We Have White Stuff Too…
The only difference is, ours is white sand and comes complete with +85F, sunshine, and blue skies. We hear Vancouver, and the rest of North America, is under the blast of old man winter in a big way! -20C with the wind chill in Lotus Land?!! That is crazy talk. Yet we keep hearing from friends that this is the truth of it. I guess it will really be an honest to goodness, old fashioned Canadian Christmas this year for our families and friends to the north of us.
We are sweating out a 5th of 6 double marathon days in a row here on a big push towards our very first 3 ½ days completely off – no running, no events, no nothing! – since leaving Vancouver over 7 ½ months ago. Needless to say, we’re pretty pumped these days will be spent in Pensacola at the Hampton Inn & Suites, made possible by our rock star team member, Jess Happl.
Earlier this week saw us welcome Steph’s Mom and Dad to life on the R41P highway. Mish and Steve joined us on our runs, experienced one of my “1 pot cooking wonders”, Simon’s expert lunch making, and Steph’s brilliant organizing first hand. They even experienced our biggest “WOW factor”… the big stench from Steph and I after a double marathon day! This prompted them to offer us a beautiful room for two nights to spread out, take a shower, do some laundry, and eat out! It was quite apropos that they literally ran us into Florida, our second or four corners, and were with us as we turned westward. They are two incredible people and apart from being Steph’s Mom and Dad, are valued members of our R41P team. We couldn’t have asked for better timing for them to visit.
Florida thus far has seen way better roads surfaces, friendly drivers, and incredible hospitality. We were lucky to be welcomed in a couple of nights ago to a “Nature-Based Lodge” called The Inn at Wildwood. Manger, Tammy opened their doors to us for an incredible night of lodging and replenishing calories at their eco friendly inn. Tammy, Jeff and company are a shining example of how lodges and hotels should be – energy efficient lighting, water reducing faucets, full stream recycling, etc. They are leading the way and doing it with that southern charm that makes this part of America, the place to be (especially when it’s freezing everywhere else J). For any eco-tourist, The Inn at Wildwood is the place to go!
We are totally pumped to now be running westward. The Northeast and Carolina’s were the toughest running we’ve had to date, as the roadways and loads of people just aren’t used to seeing (let alone sharing) their roadside with a couple of runners. Don’t get me wrong, we made lifetime memories here along the east coast. The views, the history, and the incredible people made our time here, special. It’s just that after such tough terrain and circumstances, we’re ready to point our shoes westward.
Even with warmer climbs and better running terrain this journey continues to inspire, challenge and change us on a daily basis, like any endeavor should do.
“ho ho ho” to our favorite city by the sea. And everyone reading this from one of the incredible places we’ve been fortunate to meet you in, be well and we’ll write to ya’ll a Merry Christmas blog when we’re finally resting our feet!
You made it to Sunny Florida! Woo! Hoo! Watch out for alligators! I am not kidding! Cheers, Shaunah
Comment by Shaunah — Sunday, December 28, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Ahh the south, When the weather is perfect for winter. Hope you guys have fun.
Comment by Jenn — Sunday, December 28, 2008 @ 7:09 pm