Missed It By _______ Much!

In search of fish tacos yesterday, I missed them by ____ much. they were just next door to the Whale City Bakery, Bar & Grill. I discounted the dive next door to the Bar & Grill. It's ok as the food at Whale City was good, the Corona Lights were cold and the view of the Pacific Ocean was spectacular.

The day was spent winding our way to San Francisco by way of Route 1. Lots of beach stops. Lots of fog banks. Lots of fun.

Driving through San Francisco was interesting. We went over the Golden Gate Bridge twice. Once, to get to Muir Woods and it was clear and sunny. Going back it was foggy. It was amazing to see people on July 27 wearing coats. I couldn't believe it was that cool. In fact, watching the Weather Channel last night it looked like San Francisco was the coolest spot in the nation, except for maybe Alaska.

Muir Woods was an amazing experience. I don't know if I was more fascinated with the size of the giant redwoods or how clean the air was. It definitely had it's own unique scent. The winding drive up the mountain almost had Kayla blowing dumplings in the back seat.

I decided for this morning's run I'd play it by ear and not go back to the track. My gut said to do a neighborhood run easy for an hour. The easy neighborhood run turned into a tough hill workout as I climbed to 1200 feet at the top of 16448 Eugenia Way. I started at 500 feet so a net gain of 700 feet of running uphill made for a great workout. So although I missed the fish tacos, I found just the right running trail for the day. Off to San Francisco for more exploring.

Los Gatos

This was the first time in as long as I can remember that I didn't get sick after getting off the plane. Maybe it was the extra water I drank, the extra helping of Emergen-C powders. Who knows. No lie. As soon as I turned on the radio in the rental SUV Jeep they were playing Hotel California by the Eagles. Maybe it was a sign of things to come and that I won't be able to leave. Want to hear something even more strange? The next song played was the theme song from Titanic, which is what Kayla is skating to in two days.

I hadn't found a trail for my running workouts. Everything looked too urban or too far to get to by foot so I left that part of the trip planning alone until I got to Los Gatos. Los Gatos is a small community of 24,000 outside of San Jose. Once I got to the lodge the workouts were already taken care of. Next to the lodge was the high school track and enormous baseball field next to the track.

I got in some speedwork this morning and finished up on the track as the local bootcampers made their way onto the field. I then went over to the baseball field and did some sprints on the cool grass barefoot. My feet were numb, as it was that cold on the ground. The temperature was in the low 60s and the humidity was around 81%.  

When I first got to the track, there was heavy fog in the hills nearby. It reminded me of Hawaii. All that was missing was the rich smells of Kauai.

In terms of wine tasting, I tried the Bogle chardonay while at Opa's Greek restaurant and it was good. Later I bought a bottle of Castoro Cellars 2006, Pinot Noir from Whole Foods Market and it was sensational.