At the end of July Keith took off for what was supposed to a 3 week work duty in NASA's wind tunnel, testing the engine of a helicopter model. I knew I would miss him desperately and that it would be a little tough to continue my running schedule without him, but I still hadn't found a gym that offered child care, and I am still too stubborn for my own good. After being gone for a week and a half I was grateful to meet up with him in Utah for the wedding (where I accidentally packed all of my running clothes and forgot my shoes).
In between the moving from our storage unit, boxes strewn through out my house, the frustration that comes when you're acting as a single parent all the time, the humidity that was affecting my running along with having to push an equally annoyed Lily in a stroller, etc., etc. I felt a little lost without Keith and I spontaneously decided to jump in the car and go visit him last week when I heard his trip would possibly be extended another week or two yet again.
"Road trip!" Lily and I screamed together, jumping up and down in excitement. Not really. I called a friend of mine in a panic, realizing I had no idea what I was doing (she's lived in VA). She insisted that I come over immediately to steal Jane (her GPS) and sent me on my way with one less worry. I need a permanent Jane in my life. I am no longer denying it.
My little trooper, picture taken in rush hour traffic.
What mapquest claimed to be an 8 hour and 15 minute road trip easily extended into 12 hours. Lily was a TROOOPER. She's such a good kid, I have to say. I stopped about every 2 hours to give us a chance to run around and exercise, and she held out, napping, and even allowed me to indulge myself in a book on CD (Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict - you gotta give it a chance if you like Jane Austen at all). The trip home was a lot harder than the one going out, despite the fact that we took it in two stints, staying in a horrible hotel in Delaware after the first 8 hours). I think the fact that she came down with a nasty cold, was teething, and wasn't sleeping well didn't help. NYC traffic was the worst. We got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for 3+ hours straight. There was no where to pull off, and after 2 hours she lost it and I nearly did too. Despite that section of the trip, it went okay. I am not planning on driving that far again with a toddler. Bless her heart.
This one best shows how excited she was!
Keith and I took Lily down to Virginia Beach a few times during our trip. I was shocked at how warm the Atlantic Ocean was compared to the Pacific. Lily was absolutely delighted. We had gone down on a Sunday without any expectation that Lily would even want to touch the sand (she usually freaks out). To our surprise she was so enthusiastic to bond with the Atlantic Ocean that we ended up stripping her down to her diaper, and letting her go at it. I think the pictures say enough. Virginia Beach lived up to it's hype and Keith and I want to return again for another family vacation.
Chilling with the elephant (no, she's not sunburnt, just hot).
We also had the chance to go to the zoo, a real zoo! It was Lily's first chance to see a lion, giraffe, elephant, and other animals. That Lion did NOT disappoint. He must have been as annoyed as we were with the hot, humid weather for he let out a terrible roar that we heard from halfway across the park. It scared Lily and she clawed at me like a cat trying to escape a bath tub. We ran to the Lion's dwelling and were surprised when he let out another roar. I can't remember ever hearing a Lion roar. It was incredibly loud.
While we were visiting the giraffe's yard I gagged when I saw one of the giraffe's drinking the other's peepee. He was probably so desperate for water that he couldn't contain himself. Funny enough, without knowing it I took a picture of the splendid event. That's right, go ahead and click to enlarge the picture. It's gross but entertaining.
We also took the "choo choo" train around the zoo and Lily and I played in a wonderful spray park at the entrance to the zoo. We met up with Keith afterwards and went to a restaurant called the "Jewish Mother" that I had read rave reviews about. I giggled when I saw the menu. I ordered the Pita Wabbit. I couldn't resist the name.
Lily loved having the chance to swim everyday too. "Swimming" to her is running around the edge of the "Bath" (as she calls it) and going up and down the steps while we stand there annoyed. If we pull her into the middle of the pool she just screams at us for ruining her fun. Keith and I took turns taking her to the "bath" everyday.
On our way home we decided to stop in Washington D.C. I only wished that my friends, the Erbs, had been there to meet for lunch somewhere. To my delight I discovered that the Smithsonian Museum was FREE! Score. After perusing it for awhile we walked down to the Washington Monument. The rest of the touristy items were driven by, as I wanted to get to the hotel at a decent hour.
All in all it was a good trip and well worth the travel to spend some much needed time with Keith.
As far as my running, I've found a few 1/2 marathons at later dates at the end of September and in October. I was so stressed out and feeling like such a failure that I knew I wanted to still keep my goal, but in order to do so I'd have to give myself time to rebuild what I lost during August (though I tried, harder than I ever had and still kept slipping backwards).
On a great note: I JOINED A GYM! I finally found one in my area that offers childcare and is located close to Keith's work. We're paying a pretty penny for it, but I really think it's going to be worth it and give me the chance to take care of myself and accomplish my goals. I feel really selfish spending that money on myself, but I also think it's important to help me feel like I'm accomplishing goals and taking care of my health. I refuse to be one of the mom's sitting on the park bench while her kids are at play. I'm up on the monkey bars, sliding down the slides, and chasing Lily around and I sure can't do that if I'm out of shape!
It's midnight. I'm off to bed as soon as I post these pictures. Ciao ciao!
Cherie
Bonus video!
