I am staying very busy and enjoying my time even though I dont go too far too often. One thing I am sad I am not doing more of is hiking. There is hiking around, but it takes forever to get to anywhere decent and by the time I get back home thru the traffic I will just be frustrated again, not worth taking the hike. A few things still on my list that I hope I get to do include eating Korean BBQ (I have heard its amazing!), go to the Chinese Theatre, and go to San Diego.
Chinese Theatre
Middle of March mom and dad came for a visit. We had planned on going to China Peak Ski Resort with Luke and Jackie but then Luke got a very late notice TDY and was gone the whole time the parents were in California. It was really sad. So Jackie came to LA and spent some time with myself and my parents. First day we did a little LA exploring. We did the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Then we went to Universal City. Not Universal Studios, just walked around the city area. Had some yummy sushi for lunch! Then we drove around UCLA campus. It is a pretty campus, not as big as I expected, kinda crammed in a small area next to Beverly Hills. Mom couldn't believe I live so close to Beverly Hills. I can run to it from my apartment. I also run by the LaBrea Tar Pitts all the time, very close to my apartment and just down the block from my gym. I just saw a movie the other day that was so funny because the dad was asking his little girl if she wanted to go to the Tar Pitts or to the Farmer's Market, which I drive by all the time going to work. Very fun and good Farmer's Market. Not as tempting as I thought it was going to be, I have only gone two times, with Luke and Jackie, then with my parents. I should go more for the fresh produce, but again, I don't like battling for parking and all that stuff! Mom is very jealous of the farmer's market being just down the road from me! We also drove around and saw some of the houses in Beverly Hills. Most of the really nice houses you couldn't really see because of fencing and plant walls! Not cool! Some good views of the city though.
WALK OF FAME
The second day we went to Knott'sBerry Farm. No, this is not really a farm. Well it used to be and they still have the farm somewhere to grow berries for their jams, but it is a theme park. I never knew this until Jackie was telling me about it. Never imagined Knott'sBerry as an adventure park. It was fun. Did some good roller coasters. There weren't too bad of lines. Mom did a lot more rides than I expected her to. And dad and I did a coaster that goes from 0 to 82 in like 2.3 seconds. It was fast! You see everyone sitting in the coaster while your waiting in line, then all the sudden...their gone! They disappear so quickly!
The next few days my parents and I went to China Peak. It was a long drive there, but once we got into the Fresno area and headed up the hills, the drive was gorgeous. So many rolling, green hills. Didn't feel like we were headed to skiing. Made me want to go wine tasting or something! We made it to the mountain early afternoon so dad and I were able to get a few days of riding in. Then we went the next two days as well. We got free passes to China Peak with our Monarch passes, so it was a good deal! The motel at the resort was not good though. First, it was kind of set up like a dorm room, the more expensive rooms had bathrooms, but most rooms just shared a community bathroom in the hall. And each room had tons of beds. Kind of makes me think of a hostel actually. And there was nothing else at this motel, not even a hot tub! And to top it off, little selection in food. I haven't had a hamburger or chicken fingers in years, and I was forced to order each of these. Made my stomach hurt! The snow was very icy in the morning, had to stay on the groomers, and would get very soft and mushy in the afternoon. It was so warm. Probably the warmest I have ever rode in. Well, actually last year the second time I went to Mt. Hood in Oregon it was very warm too. We had to catch the few hours top of the day where the snow is soft, but not too mushy that you can't even move! We enjoyed it though. I think dad's knees were horribly sore afterwards. Of course, he is so tough he never said anything, but I know they were. My knees were even sore, of course his was. That thick snow is tough!
The last day of their visit was girl's day. I took mom for a massage. We were actually supposed to massages, facials, and mani's and pedi's, but they could only do the massage. After the massage we went for tea. We had fun but were a little disappointed. Part of the LA disappointment. So expensive here, we couldn't even get different types of tea without paying for another full pot. Our favorite tea place in Oklahoma City you can try as many types of tea as you want and you get a muffin included in your meal. We like that place! All in all it was a fun visit with the parents! I am glad they were able to come.
So in the past month I have had appointments with a Neurologist and an ENT specialist. And neither of them could figure out what is wrong with me and getting dizzy every time I run outside. So frustrating! I hate it. I wanna just be able to go out for a run not dreading the feeling it is going to give me. Keeps me from doing things I want to do, like longer races! Good news is the Neurologist said my balance was fine, which I knew, and that there was no indication I needed any kind of scans, it didn't sound like I had any neurological problems or anything. No, just this really bad problem that happens when I run or hike too fast!! So annoying!
A couple weekends ago Luke and spent some quality time together learning to do a new extreme sport! Kiteboarding! He has been into learning how to do it for a while and talked me into it. It was something I was always slightly interested in because I would see all the boarders out on frozen Dillon Lake in Silverthorne riding on the lake with their kites and I though it would be fun to be able to do it. So Luke came out to LA and we spend the weekend learning. The guy we took the class with was really cool and into just expanding the sport. He ended up spending at least 3 hours longer with us than he was supposed to. The first day was spend just on the beach learning to manuever the kite. Which Luke picked up fast because he has a harnes and trainer kite that he has been practicing with. It's amazing how difficult the kite is at first, but once you start playing with it a little it is fairly easy to catch on to how it works with the wind. The trick is, you have to know the wind and be very careful. It is very easy to dip the kite into too much wind power...and off you go! We were watching a training DVD the night before and I knew I was just going to do tons of faceplants! I think I ended up only doing one actually, in the water.
So after day one on the beach, day 2 we were in the water, and supposed to get up on the board. This was really scary, and difficult. Not only do you have to worry about the kite and keeping it up in the air, which can be difficult to do, and if it falls it can be hard to re-launch. Then you add the board into the situation and have to learn to maneuver the kite with one hand while picking up the board and carrying it into the water. Before we got the board we learned body dragging in the water. This was so much fun! Just letting the kite pull you through the water! It is interesting how both Luke and I when it was time to get on the board, things we had learned with the kite kind of got forgotten. There is so much to think about! We had to learn to take our time and really concentrate. The kite has to be in the perfect position in order to even put your feet in the board. Then you have to get the kite through enough wind power to get you up and stay with enough power to keep you going. Luke and were a good team to learn together. Neither of us gets frustrated with the other and we both were moving at about the same time in our learning process, Luke slightly faster because he had more practice and naturally has a little more capability to pick things up faster, but I'm used to that! By the end of it I was able to get up a few times, once fairly well for a little. And Luke got up a few good times. It was awesome. Then to top it off, on Luke's last run, when he was up on the board, a couple dolphins came up behind him. It was amazing! Luke didn't see them of course, he was a little busy, but it was the coolest picture ever. Made the day for sure! I can't wait to go more and learn to get on the board better. And the ultimate goal...riding on Dillon Lake! Thanks for a fun weekend Luke, I highly enjoyed it! I love you!
I went to the beach the other day because like I said earlier I had to go to REI. I walked around a little and then went down to the beach for a little run. It was nice. The beach wasn't as packed as I thought it was going to be for a California beach, but the beach is also really big, very long and wide. It was a little more difficult to run on this beach than it was in Oregon because the sand wasn't as hard packed as far up on the beach as it was in Oregon. There is a big difference in how the beaches are in Oregon vs. California. The reason there is so much harder packed sand in Oregon is not because it rains so much there, but because the beach stays so shallow as you go out into the water, it doesn't ever just suddenly get deep. Most beaches you have shallow for so long out then you drop down and it gets deeper. In Oregon the tide changes so drastically due to this fact that the beach inclines so gradually. It makes for good running. Here I had to stay right up along the water line in order to run well at all. But I am glad I got to experience it, even though my run didn't last long just because I got sick, oh well. That is all for my beach experience while I am here that I know of. Not planning on going again. Unless Luke and I get to go out and kite-surf again soon!
So if anyone is wondering where I am going next, I do not know. Too early to know. I have personal travel plans to complete before I go somewhere else, but I will keep you updated!
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