a vacation and a throughly soaked bum

Vacations are always so refreshing! Last year for spring break Emily, Joe and I went to NYC, the year before that I visited Joe in Portland and JP in Denver. This year took me from a blizzarding Denver back to a snow-less Minnesota! I love to travel, love getting to a different place so quickly and, once there, feeling as though I've barely left. This trip was a special treat for me because I hadn't thought I would be able to get home until after my trip, probably next Christmas. That would have been my longest time away from my Minnesota friends and family, and seemed so far away! Of course once I arrived I got right down to business and ate thai food four times almost back to back. In Duluth I talked at my parent's church and fundraised $200 for the trip! My mom tried her hand at homemade GF pasta and it turned out splendidly! I even heard that the leftovers were great, which is a true feat for that sort of pasta as it usually gets rubbery and inedible after a short amount of time. We relaxed at the beach and traipsed around Canal Park, played pool and stopped at Annie's favorite brewery for wild rice burgers that are to die for. Everything went by so quickly, but it was such a great distraction from real life work and school.

JP and the papa hiked at Tischer Creek on one of the gorgeous, sunshine-filled Duluth days and JP documented for me while I was busy shopping with my mom.

Looking for agates with Nora.

Snowy, weirdly blizzardy Denver kept me from my planned return flight and so I was treated to a bonus vacation day. Annie, my gracious host and even more gracious chauffeur this trip, and I got to spend the day together, getting out for a bike ride and run around Lake Nokomis and a day time tromp for little Abby. It was a perfect little extension of spring break, so much so that I almost didn't even mind the prospect of returning to work the next morning...almost.

Once back I had to buckle back down to training, and even though there was a slight drizzle Friday afternoon I figured I should brave the weather as most likely the trip this summer will not deliver two and a half solid months of sunshine. Geared up and ready for a 20 miler I headed out as the rain started to come down a little faster and thicker. It's nice biking in the rain most times, very solitary and meditative I think. For some reason, probably due in some part to my lack of training while vacationing, I was under the impression that I was biking against the wind and pushed forward to the 10 mile turning point, at which juncture I quickly realized that I had in fact been biking with the wind and was now in for a challenging back track. This would have been harder regardless of the rain, but as soon as I made my aboutface it started to hail. It started to hail in the direct path and angle of my face and eyes if I dared to lift either of these in an attempt to see the path in front of me. I had dressed for rainy, drizzly weather, not haily, wind whipping weather, and it turns out there is a pretty big difference although taking mental stock of my lycra-based choices I probably wouldn't have had too many other options anyway. I thought maybe I should stop under a bridge and wait it out, but as soon as I did this I realized that the sole reason I wasn't standing in the puddles of my own shoes was precisely because I was not standing and as soon as I changed positions I was sloshingly rewarded with two little miniature lakes inside of my shoes and socks. Showing no sign of ceasing I tried to keep going, but gave up when I realized that my hand were turning a purple-y shade of blue. Having no real idea of where I was in relation to things I would like to be near to, I picked up my bike and headed towards the road. I was in a warehouse district and spotted a mechanics warehouse with an open door into which I gratefully slipped. JP later told me I looked like a popsicle (probably in both color and demeanor) and so I shouldn't have been surprised when the men inside gave me such alarmed looks asking if I needed any help. They were more then willing to let me stand dripping all over the floor trying to warm up while waiting for JP to come rescue me. Clad head to toe in spandex, some portions of which are padded in a certain area which when wet give the distinct impression that the wearer is hiding a lumpy, very full diaper beneath her clothes was not the most pleasant thirty minutes I have ever spent. After getting home and peeling off all of my clingy, soggy, diaper-like garments I've never had more appreciation for my always absurdly overly heated apartment. Fortunately, for me and my remaining shreds of dignity, I have no photos to post of the hail face story so you can just go ahead and imagine drowned-rat-popsicle Elise in your head.