inversions” from 1989 to 1995!

Mark Enjoying a Waffle Ice Cream Sundae

Goudurix Roller Coaster

Domo had fun in the park going on rides, eating park food, and meeting Asterix himself! It was a full day and a nice end to his trip. After the park Domo headed over to Mark & Ann's condo rental for Asian takeout dinner. Yay Asian food! You wouldn't believe this but Domo didn't have a single bite of French food during his whole trip! He had Asian food for just about every meal!

Domo Makes a Wish at the Well

Domo Thinks Monika is Silly

Sixth Day – Travel, Movies & BBQ

On Domo’s last day in Paris he woke up early and got ready to head back to the US. Super Shuttle came at 8am to pick him up, and after bidding farewell to his family he headed off to the Paris airport for an eight hour flight to Philly followed by a 5 hour flight to Phoenix.

Sunset in Phoenix 

Domo was hoping that he could sleep on the flight back and that the trip would whiz by, unfortunately he couldn’t sleep so he read, watched movies, and stared out the window. Domo watched “When in Rome”, “Enchanted”, “Temple Grandin”, and finished reading “Predictably Irrational”. The first two movies were cute and funny, the third was a GREAT movie that Domo highly recommends, and the book was a great read about behavioral economics that you’d enjoy if you’ve also enjoyed reading Freakonomics, or Tipping Point, or Blink.

Domo Reunites with Mika & Kona in Phoenix

Domo Wasn't Treated as Nicely by the Hammond Westies

Domo got into Phoenix around 6pm and was picked up and spoiled with VIP treatment the rest of the night by his dear friends the Hammonds! Domo enjoyed a nice home-cooked BBQ meal but is embarrassed to say that he wasn’t very good company and almost fell asleep at the dinner table. He ended up excusing himself and going to bed at 9:30pm. Technically it was already the next morning on Paris time! Domo needed to get to bed early anyways because the next morning he’d be heading off to San Francisco for the last leg of his string of travel. More details about San Francisco will follow later in the week.

For now, Domo bids you adieu and hopes you enjoyed his pictures!

Aruba: 4 Days & 4 Nights

As I had mentioned in my previous blog “new year, new job”, I have traveled quite frequently over the past few years. Some of the perks that come along with giving up endless weekends over many years to work a tradeshow booth include an abundance of frequent flyer miles, elite flyer status, and hotel points. I have earned and used a few hundred thousand frequent flyer miles in the past few years with my most recent purge of frequent flyer miles being used to set-up a 4 day, 4 night trip to Aruba for two covering two flights, and 4 nights at two luxury resort by the beach!

Map of Aruba

Why two resorts? Well, I only had enough Marriott points to cover 3 nights at one of their Aruba properties, but luckily I also had enough Hilton points to cover a 4th night for our trip. I planned this trip about four months ago and have been counting down to it ever since! Changing jobs recently kind of put the trip in an awkward place, but luckily my new boss was okay with me starting my new job and working for 3 weeks, taking 4 days off to go to Aruba, and then returning to work the following week.

Monday, Night 0

Since I had booked my flight on frequent flyer miles, my flight options were limited and involved me taking a redeye from San Diego to Philadelphia, an early morning flight from Philadelphia to Charlotte, meeting David in Charlotte and then us both flying down to Aruba in the late afternoon. The night before my flight departed I tried unsuccessfully to check-in online for my fight. I would get to the part where I’d enter my passport information, hit submit, and then the page would hang and eventually time out. This worried me a bit, and worried me a bit more when I tried two more times unsuccessfully the next day. I was further alarmed when David was able to check-in online without a problem. Was there an issue with my reservation specifically?

 

Since I was worried about my flight and missing out on my vacation, I arrived at the airport a little more than two hours ahead of my flight. This behavior is quite un-Monikalike! I went to check-in at the kiosk and was surprised to see that when I my flight information came up it showed a 2-flight connection (San Diego to Charlotte to Aruba) instead of my originally 3-fight connection. AND …. I had been upgraded to First Class on both flights! I was shocked and had to confirm with a ticketing agent that this great fortune truly had been bestowed on me! WOW! What a treat! Since I’m Gold on US Airways I’m eligible for free upgrades to First Class when available on a paid ticket, but since I had booked this flight on miles I shouldn’t have qualified. Shh! Don’t tell them they messed up and maybe this mistake will happen again in the future!

I happily claimed my First Class seat on the redeye to Charlotte and snoozed away for most of the night. Prior to boarding I had mentioned to David that there were 4 really built, good-looking guys in the airport with expensive luggage who appeared to be professional athletes, but didn’t look tall enough to be basketball or football players. David recalled that there had been a WWE event in San Diego that day, and thought maybe that’s who they were. They were traveling with this one girl who ended up seated in front of me on the flight to Charlotte. We looked up pictures of the wrestlers the next day on the WWE site and I was in fact seated behind "Maryse". Poor girl had the guy next to her talking her ear off the whole time while the guy across the aisle looked on in jealously (it was soo funny to observe), and when we got off the plane in Charlotte he handed her his business card which she politely accepted with a smile. I wonder what he thought when he gave her his card? Maybe she’ll call? Yeah right, I doubt it, but I give him credit for trying.

Tuesday, Night 1

Upon arriving in Charlotte I only had to wait for about 30 minutes before David’s flight came in. We found a place near our gate to have breakfast and officially began our vacation. Soon after we started eating we both received phone calls and I received an email notifying us that our flight to Aruba had been delayed by two hours. Oh well, we’d just hang out in the airport together. We were on vacation! Was there any reason to be upset? David and I were originally seated together in Coach but I had been upgraded and he hadn’t. I went to ticketing counter to ask the gate agent if there were any other seats in First available and if so could I upgrade him to sit with me. As she pulled up my reservation she noticed that I had booked my flight on miles and commented on how I shouldn’t have been upgraded. For a fleeting moment I was terrified that she was going to take the seat away! Isn’t it funny how entitled we feel to something that was given to us out of the blue when someone tries to take it away? She didn’t downgrade me luckily but I couldn’t upgrade David. I wanted to give him the seat and chance to sit in First since I get to fairly frequently but he didn’t want to take it. Instead he wanted me to give up the seat and sit in my original seat in coach. Are you kidding me? A First Class seat on an international flight give away to a nobody? Sorry, I couldn’t do it. I wanted him to take the seat but if he wasn’t going to do it I would. Does that make me a bad person? Oh well.

Breakfast at the Charlotte Airport

When boarding time finally rolled around I encountered yet another treat – the First Class cabin on this flight had the recliner style, lie-almost-flat chairs. OMG! I was able to stretch out almost flat with my legs supported with a leg rest. Wow, that was awesome! I was about an hour into my nap when I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker about there being some mechanical issue with the hydraulic system and that we’d be turning around and flying back to Charlotte. What? I was a bit dazed from being asleep but they announced it again and I realized I wasn’t dreaming. Well, that was unfortunate, but oh well, it still meant I got one more hour flying back to Charlotte sleeping in the recliner chair! When we were almost back to Charlotte they then made an announcement (question really) that you also hate to hear on a plane. “Is there a doctor on board? If so, please press your call button.” It turns out that there was a sick lady on board, and according to the flight crew if the mechanical issue hadn’t turned us around, this woman’s medical condition would have instead. I guess we were just meant to be back in Charlotte!

AWESOME Reclining Seats

We got back to Charlotte and were each give $10 meal vouchers to buy lunch. The time back in the airport went quickly, and soon we were back on a new plane and heading (again) to Aruba! This new plane was smaller and had a ‘normal’ First Class section which was fine with me. Unfortunately for David though instead of having the whole row to himself, he was now squished in a middle seat between two ladies. Okay, now I really did feel like a bad person! :o( We ended up getting into Aruba pretty late and checked into our hotel the Renaissance Resort & Casino in Orajestad, and walked over to the promenade nearby to have dinner at a local sushi restaurant.

Renaissance Resort Private Island

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, the gaping hole in the bedroom ceiling of my apartment was finally getting fixed! My dogs were in the wonderful care of the best petsitter in the world Jodie (Go Fido Go) who not only looked after my dogs, but also helped oversee the workers who were coming to fix the issue with the ceiling that had persisted for TWO MONTHS!

 

Wednesday, Day 1, Night 2

Wednesday was our first officially full DAY in Aruba. We started off by having breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and then I went off to the resort gym to get my training miles in. Thirteen weeks till the marathon! When I got back we had yummy crepes for lunch at the local Dutch Pancake House (Pannekoekhuis), and then we took a boat to the resort’s private island. Let the sunbathing begin! With the protection of SPF 70 of course! (Well, one of us only put on sunscreen after 2 hours in the sun. I know, I’m bad.)

 

Balcony View of the Beach

Bagel Breakfast on the Beach

The private island was a nice, remote place to spend the afternoon. There were two sections of the island, one for families and one for adults only. The island also had a café, tennis courts, a gym, and a spa. We were greeted by iguanas immediately upon arriving on the island, and as soon as we crossed over to the “adults only” side, we then came upon a flock of flamingos! I have seen flamingoes mostly on front lawns, fashioned in pink plastic. I have only seen them in person a few times in Florida, and was shocked to see them standing on the beach and in the ocean there on the island.

Boat Ride to the Private Island

Iguanas on the Island

 

Flamingos on the Island

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that as we were taking the boat ride over to the island I pulled out my camera to take a picture and it made this horrible loud cracking sound. I was alarmed but my camera still worked … for about another 30 minutes. After taking a few pictures on the island suddenly my camera was dead. Oh no!!!

Please, a moment of silence for one of my closest companions for the past six years, my Sony Powershot 5.0 MP camera. :o(

I was very upset about my camera and as soon as we got back from the private island I dragged David off to the shopping area in search of a new camera. Two electronics stores later I found a camera for $116! It turned out to probably be worth about $16. What a poor, emotional purchase. Oh well.

 

Later that night David ended our month-long streak of vegetarianism, and we ended it with a bang! We had dinner at Texas de Brazil, a churrascaria! This restaqurant is a chain with locations all over the US. We’d been to a similar one before called Fogo De Chao. We happily feasted on the flesh of animals cooked on swords, but soon after felt guilty and agreed to transition to pescatarianism after that meal.

Texas de Brazil in Palm Beach, Aruba

 

Meat on Swords!

Thursday, Day 2, Night 3

Thursday happened to be a national holiday in Aruba, flag day! All retail businesses were closed but restaurants remained open. I was well convinced by now that the camera that I had purchased was a piece of junk that I needed to try to return, but unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to attempt to do so until the next day.

David and I headed back to the island for some more lazy beach time and spent the afternoon reading and napping in the sun. That night wee decided to try a local restaurant for dinner and went to The Old Fisherman, a “classic Aruba seafood restaurant”. We were both unimpressed by the overpriced and bland fish that we ordered.

Lazy Day at the Beach

At some point during the day as I thought about my poor dead camera, I thought that maybe if I tried to recharge the battery it would bring my camera back to life. It turns out it did! Temporarily that is. The camera would take pictures again with a fully charged battery, but would drain the battery within the hour, and my camera no longer had the functionality to zoom. This half-working status was consoling to me, and I was able to take a few more pictures with ol’faithful before the trip ended.

 

Aruba's Flag Day Celebration

Friday, Day 3, Night 4

On Friday we checked out of the Renaissance in Oranjestad and traveled about 10 minutes north to Palm Beach where we checked in to the Westin. Palm Beach and the Westin were considered to be in the “High Rise Hotel” area, which turned out to be the fancier section of the island. We got to the Westin around noon but alas, our room wouldn’t be ready until 4pm. We were given Towel Cards though and headed out to the beach where we had lunch, and were then given a “cabana” for free while we waited for our room. The “cabana” consisted of a ?? umbrella with a built in table, and two chairs. Perfect for lounging for hours with the option of being in or out of the sun!

 

Westin Resort in Palm Beach

We hung out on the beach for a few hours and sadly, electronics disaster number two struck – David’s Nike watch died! After years of faithful waterproof service, suddenly his watch sprung a leak and the display went blank in a haze of condensation. Over the course of the next day the watch continued to beep erratically though indicating that it wasn’t fully dead, but was virtually useless with no display. What is with the island claiming our beloved electronics?!

Bye Bye Nike Watch

We had dinner that night at the northern tip of the island at La Trattoria el Faro Blanco by the California Lighthouse. The food was very good and the restaurant had a nice ambiance, but the service was mediocre as it seemed to be all over the island no matter where we ate. We returned to the hotel and caught parts of the UCSB and Maryland games in the lobby bar. Sadly for me the Gauchos lost, but to the joy of David Maryland won.

Saturday, Day 4

Saturday was our last day in Aruba – half day to be exact. We walked to the other end of Palm Beach to have breakfast at a local café where we ordered a local Aruban breakfast! No, we didn’t actually. We had their “American breakfast” of eggs, potatoes, and bacon. Yes, we ate the flesh of animals again .. and it was so good! I love bacon!

Last Morning in Aruba

We went back to the room after breakfast and packed our things, checked out from the resort, waved goodbye to the beautiful white beaches and clear, turquoise water, and headed to the airport. Two customs checks and three screening checkpoints later, we were on a plane headed back to Charlotte.

 

Leaving Aruba - Private Island in the Distance

As soon as we arrived in Charlotte David got a voicemail from his brother Ken who had just run his second marathon. Congrats Kenny! I wrote about Ken a few months ago when he was training for his first half marathon, and reflected back on all of my friends who I’ve helped run a distance race in one form or another. To read more about that check out my blog “Sharing My Obsession”.

I’m writing this on the flight back to San Diego from Charlotte. I’m backlogged on blogs so I probably won’t actually post this until later in the week. By then my sunburn will have faded, hopefully a tan will emerge (I know, I know, tanning is bad, no lectures please!), and I will be back at work refreshed and recharged. I really enjoyed this trip to Aruba, and couldn’t have enjoyed it more with anyone except David. It’s nice to have gotten to take a “free” trip, and even nicer to have gotten to take it with my favorite person.

Thanks to David for the wonderful company, thanks to Jodie for watching after my furballs and making this and many other trips possible, and thanks to my new job for giving me the flexibility to go on vacation three weeks after starting the job. I had a great time!