Workout buddy

Wondering why I miss my dad so? It wasn't just family vacations and occasional get-togethers. Dad was my buddy, smiling all the way (well, most of the way!) as he allowed me to drag him around the neighborhood and around the Northwest on adventures. 

He humored me my whole life, making me feel so loved and special.

Post-workout selfie: 

During-workout selfie:

Early-morning runs:

Cheering us on at the Hippie Chick women's race:

Sunday Parkways:

I'm kinda shocked at all the times he went with me on these morning runs.

Hiking for my birthday:

He loved exploring:

Post-hike fish tacos:

Post-race pizza:

Mom joined us:

Balloon Fest run:

Rainy run:

He also didn't mind biking alongside me during my marathon-training long runs:

Oh, boy. He was a good man.

A Bay Area tour, plus some

For Dad's birthday a few years ago, Eryn and I took a trip to the Bay Area to see baseball and Dad's old stomping grounds. He loved showing us his special spots from his childhood - including his grandparents' house in Berkely:

Go Giants!

Dad's childhood home in Alamo:

He knocked on the door, and the people let us inside. It was much the same as 50 years ago.

San Ramon Valley High School:

Birthday boy!

Boston Strong support run with the family:

Walking for Dad

I'm walking May 20 in NAMIWalks in honor of my dad, who died in February after suffering a lifetime of serious mental illness.

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

Please consider joining me on my walk and/or contributing to my fund-raising campaign.

Click HERE for more information :)

Some clear themes

Looking through photos of Dad, there are some clear themes: food, celebrating, family, travel, hiking, baseball.

Birthday/Easter cupcakes at Ma and Pa's:

Birthday dinner at Benihana:

Celebrating Lindsey's graduation:

Biking to Round Table Pizza:

Firefighter pancakes!

Spaghetti Factory:

Round Table after Eryn's first half marathon:

Mo's:

Garage saling made him happy, even though he rarely bought a thing. We stopped at this Seaside sale while on a beach trip:

The weekend also included a hike:

And some ice cream:

Native Foods Cafe - not his favorite :)

Dad drove me to DMV after my license expired. He thought that was the funniest thing ever!

On the train to Mariners vs Giants:

He never minded stopping for a selfie and even hammed it up for me.

Sleepy Dad:

💓💔💓💔