TORREY PINES - JANUARY 2011 GOLF TOURNAMENT

Frankly I do no care for golf. However, I am a real trooper when the scenery and company is unsurpassed. Torrey Pines with it's lovely trees and ocean views is worth a visit no matter what your golf interests are.
John and Anna picked us up at 8am to go to Torrey Pines for the tournament. Another beautiful perfect day in southern California (it might rain tomorrow but I will believe when I see it). They dropped us off and parked the car while we hung out at the Hilton. Next we forged through the crowds to see Tiger Woods (oh how quickly we forget and forgive - why not?) I watched all the people and tried to be interested in how the pros hit the ball and how many strokes behind par they are, who was winning, etc. The only real golf related interest I could come up with was rooting for Bubba Watson - I think it had something to do with his name.
The highlight was a lovely lunch buffet at the Hilton which was very near the golf course and probably not much more expensive then the sandwiches they sold on the tournament grounds.
Bubba won the tournament!

CARLSBAD MARATHON - 10,000 RUNNERS

Anna & Sue at Mile 3

In case you didn't know, there is an annual Carlsbad Marathon that sells out in October.  Yes, I signed up for the half marathon.  This is my first half marathon (and it may be my last.).  I arrived in California (or Calli as my niece Kelsey calls it)  on Jan 7 and on Jan 8th I did the 8 mile practice run with my trainer   (you may recognize my trainer from the famous Classy Career Girl blog).  Frankly, she is my trainer because I think she realized that working full time and taking 10 credits to finish up her MBA at the University of Calif  San Diego was a bit much.  Soooo she must have decided that  the challenge of running with a 65 year old lady in her first marathon would allow her to finish and if it happened to be in  last place she would have a good excuse.  To be honest, I am really excited about running/walking in a marathon with my incredible daughter.  She really has inspired me and I would not be attempting a half marathon without her. 
The first 8 mile practice (the race is 13.1 miles but who cares)  was not exactly pleasant for me and my feet were a burning.  Not good to have sore feet.  Well, I went to Movin Shoes and they advised me to get NON cotton socks (I had been wearing double cotton socks)  and it seemed to have done the trick  that is for the next 8 mile practice on Jan 15th.

    "My doctor told me jogging could add years to my life.  I think he was right.  I
      feel 10 years older already."
             -Comedian Milton Berle (1908-2002)   
 
Today is the first day after the first half marathon of my life.  I feel great so I guess it was good.  My left foot started burning again at 8 miles so I stopped and changed my socks on three occasions to get through the end and it really helped.  I owe the "bring extra non-cotton socks"  idea to the walking.about.com website.

Here are some tidbits about the other runners.  First and foremost my trainer Anna who would have preferred to do more running, especially toward the end - she said that running is actually easier on her legs then walking - this might be true.  Running also means you get to the end earlier which also makes some sense. (She couldn't convince me to run  more and I think she thought she needed to keep an eye on me.)   Then there was my son-in-law John who decided to run the race like a jack rabbit - not a bad idea until the last few miles when I don't think he even knew he was still running.   Then there was the guy who was completing his 100th marathon on his 60th birthday. A blind woman who was faster than me. The oldest participant was age 87 and the youngest was 12.  I'm not sure who finished last but it wasn't me (at least not this year). 

Anna & Sue at Finishing Line (I let her finish ahead of me)

SOLANA BEACH CALIFORNIA - LIVING ON THE EDGE

We arrived at the Seascape Sur condo in Solana Beach on Jan 7 which will be our home for the next two months.  The condo is on the edge of a cliff overlooking the great Pacific Ocean.   
Solana Beach is a rather small town with lots of shops and restaurants and great walks.  My favorite walk is south to the Del Mar area - because it includes walking along the beach and a Starbucks. We are also very close to the Torrey Pines Park Reserve which has beautiful hikes overlooking the ocean.  
So far Ron and I have walked to four restaurants for dinner/happy hour.  Last night we drove the 8 miles to Carlsbad to visit the Karl Straus Brewery, Costco and the Carlsbad outlet center. The nice thing is that you can avoid the freeway by driving the scenic Pacific Coast Hwy north or south from here. 

WARM WEATHER AHEAD

January 1, 2011 finally rolls around so we can hit the road (only after a great Christmas with family and friends which I would not trade for warm weather anywhere in the world).  However, it is definitely time to HIT THE ROAD.  The first 2 days we drove through Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming which were covered with snow and cold. We also encountered some strong winds and blowing snow. I must admit that I enjoyed relaxing in the car with my new Kindle (who said books are better?).
 Finally,  we reached Salt Lake City, Utah which is great anytime of the year.  The mountain views are spectacular and the world's greatest skiing is 30 to 40 minutes away.  That is assuming you don't run into an avalanche on your way to Snowbird.   My friendly mountain tour guide said that people come to Snowbird  from all over the world to learn avalanche control techniques from the best instructors. http://www.wasatchbackcountryrescue.org/  Why anyone would knowingly ski off into a posted avalanche area is beyond my comprehension but they do it all too frequently.   I did spend one great day skiing at Snowbird and planned to take some photos to share, however, it was too cold for my camera and I couldn't get it to work - nuts. 
I did get a photo of a mill just outside of Salt Lake as we were leaving - best I could do.  From Salt Lake on the scenery was spectacular bringing a smile to my face most of the day (EXCEPT when I was driving and I suddenly had semi trucks on both sides and I was sure I was going to get crunched between them  - so much so that I screamed -  much to my husbands dismay.  Well he took over driving for the rest of the day and we survived.  Frankly I think driving across country is on the dangerous side. 

Just in case you are wandering if there really is a bar named Sue http://www.abarnamedsueinslc.com/-  my husband found one in Salt Lake City and of course I am attaching his photo (he rarely takes photos).