A Visit to California

The oyster bar out on the dock at Nick's Cove

I went to California to visit my sister, Joni, and her family this past weekend. I love visiting them. Joni and I started talking from the instant I got off the plane and didn't quit until I got back on the plane. Joni and I did a little shopping, ate a ton of chocolate (including some European "sipping" chocolate that was more the consistency of the middle of a chocolate lava cake), and attended the General Relief Society Broadcast together.

The highlight of the trip was Friday when we watched the Oscar Wilde play/movie, A Good Woman, ate lunch at Nick's Cove (I had the most divine steamed clams with tomatoes, corn, and chorizo and then warm gingerbread for dessert), and trekked out to the Point Reye's lighthouse. We had quite the adventure going out to the lighthouse: some serious fog rolled in while we drove out there, we saw a beautiful, buck deer in the fog, we walked through a dripping, mini rain forest, and went up and down 300 stairs to see the lighthouse. What a lifestyle it must have been like to run that lighthouse! The fog we saw prompted us to watch the horror film, The Fog, while I was in town too.

At Nick's Cove

The deer in the mist

Hiking down to the Point Reyes lighthouse

Joni and me at the lighthouse

The Point Reyes lighthouse

The rest of the weekend was wonderfully normal with going to Ethan's tae kwon do practice, going to a movie, helping Joni's family clean the church, going to Adam's company picnic, shopping (again) in Petaluma, going to church, taking a glorious 3-hour nap on Sunday, holding family home evening, and watching a Walton's episode with them.

The dripping, mini rain forest we walked through

Joni also hooked me on tea - specifically the ginger lemon tea - if I can find it!! I've checked two stores here in Utah and no luck so far. :(

12 Hours of Sundance Race

Me, studying, and one of my teammates, Ben, in between laps.

I raced in the 12 Hours of Sundance race this weekend. This was my first time doing an endurance race. I'm so glad I was on a team with three other folks. There was a terrible and long-lasting rain storm the night before, so when I got up to Sundance at 6:00 am, they had postponed the race to see if the trails would dry out. So the race ended up being only 10 hours long - with the start time at 9:00 am and finish time at 7:00 pm.

The race is kind of a relay race - when you do it with four people on your team - so the first person does a lap, then comes in so the second person can begin his lap, then the third, and so on and you keep doing that rotation for 12 hours (or in this year's case, 10 hours). I did two laps, while my three teammates (all male teammates) did 3 laps each. My first lap wasn't bad. My second lap started out fantastic! I was feeling good - better than during my first lap - and I had a personal triumph on this lap: I made it up the steep climb on Archie's Loop!! I've never been able to climb that steep without walking my bike until now! I was so stoked. Still am.

Timpanogos sopped in the clouds

The lap continued well until it started to rain again, then the trail became slick and I wiped out on a turn. I lost my mojo after my fall and didn't ride as well for the next few miles, but I think my poor-riding might have also been due to all the wet rocks and roots and my wet/muddy tires. I finished stronger and got the same lap time as my first lap. Overall the race was really fun and my teammates were really nice and fun. Maybe I'll do it again next year if I can find some teammates that will race with me again. :)

Chicago Town

I attended a business conference in Chicago and, as is tradition now, my mom came with me! We spent the first few evenings trying fancy restaurants that my coworker, Greg, and his wife, Kris Tina, suggested ..... and we went shopping on the Magnificent Mile. I hit the jackpot at H&M! I just love that store. And I got a beautiful cream-colored, wool coat from United Colors of Benetton too.

Saturday was our day to play, and we packed it full. We took the El out to Oak Park to go on a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio and to see the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway. It was an adventure just to get on the El. I couldn't figure out how to get the dang ticket into the machine so we could walk through! I tried a million times - I was expecting it to be like London (and I think Washington DC) where the ticket comes up on the other side of the stile so you grab it after you walk through. But it wasn't. We finally got some help from the lady in the booth. Very nice lady.

After we made it to Oak Park, we walked down their darling main street to Pot Belly's and shared a sandwich for lunch. Then we walked to the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio and went on their tour. It was so neat. I really like his style of architecture and design. After we finished the tour, we walked down the street to look at the beautiful homes, and they were beautiful! We liked seeing some of the "bootleg" Frank Lloyd Wright homes. 

Outside of the Frank Lloyd Wright home

The studio side entrance to Frank Lloyd Wright's home

I loved these windows in between the home and studio

Maybe a bootleg Frank Lloyd Wright house?

I liked this house

Another bootleg house?

Mom and I liked these row houses

I liked this house too

The tour at the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway was fascinating too! His mom was quite the diva and had every right to be since she brought home $1,000 a month with her voice and piano lessons costing $8 per lesson - that was in the late 1800's! Can you believe that? It's almost as much as lessons cost today. Whereas, Ernest's dad was a doctor bringing home only $50 a month. Very interesting.

The birthplace of Ernest Hemingway

After the tours, we returned to downtown Chicago and did a little more sightseeing - we saw the Tiffany dome in the old Marshall Field's (now a monstrous Macy's), and we checked out some of the sights at Millenium Park. By the end of the day we walked 17,000 steps according to mom's pedometer. That fact is very important to her! Ha ha! :)

The Tiffany dome in Marshall Field's

Cloud Gate in Millennium Park

Can you see our reflection in the Cloud Gate?

A fountain in Millennium Park