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Monday, September 27, 2010

Training for a 12K

I start training for a 12K on the 1st of October. I'm nervous and SUPER excited to get moving in life on a physical level. School keeps me in a slouched pace and when not doing school I don't do much of anything else. I NEED TO GET MOVING....in a big way. SO my mom brought up this Bay to Breakers 12K and I'm excited. Well at first I thought my mom was crazy....then here I am signing up hehe.....
Thought this was funny: 99 Reasons to Register for Bay to Breakers
Also fun to read: By the Numbers
I am using a big bunch of online tools to help me train for this and I'm super excited. Can't wait to start moving!!

Step 1: buy some shoes.....
                                        I'll update you later on the progress.....

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tahoe Vacation 2010

NOTE: I wrote this 2 days after coming home on the 19th/20th of August, so understand the terms within that timeline while reading. I didn't know it would take me so long to put all the pictures together. Should have figured because of school starting. Enjoy and sorry for the wait. 


Tahoe Vacation 2010
Kind of hard to believe I've been saying the word "vacation" the past several days!! Pretty AMAZING, what's better than that is the actual vacation!! hehe So I will do my best to try and capture all the fun from the past several days(at the time I wrote this) in this blog....here it goes.
#227 RentalYummsAugust 15th -- we weren't really on vacation this day, today we were getting ready and leaving for Tahoe. We bought a few needed items, I made yummy spaghetti and we picked up our rental car from Hertz....we took a nap and then we headed out on our way. We could have made it the whole way up, but we decided it would be nice to actually take advantage of Monday instead of sleeping most of the day....SO we picked a room up in Tonopah, NV....it's like the half-way point. We stayed at the Ramada which was actually pretty nice.

Bye Bye Ramada and Tonopah!!Oh, and YES, we did do the dice spin thing....there are three giant dice and you spin the cage and if they all land on the same side you get a free room....Daniel spun and got 6, 6, 5.....so close hehe
August 16th -- Waking up in Tonopah wasn't too bad....well except for the fact that we were woken up by someone else's alarm!! We had ours set for somewhere in the 8 o'clock hour and the room next to us had an alarm that went off at 6am and never shut off.....we guess the guy wasn't even in the room....kind of sucked waking up in that manner BUT it was also nice to get on the road much sooner than expected. We walked around the building a bit and ended up in Scolaries
  Lost Parot
where we picked up some snacks for breakfast hehe....then we were back on the road.
On the way up we passed some pretty lame towns. Also, Walker Lake..

Walker Lake


Mostly, we drove through lots of desert.....later we hit Wilson Canyon.Wilson CanyonFeeling the water at Wilson Canyon
There was a nice river in there. Really nice cold water....at this point we were getting pretty excited for Tahoe because we were almost there and feeling the water was like a teaser!! After that we hit Gardnerville and from there straight into the mountains!! We took Kingsbury up and over to Tahoe!!
Daniel 7000ft up!!

 Quite the fun road, it definitely reminded me of all the car sickness I used to get....that hasn't changed =< It was just our luck that they were doing construction on this road....but not too bad. After the curvy and steep roads in Kingsbury we made it to the Horizon....
The Horizon

we met up with Aunt G and she got us into our room....we were on the 14th floor....we had a mountain view which was neat. We checked out the room and it was nice, then we decided we were hungry so Aunt G met us at the Edgewood golf course resturant.... really nice place there.
Edgewood

On our way in, I found a REAL pine cone, not the lame ones we have back home.....I'm talking like a foot long and full of sappy goodness hehe....so I made Daniel hold it so he could feel the AWESOMEness....Then we went and sat ourselves outside....we fed a few birds and had some GIANT sandwiches.... hehe I could only eat about half of mine, it was as big as my FACE!! hehe no joke....we stayed there chatting for quite a while, just soking up the AMAZING weather out there....Then on our way back to the car we spotted an older Porsche, pretty neat....
random Porschethen we found out that we were parked right next to the shore!! So we had to run over there and touch the lake....Aunt G took a photo of us there....
Aunt G left and we unpacked in our room at the hotel....we immediately put on some swim suits and headed out to the beach!!.....well almost..Daniel didn't have any sandal type shoes so we drove to Kmart and picked some up..THEN we went out to the beach....We went to the Nevada Beach, one I've been to a MILLION times when we lived here. It's still the same as I remember. The water was SO COLD, but Daniel just LOVED it!! hehe....I took so many photos here.
Our FEET!! =>

it was cold but refreshing !!
Daniel and his toes!!


 Also, I took a stranger shot, his name is Joe.
002/100
We relaxed at this beach for a little bit then we went back to the room. We relaxed and then we went down to the buffet for food. We planned on watching a movie that night, but realized that we kind of got some sucky sleep the night before so we wanted to get some extra ZzZ's tonight....we headed straight for bed..a king size(we usually sleep on a full), it was a big difference for us!! =>
August 17th -- We didn't set an alarm, because we are on vacation....so we wanted to naturally wake up => Funny thing is, the glorious Sun actually rises on the side of our window..and directly into my eyes on the side of the bed I'm on..not a bad thing, pretty neat actually....it's really neat to just wake up as the Sun is rising above the mountain!! AWESOME!! =>
Old house in KingsburyWe freshened up and went to Safeway for some goodies to take out on our morning hike!! Too cool!! => The hike I chose was up Kingsbury(hehe) and off Andria(where I used to live) We had to stop and take a photo of my old house....then we parked up by a Tahoe Rim Trail head....
Tahoe Rim Trail


We were off, the trail was fun and the views were GORGEOUS!!

The Trail and views
Pretty Golden GreenLots of birds and chipmonks..We followed the trail for a while and then we met a fork in the road(not the first, but the first with no sign) So we went left and unknowingly it was right back to where we parked!! hehe all uphill(of course) and unexpected. Funny thing is we didn't start at where we parked, we had to walk up road a bit because the trails by our car were actually closed..somehow we ended up coming out of a closed trail hehe it totalled just over an hour => we took a wrong turn....Since it was kind of a short hike and it was unexpected we would end up back at the car, we didn't actually stop to eat....so we got in the car and drove to Reagan beach where we saw a million geese and ate at a table at the park....
Hello there!! =>
lots of little kids were playing in the water because this water is extremely shallow and stays pretty shallow for quite the distance. Nice place for dogs and kids. After we ate we headed to the room and took a nap( I know, lame)....woke up and went to the shops down near the heavenly gondola....some really neat stuff out there.
DSCN3013
The Gondola ride at heavenly
a tasty treat!!DSCN3024
and more Daisies!!
After walking around we came to the room and got ready to head out to visit Aunt G and Willie....they had lots of goodies to eat!!
  Chillin' at Willie'sWe ate and relaxed out on his porch, nice weather....laughed and talked for a while..we came inside and Aunt G cut my hair and gave me some fun beauty pointers..DSCN3028
nibbled some more and then looked at cool stuff and then Dave-O arrived with Chaine....chit chat, chit chat, then we headed back to the room. Sleep time!!
August 18th -- The Beautiful Sun woke me up again....we went out for another hike today....this time Emerald Bay => Packed up the cameras and water then we were off!! We did the Vikingsholm hike with Eagle falls added onto that....It's just over a mile down and then of course back up....the "up" part kicked my ass!! => felt good hehe well actually it felt like my shins wanted to break out of my skin!! hehe....absolutely Beautiful views here, too!!
reading about our next hikeLots of pictures taken here
#230 Emerald Bay


Saw the old house and went through the visiters center and the beach down there..saw the M.S. Dixie II come through twice.
Vikingsholm castleDanile & VikingsholmGlady & VikingsholmDaniel & Glady in a windowand he's OFF!! hehe
Isn't he CUTE!!??

DSC_7329

We took a random detour thinking it would take us back...but umm it didn't and as we realized that we turned around and fast walked back to before we took that turn....hehe then we went up to the "lower" falls and that was all like stairs uphill....it hurt so good....took some shots then it was back down and we back trailed the way we came....OUCH, AMAZING work out....hehe => Took lots of photos!!
The Falls
We dipped our feet in cold water
Yay for Cold water!!
Super Green area we found by getting lost hehe
Gorgeous Falls
Daniel & Glady at Emerald Bay Falls


Also, I have to share this, these are my favs!! hehe Daniel and Glady each get a BIG TREE photo hehe

Big Tree, Little Glady
Daniel and a Big Tree

Then we were HUNGRY!! Dave-O met us at our room with his friend Josh...we walked down to Fire and Ice where just Daniel and I ate(most expensive dinner EVER hehe) SO good, really neat. It's basically like the mongolian bbq we have out here, but with all types of food. You pack in a small bowl a pasta, veggies, just about anything, meat, seafood....as much as you can fit.....and then in a small bowl for sauce you pick your sauce....then put those on the bar and the cool cook guy takes your raw food and makes it all together into awesomeness....you can also get yourself a salad....and you can go back as many times as you want(but we only made it once and had a salad).....after that we headed back to get our cars and then we drove out to Fallen Leaf Lake(Josh didn't join us)....pretty awesome road to get out there....really tight, like one car at a time, so when cars come your way you or them need to move over.....the houses and cabins out there were so awesome!! everyone kind of had their own dock, it was beautiful. we parked in some place we weren't supposed to be in and we roamed the area, skipped rocks, took photos....had some laughs and then headed back.
Fallen Leaf Lake
Daniel, Glady & Dave
.............
Dave & his Skipping Rock....
DSCN3148


We visited the keys while the Sun setted and found a million GIANT spiders..yea this is another place the "public" wasn't allowed in....hehe
The Keys at Sunset

Then we headed out to another house I used to live in.....tried to get a shot, but it was dark and creepy and the owner's dog didn't appreciate the company.....all I can say is the house looks much smaller than I remember and closer to the road than I remember and they look like they built onto it....i don't know....it was interesting.
can't really see it, but that's my old house hehe 
Then we went to Carson City to see The Expendables in  the Galaxy Theater.....nice digital theater....awesome action exploading movie hehe Then it was back home for sleep.....
August 19th -- Once again the Sun was our alarm clock, but we were a little more groggy this time around....kind of didn't want to wake up. It could be we went to sleep much later, or the fact that this is our last day and we eventually in the next 24hrs be driving home.... =<
Our plan originally was to to the scenic emerald bay tour the M.S. Dixie Ii gives out at 1130 and 230.....BUT we also thought it would be a blast to rent our own boat.....even though it would cost much more.....lots of debating, driving, useless parking prices and phone calls later,  we decided on the boat rental. We invited Dave-O and whomever he wanted to bring(Chaine) and we invited Aunt G and Willie. All of them were quite the late arrivers, but eventually we all made it on the boat. Daniel and I brought a party tray of crackers, meats and cheeses....some Tim's sea salt & vinigar chips, then water and chips ahoy chewy cookies....Aunt G brought sodas and then Willie paid the crew member guy to go fetch a 6 pack of beer....The crew guy taught Daniel how to be captain hehe and all the safety, warning, radio, speed zones, well the whole shizam.....then the crew guy drove us out of their channel and he hopped off onto a speed raft and we were told we could then drive it like we stole it!! hehe We didn't take those words lightly either!! hehe....Daniel had us flying in the air and spinning us in circles hehe.....it was SO much fun!!
Daniel is driving a boat
 We drove it around for a bit then headed to Emerald Bay, we tied down and ate food and met some fun ducks and seagulls....which Chaine named....

Dave feeding Steven the Duckanother photo of the island
then we left that channel and went like crazy to the centerish of the Lake.....here is where we jumped in!! SO cold, but super cool.....Daniel went in a few times and even swam around the boat....i went in twice, once the boat tried to eat me....Chaine went in twice and Dave went in, too....super cool => We drove around like crazy after that.
Daniel and the rest of us jumped in the cold, freezing cold water!!great expression of how cold
 We all had our hand at driving the boat(except Willie), that was super fun....sadly no photo of Chaine and myself, only video.....
Aunt G driving the boatDSCN3227
we laughed pretty hard and had a really good time =>
DSCN3249On a boat....still
The only sucky part was, Daniel and I forgot to put on sunscreen....which was funny because we used it the whole trip and we kept reminding each other to make sure we have it for the boat because we will need it....then I bring it and everything and then completely forget to put it on.....sucky long time. =< Other than the time i was in the water, I had a sweater and pants on most the time because the fast speeds gave for some cold chills....Daniel didn't have his shirt on the whole time after swimming so he got burnt all on his upper body....for me it was just my face, mainly my nose. My nose is more red than anything on Daniel, he actually didn't get too "burnt" like my nose did.....so we're okay, I was just mad at myself for all that remembering and then ultimately forgetting hehe.....
After the AWESOME boat ride we went to eat. Just Dave, Chaine, Daniel and me.....we went to Chevy's....its mexican food.
Great expression of us eating food hehe
Sadly, we had the worst waiter ever. It was quite funny....he came for refills because we finished our drinks before we even got food and he only picked up  Dave and Chaine's drinks....never came to fill Daniel's and mine....funny because we finished our drinks before they did hehe.....so he brings the food and I have to tell him to refill ours, he grabbs them and puts them aside....forever, they are just sitting there....for at least 10minutes we didn't have any drinks and we just got our food.....silly. So we finally get our drinks and we are almost done eating....We all finish eating and the guy takes like 20minutes to come to us and we have been waiting for our check..he didn't have it, just came to as how we were(1st time) I told him we're done and want our check hehe.....good food, silly waiter. Oh and there was a bird inside that kept flying into the window to get out....luckily they have sombreros to fix that problem.....hehe
Then after much debating, we left to go home. =<
We took a completely different way back..we just let the gps decide and made "shortest time" choice.....we ended up going through california where we varied between 7 to 8000ft in elevation..lots of random trees, valleys and water...
Mono Lake:
A shot of Mono Lake as we're headed home
California Gas Prices:
gas prices in California....yuck
oh and a super creepy road where there was like nothing around us but random giant groups of pine trees....then there was a road for 5 or so miles of just dips....like extreme dips, the kind that have you bottom out and scared because you will go up and have no idea of the direction of the road or how far the dip down will be until you hit it(it was night when we hit this place which intesified the creepiness) Then we hit Tonopah, NV....same....then the gps said to go to Moapa through "the extraterrestrial road" seriously that's what it's called....that was another creepy road where Daniel collected a bird, jack rabbit and a cat-like animal in the car's bumper....I actually was sleeping, Daniel slammed on his brakes due to some giant bull that were just chilling in the road....that woke me up. I got to whitness the collection of the cat and earlier in the trip, the jack rabbit.....I saw several deer on the side of the road and a million jack rabbits....Eventually we ended up on the first familiar road(besides tonopah) which would be the lovely I-15....YAY....we got on at Moapa(completely skipped Vegas, nice!!) and headed home from there....all in all a long creepy drive.
We got home around 330am August 20th and went straight to sleep.....woke up and returned the car and got into my hot, hot, HOT car....by then LIFE hit us in the face. umm yea, yippy.....