We started Saturday with a dry run of how to locate the marathon start drop-off location, parking lot, finish area etc. We then struggled a bit to find the bridge to Coronado Island and eventually succeeded. What a beautiful place! We had read that it was a great family beach and we were not disappointed. Although it was somewhat cool and breezy, we all enjoyed the sand and sound of the ocean surf. The girls eventually ended up getting totally soaked and were giddy from the sheer pleasure of jumping waves and being in the ocean. The Hotel del Coronado was an amazing site to see and since there is a naval base on the island we were treated to the sight of some fighter jets taking off and landing.
We had pizza for dinner and planned the logistics of marathon morning. We had a 4 am alarm set and since we have not totally adjusted to pacific time we were in bed by 8:30 pm. I awoke in the night and looked at my watch. It read 5:22! I jumped out of bed and shouted, "It's 5:22, !@#$%!" Denise bolted upright and looked at the clock. It said 2:22. Oops! I had mistakingly reset my watch back to Eastern standard. The rest of the night was sort of restless.............
We made it to the marathon with no problems. Denise will write up her full report but the short story would be a 4:14 finish, slower than hoped for, but the best that the day had in store. Denise thinks the race was probably more fun to watch than to actually run. The 150 Elvi dressed in lycra Elvis suits were the highlight of the day. You can see one of the Elvi in the background of this photo.
We retrieved Denise from the finish area and made the 3/4 of a mile trek to the parking lot. She was hurting but walked along as best as possible.
We had a quick stop for snacks and showers at the hotel and then took the trolley to Tijuana, Mexico. The idea was to expose the girls to a different culture and we got exactly what we bargained for. We stayed in Mexico long enough to be thankful for the kind of city that we live in. We grabbed some delicious homemade frozen fruit bars and chatted a bit with the owner. Then we got out of there as fast as Denise could walk. I figure in total the girls walked a good 10K that day.
Today was the much anticipated trip to Sea World! It was so great to get back to see Shamu, the dolphins, and all the other animals that we loved seeing at Sea World in Aurora. It was quite a melancholy moment when we left the park at the end of the day. Gina and Abby both wanted stuffed animals as momentos from this vacation. Gina chose a hippo and Abby chose a polar bear. They are growing up so fast and this vacation was a good reminder that we don't have little kids anymore. I am more than happy to buy another stuffed animal because I know that in a few more years they will be asking for much bigger things like cars and college!
I have managed some really great morning runs. Saturday morning I ran towards downtown San Diego for an hour. This morning I went a bit further and made it to the USS Midway and back in an hour and a half.
Tomorrow we will visit the Midway and make the trek back to LA for our late night flight.
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