Hello, again!

Well, where did the month go? It is now mid June and my last post was the 1st of May? Oops! Well I have been traveling and having visitors these past few weeks which have kept me really busy. I went to SF for Bay to Breakers, KC for a wedding and ran a Half Marathon.

Bay to Breakers is a race in SF that they do every year. It was the 101st race which tells you how much of a tradition it is. On top of the race it has become more of a costume drinking spectacle throughout the route which is really neat since I love races and a drink or two. Every group has a theme and ours was Pamplona.  I had been wanting to attend this for years and finally got the chance too. My friends D,C and Y all dressed up and went to Alamo Square (which is also where the Full House is) and met up with our friends. It was a perfect sunny day with lots of weirdness and ridiculousness which is right up my alley. Hey, it's SF what else would you expect from the city.We day drinked and went to different bars throughout the city. I plan on attending B2B every year from now on, it is that much fun.

I went to Kansas City for my dear friend Danielle's wedding. It had been since 2009 since I had been back to KC and it was a trip down memory lane. I really missed life there and how simple things are. I even thought to myself I could live there but that thought was short lived when I realized the closest lululemon was 45 mins away. Just Kidding. I ventured around the Plaza and went to the old bars we used to go to in college. The Plaza is made to look like Sevilla, Spain  (KC is the sister city to Sevilla - where I also studied abroad) so there are fountains everywhere and the architecture is Spanish. It does feel like a little slice of heaven. It is full of bars, restaurants and shopping. I wouldn't mind living there for a year or two.

Danielle and Bjorn's wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was held at Danielle's house which was a perfect setting for it! Everything worked out perfectly and the bride was BEAUTIFUL. They had been dating since college so it was a really wonderful thing to see how they had grown together since Sr. year. Where did the time go and why are all my friends getting married? This was the big contrast I experienced going back to the Midwest because everyone was either engaged, married and or with kids (yes multiple). It almost made me want one of those shiny things you put on your left hand but then I realized my life is fun and that I get to do what I want when I want and I'm going to keep doing that a little while longer.

Time: 2:17:50.1

Half Marathon! Well this was a decision made 3 days before the race. Am I crazy? Perhaps but since I had already ran one earlier this year I knew what to expect. I ran it with my friend Joe who DOMINATED the race with a time of 1:40:00 and I PR'd at 2:17:00 which is 4 minutes faster than my last half. I hadn't even trained for this nor had I run more than 3 miles since my half.

The Ventura Beach Front Half Marathon was about 700 people total including the 5K which is a stark difference between the Surf City where there were thousands. This route wasn't roped off for the runners per say and at times I felt almost unsafe since the majority of it was along the PCH. There were only two porta potties throughout the entire race which was really shocking since the last one had them everywhere. Since the route started at the Ventura County Pier they had a great little set up before the race with a few booths. The race started at 7AM and at 8AM pending your designated time to finish. I was a lot more resilient this time around and my body wasn't as sore either. I had a runners high the ENTIRE day and didn't want to sit down as I was amped to run again. Again, CRAZY.

I am signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon in November and want to run one sooner than that and actually train. Both of my past half experiences deal with me almost dying (see why here) and no training so I bet with training and a healthy body I know I can run it under 2:15 easily. Eventually my goal is to be under 2 hours and maybe even a Hail Mary?

All in all, it has been a great start to the summer and I can't wait for June gloom to die off and my parents to come this weekend. Also, my mid summer resolution is to take Ballet classes at least once a week starting today. I just can't decide to do a beginners with point shoes (read it has been since 2007 that my feet have been in those monsters) or advanced. I've been inspired as of late thanks to the new shows "Breaking Pointe" and "Bunheads." They are pretty cheesy but if you were once a dancer you would appreciate them.

Joshua.

This past weekend a few of my friends and I decided to have an impromptu camping trip to Joshua Tree. It is located in the Mojave desert and about 2 and a half hours outside of LA. Right past the Coachella Valley..and yes the same spot as the music festival. It is a perfect little get away and something we all needed. We left early Saturday morning with tents, food, stories and eagerness to go gallivanting through the desert. You usually have to reserve a camping spot but since it was national park week most of the sites were already booked. We  drove and hoped and prayed that there was a spot for us to lay our heads down. Due to a wrong turn, we stumbled upon Joshua Tree via the unconventional southern entrance and found Cottonwood Spring with plenty of first come first serve camping spots.

SUCCESS.

We quickly set up shop and decided to go venture in the desert while we waited for the half of the group to arrive. It is $15 a night which was kinda had to pay on good will. There was also no phone reception where we were camping which was absolutely amazing. I know some people hate that but I found it so be so refreshing. I'm a firm believer that we all need to disconnect from the phone, internet, TV and civilization. I have been known to leave my phone at home during work, on purpose. 

While venturing, we found some really interesting rock formations such as a whale/parrot and started climbing all over the these boulders.  There was a rock that was in the form of the Aggro Crag from Nickelodeon Guts and Matt, Mikie and Andrew starting climbing as we filmed it in its entirety with some pretty hilarious commentary. If you don't remember what the Aggro is you probably aren't a child of the 90's or completely unamerican. We saw jack rabbits, lizards and much to my friend Mikies' dismay no rattlesnakes.We roamed and climbed and saw how pretty the desert can be with absolutely no one in site but ourselves.  It was then that it dawned upon me how alone we were and how absolutely beautiful it was. LA is over populated and over stimulating that makes you start craving a getaway. The change in scenery was so nice and the simpleness of it all was lovely. There were stars outside which this Texas girl has desperately missed seeing (LA has bad smog). After a few funny games in the desert we headed back and hung out by the camp fire and cooked some hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwurst. There were plenty of "Are You Afraid of the Dark" stories and smores to go around for everyone. I came back to LA feeling refreshed, covered in suntan lotion, dirt and dying of water but it was worth it.

Chatting about Life.

we made it!

three of the best gf's in the world.

To Australia and Back!

Welp, I feel that I was a bit MIA the past month but as the title suggests, I actually made it to Australia.  So since I'm a little rusty on traveling internationally I didn't realize that I needed a visa let alone a passport valid 6 months after my departure date for Australia. So to my horror, I realized all of this a mere day before I was supposed to leave. Thank the lord, I decided to check my itinerary that Monday morning. So one pleading call to the LA passport agency for a same day appt, a mad rush home to get my old passport, and 4 photos later I was in the Federal Building crossing my fingers that I could get my passport in time. Miraculously, I did. Not only that, the day I flew out I applied for my visa.

With my nerves in tact, I boarded the night flight a few deep, how else was I going to sleep on a plane? When I landed in Sydney, Natalie was there to greet me which was so wonderful! It had been too long since I had seen my best friend, probably the longest we had ever gone without seeing each other. I wasn't jet lagged so I was ready to get out and see the town. She took me to the Sydney Opera house which has a few bars and restaurants next to it and had a few glasses and caught up. Afterwards, we went over to our friend SS's who lives there as well. She has an awesome upstairs patio overlooking Sydney. We didn't stay too long as we all had a flight the next day to Hamilton Island.

So once the four of us got to Hamilton Island, we ferried to Long Island which literally felt like we were on Lost. There were pop. 40 people and turkeys (weird, right?). It was a really pretty desolate place and the only thing to do was lay by the beach, swim, drink and eat.  So once we got there we decided to change our schedule and ferry it to Airlie Beach.

I would liken Airlie Beach to something like South Padre Island. I enjoyed myself more than I would ever at SPI as the beach is much prettier and well it's Australia. The vibe is very spring break and 'anything goes' seemed to be the theme. So like any twenty somethings post college we made our "Adult Spring Break"  a memorable one. There were only a handful of bars to go too and our favorite seemed to be Magnums which we went to everyday. On the first night we hit up the only Irish pub since it was St. Patty's.  So naturally it was bound to be a bit raucous. They kept passing out cider with alcohol guised as something to actually drink. It was awful. I would say it was on par with Vegemite, another sick tasting thing they enjoy down under. We friended a "Buck Party" (their name of a Bachelors) and hung out with them which made the evening pretty hilarious.

The next day we took a boat during a monsoon to Whitehaven  and Daydream and attempted to go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef but we couldn't due to the massive amounts of rain. So that was a big blow to the old bucket list. The experience itself albeit slightly horrible was to say the least "educational." These beaches were so pretty but it was hard to enjoy them when you are being pelted by rain. Oh well, there is always next time...ha

When we flew back to Sydney the sun was shining which was so nice as I was used to 'swimming' on land due to the lovely monsoon in Queensland. My first day back in Sydney I decided to do the Bondi to Coogee beach side walk as I had heard that was must. I first stopped at Bondi's Icebergs swimming hole/gym/spa which was insanely gorgeous. I had lunch there and took advantage of the spa facilities.  If only Cali could incorporate these type of ocean water swimming it would beach it much more enjoyable. Just sayin. The walk is a few miles stretch along the ocean and it goes from beach city to another beach city. All with their own "swimming hole." Pretty rad.

Icebergs. Magnifique. 

That evening I had drinks with a dear friend who I met while living in Spain in college. I hadn't seen Michael in 7 years so it really nice to catch up in person. It was as if time hadn't passed at all which was really amazing. I had planned to go see the Blue Mountains  but he convinced me that it was a waste of time so I decided to go to Manly Beach instead and surf. The quickest way to Manly was via Ferry which was a nice of pace since I took I had to take buses and trains to even get to Bondi the day before. Surfing in Manly was an absolute thrill. It was my first time attempting to surf..yes I realize that is pretty ridiculous since I live in Los Angeles. My last attempt I ended up standing up which was a really cool feeling. I am definitively going to try to take lessons this summer.

The following day, I went to Sydney's Taronga Zoo which completed my goal of seeing a Kangaroo. Minus the fact that I had eaten one in Arlie (I know, I know). Apparently, only poor people eat that meat, oops! I also visited the Royal Botanical Gardens which were really pretty. It is next to the Opera House which made the gardens very scenic. That night we went on a ferry on the Sydney Harbour as one of the girls that Natalie knew worked for a marketing esque company that promoted these type of tours. It was really fun since it was a bunch of us that went on this. Another thing I should add is how expensive it is to drink in Australia. Minus the fact that you can't ever order a double, they measure EVERY shot out in a drink and you only get one shot per drink. So there is a lot of pre drinking there. So after the ferry we hit up some nearby bar then made our way to Kings Cross. Now, that area is very West Hollywood/Castro District and was a riot to go out in. I have no clue as to when we got home but it was a really fun night.

My last Saturday in Australia, Natalie's friend Mark, wanted to take us out on his boat which was so nice of him. So Natalie, SS, Lucy, Jilly and I stocked up in alcohol pre boat and enjoyed the sunny Sydney day. We stopped at the fish market for lunch which was amazing. I had never really seen anything like it except maybe in SF. Everything was so fresh and delicious.

All in all, I loved my trip to Australia. Sydney is like LA/SF/NYC and has the best aspect of every city. There was so much to see and do that I felt as if I didn't get to do everything I had planned. I felt refreshed and recharged after this trip. It made me feel like my old self again that sometimes LA makes you lose. This was one of the best trips I have ever had in my life and had such an awakening feeling that I haven't lost yet. As I sit here slightly wishing I was at Coachella and Meg snoring to my right  (Hi Meg) I wouldn't give up  going to Oz for anything. Who knows, I may just go back sooner than I thought....

Inspiration

Explore. Explore. Explore.
I buy. You buy. 

Eventually.

I am going to do this. This year.

 

Wesley Bird has some fantastic illustrations that I have fallen in <3 with. These strike such a cord with me after coming back from vacation and eager for a change. Any change.

{Source} 

{viadailydoseofsunlight}

A ridiculously talented Sydney group. Album is out mid 2012.

Winter People - Gallons.  

Day Dreaming

Long Island, Whitsunday, Australia. HOTEL BOOKED. See you soon.