Vacations

My post today is a little-off the running topic but I thought some people might identify with it.

This past week my daughters and I headed to the west coast for some R-n-R. Too much time had passed since I last visited the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

We flew out of Charlotte Saturday a week ago and arrived in LAX around 9:45. We picked up our rental van and then headed down the coast to San Diego. I love seeing the views of the coast line once we got out of LA. There are mountains rising up from east side and the ocean washing up on the beach from the west side. One of the most awesome sights to see.

10 years had passed since I last made this trip. I remembered the roads having several traffic lanes but there seem to be more. No not 3 lanes or 4 lanes wide. Not even 6 lanes wide. I5 down the coast is in some sections up to 9 lanes wide – all for the south bound traffic.

Even on a Saturday morning, the traffic was congested. One might believe that they were trying to evacuate all of the residents from LA and this was an early morning on a weekend. I don't really want to see what a week day looks like. We made the 70 mile trip in a little over 2 hours.

When I travel, I like to look for things that are different from where I live.

Things like:

• On ramps with HOV lanes. Seriously, on ramps with 2 or 3 HOV lanes to get on the interstate.
  
• Traffic lights on the on ramps. The lights alternate between the lanes so no two cars enter the interstate at the same time and they are spaced out by at least 5 seconds.
  
• Cycling – helmets seem to be required in San Diego but they appear to be optional in LA.
  
• Car Turn signals. Cars don't appear to have them or at least I didn't see anyone using them.
  
• Bike Lanes. San Diego seems to have them everywhere while LA seems more like Charlotte. The gutter doubles as the cycling lane in many cases.
  
• During my morning runs, I would regularly meet people out running and cycling in San Diego. They were always pleasant with a greeting. LA was more like running on the moon. I seem to be the only bi-pedal person in motion.
  
• Some where I missed the memo when it comes to the water. According to the people at the aquarium, Atlantic water is 10 degrees warmer than Pacific water. I have to agree with this assessment. The beaches were warm but the water would chill you right to the bone.
  
• Clouds, being along the coast, one never knows when the clouds/fog will burn off and the sun come out. Some days, it didn't burn off until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Other days, it burned off by 10:30 or 11. The day we left; the cloud burned off by 7 AM – go figure.
  
• SMOG has become a way of life for LA residents. So much so, they can now buy SMOG for $29.95. Of course, I am not sure what purpose SMOG provides. Maybe it is something one would want to release inside their house for effect. I am just not sure.
  
• Side roads in San Diego were marked nearly as fast as the interstate. The road in front of my hotel was marked for speeds of 60 mph.
  
• Coastal temps are fantastic for running. Mornings are clouding and cool about 60 degrees with a breeze. Days are warm and the evening brings the ocean wind and cooling off the temperature to the point I needed a jacket.
  

 

We stayed just north of San Diego – just below Carlsbad in a town called Del Mar. The hotel was half way up the Mesa. We spent four days here so each morning I went in a different direction to explore. Being the hotel was half way up, two mornings I went downhill for a couple of miles before turning and making the 2 mile trip back to the hotel. I quickly learned that I rather run the 2 miles up hill first and then have the 2 miles down hill back to the hotel second. The scenery was beautiful and I stumble across some nice trails that I just didn't have enough time to explore.

Our days were spent either spent sightseeing, at the zoo, at the aquarium, or at the beach. The evenings were spent at the hotel pool and hot tub. Mostly, the hot tub was for me. This was for the first part of the week. The later part was where the real work began.

On Wednesday, we drove back to LA. My daughters love going to Disney and my daughter was turning 16 this week so we would spend the entire day at the park. She specifically asked if we could go on her birthday. So I scheduled everything around making sure she was there on that day.

I love going to Disney but it is a lot like a marathon for us. I rise early to run and then spend the entire day at the park. We walked in the gates at 7 AM and walked out at 11 on Thursday. Friday, we went to California Adventure. We entered the park at 7 AM. The gates closed at 11 PM but because the new Cars Land ride broke down, they held the park open and specifically Cars Racers open until everyone with a fast pass was able to ride. I finally crawl into bed around 1 AM. Saturday was about park hopping. This was our last day at the parks and we wanted to do our favorite rides again. The Cars fast pass line was close to 300 yards long when we stepped to the back of it. We got our fast pass for 2:45 in the afternoon. From there we mixed in Space Mt. Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Toy Story, Buzz Light year, and Ferrous Wheel. We throw in a few shows and meeting with the princesses before calling it a day. In fact, by the time we left, they had shut off the lights on the castle.

So why is a trip to Disney like a marathon? Well, in the last few miles of a marathon, my legs hurt. My feet hurt. The same can be said at the end of the day at Disney. All anyone wants to do is set down. Who knew having so much fun could hurt so much. And usually, within a few days we start planning our next visit.

For runners down time can be hard to accept that we needed it. But we also need to remember that down time can be a perfect time to create some special family time. I highly recommend it.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner