I did it! I had the wildest and most amazing marathon retirement party ever! But first, let me start with this…

I didn’t make my goal time. I aimed for a 4:40 finish. I trained for it, even left some cushioning in my training for a 4:45 minute finish. I ran in temperatures over 100 degrees. I ran in wind. I ran in rain. I trained in the Texas summer heat. I cross trained through Camp Gladiator and followed Coach Sara’s plan each week. I tapered like I was supposed to. I sought chiropractic relief. I altered my hydration and diet, too. In my training, I gained back the confidence to run a 10mm pace for a half marathon. I had the confidence to run a 10:30-11mm pace WITH HILLS. I lost weight and shook off a large chunk of depression.

I didn’t make my goal time. My finish was 5:10:51, a full 11 minutes slower than 7 years ago for my other time of running this.

BUT…

I did it! This race was EVERYTHING I needed from a final race. It was brutal! Why? The conditions were low 40s with 20-30 mph winds. The winds were so high that they didn’t even allow the handcycles to start in Staten Island, cutting off the Verrazano Bridge entirely for them. I opted to walk that bridge, braving the masses, but staying on the side out of harms way, or so I thought. I was pelted with discarded gloves, water bottles, makeshift windbreakers from garbage bags, a race bib (!), a fuel belt, and sweat shirts. I fought against the wind to get this image:

See those white caps. See those clouds? Brrr…(my lungs started wheezing moments after snapping this. Inside I cursed them and said, Not today!)

And we fought through that wind, running against it for about 20 of those miles, and then we were faced with uphill, no sun, tired legs. Before that, though…

I caught those unicorns I’d been chasing for a while!

I sat in that huddle of people to stay warm before the race. Robin Hood, you guys continue to touch my soul!

I stood in my corral waiting for that BOOM of the cannon and Frank Sinatra to belt out “New York, New York” while we ran past.

I nervously chatted with a local gal, a gal from Atlanta, and 3 women from Argyle, Texas! Wow!

I humbly wore the discarded Dunkin Donuts fleece hat that I had to cut a hole out of the top so my hair would fit.

At mile 13 I took a selfie in the sun!

At mile 15.5 I knew I was still plenty strong.

At mile 19.5 I took another selfie in the sun.

My face hurt from smiling so much! I ran strong! I ran my race. I ran with so many strangers cheering me along the way. I ran while my loved ones cheered me on both in person and through social media. I ran for all of them and for myself. The race was what I needed. It was a metaphor, a true test of determination, strength, endurance, and will. I didn’t really hit a wall. My lungs did feel like they wanted to collapse at one point. I lost feeling of my 3rd toe on my left foot around mile 8. At mile 9-10, I ran alongside my Teej! I saw her and nearly knocked her down because I was so happy to see her. I cried and cried, and squeezed so tightly. She ran in the crowd next to me, and when she hit her street, she hollered “Go!” and I went. At mile 11, I saw my Beloved!! He’d landed and made it to me. At mile 13 I messaged my beautiful friend on bedrest, who was cheering me on, texting me messages of support along the way! I hopped on social media at mile 15-16. I saw a few more familiar faces and beautiful souls at mile 17-19! At mile 20, Robin Hood’s block party erupted in cheers when they saw my shirt! I felt like such a celebrity! I had a pinched nerve in my right shoulder starting at mile 21. But I kept right on pushing. I ran to the Asian drummers beat. I high fived one of the rappers who was performing. I high fived as many kids as I could along the way. I held hands with a gal who was running to honor her mother at mile 23---she’d died on October 28th from cancer. I hugged a Swiss guy whose legs were giving out. I was going so fast, I missed My Michael at mile 24, but I saw my Beloved again at mile 24.5.  I put my phone away after that and focused on finishing. I happily ran under the foliage of My park, Central Park. We emerged out of park a bit after 25 and I saw the GM building…Maverick! I’ve walked MANY times to Columbus Circle, time to pick up the pace! (Screw you, lungs, stop sucking air, we have a race to finish!) I spotted people to try to reach and pass and I did. When I hit mile 26, I shouted BRING IT! and took off at an accelerated pace for that last quarter mile. I passed so many people and felt so light. When I crossed, I didn’t cry in my photos. I just beamed with the biggest smile. That was it.

I did it! 5 hours, 10 minutes, and 51 seconds of happy…happy that isn’t artificial, genuine happiness from achievement and support from more than 200 people! All 200+ of you that know me directly who reached out….

THANK YOU, MERCI, GRACIAS, DOMO ARI GATO, DANKE, GAMSAHBNIDA, GRAZIE!!!

The lady who handed me my medal, she was an older woman, and I just stared at her, and asked her for a hug. And she hugged me tightly like my abuela, and told me that she was so proud of me! Thank you strange lady! Thank you for being proud of me and giving me such a hug! And then I sobbed. Big, fat, joyful tears of happiness and sense of accomplishment.

The trek to my room was a journey all by itself. But I got to see my Beloved again before he headed out to the airport. I was able to laugh and recover with My Michael and Gen at a tea place. I was able to talk about the journey with my running friends and hosts after they returned themselves. The next day, I was tight, but I walked around my park for a while capturing engagement photos (yes, I had an engagement photo shoot and it was amazing!!). I had some amazing food, I had a blowout, and then I came home.

I’m tight, but not overly sore. Only my toe is really hurting, but I feel fine. It was a great retirement and the perfect way to say goodbye to my final endurance run. And now, I pass on the torch to everyone else who is able to do so! I will cheer them on!

Coach Sara…you helped me earn every single bit of this race! THANK YOU! Coach Mark, our time so far has been brief, but you helped me, too! Running friends, thank you for pushing me, even when you didn’t know you were. Mom, thank you for throwing me in the deep end and telling me to swim. Daddy, thank you for never slowing down when we raced! Thank you NYC for showing up, like you always do. I know I can make it anywhere!

My Christmas Loot

Hello friends!!! How have you all been? I hope the holidays have treated you well. Based on those of you who I am connected to virtually (and know in real life) they have been quite wonderful. (Except for my one friend who had the flu, along with her family. I hope y’all are recovering nicely!)

I am incredibly blessed to have shared multiple holiday gatherings with many of our friends and family. If you are like me, you are curious about what someone may have received. I always wonder, especially when people make their holiday gift guides public or their wish lists public…how much of that stuff do they actually get? And what are some of the other things they get that might have been a surprise? Well, I will share with you those things here.

Soiree #1 was spent with my side of the family. We were so excited that my grandmother and aunt were able to celebrate with us, along with my siblings, parents, and my new brother-in-law, and nephew and niece. Whoa! Here is our tiny tree decorated with all of the lovely holiday cards from friends all over (and a few of the leftover ornaments we used in our holiday photo shoots for our photography business). It’s a 4.5 foot pre-lit artificial tree (because I’m allergic to the real stuff) bought 2 years ago for like $15 at the after Christmas sale. Look at all of those fun packages!

We read the story of the birth of Jesus out of the Bible and then the kiddos hand out the presents. If you find the pickle in the tree, then you get to open the first gift. Technically, our Sugarbug found the pickle, but it is because she helped me hang it. ha ha ha…so we let my niece go first. Then the rest of us just tore into everything. This was all of my stack before I opened my gifts.

For those of you who don’t frequent Hallmark, that gift box is from there. It’s so fun and a festive way to wrap a gift. My sister gives me one each year and each year, I open it the “wrong” way just so I can use it again later on. On this day, I received:

• The Help dvd
• Socks
• A wall plaque about the different seasons, with emphasis on football (thanks Brother)
• A check towards the purchase of the new television we bought (yaaay…we are no longer living in the last century! After 6 years of research, we finally agreed on one)
• A monogrammed shirt (yeah, I totally love monogrammed things and that’s a now-not-so-secret secret. I really want a pair of eggplant satin pajamas with a white monogram on them. such a dork)
• Nail polish
• A necklace that is also a scarf
• A nifty cloth tape measure that actually looks like a yard stick when rolled out…initially I confused it as a belt
• Gladiator dvd on Blu Ray (I’m totally geeking out over that one)

From friends before this celebration and after, I received:

• lots of hugs and time spent together (most important and the best ever!!)…whoooo, December 21 was epic see pic below
• baked goods
• lip gloss
• assortment of travel Bailey’s (what do you drink Bailey’s with? I’ve only ever had it in a Buttery Nipple or a Car Bomb. Straight up, maybe?)
• money towards a Rent the Runway rental
• gift card to Amazing Jake’s to go with the family (yaaay…an experience for all of us)
• Vino
• nail polish
• votive holders (which have inspired me to really redo our bathroom)

Then, it was time for us to head North to visit my Beloved’s side of the family. His family has many celebrations, and so we geared up for our celebration marathon!

First up, we went out to the farm where he grew up and shared a lovely meal. While there, the girls opened a few gifts, we shared quite a bit of laughs and stories, and Mari had her first ever EME (earth to moon to earth) communication, also known as a moon bounce. It was so awesome. Her grandpa is really into radio communication and all sorts of electronic gadgetry!

Then, the next day we headed out to her Gigi Skip’s home. I didn’t get an image of the tree or gifts there, but I did get a picture of them with their Gigi (great-grandmother…the gg comes from that).

This celebration was my first foray into drawing names. So I’m new to all of this and was completely unaware of how it worked. I did like it, though! It was nice to get a large gift for one person instead of stressing out, worrying about gifts for everyone. Next year, I know about the $5 gift we can give to everyone else, too! I like that idea a whole lot. While here, I received:

• Cash (which will either go towards new shoes or a blow-out)
• a gift card to Athleta (huzzah…hello new running tights!)
• A lovely picture frame
• another frame with a photo of the women from that side of the family (so nice!)
• a mobile for hanging photos (so excited to hang this in my craft space!)
• a Hallmark text band
• a mix for fancy dip

I forgot to mention that we took our annual trip to the mall for the girls to visit Santa. The Sugarbaby was not at all a fan of Santa. The Sugarbean proudly walked up to him, sat on his lap and listed out her requests and those of her sister’s. Then waved for her sister to join so they could snap a pic together. This is the best of what we got.

The next celebration, we went to Don’s recently departed grandmother, the girl’s other Gigi. There, we were able to spend lots more time with even more extended family. There I received the gift of time from family. We also received an amazing meal!! Even though it had been less than a month since we’d last seen everyone and the mood was still a bit somber, it was still very nice to see everyone’s smiling faces and witnessing the great grand children…cousins…playing with one another.  Reminded me of when we were growing up and we got to see our cousins. It made me gleefully excited at the thought of the girls’ Quinceanera celebrations in 10+ years. (Yes, I know I’m already thinking ahead. whatever, I like to plan.)

Finally, it was Christmas morning and we celebrated our last Christmas with my mother-in-law. Here is what our tree looked like (the pink gifts up front are from Santa, along with the baby stroller):

Here is a pic of my opened loot:

Going clockwise from the bottom left:

• Aprons that I have inherited from my recently deceased Grandmother-in-law. The top one actually belonging to her mother. I was MORE THAN honored to have received these as a gift! So humbling, especially after I was told that she didn’t hardly have aprons since she didn’t wear them much and they are now mine. Wow!
• Solmate socks (from my Beloved a surprise gift b/c we weren’t supposed to exchange anything! stinker!)
• Starbucks gift card
• Fleur de Sol coffee from PT coffee roasters and jam
• The Help dvd on Blu-Ray (the trouble with adding it to a global list that you share with everyone, is that you run the risk of getting multiples of the same thing)
• Handmade candles, soaps (enough for 2 years!), and baskets from my sister-in-law (I LOOOVE that soap!)
• A sock loom to make my own socks!
• Cookie stampers
• TTU pasta…I can’t tell you how utterly happy I am about this. My birthday party this next year will be Texas Tech themed and I can’t wait to enjoy these.
• Sticky notes set (yes! I go through one of these a year)
• Rolling stamps
• Hour-long massage for two! (another of the surprise gifts from my Beloved. so excited about our couples massage date)
• Cozy toe socks
• And a baking cookbook to enjoy with my girls

There you have it. We still have our stockings to look through, but we don’t “open” them until Epiphany or 3 Kings Day. Whew, no wonder I’m tired! Goodness gracious, such good times!

Now it is your turn…feel free to brag away and let me know some of the surprises you received. (notice I didn’t at all mention any of the things I bought myself, ha ha ha)

Villa Creek, Paso Robles

Kismet: Destiny; fate.

Back in late June, my husband and I bid farewell to our littles in Los Angeles and headed North on the 1, then veered off into Atascadero/Paso Robles for the night.

Our travel day was peculiar because we didn’t get as early of a start as we had intended. We also made an impromptu stop over at Venice Beach before checking Grandma and the girls into the hotel. My parents, Nana and Grandfather, were flying in later that day. We decided to linger until their arrival. When they did make it, we loaded up into our rented Crown Victoria and headed out of town. Except, before we left, I asked my Beloved if he minded delaying just 10 minutes longer so I could see family. It would be a shame if we were all the way out there and I didn’t at least get to say hi. He agreed, I fired up the navigation, just in time to make the turn. They were less than 3 miles from the hotel! I knew we were close because I remembered the oldest McDonald’s (Downey, CA) from previous visits.

We pulled in and I was able to see my second cousins and my great aunt and uncle. I fought tears. The last time I’d seen them was at my grandfather’s funeral in December. Oh my how the family traits run strong. When I heard their voices, I heard his voice. I was so very grateful he agreed to the quick visit. I needed to see them.

Well, we got on the highway and headed north. When Don has something on his mind, he gets this look where he goes in his head. Different times, there are different looks. This particular look, as we sat in traffic, had me wondering something. I inquired and he confessed that while he was ok with our delayed departures, because it meant we weren’t going to be able to hit up any of the wineries in the area, it also meant that we weren’t going to make it to a very special restaurant that he’d researched for us. He wanted it to be a surprise for me, and only told me about it because he still wanted me to know about the surprise. I was crestfallen, but did some quick math in my head and very determined said, “We’re gonna make it!”
As we neared closer to our final destination, he too was getting nervously excited at the thought that we might possibly make it. He was in charge of planning our Northern California outings. I was in charge of finding lodging in California.

…let’s take an aside…I was supposed to find lodging in California. ha! As we were driving to the airport the morning before we got to LA (at 6AM), I was on my phone booking a hotel! We stayed with friends in San Diego. We booked a hotwire deal in Atascadero. And San Fran…well, I actually phoned a friend who opened his beautiful home to us, but more on that later. Procrastinator much? yep…

Anyway, on that drive over, after hanging up the phone with my friend (now our friend), I looked out the window as we drove through Los Alamos and my breath was taken away. There was overcast, the clouds were hanging low, and the colors popped. That magic light was a photographers dream. Had we had more time, I would’ve insisted we stop, but no, I was hellbent on making dinner.

We were near enough that it was hit or miss. So I suggest Don call and order in advance. I’d browsed through their menu so I wouldn’t take my usual time needing to read every single item on the menu twice before deciding. Yes, I’m that girl. Don’t judge. Anyway, I knew what I wanted, I was ready. But he didn’t want to place the order because there was no guarantee that we would be there before close.

Villa Creek: Fresh. Local. Organic. Fine Dining in Paso Robles.

Hours from 5:30-10. We arrived in Atascadero at 9:43. Paso Robles is 12.3 miles away. We quickly checked in to the hotel. Threw off our travel clothes and were on the road by 9:48. And because I sometimes don’t type things correctly into the navigation system, we took a wrong turn. We arrived at Villa Creek at 10:01. !Santo Merda! We still walked in for hope against hope. The hostess kindly said that we were too late. And because I am not one to be ok with accepting the first offer, I inquired, would we still have been able to eat had we ordered our food on the phone when we originally called you? She looked at me with a bit of familiarity, I suppose, and said, “I’m sorry, no. Buuut…you are welcome to go to the bar for a drink. They might still have a couple of items on their bar menu before they close out the system.”
We’d come all that way, so we went to the bar. It was lively, full of locals indulging in libations. Our gorgeous bartender was so friendly and struck up a conversation. We told her our story and ordered a flight of wines. She said, “We have a rehearsal dinner in the main dining area. I know the kitchen is still cooking. I haven’t closed my register for food, so if you wanna eat, here’s the menu. I can get it in the system before it shuts me out.”

Thank you, Universe!

Without really looking at the menu, we ordered quickly, and browsed over the Wine Flight notes until it arrived. She said, “You weren’t kidding when you said you knew what you wanted!”


We started with the Escabeche Misto (boquerones, marinated mushrooms, marinated baby artichokes, grilled bread) and the Hatch Green Chilies, Pork, Cilantro, and Queso Fresco soup/chili. I didn’t get a photo of the Escabeche Misto, but here’s the hatch soup. Holy eff…it had animals in it, but we’d traveled all that way and I needed a taste. That was hands down some of the best stuff I’ve put in my mouth. Wow! It gave me happies. It brought out memories. It made me think of cold nights from my childhood.



And then something magical happened that made all of our delays make sense. This outing went from amazing to spectacular times a thousand. The chef, Tom Fundaro, sat at the edge of the bar right next to Don. He saw us inhaling the first course and struck up a conversation. We told him our story. We talked to him about our love of food. We talked to him about our children. He told us about his. We discussed our love affair with hatch chilies. We talked about so very much and were regretting that we only had mere hours in this fine place. But then he did us one better. He treated us to an order of his chicken and waffles and wanted us to let him know what we thought. Humbled. Magic. Kismet.

My main entrée was the Torchio & Mushroom Bolognese with wild mushrooms and parmesan. Ok, if that soup wasn’t delicious enough, this made me want to find a stranger to slap because really? No really? I didn’t even share with Don. There wasn’t time. I’d inhaled it. All of it. Used my finger to clean the plate, even, without apologies or shame. That was amazing! Ok, I gave him a tiny sliver of a taste, but that was it. I’m not completely selfish.



Don had the Salmon with quinoa lilac and a kumquat slaw. He liked it fine. I tasted the quinoa and was impressed with the use of lilac in it. Very subtle, very delicate. It went well with our wine.


And then the chicken and waffles…here they are in their glory


Gluttony at its finest. We thought the chicken was well cooked and paired well with the waffles. It was nice to taste another variation of the chicken and waffles!

While we were beyond gluttonous for that meal, we were overflowing with love and incredible conversation. The date that probably wouldn’t have happened, was born out of thin air and from it, was born one of our greatest dates ever.


If you happen to find yourself out that way or near the area, do yourself a solid and go check them out. Villa Creek in Paso Robles is divine, heart warming, and that food will satisfy your soul. The service is outstanding, the atmosphere familiar, and above all, just a darn good feel-good for your soul!

Thank you chef Tom and to the bartender who made the surprise date night (that nearly didn’t happen) possible. Thank you, Don, for not giving up and for believing in the impossible to be possible.

pssst...guess what! You can now follow Hello Bianca on Facebook! C'mon, let's be friends!

Flying with Kiddos

Our girls are 4 and 16 months (1 year and 4 months for those of you who don’t have kids and haven’t learned to convert the months properly.) The Sugarbean took her first plane ride at 6 weeks. Every year since then, she’s been on at least two flights. Tesla, on the other hand, boarded her first plane when she was 8 months old. She flew like a champ without issue. Over the years we’ve tried to perfect our own version of flying with kids. In the past couple of months, they have taken 6 plane rides. This is an account of what has worked for us.

The items you will find us carrying as we walk up to the airport:

• 1 checked back for the both of them (their clothes actually fit in a carry-on sized bag, but we check it because we are usually carrying other things.)
• 1 checked bag for the both of the adults
• Mari has her carry-on bag (rolling little kid-size bag is genius) and the diaper bag is her other carry-on
• I have my carry-on bag and purse
• Don has the camera backpack and is carry-on
• 1 umbrella stroller (gate checked)
• 2 car seats (one booster, one convertible) – checked for free

The two checked bags can be expensive in this day and age. For most normal airlines, each checked bag is $25, which makes it $100 extra dollars for a roundtrip. We are AA Advantage card holders, so we get 2 free checked bags when flying American. Hooray! Two checked bags will work for our family of 4 for any trip up to a week…maybe two weeks if we can do laundry. On this trip, we flew Delta and our summer trip we flew Virgin, so we still had to pay, but no big deal.

In MariJul’s bag, she keeps her small comfort toy, iTouch, headphones, crayons, coloring book, drawing book, and 2 books. Some planes have a built in TV in the headrests. In the case of our California trip, Virgin has quite an interactive headrest. She was disappointed on the the Michigan flights. “Where’s my TV?” In the case of our Michigan trip, we couldn’t find the iTouch, so we had to rely on books and the sketchbook. Talk about taking it old school! This sketchbook was mighty handy! We received it as a Christmas gift and she loves it! That is a picture she drew of Tesla with a bow in her hair.



In the diaper bag, there is a change of clothes for Tesla, diapers, wipes, snack foods, milk sippy cups, a juice box, one of her muslin blankets, extra pacifiers, and Yummy Earth lollipops. In the case they want them, we have noise canceling headphones.

In my carry-on I have my laptop, up to two magazines or a book (ha, like I get to read books), the travel folder (which has all of our itineraries printed out, a list of addresses to mail postcards, confirmation print offs to hotels/rental cars/restaurants, etc..), a couple of pens, emergency gum, a pipe cleaner*, and in the case of the Michigan trip, the portable DVD player with movies.

*pipe cleaner?? – it is a great stress reliever and will occupy a kiddo for longer than you might think.

My purse always has purse items, which includes my phone charger. The camera bag is self-explanatory. And Don packs magazines, gum, extra chargers, and other survival items that would come in handy in the event of an emergency. (Thanks for being prepared, babe!)

The Flight

We definitely take full advantage of the pre-boarding. We need the extra time to get situated. When we walk down the gangway, Mari does get a little timid when she crosses into the plane. She sees the tiny crack between the two and gets a little anxious. Since she is 4, she has her own seat. We always seat her next to the window. For a few more months, Tesla is still a lap child until her 2nd birthday. We usually start with her on my lap. She wears a C.A.R.E.S. vest that easily attaches to my seatbelt. When I need a break (or she just wants to be with Daddy), she will sit with him, but we only switch off when the seatbelt light has gone off. We don’t want to risk injury during turbulence.



Sometimes, we may have an empty seat next to us. In the case of the California flight, Tesla was quite tired during the early morning flight, so we buckled her up and let her sleep.



Upon take off, I insist Tesla suck on the paci for her ears. I will also give Mari some gum to chew. She said she has anxiety upon take off (yes, she knows that word) and I will hold her hand and rub her belly. She also says that take-off “drives her belly nuts” (thanks Carol for teaching her that phrase. LOL). She knows that if she is brave, she will be treated to a ginger ale/OJ cocktail to help settle her tummy.



She also knows to listen closely for when she can use her portable electronic devices.



Potty breaks are inevitable. Most airplanes have a changing station in the bathrooms, so this is great. We try to keep a couple of diapers/wipes/changing pad nearby to help speed up the process. After all, the aisles are quite cramped.

I really appreciate that we get about a 20 minute warning before landing. This gives us ample time to pack everything up before the flight attendants go through their landing procedures. It also allows us to prepare to de-board the plane.

While the plane is taxi-ing to the gate, we come up with a plan of who is carrying what. I usually strap a baby to myself with the Boba (did this with Mari until she was 3 and will continue with Tesla), carry my purse, my carry on and the diaper bag. Mari carries her bag. Don will carry the camera, his bag, and the booster seat (if we didn’t check it) and he waits for the stroller. We use the stroller to carry items since Mari likes to walk.

Layovers

If you happen to have a layover, try to make the most of it. Mari is a huge fan of the moving walkways. She thinks they are magic. In the Detroit airport, there is a hall with awesome lighting with the moving walkways. I really enjoyed it. Tesla was passed out as I carried her in my Boba. The Sugarbean was in awe.



There is also a water piece that both girls really enjoyed touching. We gave them each a coin to toss in an make a wish. Mari said she’d have Tesla’s wish since she couldn’t talk yet. But then actually made a wish for Tesla in the voice she uses when she “tells” us what the Sugarbaby is saying. It was great!



Snacks are great, but aren't a meal substitute. Layovers usually happen around eating times, well for us. (we definitely try to find direct flights) It is a great time for a warm meal, just be prepared to spend quite a bit more than you might want to. That is the only drawback. My beloved will usually take one of the girls to get the food while I linger back with the other charging our devices and watching our stuff.

Help

This is all great and dandy when we are flying like a family, but what if one of us is solo. One of the things we’ve noticed is how doting people have been with Don when he travels with the girls, but the same attention isn’t paid to women. If you see a parent flying with kiddos and one is having a fit or they are struggling to take something out of the bin above the seat while juggling a squirmy child, please help!! Offer a kind word, don’t give the disdainful look. Even if the kid is screaming, I guarantee you, s/he isn’t having a great time of it. Thank you to the strangers who have helped me over the past 4 years. Especially the older gentleman on my flight to El Paso when I was on my way to my grandfather’s funeral and the Sugarbaby had spilled a bit of milk onto my dress, while she was simultaneously trying to jump out of my arms. Your help (and patience) was INFINITELY appreciated on an already difficult day. Thank you!!

That’s it! Anything you all do differently? Any flying tips?

8 Miles around Mackinac Island

We rented bicycles and rode around the island. Mere days before Don ran it with our buddy. At the time I didn’t know we could have rented a BOB stroller. Had I known that, I totally would have joined them. We were joined by two of our friends who had rented a tandem bicycle! Aren’t they cute?


I had a lovely beach cruiser and hooked up to it was a trailer for the Sugarbaby to ride in. Don had a fancy mountain bike with a weehoo for the Sugarbean. She loved it! She loved pedaling and her own cupholder. Alas, I didn’t get a photo of them because, it’s hard enough for me to bike with both hands on the handlebars, let alone take a photo. Some day! Anyway, here is T hanging out in the back of the trailer.


When we first set off, there was a lovely beach/boardwalk area. There were many wildflowers and geese hanging out on the shore. We had the share the road with carriages, so we had to dodge horse bombs lingering on the street. I was not as successful as the other riders. Our bike mates joked with me wondering if I was drunk because of my wobbliness. Nah, just not a great rider.





We stopped at the Devil’s Kitchen mini cave. We didn’t grab a photo in front of that. Instead, we opted for the photo with Mackinac Bridge behind us.


That skirt I’m wearing is actually a long maxi skirt that I’d tucked into my undies to prevent it from getting caught in the pedals. Upon take off, I’m fairly certain I might have given someone a free show. Luckily, I quickly sorted things out to prevent it from happening again. On this side of the island, the wind was still blowing heavily, so there were actual waves on the shore.


If you do such a trip, maybe wear closed toe shoes, unless you are expert biker. My Roxy flipflops worked, but I would’ve been more comfortable in my Minimus shoes. Don was smart, and so was Mari.


We continued on our journey and stopped at the halfway point to skip rocks, take photos, drink some water, and enjoy the view. At the halfway point is where they have water for purchase and bathrooms. Oh, and absolutely no sandy beaches!





We navigated to the other side of the island where the water was still and it was so quiet. We happened upon Arch Rock and it was quite a site!


After being out around the island for a couple of hours, we returned our bikes and went in search of food. Upon our return, we saw these fantastic kites. The black one looked like a flying Voldemort!


Seconds after getting this photo, someone bumped into me (didn’t even apologize!!) and I lost grip on my new phone (barely a week old) and shattered the glass screen. To say I was beside myself with sadness is an understatement. I know it is just a thing, but it was my brand new thing that I’d been saving my money for months and to have it broken so quickly really, really disappointed me. Especially after I saw the CNET torture test where the phone survived 3 falls! Ugh…I’m able to get it fixed, but for far more than what I want it to be.

Anyway, that was our bike ride! Because I don’t want to leave it on a sour note, here is a lovely and cute photo to make you happy. Sisters skipping along the sidewalk, holding hands, wearing their new shirts. I absolutely love how close these two are!