Was California Trying to Tell Me Something?

Well we are back in Colorado now, and I really did enjoy my two weeks in California. But I have to say it was a crazy couple of weeks in the Golden State. A few days after arriving a tsunami hit the coast, and then towards the end of the trip I was planning on going to Big Sur but saw this on Twitter the night before.

That is a 40 ft. section of highway 1 (the road I needed to take the next day to get to Big Sur) that fell into the Pacific Ocean due to a mudslide.

Even with the road falling into the ocean I was still fortunate to find another beautiful park off highway one north of the damage where I had great views of Big Sur, redwoods, the coast, and the mountains (Pictures at the top of this post).

Then at the end of our trip we went to San Francisco for a couple of days and people were buying iodine tablets for fear of radiation exposure from Japan, and then the rain started to pour down on us. The weather was so bad our final night in California I felt that I was in a hurricane situation while waiting at the cable car stop. The rain was coming sideways and the wind was braking my umbrella.

Despite all the bizzare things going on I still had a blast in CA. I have to say that after two weeks, however, it was so great to see our little puppy and sleep in our own bed. But look out Californians I am coming back when Tomme graduates so be prepared!

Hiking at Point Lobos

Today was another great day in CA. We went to Point Lobos State Park for a hike with Tomme's professor and classmates which was beautiful. We saw sea lions, harbor seals, and hermit crabs. But it was the incredible scenery that took the cake. Here are some samples.





















The last two pictures are of China Cove, and some of the guys that were with us (including my husband) decided to take a dip in it despite not having wet suits. Now I am all about "once in a lifetime experiences" but come on. Swimming in that cove anytime of the year, but especially in March, is just ridiculous and I was not going to be going on that adventure. But getting to watch Tomme and his buds do it provided me with a very humorous show. It was like watching the movie "Jackass", but live.

After today I am convinced this park is a must see when visiting the Monterey area and I will definitely be doing a trail run there this week.

Sea Lions and Otters in Monterey Bay

So if you have been following my twitter feeds you know the Tomme and I are in Monterey, CA this week and I have been really enjoying training for the marathon in a warm place by the ocean. For me it's a vacation, but Tomme is in class during the day at the Naval Post Graduate School. So what do I do to fill the time during the day? Well aside from running I went kayaking in the bay a couple of days ago and it was fantastic.

It was absolutely beautiful and serene (except for the area around the very loud sea lions), and perfectly warm with the wet suit on. I had never seen sea lions anywhere except the zoo so despite their loudness and extreme stinkiness it was really cool to see.








But undoubtedly the cutest thing I saw was a sea otter floating on it's back with it's little baby lying on it's stomach and snuggled in mom's neck. It was so freaking cute I couldn't stand it.


The otter swimming away with it's baby.

I definitely had a great time out there and would recommend it to anyone visiting Monterey. The kayak was only $25 bucks and it included the wet suit. So if you are in the area and want to try it I recommend Monterey Kayaks on Del Monte Ave.

Ice Climbing at Lincoln Falls

After getting back from Breckenridge Tomme and I knew we would have to go ice climbing soon if we wanting to go at all this season since soon we would be off to Monterey, CA for a couple of weeks. So we called up the military welfare and recreation people at Fort Carson that have great outdoor activities for soilders, and signed up for a multi-pitch ice climb at Lincoln Falls.

Unfortunately the only day we could find to do it was a Thursday after I was to work three 12 hour shifts in a row. This turned out to be a bad idea. We were to leave for Loncoln falls at 6AM but I overslept, and we were about 30-40 minutes late. This was also the first time we had climbed at Lincoln Falls and the hike to get to the base of it was intense and took over an hour. Then at the at the base of the falls we realized we were one set of crampons short. So poor Tomme hiked all the way back down and back up to get another set of crampons from the car. On my first climb while Tomme was already down the mountain my crampons broke. So then I switched them out with one of the guide's. By the time we took care of all these issues our multi-pitch ice climbing trip was reduced to a one pitch. Which truly sucked.

So the moral of the story is, don't decide to go on an ice climbing trip after working three 12 hour shifts in a row, and if you have to hike a long way to get to the ice, leave early and make sure you do an equipment check in the parking lot before you head up the mountain. Despite all the issues and difficulties we were still grateful we got at least on day on the ice this season and we certainly got a workout from the hike.

For those of you that are in CO and ice climb, we enjoyed Lincoln Falls, but it is a busy spot even during the week so I'm not sure it would even be worth it on the weekend, in addition, the hike is in avalanche territory so check conditions before you go and bring the necessary safety equipment, and finally be prepared for the hike up there (pack light and snow shoes are not a bad idea).




Me at the top of our only pitch at Lincoln Falls.



On our way back down.

Why not Cross Country Ski?

So in my last post I mentioned that Tomme and I were in Breckinridge, CO having some winter fun at the courtesy of a time share company (and no they did not convince us to buy a time share). But we had a blast getting to spend a few days in the mountains on their time. Originally we thought we would spend quite a few days at Copper mountain doing our typical downhill skiing, but we ended up doing several days of cross country skiing, and it got me thinking that people are really underutilizing this sport in the states.

We had a blast doing cross country, plus we got to avoid all the crowds at the ski resorts, had a much more consistent cardio workout, and it shortened our drive time. Why isn't cross country skiing more popular? It may be all the work that is necessary. I mean I watched our guys compete in the last winter Olympics, and despite being about as fit as any human could expect to be, they pretty much collapsed the second they crossed the finish line. However I happened to like the hard work and calorie burn, and it gives me the excuse I need to get that Cold Stone Creamery milk shake on the way home. Plus it is much more serene and meditative than having to avoid the crowds of people on the trails of the ski resort. And the final big hell yeah for me is that you only need snow, not a tall mountain to do it. As lucky as we are to live in CO and be just a few hours from world class downhill skiing, those few hours can feel pretty long after a day on the slopes. But finding a place to cross country ski nearby is no problem.

We have enjoyed it so much this season, the equipment has made it to our gear list, and I think we will end up doing more cross country next year than downhill. While I hope not too many others join the party, more people need to at least give it a try.




The not so bad view from one of the Nordic centers outside Breckinridge, CO.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful pseudo holiday, and at the very least ate some good food and drank some wine. Which of course is exactly what we did.

We are still here in Breckenridge enjoying the mountains (thanks to one of those deals where we can have a cheap hotel stay as long as we agree to tour some condos they are trying to get buyers for). And so we spent Valentine's Day skiing at Copper. Being a weekday, there were no crowds at all and we got countless runs in. Plus the weather was warm and sunny. Most of the day we spent trying to do some jumps at the terrain park. But I have to say that my ability to catch air was mediocre at best.

The we headed back to get showered up and go out to dinner. We went to a place called the Hearthstone Restaurant which was phenomenal. We got there about 5 so we could take advantage of the happy hour in the lounge (which had a beautiful view and $5 plates of food), and then stayed there in the lounge for the rest of the meal. It was amazing! One of my sides was a black truffle creamed spinach, which was undoubtably the best spinach I ever had. I would highly recommend this place if you are ever in Breckinridge and looking to spend a little extra on a stellar meal.




The Hearthstone Restaurant in Breckenridge, CO.

Mediocre Tip: Happy hours are fabulous, and they should be taken advantage of. The drinks are sad when you don't.

Christmas, Marathon, KT Tape, and Snow

Ok, so I know I haven't blogged in months, but hey I do say up front this thing is mediocre to begin with. But I do promise to update the blog more often. So in a nutshell here we go:

1) We went to Salt Lake City to celebrate Christmas with Tomme's family (no they are not Mormon), and had a blast hiking in the snow.







2) I signed up for my first ever marathon with my buddy Jason.

http://www.ftcollinsmarathon.com

3) I discovered the wonderfulness of KT Tape while training for the marathon and having problems with my shin.



http://www.kttape.com

4) Took Pancake for her first snowshoe trip at Hoosier Pass.






5) Did lots of skiing on Copper Mountain.



6) And now we are spending a few days in Breckenridge doing all kinds of stuff. Like today we went cross country skiing.