the Wednesday after Memorial Day, Gary and i headed out to California for the weekend. This trip had been planned for quite some time ... and we were beyond excited about it.
Little history on the planning ... Gary's Dad flew helicopters in the CIA Air America airline during Vietnam. Every year Air America has a reunion for everyone involved in a different city in the U.S. and the reunion is always the weekend after Memorial Day {or has been for quite a while}. Gary and his sister have attended many of these growing up ... and since we have been married we have attended a hand full together as well. Air America trips have been memorable ones for many reasons ... a few stick out in my mind ... the reunion in D.C. was when Gary's Dad was called in for his heart transplant; the one in Nashville was just after i had found out i was pregnant with Henry. The last reunion trip we made was to Raleigh in June of 2010, marking Owen's first plane ride and our first time to meet our sweet niece Elizabeth. This year the reunion was in San Diego. A while back we decided this would be a good trip for just "us" if we could swing it, and with the loving help of my sister, Gary's mom, and my parents, we were able to do so!
We decided we would head out a few days before the reunion to visit Gary's Mom's side of the family that lives in California. She is one of seven, and all of her siblings {and most of Gary's cousins} live in California.
And, that Sunday of our trip the San Diego Marathon was going to be held.
So Wednesday and Thursday would be spent visiting with family, Friday and Saturday would be spent with the Air America reunion, and on Sunday we would run in the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. Nothing like packing in a full vacation, eh Clark?!
and we're off ...
visiting with Aunt Mary
Gary's Aunts, Uncles,and Cousins! we all met for dinner at a yummy mexican restaurant.
We stayed with Buddy and Crissy for two nights {they live close to Manhattan Beach}. We toured the Griffith Observatory and saw the old Hollywood sign.
funny gv
we toured the getty villa {www.getty.edu} in malibu - now made into a museum devoted to the culture of Greece, Rome and Eturia.
it had so many pretty pieces of art, gardens, and the views {it was right on pacific coast highway} were amazing.
we ate DELICIOUS food and had some very tasty draft beer.
we had lunch at this place in santa monica called planet raw {www.planetraw.com}, raw meaning not one thing was cooked. not. one. thing. here is a little description from their website:
Revitalize, Rejuvenate, Indulge
Planet Raw, located near the Pacific Ocean in beautiful Santa Monica, California opened in 2000 to rave reviews from global food critics, health conscious consumers, celebrities, & professional athletes who love fine dining and innovate cuisine that nourishes the body, mind, & soul. World renowned celebrity raw food chef and best selling author Juliano Brotman has created a 100% organic raw vegan culinary food experience that is a virtual world tour of exquisite healthy food perfection inspired by American, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and Thai dishes. Fresh, organic produce is delivered daily for the chefs to create sweet smoothies, savory appetizers, sumptuous salads, warm soups, sushi, main course entrees, delicious desserts and herbal elixirs that will tantalize and rejuvenate your palate. Raw foodists as well as those looking for a new culinary experience will enjoy a colorful presentation of carefully crafted dishes they never imagined could be raw such as the Bacon Western Double Burger, Macho Nachos, Lasagna, Sushi, Jalapeno Poppers and Chocolate-Strawberry Parfaits. Curious omnivores will be amazed by the intense, pure flavors and endless energy raw food provides!
We welcome you to our Planet Raw and hope the memories of dining with us will leave a lasting transformation in your health, wellness, & global culinary adventures!
what a neat place! nothing like this exists in auburn {perhaps in atlanta?}. we aren't vegans, but we are foodies that enjoy all varieties and styles of food and will try just about anything. it was such a neat experience since it was unique and very creative.
we had such a wonderful time with Crissy and Buddy {and their cute puppy dog, Piglet} ... from catching up and telling stories, reciting movie lines, sightseeing, driving tours, conversations about health and nutrition, conversations about football {they have come to a couple of auburn games and represent the Tigers in cali}, and just hanging out. it was really nice.
that Friday, Gary and his dad enjoyed the annual Air America golf tournament. the non golfers could participate in self guided tours of the USS Midway and the San Diego Zoo. both were great!
i've never been on an aircraft carrier before and definitely enjoy learning about military past and present. the Midway was enormous! and the zoo was incredible. i took my zoom lens and actually had time to play around with it - and while i thoroughly enjoyed the time to myself, i cannot wait to take the boys there one day. what a zoo! wow. they will love it.
that Friday, Gary and his dad enjoyed the annual Air America golf tournament. the non golfers could participate in self guided tours of the USS Midway and the San Diego Zoo. both were great!
i've never been on an aircraft carrier before and definitely enjoy learning about military past and present. the Midway was enormous! and the zoo was incredible. i took my zoom lens and actually had time to play around with it - and while i thoroughly enjoyed the time to myself, i cannot wait to take the boys there one day. what a zoo! wow. they will love it.
d., this one's for you. :)
late that afternoon, we headed downtown to pick up our race packets at the convention center. this was by far the largest running or adventure race we'd ever been in - there were over 30,000 runners! here are a few pics from packet pick up:
the swag bags were filled with good treats and the "expo," which had a ton of vendors and folks, made us even more excited for race day. laughing point: mcdonald's even had a booth there and they were pitching their "healthy" stuff ... and giving away coupons for free oatmeal. come on, guys ...
regarding the picture above - we wanted to get a pic of us in Big Dog {our local running store} gear. hard to see the big dog logos on our shirts, but we tried.
that night we went to eat dinner, just us. this was our "date night." it was tasty and we crashed early that night. the next day we slept in until 8am and it was divine! {things around our house typically get started between 4:30 and 5:45am every day, except saturdays which are more like 6:30}
wonderful i tell you! did i mention how wonderful it was?!?!
air america festivities continued that day with a luncheon for all the second generation folks in old town san diego. after lunch we went to the birch aquarium to meet up with gary's aunt, uncle, and cousins. it was so nice to see them too! that night was the banquet, which typically has dinner, a guest speaker, and dancing. sadly, i did not take any photos. gary's dad was able to snap one of all of us at the banquet that night. it was good to see folks we had not seen in a couple of years and as well as to meet new faces. since none of my immediate family was/is involved in the military, being around such always seems new to me and a fascinating learning experience.
we didn't dance the night away, as we had to get up the next day around 3:45am to catch the shuttle to the race {the race started at 6:30am}. we went back to the room and got everything ready for the marathon the next day ... and that whole experience, well, it requires its own post. :)
