Our last week of gasoline for a while

I covered a lot of ground this week while I'm still allowing myself the luxury of using gas. Stan and I spent significant time in San Diego, Redondo Beach and Malibu. We had a lot of commitments, but continued the training mission with a swim in Mission Bay (I kayaked), a run up and down some big sand formation that Arielle claims olympians train on and as much walking and hiking as time would allow. He even wore his Molly Spodick booties for the first time.

The wedding was awesome. EA and Shelley were so much fun and amazing hosts. I wish them the best of luck, both in the long term and the short term as they battle Fay on their way to Aruba tonight. On behalf of the U of A boys, I wish to thank Paco the bartender for pouring us drinks without ice since shots were off limits.

Some of the highlights this week:

A chili cookoff that I happened upon at The Shack in Playa Del Rey where I stopped in before and after EA's ceremony. That was really lucky since there are very few people that are as big a fan of chili as me. I can't see it on a menu and order not order it.

A great meal at The Stone Brewery outside San Diego where they have created a beautiful winery type scene with gardens and fountains in an outdoor restaurant. Their beer is extremely tasty and it really agrees with my practice of drinking and eating local items in order to reduce the resources it takes to get that beer or meal to your table. Why drink a beer from Begium that has to ride on a cargo ship that uses 250,000 gallons of gas and then a tractor trailer before it gets to you? The staff was awesome and even sent us over some free appetizers since it was a busy weekend and the table took a little longer that they said it would.

With every goodbye, I realize how long it might be before I see someone that I actually know and it's surreal. I can't remember the last time I went even a few days without seeing a friend, or two, or ten. That being said, one of the beautiful parts of this adventure is the fact that I'll be meeting amazing people from around the country and maybe even make some lifelong friendships.

Thanks to Kronks, Janette and Corrina for their hospitality down in San Diego, Rubes for the room (Sorry I didn't have cash, you'll get it next time I'm at the Madison Sq dog park), Chris for getting me out of Redondo Beach after brunch and Arielle for taking care of Stanley, putting me up in Malibu and helping me with my last minute preparations. She also might be my biggest cheerleader, sending out 200 e-mails to friends and family about the big journey.