Ireland: Day 1 in Dublin "Dubh Linn"

After a short flight from London to Dublin we finally arrived on the Emerald Isle! The airport was small which was kinda nice after navigating our way through the city that is Heathrow airport. We rented a car, looking forward to getting a sporty European car with a strange name, like an Invicta Black Prince Wentworth but instead we got a Ford Focus. Oh well, nice to be supporting the American car industry while we're traveling abroad. 

Took us a while to find our hotel (The Drury Court Dublin Hotel), in the rain, down one way streets near Stephens Green. Took us even longer to find the hotel again once we parked. The hotel was older, but clean and the room was pretty big.

Ireland Traveler's Tip #1: When traveling in Ireland, try to find a hotel that includes onsite parking. Spend your time seeing the sights instead of lugging your stuff from your car to your hotel.

Eden Restaurant - Dublin (sans Spocoli)

We got lost a few times, next time I'll remember to pay attention to landmarks, not street signs, which are hard to find. After checking in we ventured out in the rain to try to find a "contemporary Irish food" restaurant in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar called Eden. The restaurant was recommended by Rick Steves and I swear, when we sat down for dinner and looked around, we were surrounded by American NPR listeners. I wouldn't hold that against them. Little did we know that dinner would be the best meal we had in Ireland, the slow cooked braised beef and beet goat cheese risotto was excellent. The service was even better. Luckily we went early because we didn't have a reservation.

Apparently celebrities go to this restaurant when they're in town, they told us that Sean Penn spent every night there when filming "This Must be the Place". Again, I wouldn't hold it against them.


Ireland Traveler's Tip #2: I can't recommend Rick Steves Ireland Guidebook enough. It gives you the off-the-beaten path places to visit, and also what to look out for in the touristy places.

Rave Run - Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire UK

The canal a day later,
after the storm had passed

On day 3 of our trip we headed up to county Staffordshire for a motorcycle jumble (in American that means swap meet). We stayed in Stoke-on-Trent at a friendly Travelodge that included a carvery (in American that means tasty all meat buffet).

Since my marathon was less than a month away I very reluctantly decided to go for a run. Reluctantly because it was storming outside, and not showing any signs of letting up. And not some wimpy California storm, like a real "oh yes now I understand why this place is so green and they drink a lot of hot tea" English storm. I asked the desk clerk if she could recommend a place to run and she pointed me to a path along a canal less than a block away.

Those Brits sure do have nice manners

What an amazing running route. The Worcestershire Canal (commonly known as the Staffs & Worcs Canal) is 46 miles long, and includes views of wooded paths, quaint English backyard gardens, horses and these really cool live aboard narrowboats. 

The freezing rain pelted me from every direction, I had a terrible cold and had to stop more than once to cough up what felt like one if not both of my lungs, and not long into the run I could no longer feel my fingers. But it was one of the best runs I've ever had. The few brave souls that I encountered and the dogs they were walking looked at me like I was crazy. And of course I was, but the pain and agony was worth every crazy mile. 

Narrowboat tied up to someone's backyard.

 See the rest of my Stoke-on-Trent pictures. 

San Diego to London



When we were planning our trip to Ireland we decided to take the British Airways direct flight from San Diego to London before flying on to Dublin, mostly to avoid LAX but also because who can resist a trip to the home of the Underground, Oliver Twist, Bananarama, the BBC and of course Detective Chief Inspector John Luther.

Heathrow was a buzz about the long lines (oops, I mean queue) to get across the border. Took the tube straight to Gloucester St, in Kensington.

Since we only had a day we decided to do the touristy Big Bus Tour of London. Despite the downpour it was a great way to see the city. We got off the bus at the London Eye and walked all around the River Thames to the Tower of London.

Found a great pub in St. Katharine's Dock Dickens Inn and took a few pictures along the way. Interested in seeing my London Big Bus photos? Well, here you go then.

I like it juuuust fine.

My Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Run (AKA Let's Burn Some Calories to Make Way for Pumpkin Pie)

My favorite time to run is the hour before sunset. So in the winter when sunset is at 4:30 it's rare that I get out of work in time to run when I really want. Which is why I LOVE the day before Thanksgiving. We close the office at 3pm and I head out the door to get a nice long run in before sunset.

Today I did a loop from the Shores to UCSD and to have an excuse to rest, I decided to take a photo at every mile.

Mile 1: New Lifeguard Station.  Lovely isn't it?  Look ma, no filters needed on this photo.

Mile 2: Bridge Over (River) Shores

Mile 3: 5 MPH Not a Problem, That's My Favorite Pace!

Mile 4: Power Lines.

Mile 5: Just in Time - Finished at Sunset

A Date with a Ninja

A few weeks ago @joshmalina (aka Will Bailey) posted a recipe for a Banana Date Smoothie or more.  Unfortunately I burned out my blender making hummus - which I will not be posting a recipe for, because making hummus yourself is a little like bedazzling a jean jacket.  A tasteless waste of time.

So I kept thinking about this delicious banana date smoothie until I finally forced myself to head to my least favorite store (hint: it ryhmes with Ted, Cath and Score) to get the Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004 which according to the internets "delivered smooth and consistently icy drinks and topped the Consumer Reports Ratings of food choppers"

It seemed a bit more than I needed for a simple smoothie, being a food processor and a blender, and having multiple bowls and pitchers and whatnots.  But the second I cut my finger on the super sharp blades of the Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004 display model I was sold. Dang if it doesn't live up to it's Ninja name, it's like 500 Ninjas throwing 500 throwing stars directly at an iceberg until it turns into hawaiian shave ice. 

I am in no way getting paid by Ninja® or getting compensated for my injury, I really just wanted to share my recipe.  Because by the time I bought my blender I had forgotten where I had seen the original Will Bailey recipe and I had to make it up. 

Ninja Banana Date Smoothie Recipe

• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 6 or so dates
• 1/2 cup vanilla or honey nonfat yogurt (my favorite is Chobani greek yogurt)
• Tablespoon or two of peanut butter
• 1 cup of ice or 2 cups of ice if you like your smoothie slushy
• 1/2 a banana - even better if it's frozen

Blend the peanut butter, milk and dates together for a minute or so, I mean really blend them, a chunky date smoothie is not so good.  Some recipes say to soak the dates in milk for 15 minutes to soften them, this would mean you would have to actually plan to make your smoothie a full 15 minutes before you want to drink it. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for a couple minutes more.  With my Ninja I swear this is maybe a few pulses, and the ice turns to a tasty snowconey consistency. 

And...as always, if you want more, make it a double. 

Memories of Christchurch

In 2005 we visited New Zealand, one of the many highlights of our trip was the few days we spent in Christchurch. We stayed at the Warner Hotel with a view from our window of Cathedral Square and the beautiful spire of the Christchurch Cathedral.  The cathedral and it's spire were built well over a hundred years ago, and just a few days ago were destroyed by a 6.3 earthquake.  It's still unknown but it's thought that there may be 20 people trapped in the rubble. My heart goes out to the people of this amazing city as they search for survivors. 

Christchurch Cathedral Spire - Feb 2005 


Christchurch Cathedral and Cathedral Square at Night


You can read more about the church, learn how you can help, and see pictures of the damage here:
http://www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz/

More of my photos of Christchurch

The Adventures of Aimee the Dog: Today's Episode - Doggie Paddle

It was a misty morning at Dog Beach.  Aimee the dog ventured out for a run with her friends on the beach.


Suddenly she spied her favorite tennis ball in distress floating out to sea.  But who would rescue it?  The ball was so far away, and Aimee had never been swimming.


Aimee tried to enlist her shaggy dog friends, but they were no help.


*SPLASH* Aimee to the rescue! 


Aimee and her ball made their way back safely to shore. 


What further adventures await Aimee and her tennis ball? Stay tuned 'til next time!