Sisters run 20 miles!!!

With the Portland Marathon just THREE weeks away, it's peak mileage time - and that means 20 miles!!!

All week, Eryn and I watched the ever-changing weather report for the driest weekend day. Saturday morning looked best, so we met just before 6:30 a.m. and hit the road under dry but cloudy skies. It was already in the 60s and a bit muggy.

We were less than 2 miles in when we first felt some sprinkles. They came and went for a bit... and then the hoses turned on. It showered off and on for the next 4+ hours as we made our way through Tigard, King City and Tualatin. 

Eryn did awesome, working through some IT band pain and the mental and physical exhaustion of running TWENTY MILES!!!! 

A couple miles from home, we spotted Mom out on her walk. It wasn't raining at the time, and she commented about how it wasn't too wet out. UM, EXCUSE US... we were SOAKED! Shove it, MOM! :) :) :)

A little bit later, we rounded the corner by Eryn's house and Mom and Dad were standing in the rain waiting for us to finish! THEY ARE THE BEST!!!

Mom snapped a few pics as we finished off 20 miles!

Why am I smiling?? I don't know... delirium, I suppose.

We jumped (there was no jumping... more like slow, painful waddling) got into Eryn's kiddie pool for to "ice" our tired, crampy muscles. And ate doughnuts. The best doughnuts ever.

TAPER TIME :) :)

No. 36

David Baldacci's Stone Cold, marks my 36th book of the year, my third Camel Club title and my second audio book ever!

I'm really enjoying this series, and I'm also enjoying being able to "read" while driving, walking at lunch and doing chores around the house. I will never give up my real books, but this is a nice alternative for some circumstances :)

Oh, and it's a good book! I already have the next one in my queue!

Alaska cruisin' 2016: Victoria

After motoring up the Inside Passage and visiting three Alaskan towns, our ship turned south and cruised to Victoria, British Columbia for one last stop. (Skagway, Juneau, Endicott Arm, Ketchikan, setting sail)

A couple ships were already docked when we arrived:

The stop was only a few hours in the evening, so we strapped on our packs and headed out on foot:

We first followed the shoreline through Holland Point Park and stumbled upon what we think was some kind of funeral on the beach!

Then we went up the hill through Beacon Hill Park, which had a little bit of everything - a beautiful spot!

A petting zoo with several of these guys:

Then to the wharf. The Empress in the setting sun:

An otter!

We really wanted to see the legislature building all lit up, so we explored the shore some more and then returned to see the lights.

Nice!

We didn't have a lot of time to return to the ship before being left in Canada, so we booked it back to the dock. But we ended up with some time left, so we went to the end of The Breakwater to this little lighthouse:

Looking back at the ships:

We made it back on board after a full evening of about 7.5 miles of exploring.

The next morning, we were back in Seattle, with this amazing view of Rainier (please pardon my dirty camera lens!):

One last selfie before leaving our floating home: 

Eryn was lost for a bit after a family miscommunication, but we all finally made it off the ship! 

What an amazing trip to a beautiful land! Thanks, Dad and Mom, for taking us with you on this journey!!! :)

Alaska cruisin' 2016: Skagway

The day after visiting the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, the ship docked in Skagway.

Brad did a wonderful job of researching ahead of time all our stops so we had great options for exploring!

It was very warm in Skagway as we first ran up the big ridge behind the docks and then circled Lower Dewey Lake:

It was beautiful and felt like home!

I have no idea what's happening here:

We were alone almost the entire trip except, of course, when we reached our destination waterfall. Those nice runners took our picture:

On the way back to town, this ptarmigan was sitting right next to the trail, guarding her babies. Wildlife!!

The big tourist thing in Skagway is the train to White Pass. Most of the rest of the family did that outing while we explored on foot:

Next, we ran through town to Yakutania Point. Being so close to the ships, it was not quite the solitude we'd enjoyed at Dewey :)

Helicopters were lifting off constantly, offering cruisers aerial views of the glaciers and gold-rush area:

Our Ruby Princess is on the right:

Love this one!

After about 11 miles on foot, we returned to "downtown" and explored the shops and parks displays. It was a wonderful day in a beautiful spot!

Some of the view from our cabin as we cruised to our next stop:

Talk about a room with a view!

Next up: Victoria :)