Friday, October 14, 2011

Victoria Recap - Part 2

Time for the 2nd & final photo-heavy Victoria post!

After we had walked around a bit, we hit up the race expo!  I am glad we got a picture of all 4 of us with our numbers - I guess I was wrong on my last post when I said we only got 1 picture together.  We actually got 2!


Soon enough it was time for dinner.  There were not a lot of Italian restaurants in Victoria, and only 2 had gluten free options.  We picked a local place called Pagliacci's - where we proceed to stand in line (or sometimes sit, as evidenced by this photo) for over 90 minutes!  That is the longest I have ever waited to be seated, but the food was amazing and so worth the wait!  I love how Lauren's scarf & Amber's jacket are color coordinated in this pic!

With food in our bellies, it was time to head back to our hotel.  Leigh french braided mine & Amber's hair.  I absolutely LOVE having someone play with my hair, so this was quite a treat for me!

Here we are on race day with our braided hair!

Speaking of race day, here is a photo Lauren snapped while we were waiting for the race to start.  I was excited and a little bit apprehensive - little did I know I had a big PR ahead of me!

And here we are after the race.  I was definitely glowing from my finish!  We all finished in less than 2 hours, which was a great accomplishment!

After Lauren finished (with a PR of 5 minutes!) we got cleaned up and headed to lunch.  I celebrated with a Caesar which was delicious and hit the spot!

Before we knew it, it was time to head home.  Here is a photo from the Ferry ride back to our car.  The views did not disappoint!

And there you have it!  All in all, an absolutely delightful trip!  Because of a very important event next October, we will not be able to rendezvous over Canadian Thanksgiving again, but we are already talking about doing the Chicago marathon in 2013.  Yep, you read that right.  I have been bit by the marathon bug - BIG TIME.

This sort of concludes my crazy run of travel.  I still have a trip to Chicago a week from today for my niece's baptism/office visit.  And then I think that is it.  The last couple of weeks have been great but I have to say I am exhausted.  I flew 7,000 miles in the span of about 3 weeks.  That is a lot, folks.  Throw in a wicked sinus infection and yah...  my body is ready for some downtime.

With that said, I will be taking a little break from blogging next week as I try to rest up and recover from a schedule that has left me simply exhausted.  I will be back after my Chicago trip with plenty of pics of my niece, I am sure!

18 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

What a fun weekend with the girls! We all need those from time to time, don't we?

You need a break! You really have been going strong with the traveling, hosting, working, running etc.. This is perfect timing, with the weather getting cooler and the days getting darker. Settle down with a hot chocolate and a book and take a nice relaxing weekend for yourself!

My run of crazy weekends doesn't end for a few more weeks. In November I only have ONE weekend booked up (so far). It is hard to tell myself to STOP trying to find things to do...I may have to compromise with only one more weekend booked and then have two relaxing ones, esp since my marathon is the first weekend of Dec.

Marlys said...

Rest up - you deserve a break! But I will miss reading your blogs each morning!

Amber said...

SO excited for our 2013 Chicago trip. Love that we're already planning it because we are such planners :D

I'm glad we talk daily because I would go crazy without you blogging otherwise.

Miss you LOTS! XO

Leigh said...

It's a good thing you liked your hair being played with as I had to re-do it so many times! :) Love looking at the trip pictures.

Hope you enjoy your blogging break and have a great trip to Chicago!

Raquelita said...

Oooh! Can I do Chicago in 2013 with you guys? You know that I am nice! :)

Enjoy your trip to Chicago and time with family!

Abby said...

Way to go my sister!!! You looked so sporty on race day! No wonder you PR'd! Looking amazing

You do need a break! I hope this weekend can be calm & relaxing for you. Otherwise you're going to have a lttle breakdown of exhaustion!!

missris said...

Have so much fun in Chicago! We'll miss reading you but look forward to you coming back and telling us all about what you've been up to!

Jess said...

Glad you girls had fun! There's nothing like a girl's weekend!

Have a great time in Chicago!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

I absolutely LOVE having someone play with my hair. I feel like I'm talking to 10-year old Lisa! =)

Such a beautiful location, beautiful friends, beautiful running PRs. What a great trip!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I am totally exhausted from travel and just way too much stuff in general too. Eric and I declared this a plan-free weekend- I do have class all day tomorrow but that is my only plan which feels amazing! I hope you have a relaxing weekend and we will message in the next week definitely :)

Gracie said...

Wow, you have been one busy lady! I love your hair french-braided but I would have been petrified to run that way. My clothes rarely bug me on race day but my hair can drive me bonkers.

Oh said...

You are awesome! So cool that you run and even cooler, that you love to run!

So I'm wondering if you can be a surrogate runner...ya' know, for me? I don't work it into my schedule AND my knees are crap...although I like the "idea" of running?!

Yes, you've covered tons of territory - now you can hunker down and enjoy your urban digs.

On a completely other note, I'm seeing all kinds of French stuff lately - books and stuff that's "french" in catalogs - always think of you. Have you read a book called "I'll never be French"? forgot author. It's downstairs on DR table. It's the experiences this guy has in France and his writing is funny and it's just one of those books to completely enjoy. Didn't know if you knew of it...

OK, I'm gonna run around and do some errands now. (ha - don't you love how some of us use the word "run?"!!!)

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

That is sooo much traveling. Whew! It was such a fun trip. I love how nothing went wrong. Everything was spot on. Now just wishing I had bought that pumpkin spice chai at David's tea. I'm totally in fall mode now. :)

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

cute pics!

Becky said...

You HAVE been bitten by the marathon bug which I think is awesome! Great pictures!

I'm glad you're giving yourself a little break in the meantime. Can't wait to see pics of your niece!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Glad to hear that you had a delightful trip!!!

Megan (Best of Fates) said...

Looks like you had a fabulous time! I'm just in awe of all of you. And? I absolutely love the braids, they're lovely!

RunToTheFinish said...

that looks wonderful!! I keep thinking about doing a marathon in Canada, maybe this is one to checkout!