What a trip!

I’m back! After spending the weekend (and Monday and Tuesday) at home with my family in South Carolina, I’m back in the Northeast.

Friday night, Chris and I celebrated our one year anniversary by swapping beautiful cards (his made me cry) and little gifts then heading out to dinner at Amelia’s, where we had our first date a year ago. The food was good, the company was better, and it was an all around great night.

Saturday morning we were up before the sun, but the morning actually passed surprisingly easily. We had done a lot of prep the night before, so we were able to pretty much roll out of bed, shower, drink some coffee and hit the road without too much trouble.  There was one man who was a little upset about our departure.

Miles was pretty bummed that we had to leave him, but his favorite cat sitter stopped in to check on him a couple times, so that cheered him up a bit, and Chris and I were in the car on our way down south by 5:30 5:40 am.

Once we hit the road, it was pretty much smooth sailing. Chris is a great road trip buddy, and he shouldered more than the first half  (like probably 550 miles) of the trip with no complaints. He’s probably the only person in the world I’d ever attempt a road trip of this magnitude with. There were times when we were quiet and times we chatted each others ears off, and it never felt anything less than really fun. We honestly never felt bored or tired of each other. We just had a really good time. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Well, maybe not a heartbeat (13 hours is a lot of driving!), but I’d do it again!

We passed our 800 miles of car time with some Foo Fighters Pandora, lots of Stuff You Should Know Podcasts (those are addicting!) and many, many snacks.

We didn’t eat the shoes, but we did have water, juice boxes, bbq pop chips, kettle chips, popcorn, trail mix and pistachios. I know it seems like a lot, but 13 hours is a ridiculously long tim in the car, and you gotta do something! We didn’t eat all of it, but we almost did.

My mom had assured me that temperatures in South Carolina had not dipped below 80 in weeks, so I shivered my way to the car in shorts and a tee shirt and laughed at Chris in his jeans telling him he’d surely be way too hot in just a few hours. Little did I know that the weather pretty much everywhere north of South Carolina was very darn chilly. I got some odd stares at rest stops and gas stations all the way from Pennsylvania through North Carolina. They were wearing jeans in their 50 degree weather too. Turns out the joke was on me.

When we finally made it to my mom’s house, we were sort of bummed we had eaten all those snacks because she had prepared a Southern Feast for us! There was chicken, short ribs, mashed potatoes, biscuits with sausage gravy and broccoli in the most amazing sauce. It was delicious, and the perfect reward for our long day.

Mom wasn’t lying about the weather either. It was warm down there! We went for a walk after dinner and long after the sun had set, and it was still probably 75 degrees. We were in heaven.

The next day we went for a hike through beautiful trails and feasted some more.

That burger was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, and I don’t even like burgers. The coleslaw stole the show though. I love me some purple coleslaw.

Monday, we had some time to ourselves while my mom was at work and my little sister was at school, so Chris and I made the terrible decision to go for a run. In south. After 10 am. I’ve been down there so many times, you’d think I’d have learned my lesson, but I have not. Well, I sort of have. I knew it was a bad idea. I know that, in the south, if you’re not out the door by 10 at the latest, you should probably just wait until the sun sets, but I really wanted to go. I think it’s my new shoes.

I am obsessed with them, and they make me want to run all the time.

This time was a bad idea though. It was about 11 when we set out to do 3-5 miles, but it was already 85 degrees with brilliant sunshine. We finished a 5k before I folded like a house of cards. Apparently, I am just not cut out for that kind of heat. I felt like I was dying. My legs felt like lead, and I was gasping for breath. Not a good look. We both decided it was probably smarter to call it a day and head to Chik Fil A. Best move ever. Not the healthiest post run meal, but we don’t have any of those up here, and I wasn’t leaving the south without getting my fix. I needed that and sweet tea. Lots and lots of sweet tea.

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing, enjoying our mini vacation and time with family.

We were also able to accomplish the main mission of our trip which was to pass my car off to my mom.

Good bye Yaris. You were an awesome car, and I loved you dearly, but there’s just not room for two cars in Jersey City. We’ll miss you.

Yesterday felt more like a nursery rhyme than a day of travel as we took planes, trains and automobiles to get home. After dropping my sister off at middle school, my mom drove us the 3 hours to the Charlotte Airport (they’re really down there in South Carolina) where we killed time in the airport for a bit.

I picked up The Help, and while I didn’t like it at first, I quickly got into it and devoured about 100 pages. I know I’m really late on the uptake here.

We boarded our plane and took our 2 hour flight home to JFK. From there, we took the AirTrain to the A Train to the PATH train (I’m not kidding) and made it home within 2 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see our building in my life. It was great coming home and seeing Miles finally even though he gave us the cold shoulder for a while at first. Cats are weird like that. It’s too quiet here though. I’m glad to be home, but I miss my family. I wish we were all closer, but I’m so thankful for the time we get to spend together. I’m already counting down until the next time we’re all in one place again.

I’m quite proud to say that we both totally unpacked in like half an hour then decided it was far too nice out and we had been sitting for far too long to stay inside, so we took it outside for a 4.75 mile run. The weather was lovely, but I was dragging again. My legs just felt so tired. I’m really hoping for a good run this week. I’m very much a creature of habit, so I suspect, once I resume my routine, it shouldn’t be a problem.

We won’t really be running too much this week as this Sunday is the Five Boro Bike Tour, so we’ll be resting our legs for those 42 miles, plus I’ve got a date with my bike for a little tune up this weekend. I seriously love my bike, and it hasn’t gotten much attention with us training for the half marathon, so I’m looking forward to giving it some TLC, once Chris shows me how, that is.

It was an awesome weekend and just the break I needed after the craziness of the last few weeks, but now it’s back to real life, so I guess I’ll plan some meals and workouts.

Eats:

• Wednesday- Citrus marinated salmon with roasted broccoli
• Thursday- Chicken and bell pepper fajitas with rice and beans
• Friday- Honey mustard pretzel crusted chicken tenders with steamed green beans
• Saturday- Pasta primavera (carbing up!)
• Sunday- the boys are threatening a post bike tour Burger King run, but I’ll probably just order takeout and collapse.

Sweats

• Wednesday- rest day
• Thursday- run 2 or 3 miles
• Friday- run 2 or 3 miles
• Saturday- rest day or short bike ride
• Sunday- 5 Boro Bike Tour! 42 miles

I hope your Monday Wednesday is awesome!