Daves Marathon!!!

As most of you know, my husband has been training for the Big Sur Marathon for over two months now. And this week end all of his hard work finally paid off! For me, the whole concept of a marathon was foreign territory. I had no idea what to expect, and this being his first marathon, he really didn't know either.. Dave's training included running, weight training and dieting. Weekends leading up to the race were especially hard because Dave would use those days to complete his long training runs which were anywhere from 15-20 miles long. So, needless to say, he was VERY excited for the weekend of the actual race to get here. yesterday we went to Monterey and picked up his race packet which included several phamplets, his chip timer ( this is something that you stick on your shoe that times you as you cross the finish line) his bib number, and this nice red shirt.

Look at the goofy grin! So, early this morning (sunday) we got up at 3:00 am to take Dave and his friend to meet the busses in Monterey. Since the race starts in Big Sur, they bus all of the participants there. Here is a picture of Dave all ready to go this morning.

3960.. a lucky number =) After I dropped him off I went back home and slept for a while. But Dave hopped on the bus and rode out to Big Sur. The race didn't actually start until 6:45, but there were like 5000 participants, so it took a while to get organized. The weather was really foggy and cold today, but Dave said that made it nice because he didn't really get too hot or too cold. He also said that the first 15 miles went by really easy and he wasn't hurting at all. Dave ran up until the last 3 miles when he started walking because of the pain in his legs. But as he saw the finish line he sprinted to the finish line and ended with an AWESOME time of 3:49. He was shooting for 4:10, so he did a lot better than he though he would.

This is just a shot of what the finish line looked like. Unfortunatly I didn't catch Dave crossing the line. I have NO idea how I missed him because I was standing right by the finish line, but oh well.. I was still there...

This is Dave after the race. They gave all of the marathon participants a medal if they finished under 6 hours. Its a hand made medallion which is pretty cool. Hes still got the same goofy grin on, but the grin soon left as he tried to walk around the house. His legs are hurting pretty bad.

This is the only injury he had. A blister developed on his ankle which popped and then bled for the last half of the marathon. The whole bottom part of his sock was soaked in blood. Gross huh? For his first marathon everything went really well and I am so proud of him. He worked so hard and I am glad that he was able have such a good experience. He's gonna do more in the future, but the very DISTANT future. =)

Clark being a dummy...

So, we have this little area that is all enclosed outside of the kitchen door. And I let Clark hang out out there as long as he is chained to the pole. Well, one day, he got sneaky and "army crawled" under the fence. But the hilarious thing was that he couldn't get back through! In these pictures he is totally stuck! I was laughing so hard!



who knew that Clark would LOOOOVE apples? They are one of his favorite things to eat! Go figure...

Jolene Getting Beat Up

Dave and I were messing around the other night with the camera. It completly looks like he is beating me up!

And these are the " I'm sorry for beating you up" flowers... haha... just kidding... he got me flowers and had them delivered to me at work. It really made my day. And all of the other girls who work with me were totally jealous! haha..

Clark 'N Dave

This is what clark does when we put him outside. Basks in the sunlight... =)
Dave found out that this was a good way to keep Clark from jumping on you... to just grab his hands and dance with him when he jumps. Its really funny..
Sorry for the full frontal of Clark, but Dave is actually lifting him off of the ground. Clark is a big 'ol dog. He weighs about 60 pounds or so...

Walking around Fisherman's Wharf

I was warned by a friend before we went to San Francisco that mimes would be everywhere... And sure enough, there they were... it was so awesome.. They had loud music playing and were dancing all over the place. I decided to give them a couple bucks to get a picture of them, and they cam out and danced with me. It was hilarious.


Me and the mime...

A shot of the wharf... there were boats everywhere, and it kinda smelled like fish.. .go figure..

After Alcatraz... LUNCH!

After Alcatraz we were sooo hungry. So we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and ate lunch. It was a blast. And the salad that I had was soo good... yummmmmm...

Inside Alcatraz

As a part of the tour they give you these headsets to wear as a part of an audio tour. This way you can walk around the cell block at your own pace with out a tour guide. It was really awesome.. even though we kinda look like nerds.. =) Ok, well, I look like a nerd.. Sarah always looks good...


This was one of the typical jail cells... Very small. But one of the escape attempts made on the island was actually made by using a spoon to carve out the vent that you can see at the bottom of the sink. Crazy, huh? Those guys made it out and into the water, but were never found.

This is the library. The prisoners could not actually go to the library. All the books were brought to them. Most of the prisoners were in their cells for 23 hours out of the day. Crazy people like Al Capone, and others who were "high risk"
One of the worst things that former prisoners said about the prison was the view that they could see from the prison. San Francisco sat just far away enough from them to taunt them... The view is really nice, huh?

Alcatraz

This is just another shot of the island from the ferry, but I like it because you can see a lot of the buildings. The big building at the top of the island is the main cell block.
This is the building right on the dock where they would unload all prisoners... people such as Al Capone... cool huh? This building was first built by the military to be a bomb resistant shelter. But as the military weapons progressed, the shelter became not to bomb-proof. The rooms at the top were added later to act as apartments for the guards and their families to stay in.


The tower behind me was where the guards would have to sit all day to watch the island.

Our Trip to Alcatraz

This weekend Sarah and I were able to end her trip in a great way! We decided to take the day on Friday and go to San Francisco. It was a BLAST! San Francisco is only about 2 hours from my house in Monterey and it was really easy to get to. The night before we left we booked tickets for the Alcatraz tour on-line and also booked a hotel room so we could stay the night. On the way to San Francisco we got stuck in some crazy traffic, so by the time we made it to our hotel to park, we only had about 15 minutes to BOOK IT to Fisherman's Wharf and catch our ferry to Alcatraz. So, we ran about 9 blocks, and made it in perfect time. This is a shot from the front of the ferry as we came upon the island.


It was SOOOOO windy on top of the ferry, but sooo much fun.

The Monterey Aquarium

The Monterey Aquarium is not quite as big as the Baltimore aquarium, but it was a lot of fun! There was so much to see and a lot of it was hands on. There were several areas that had touch pools, and even a special floor just for kids to play in. The room below was a cool room because over your head was a giant pool that you could watch little fish swim around in.




I thought the penguins were sooo cute! They were taking turns sliding down the rocks into the pool.

More Good Times

Sarah and I went to the outdoor mall here in Monterey, and they have this excellent jewelry shop there. So, I decided that I would by us matching rings... haha... Iknow that all of you can tell which hand is mine.. =)

Sarah taking FOREVER to order her meal.. .Sheesh...

Poor Clark... he gets so sad when I leave him during the day...

Our Day at the Beach

Sarah and I FINALLY had a good day of weather, so we decided to take advantage of that and go to the beach. This is the beach that is about 5 minutes from my house. From this spot you can see across the bay to Monterey and Santa Cruz. I think that this is one of the most beautiful places here. I know that the water looks nice, but don't let it fool you. This beach is NOT for swimming or laying out. The water is FREEZING all year long, and the beach has TONS of sand flies that bite all over you.


This is the view of Monterey across the bay.

Clark being a BAD DOG!

This is Clark on "quarantine" because he was a bad dog... Hes hilarious when I put him in his crate. He will go in and turn his back to me, and if I try to pet him through the bars, he nipps at my fingers like hes telling me to leave him alone. I know that the "experts" say that you shouldn't put a dog in his crate when he is bad, but honestly sometimes I need a break from him.

We have a back sliding door that leads from our living room out to a fenced in yard, so sometimes I put him out there for a while to go potty and play in the mud. He is the only dog that I know buries his bones in yard and chases his own tail. He really will chase his own tail for like 30 seconds... he's such a dork..

Sarah Came to Town!!!

My best friend from high school, Sarah Coy, has come out to visit me in good 'ol Cali. We have been having a blast together. She got into town on Saturday. Sunday I took her on a tour of Fort Ord, the closed down military base I live on, as well as a tour of the town I live in. Monday I took her on a tour of downtown Monterey which has a lot of old shops and art gallerys. The weather wasn't really cooperating with us, so we decided to bag the outdoor activities and went to lunch and a movie. Here we are in my house doing what we love... watching movies and being crazy..



Sarah had to earn her keep around here, so I told her she had to dress the military part and do some drills... haha... I think that she could make it in the military. Maybe... =)