So Cal and Surf City Half Marathon Recap

So my recap will be more of the weekend, with a little bit of the race.

The weather couldn't have been perfect.  We got to the hotel on Friday, and after a brief encounter at the Goodyear Store for a new tire and dinner at Red Robin, we headed back to the hotel, the Desert Palms Inn. 

 

I have wanted to stay at fthis hotel or years.  It backs up against Disney's California Adventure and you can overlook the Parks with a perfect view of the fireworks.  In fact we took the kids to the 5th floor 2 out of the 3 nights to watch them.  This was a compact suite with bunkbeds  and a pullout sofa bed in one room for Samone  and the kids and a king size bed for Beth and I.  The beds were actually comfortable too.  I think this is the first time in a long time that we actually got a good night of sleep before a race. They also have a full hot breakfast that comes with the room.  This consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, you make wafells, potatoes, and other like breakfast foods.  This property is definately a value, especially when you take into consideration what you save in the cost of breakfast for six people in the mornings.

For diners, we at at Red Robin (as mentioned above), Mamma Cozza's (featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives),  and Casa Gamino (our favorite mexican food when we are in Anahiem.)  More detail on the last two restaurants can be found on my food blog: Gastro Experiements.

One of the reasons we like the Surf City Marathon is that it is in Huntington Beach.  I abolutely love this beach and it brings back so many memories from when I was a kid.  I am so happy that when my kids think of a beach, this is the one that they think of and that when we say that we are heading to the Southland, visiting the  beach is a must.

For Emma and Sophie, going to the beach this time meant body surfing.  So with a stop at Walmart, we picked up boards for them.  Mind you that the high was barely 70-degrees and the water numbed my feet; but they had so much fun.  They also got their kites out, built sand castles, and had a wonderful time.

At night, besides watching the fireworks, the kids also swam in the hotel's pool.  About 30 feet in length, Sophie would swim from end to end 20 to 30 times.  For Emma, it was about jumping in and swimming.  Even Myles got to jump in with the help of his sisters.

Not to completely leave Disney out of the trip, we did go to Downtown Disney.  There are so many new stores.  The Myles and Sophie each got a flashlight.  That is Sophie got an R2D2 flashlight including all of the screams, the beeps, and wistles that the little droid makes.  For Myles it was all about a Minnie Mouse flashlight with a twirling lit up red skirt.  It was pretty funny watching the looks as we walked back into the hotel.

The half marathon and the kids race was on Saturday.  I guess I can say I did pretty good, maintaining a 8:31 minute mile for a finish time of 1 hour 51 minutes.  This is compared to the last (and first half marathon I had ever done) at 2 hours 23 minutes.  Beth had a great time.  This was a fun race for her and she enjoyed every minute of it.  She completed the California Dreaming series, got her jacket as well as her medal.  It is amazing to me what we have been able to accomplish in two and a half short years.  We only limit ourselves.

The kids had a great time in their races also. Emma and Sophie led the pack while Myles took on the below age 7 group.

Monday we headed back to the Bay Area.  We had such an enjoyable time.  Thank you Samone for sharing this trip with us.