Pauley Pavilion

D and I have not had “date night” in a while, so when D was offered tickets to the Cal v. UCLA game, we jumped at the opportunity.  The game started at 5 p.m., so we left early to beat the traffic and ate an early dinner.  One of D’s colleagues who knows we like “cheap eats” recommended that we eat at Gushi, so that is what we did. 

It is definitely a hole-in-the-wall place.  The patio is basically on Galey Ave., and it is super-loud with motorcycles revving their engines, and screeching tires. 

We shared a Combo Plate, which comes with a drink for $11.  It was quite a lot of food!  We reminisced about Steve’s Place in Berkeley, which was also known for large quantities of Korean BBQ.  Being around colleges always reminds me of my own college experience. 

We gobbled down our food and walked quickly to Pauley Pavilion.  It is a very nice facility and so convenient since it is in the middle of the campus.  The game was a disappointment since Cal lost, and actually was never in the lead.  At times, UCLA was up by a lot, but Cal did make a mini-comeback which at least made it somewhat interesting.  One highlight of the half-time show is that we saw a guy win a free Kaplan course by shooting a lay-up, free throw shot, three point shot and a half-court shot all within thirty seconds!  I like how basketball games are so short in comparison to football games.  We were home by 8 p.m., just in time for me to record the Grammy’s (since I forgot to set our Tivo). 

The Sixth Time's a Charm

On Sunday, I ran my sixth and final marathon. Leading up to the marathon I was so burned out from training for my fourth full marathon in the last 12 months that I didn't stress out about it. I chose the marathon because the temperature is usually in the 40s and 50s; however it ended up being in the 50s and 60s. In fact at the beginning of the marathon the MC said that most won't get a PR due the higher temperatures (it was in the 70s at the end of the race). That gave me a good excuse if I didn't PR. I also was resigned to the fact that I probably would never break 4 hours in a marathon given that my previous PR in five tries was 4:08:58. The race started at 6:15 a.m. and leading up to the race it was smooth. The marathon started over an hour before the half marathon so parking, the porta-potties, and finding a dry warm place to stretch was not a problem. Being a smaller race, it wasn't really crowded at the beginning of the race like the L.A. Marathon. I started out the first mile at a 9 minute pace. At mile 7 I was under an hour, and at the mid-way point I was around 1 hour and 50 minutes. I thought I was going out to fast and would soon regret it, but I was feeling OK so I kept the pace. Soon after I lost half of my salt tablets while reaching for them. Trying to keep calm I thought if I got to mile 20 in 3 hours, I would have a shot at a PR. I past the 20 mile marker in 2 hours and 50 minutes. I started cramping at mile 22, but fought through it. By mile 24 I thought 4 hours was possible, so I just tried to enjoy the view for the last couple of miles. I really didn't think I could break 4 hours, and am still not sure how I did it. I know God kept me calm and answered my prayer of just doing the best I could. I am glad that after 8 years (4 10ks, 6 halfs, and 6 full marathons) I finally accomplished the biggest goal I dared to dream: A sub-4:00 marathon! Praise God. I can officially change big bucket list item #2 to... Run a sub-4:00 hour marathon (Carlsbad 2014)

MLK Weekend

We had a full three-day weekend.  Friday afternoon, D drove down to Carlsbad to pick up his race packet.  k had her second keiki hula lesson.

Saturday morning, we had a consultation with someone to hang our new-to-us television.  Saturday afternoon, k went to a Fancy Nancy-themed birthday party.  Saturday night we went to Souplantation so that D could carbo-load.

Sunday morning, D ran what he has deemed his last marathon.  (He’ll provide more details, I’m sure).  Sunday night, D and k had a daddy-daughter bowling night with her girl scout troop.  n and I had a mommy-son date at In-n-Out.

Monday morning we went on a whale-watching cruise in Newport with Davey’s Locker.  All four of us only had to pay $32 total, which I thought was a good idea (again, we had free tickets through OC Register).  We took our car on the Balboa ferry.

This was our boat.

We gawked at the large homes/boats.

We saw numerous bottle-nosed dolphins.  You can only see the tip of the dorsal fin here, but they were pretty active.

We saw California sea lions.

Unfortunately, we saw ZERO whales.  Yesterday the boats saw a total of 17 gray whales, and according to the website, they saw 5 gray whales during the later cruises today.  Oh well.  We received 50% off coupons for our next cruise since we didn’t see any whales, but I’m not sure when we’ll want to try again.

This was the only whale we did see.

n fell asleep.  I was thankful that none of us became seasick.

It was a lovely day weather-wise.

Afterward we went to my parents’ house to celebrate my sister’s birthday.

Turtle Rock Community Park

We had some free time on Saturday morning, so we decided to check out Turtle Rock Community Park in Irvine.  We started out by checking out the small Nature Center.  There is a short trail that is accessible via the back of the Nature Center.

First we consulted the trail map.

Then we headed toward the right, and found the rock maze.

Then we looked at the human sun dial.

I enjoyed reading the quotes along the way.

This is the perfect “hike” for really small kids—even toddlers could do it.

Next the kids played in the park.

We snacked on mini bagel chips—aren’t they cute?

There is also a small stream with ducks.

I enjoyed exploring this park.  It is always good to spend some time outdoors, and we are fortunate that such outings are possible in the middle of winter. 

A Princess Party

Last weekend k went to a princess-tea themed birthday party.  Since the moms were invited, I attended as well.  I enjoyed all of the details, and I think I had as much fun as k.  I am glad k had another opportunity to wear her Easter dress!

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

Yes, this post is a little late, but better than never.  New Year’s Eve we followed our annual tradition of looking through all of our photo albums.  At night we tried to all sleep on our couch, per our other tradition, but alas, this was the year when we just did not fit.  D volunteered to sleep on the floor.

n took a nap around dinnertime, so he was still awake when D and k were sleeping at around 9:45 p.m.  We were all asleep by around 10 p.m., though.

New Year’s Day was all about the food!

Good-Bye KBF!

We used our Knott’s Berry Farm 2013 passes for the last time on Dec. 30.  We managed to whittle the price down to less than $5 per person per visit, which was our goal.  I am officially tired of Camp Snoopy and I have no plans to return to KBF until n is old enough to ride the faster roller coasters.  All in all, we had many fun times there, though, and I’m sure the kids will miss it.

One place that I always meant to visit with the kids, but never did, was the replica of Independence Hall.  During our last visit, I made sure we stopped by.

Some day we’ll have to visit the real thing!

It is an interesting stop that took us only about ten minutes.