Road Trip!

Needing a winter getaway, I invited myself to join my brother on a road trip to Florida to run a race.  Of course, Elmo had to come along to cheer!

We stopped in Gainesville to look for Tom Petty('s tree), but didn't find either

Instead we carbo loaded the night before the race...yes, that's mostly butter with a little bit of bread underneath.  It was deeeelicious!

Our hotel in Clearwater Beach implied that we were going to be there longer than 24 hours...we weren't

For photos from the race...check out this blog post:  http://kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2015/01/florida-running.html

Everywhere we went in FL, there were amazing birds...here near the race finish

Thought this construction screen was funny...they were larger than life size, but you still did a double take

Clearwater Beach has painted dolphins all around town

...and evidently the road to hell is the evacuation route ;-)

And a road trip is not complete without a 50 mile detour to see something cool

This is the cable-stayed Sunshine Skyway Bridge outside St. Petersburg

We checked out the fort at Ft. Desoto Park while we were there.  Obligatory Eeyore photo:

And cool black and white photo...

Sunsets in Florida were fabulous...

...as were the beaches

Driving over the bridge

Drove through Jacksonville on the way home...it always surprises me how big it is...but it is the 13th largest city by population in the US, and the largest city by area in the contiguous US

And then a detour to Beaufort, SC...which I just love and would retire there.  So pleased to see it hasn't changed one bit since the last time I was there over 10 years ago!

Florida Running

To cross his Florida race off the list, my brother decided to run the ultra at the Clearwater Running Festival.  Saying what the heck, I decided to run the 5 mile.

It was an early start...still dark out

A decent sized race, but not too big...here's the crowd at the start

The sun was just starting to come up as we started the race

I can take pictures behind me, and still get my head in the photo too!

My race basically ran across this bridge and back...it was a long bridge

I was able to run with my brother for the first 2.5 miles since all the races started together...but I think he was slumming it with me running only 8:30 min/mile pace (I was busting my butt, and he was jogging at his 31 mile race pace)

Thank goodness I got to turn around after 2.5 miles. He had 28.5 more to go!

The view of the sunrise on the way back was beautiful...

We ran down this curly-cue pedestrian ramp, which after 4.5 miles, made you a little dizzy

Yay - the finish line!

Then it was off to catch my brother...first stop was around Mile 15

Elmo waiting for him to approach around Mile 21

My new friend :-)

Elmo made it to the podium when my brother accepted his award for 3rd in his age group

Amazing...she's completed FOUR marathons in every state!

Well deserved post-race ice cream cone

My metal and bib

Happy 2015!

Happy New Year!  Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous new year!

It's that time of year to make your resolutions that you don't usually keep.  I don't remember many of mine, but here are a few that were lifestyle changes I've stuck to:

• Vowed to become vegetarian in 1998 and have been ever since.
• Three years ago I decided to go vegan at home and I've done a decent job at that.
• Last year I decided to give up soda.  I maybe had only a dozen or so the whole year, and some of those were homemade local sodas while on vacation or from the farmers market (so they don't count, right?).  I hope this one becomes a lifestyle change as well.

So what is my resolution this year?  I want to get out hiking and kayaking more.  What you say...I already do both of those things?  Yeah, but by no means to the extent I used to.

I did make an effort last year to kayak more, and went 4 or 5 times.  That's a good start.  And yes the shelter dogs and the iPAW program have gotten me out hiking a lot more this year than in years past.  It's been mostly in Rock Creek Park though.  A few pics of those adventures:

So if you're still reading this, and you like to hike and kayak too, let me know!

State Capitols I Have Visited

It is about time I tried to figure out which State Capitols I have left to visit (so I can plan my next vacation...haha) or which ones I need to revisit so I can go inside this time.  I surprised even myself with calculating that I only have ELEVEN left!  Although I've actually driven through some of those capital cities, it was before I was making an effort to visit the capitol, so I don't even remember if I saw the capitol building or not.

Here is my compilation below.  I will periodically update this post as I visit more.  I have included links if I've blogged about visits (even if they weren't necessarily my first visit) or posted them on Photobucket.  For the missing ones, I will try to dig up printed photos and scan them.  I know, old school.

Total visited:  39 (as of the end of 2014)
Total need to revisit (to go inside):  13  (AL, CA, DE, FL, KS, KY, ME, MS, NH, OK, RI, SC, VT)
Total left to visit:  11  (ID, LA, MI, MT, NE, NV, ND, OR, TX, UT, WA)

1) Montgomery, AL
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-holidays.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - same road trip as FL - more photos here

2) Juneau, AK
http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/kiri-in-dc/library/Alaska%202014/Juneau
My last state - 2014 - blog post here (although no photos)

3) Phoenix, AZ
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/azmx-trip-post-3-phoenix.html
All the years I lived there, I never went in the capitol, until one of my return visits

4) Little Rock, AR
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/rose-bowl-trip-conti.html
Rose Bowl trip - same road trip as MO

5) Sacramento, CA
Need to RETURN to go inside - visited in 2006

6) Denver, CO
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-then-on-todenver.html
First visit when I went inside - had been to Denver before

7) Hartford, CT
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/saturday-in-park.html
ME road trip with Grandma and Kid A - same road trip as NH and VT - more photos here

8) Dover, DE
Need to RETURN to go inside - visited in the late 1990s

9) Tallahassee, FL
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-holidays.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - same road trip as AL - more photos here

10) Atlanta, GA
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-timeatlanta.html
First visit when I went inside - had been to Atlanta before

11) Honolulu, HI
http://kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2014/03/hi-day-7-honolulu-capitol.html
Friends' wedding trip to Maui - spent a few days in Honolulu on the way home

12) Boise, ID**
Need to visit

13) Springfield, IL
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/06/wy-road-trip-day-2.html
WY trip - same road trip as SD and WI

14) Indianapolis, IN
Road trip from MD to AZ in 2005 - same road trip as OK

15) Des Moines, IA
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2012/06/49th-state-and-26-miles.html
Grandma's marathon trip - same road trip as MN

16) Topeka, KS
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/06/wy-road-trip-day-3.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - had been before (at least as early as 2005)

17) Frankfort, KY
Need to RETURN to go inside - road trip to MD from AZ in 2005

18) Baton Rouge, LA**
Need to visit

19) Augusta, ME
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/12/missing-tripsevents-of-2009.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - same road trip as NY

20) Annapolis, MD
First time inside I think was when my cross country team won the State Championship my Junior year of HS

21) Boston, MA
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/boston.html
First visit when I went inside - had been to Boston before

22) Lansing, MI**
Need to visit

23) St. Paul, MN
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2012/06/49th-state-and-26-miles.html
Grandma's marathon trip - same road trip as IA

24) Jackson, MS
Need to RETURN to go inside - road trip moving back home from AZ in December 2007

25) Jefferson City, MO
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/wide-awake-at-3am-doh-knew-i-shouldnt.html
Rose Bowl trip - same as road trip AR

26) Helena, MT**
Need to visit

27) Lincoln, NE**
Need to visit - have driven through Lincoln

28) Carson City, NV**
Need to visit

29) Concord, NH
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/one-cheesecake-brownie.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - same road trip as CT and VT - more photos here

30) Trenton, NJ
http://kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/08/new-jersey-state-capitol.html
Road trip with Mom

31) Santa Fe, NM
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2010/03/part-7-nm-capitol.html
First visit when I went inside - had been to Santa Fe before

32) Albany, NY

http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2009/12/missing-tripsevents-of-2009.html
Same road trip as ME

33) Raleigh, NC
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2011/11/tofurkey-day-in-raleigh.html
Had been to Raleigh before (a lot as a kid) - this was my most recent visit

34) Bismarck, ND**
Need to visit

35) Columbus, OH
http://kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/05/columbus.html
First visit when I went inside - had been to Columbus before (road trip from MD to AZ in 2005)

36) Oklahoma City, OK
Need to RETURN to go inside - road trip to MD from AZ in 2005 - same trip as IN

37) Salem, OR**
Need to visit

38) Harrisburg, PA
Have been to Harrisburg many times - remember going inside capitol in college

39) Providence, RI
Need to RETURN to go inside - visited in 2007 on road trip to visit U of RI

40) Columbia, SC
Need to RETURN to go inside - visited in 2001

41) Pierre, SD
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/06/wy-road-trip-day-12.html
WY trip - same road trip as IL and WI

42) Nashville, TN
Road trip in TN (conference) and NC (family wedding) in 2004

43) Austin, TX**
Need to visit

44) Salt Lake City, UT**
Need to visit - have been to SLC before

45) Montpelier, VT
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/one-cheesecake-brownie.html
Need to RETURN to go inside - same road trip as CT and NH - more photos here

46) Richmond, VA
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/02/richmond-road-trip.html
Had been to Richmond before - this was my most recent visit

47) Olympia, WA**
Need to visit

48) Charleston, WV
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/3-generation-roadtrip-day-4.html
Had been to Charleston before - this was a more recent visit when I went inside - another blog post is here

49) Madison, WI
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2013/06/wy-road-trip-day-13.html
WY trip - same road trip as IL and SD

50) Cheyenne, WY
http://www.kkwatergirl.blogspot.com/2014/12/cheyenne.html
First visited in 2005 - but this blog post was the first time I went inside the capitol - another blog post is here

Lazy Rainy Saturday

Spent the afternoon indoors playing with my kitties...

Thank you to my former neighbors who gave us the laser pointer :-)

And for those of you who didn't believe me that Dilly has a teddy bear she carries around...check out this video:

And here's a photo w/Dilly carrying teddy bear around:

Aww, it's her security teddy bear that she's had since she was rescued as a little kitten on the side of the road.  The lady who found Dilly gave her this bear and then passed it along to me when I took Dilly in.