Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Trip Thoughts



I am typing this, while waiting to be able to check our bags at the Las Vegas airport. Yay for free wireless, I just hope that my battery is holding up.

Grand Canyon

It's Sunday and it's the last day of our trip. We are wasting time here between penny slots and airport shops because that's how the travel schedule worked out. Between my parents flying out of Vegas much earlier than we do and us having to return the rental already to avoid an additional day of charges, we started reflecting on our adventure.

Monument Valley

We all agree, that this was quite a trip. We saw a lot and we saw a ton of great stuff, that we probably won't forget anytime soon. While going through the highlights over lunch, my mind already started wandering towards, what I would have done differently, knowing in the planning stages, what I know now. It's not a whole bunch, but I would definitely plan this trip a little different. My mind is also busy with planning future trips, that might just concentrate on one or two National Parks and really spending time there instead of just skimming the surface. I don't regret not having been able to do the closer look on this trip, I am glad we got so much to see.

By the end of the trip, we were all ready to go home as well. There is just so much you can take in, so many nights in hotels and only so many meals eaten in restaurants. I am ready to abandon my newly acquired diet of pancakes for breakfast, Oreos and/or chips for lunch and burgers for dinner.

Capitol Reef

Getting back to Las Vegas after 1.5 weeks in the middle of nowhere, felt like a lifetime had passed since we left the city.

Spending time with my parents was good. Seeing that they are both still so physically fit and healthy makes me happy. I really hope, that Terry and I will be as fit as they are, when we are in their age group. The goodbyes were hard as ever. That part just never gets easier.



Monday, July 16, 2012

Road Trip



 I am baaaaaack! The last two weeks, we were on vacation in the Wild Wild West. My parents flew in from Germany and we met up in Las Vegas. We did a ton of stuff, so consider this the cliff note version of our trip before I go into the nitty gritty of it.

The oncoming cold that I mentioned in my last post ended up being a sinus infection that kept me company for most of my trip. There was also a little cough going on. In the two weeks, I did not swim, bike or run... We did a bunch of hiking and just really enjoyed this vast country. Now that I got a little break, I am also looking forward to training again.

With that being said, let's look at a couple of pictures!!!

Day 1: Travel to Las Vegas


Day 2: Las Vegas & La Reve


Day 3: Hoover Dam


Day 4: 4th of July Parade & Firework


Day 5: Valley of Fire State Park


Day 6: Zion National Park


Day 7: Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim


Day 8: Travel to Page AZ


Day 9: Rainbow Bridge & Antelope Canyon


Day 10: Monument Valley & Four Corners Monument


Day 11: Arches National Park


Day 12: Canyonlands National Park - Island in the Sky


Day 13: Capitol Reef National Park


Day 14: Bryce Canyon National Park



Day 15: Going Home!!!



Monday, July 2, 2012

Month in Review: June





The countdown for Christmas is on!!!

Can you believe that we are already half way through the year?? I sure can't.

The month of June has been another solid month of training. Only the last week in June, I really started feeling on the edge with a lot of things and mostly the training volume combined with too many nights with too little sleep.

On Saturday, we headed out for a bike ride. I felt off right away. Just really tired and I also felt like I had a cold coming on. Nonetheless, I trooped through it, but things just didn't improve. Quite the opposite really... I eventually broke down crying at mile 33 for no other (obvious) reason than the auto-stop function in the Garmin not working.... I thought about cutting this ride short the whole time and talked myself out of it over and over, but that was the sign to really call it quits.

It's time for a break... You probably won't read anything new on this channel for a little while... Have a happy 4th of July!