The End Is Coming

The Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend was the beginning of the end of my time in California. I was in my final weeks of living out there.

My mom flew out to spend the week with me during the race weekend. We spent 2 days in Disney enjoying each park. She had never been to Disneyland, just to California Adventure. We took a few fun shots that they had set up for the 60th Anniversary Celebration.

California Screaming' was a fun set up.

You can see everything from Paradise Pier!

Spending time with the  ghosts at Haunted Mansion was a must do!

We got to go on the Jungle Cruise! 

They were doing a soft open so we 

were lucky to go through this when

 we did! We had great time with the 

skippers! And their bad jokes!

My mom met Kylo Ren for the first time.
She thinks he was scary. I was not impressed.

We were lucky enough to get into the

Blue Bayou for dinner! The food was

incredible. The menus light up for easier

reading due to the ambiance. We did  the

Paint the Night package and think it was

the best option for the cost! 

We also met Chewbacca. He liked my mom's

hair. He was nice enough to take a selfie with me.

After the 5k on Friday, we headed up to LA with my mom's friend and her family. 

The end of Route 66!

We had a great time going to Santa Monica. We walked along the pier, went of the ferris wheel, and went to the aquarium. The aquarium only has animals that are living in the waters around the pier. This is a cool way to learn about the area you are in for adults and children.

Santa Monica Pier

There's great photo ops along the pier.

If you want to get the whole pier in 

a photo, take a walk along the street.

You can turn back and take a lot of photos.

View of LA from Griffith's Observatory.

From Santa Monica, we headed into LA to Griffith's Observatory. You can amazing views of LA from up here. You will be able to see the Hollywood sign from up here too. There's a lot to learn here about astronomy. It's really amazing!

After the weekend of running, we went to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is celebrating their 100 year anniversary! We had never been to this zoo before and we were excited to go.










I was excited to see the pandas. I have seen pandas in DC, but it's not common to see pandas. I refused to leave until we saw these cute guys. This is the baby that was born there in 2012.














I was excited to see a koala! I have never seen one before and for some reason had no idea that they had some at the zoo. They are just really cute!

The last day my mom was in California we headed into Palm Springs to do the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway. This is the world's largest rotating tramcar. You start your journey at 2.645 feet above sea level.









By the time you get to the top you are at 8.516 feet! You are now surrounded by trees and even snow! It was really crazy to see the desert below you and snow around you.

Pano from the top of the Tramway

We also stopped by Cabazon Dinosaurs on the way home. Right next to a Burger King you will find these guys. You may recognize these guys from the movie, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.









After my mom left I went back to work. Leaving that store was really emotional, but I knew I had to go home.

The next day Carrick flew into San Diego.

Before we picked him up we made a pit stop in La Jolla. You can go snorkeling here, shop, eat, or just hang out with some seals. I wish I spent more time in this area, but I'll be back one day!

Once we picked up Carrick at the airport we headed down to the USS Midway. 

From there we headed over to Coronado. We went into the Hotel Del and walked along the beach. We grabbed a late lunch and walked over to Ferry Landing. This gave up the opportunity to see the San Diego skyline beautifully.

Sandcastle in front of the Hotel Del.

View from Ferry Landing.

I had a great time in California. I was ready to go back home though. I can't wait to go back and see my new friends soon though!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend

Like all runDisney events, the beginning of the weekend begins with the expo. The expo is where you pick up your bib and race shirts. You can also get any other merchandise you're looking for. From clothing, to shoes, to fuel, to tutus; you can find it at the expo! The runDisney booth at the expo is always the craziest booth. This time around, they filed everyone into a area and only let a certain amount of people into the booth at a time. This was wonderful. I never felt congested or overwhelmed like I have in the past. I got a few items here and then explored the rest of the expo.

The next morning was the Neverland 5k. The 5k started in front of the castle. There were no corrals for the 5k. Instead, as people entered the park and got closer to the castle they just stopped where the crowd of people were. I think I was in "Corral B". There was no official start line that I could see as well. I found this strange, but after the congestion in the beginning the course was great. The course went through Disneyland and out through a backstage area into California Adventure. After going through California Adventure, we exited through a backstage door and finished in Downtown Disney.  I wore the same leggings and tank I wore during the Princess 5k. I figured the mermaid look would work in Neverland as well.  

Saturday morning was the Tinker Bell 10k. This was the first race in the Pixie Dust Challenge. When I opened the hotel room door I found it raining. Luckily the ran stopped once I was I got to the parking garage and held off the entire day. The 10k started on the tram road underneath Downtown Disney. After going through some backstage areas we entered Disneyland. This race had a lot more time in Disneyland which was awesome. 

Running through the castle never gets old!

We left out the front gate and headed out to California Adventure. The finish was in the same spot as the 5k I wore a bright green tee and headband in honor of Tinker Bell. I really enjoyed this race. I was excited to spend the rest of the day in the park and get ready to run the half the next morning.

On Sunday morning, I got up early once again to run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. I have only done the Disneyland Half Marathon and that course wasn't the most thrilling. I had heard much better things about the Tink course so I had my hopes up. We went through the same areas in the parks, but we did have to go out into the Anaheim streets. I saw much better areas of Anaheim and wished I had known about them before this moment. 

Everyone loves running through Cars Land!

 

One of my favorite parts of the streets of Anaheim was the Red Hat Society. There were so many of these ladies out and they were cheering for everyone. It was a really special moment that I could never put into words.

Once I finished the half, I hit up the photo area.

I was able to get the pink Coast to Coast medal during this run. When you do the Princess Half and the Tinker Bell half, you get a pink medal. The blue one is given for doing any half/full marathon in Disney World and then a half marathon in California. I was surprised to get both Coast to Coast bracelets at the Expo. I then heard that you could turn down the blue Coast to Coast to get it at a later race. It was nice to have all of the medals though. 

I am so happy that runDisney uses Disney Photopass now as well. The photos are so much better and you have the ability to know when a photographer is coming up (they have tents and balloons so you can see them). If you have a Photopass for your trip the photos can be linked into your account. No more spending more money to buy a package or even just one photo! 

Next up with runDisney: the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend!

California!

It was March 2nd. I got in my car at about 6 am, went down the street to get gas. I was on my way to California. Yes I drove to California. Alone.

My driving took me through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and finally into California.

I saw a lot while I was driving. You know trees, grass, mountains, trucks, bugs (mostly dead on my window), animals (dead and alive), tumbleweeds, snow, rain, trees, red rocks, deserts, and craters. There are things I wish I could have experienced with someone else because all the words will never describe it. It took me about 4 days to get across the country.

Grand Ole Opry Nashville, TN

Big Dam Bridge Little Rock, AK

Meteor Crater Northern Arizona

Temecula, CA

Now I rest in California. I'm working so nothing has fully changed for me. I have done a few things while I've been here. 

Things like:

Disneyland

Hiking Mount Woodson

Ate ice cream where they get me.

Spent Easter at the beach

Met up with Ryan

Met up with Molly

Watched World of Color in a VIP zone

Spent a night in the Grand Californian

Got into Lounge 1901

Rode Hyperspace Mountain after coming into contact with Kylo Ren

Saw a double rainbow

Went to Vegas to hang out with Britney Spears

Spent a day on Coronado Island

Entered the Twilight Zone

Ran with hot air balloons

Ran through a vineyard

Went to Universal Studios Hollywood

Hung out in Hogshead

Hung out in Springfield

Explored a studio tour

Drank butterbeer

Found God

 I have a little less than a month left now. There will be more to see. More to talk about. More feelings than I can explain.

Until then....

Princess Half Marathon Weekend

This post is a little late...okay a lot late. Sorry about that.

I decided after running Dopey last year that I would skip Marathon Weekend and head down to the Princess Half Marathon Weekend in Disney World in 2016. I must say I was really jealous of all the posts during Marathon Weekend, but Princess wasn't that far away.

We arrived in Disney World on Wednesday. This trip we stayed at Coronado Springs. I loved this hotel. It had a more adult feel and less of a Disney one, but the food was amazing there. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

On Thursday Nate and I headed over to the Expo. I had to get my Glass Slipper Challenge and my 5k bib so I took a little bit longer than Nate just grabbing his 5k bib. I grabbed a couple items that I wanted and headed over to the rest of the Expo. It was a nightmare! To get into the Jostens Center there was a long line. That is fine except that there was 4 different lines going into one. The staff sent people to a line and then other people were yelling at people that they were cutting. I heard stories of fights breaking out. I had gotten a spot to the get a pair of the Ariel New Balance sneakers and decided to not go back based off of the craziness I had endured already.

That night we went to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. I had never been and had only heard great things about it. It was good and I would go back again.

I was ready for bed by the time the show ended. The alarm was set early for the next few days.

On Friday Nate and I headed out for the 5k. This was Nate's first run in Disney and I was happy to share this experience with him. 

These costumes were the coolest!

After the 5k we headed over to Animal Kingdom and had dinner at Be Our Guest. We didn't stay out too late, I had another run in the morning!

Saturday morning I was up again. The alarm is always going off far too soon on these race weekends. Am I right!?! Today was only a 10k right? And we had 'Ohana for breakfast afterwards. I think I was running for the food at this point. The race was the same course as during Marathon Weekend. I knew it wasn't great, but I got through it. 

After breakfast, we went back to the Expo. I guess I just wanted to look at the shoes again. Nate went back to the room to put down our stuff and I headed over to Epcot where Patti LaBelle was doing a book signing. I was told I wasn't guaranteed to get in, but I did! And they made her mac and cheese recipe for us all to try. And it was good!

Sunday was another running morning. I think I've seen more of Disney in the pitch black than in the daylight! I've done this course enough for me to know how it goes. Leave the Epcot parking lot, head to Magic Kingdom, and then back to Epcot to finish. I can't remember much that made me beyond excited. I don't have a lot of pictures during the races. Honestly there were very little princesses out for pictures. The lines for pictures were crazy long. I read a lot of people were disappointed with the lack of entertainment along the course.

Bling.

 I was excited to go to the California Grill for dinner to celebrate after all this running.

I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone and everyone. We had the dining plan, but I would pay for a meal here again. There is a dress code for the restaurant, but it didn't seem like they were that strict on upholding it.

We had some time to hang out without running before we needed to get on a plane home. We made sure to go back to Animal Kingdom. Zootopia was about to come out so I got my picture with this guy.

Soon enough I was home to get back to work and begin my journey to California for the next 2 1/2 months.