A couple of weeks ago, we got back from a week long trip to San Diego and L.A. We went to San Diego as part of a conference where Kristen was presenting and networking and L.A. to visit my brother James, his wife Stephanie and their daughter Melanie. We had a fantastic time and Davis was a great traveler. It was great to escape from Boston for a while, see our family and give Davis some new experiences.
We left Boston late in the afternoon on Saturday, arriving very late in San Diego with a connection in Chicago. Davis loved the airport and he spent all his time on the ground watching plans and trucks. His favorite part of flying seemed to be landing. When we landed in Chicago he kept saying "More? More?". Even after a full day of traveling he was sad to get off the plane in San Diego and kept requesting "More plane?". We were amazed at how easy it was to fly with him across country and he took to staying in a hotel room like a champ.
We had one day together to enjoy before the conference started and we spent it at Sea World. There is no doubt in our minds that Davis' favorite activity at Sea World was the Orca whales. We attempted to take him to the Sea Lion/Otter show, but when we sat down and watched for a bit he looked at us like "What? This is really lame". He was especially confused when people clapped after a sea lion did something, which to Davis just didn't seem to warrant clapping. We left not too long into the show. In stark contrast to this, Davis clapped after everything the whales did during the "Shamu show". If the whales left the main tank for the human-only portions of the show, Davis would sign and ask for "More whales?? More whales??". Increasing in pitch the longer the whales weren't seen. The entire time, he was standing on Kristen's lap jumping up and down. We probably haven't seen him so excited before.
Exploring the tide pool at Sea World.
After Sea World, we went out with Mom for a quick dinner, then went to Old San Diego to run around the park before bed. Part of my strategy for the trip was to tire Davis out as much as possible during the day. For the most part it seemed to work as he slept in the stroller and went right to bed at night.
Kristen's conference took up almost all the time between Sunday night and Wednesday afternoon so Davis and I spent a lot of time exploring the sites of San Diego. Monday we went to the San Diego Zoo, Tuesday the Wild Animal Safari Park, and Wednesday the USS Midway and Maritime museum before meeting up with mom again.
After a great breakfast at the Village of La Jolla on Monday, we ventured to the zoo. It was enormous and a lot of fun. Every now and then Davis would notice there were animals, but he really just enjoyed running around and exploring. Since the zoo was so big so we started with a bus ride around most of the park. After that we walked, explored, walked and explored and walked some more. His favorite part of the zoo was the fake caves and sea ice by the Polar Bears. He spent about 45 minutes in the sea ice eating his apple and being silly with the other toddlers and kids who cycled through the exhibit. Some of the other highlights of the zoo: seeing a cheetah out for her walk, the female lion who reared up and tried to paw a toddler through the class, watching the Monkeys play above a fish tank, picking flowers and throwing them in the water and the black Jaguar.
Playing in the Sea Ice
More sea-ice time
Lions!
The light by the pandas was way more interesting than the pandas
He had a very interesting encounter with a bird who seemed to be guarding something.
My little ham
We spent a lot of time picking up flowers and throwing them in the water.
After the zoo, Davis and I went back to Old San Diego, this time in the sunshine, to have dinner and run around before heading back to the hotel. Davis enjoyed the cannon, dropping rocks through a hole in a bench, climbing a tree with another toddler and hearing the trains at the nearby depot.
Dropping rocks through a hole in the bench
Climbing trees
Climbing on the canon
Tuesday, Davis and I went to the Wild Animal Park which is run by the same organization as the zoo. They have a big park where lots of different types of animals are able to mix together. We spent the whole day are the park and walked at least 6 miles by the end of the day. We saw another cheetah out for its walk (Davis was asleep when we saw the third cheetah out for its walk) and saw a lot of animals with a lot of space. The park was about 40 minutes outside of San Diego and they had a lot more room for the animals than traditional zoos. Some of the highlights: The cheetahs out for their walks, being out in the glorious sunshine, the elephants with tons of space to roam, feeding the ducks, seeing 2 of the last 7 white rhinos in the world and the playground.
Tram ride through the park
Exploring the flowers.
Hanging out by the gorillas
A Secretary bird. I thought this was very cool. They stomp their pray to death.
The petting part of the zoo
About to pet the deer. At least he didn't try to ride it
Wednesday, Davis and I had a short day together before we meet mom after the conference ended. We headed down to the maritime museum where we saw a replica of the HMS Rose (used to film Master and Commander) then headed to the USS Midway where we had a blast exploring the flight deck and planes. After the conference ended, we picked mom up and headed back to the zoo. We enjoyed a quick trip including the polar bear caves again, feeding the gorilla statues and lots of climbing and running around.
Watching the gorillas
Feeding the gorilla statues
Feeding the gorillas
Playing with the elephant statues
Thursday, we had a wonderful family breakfast overlooking the cove in La Jolla where we watched a person swimming and every minute or so would se the head of a sea lion pop up just behind her. After that, we headed back to Sea World hoping to see another whale show. We saw a few of the sites we'd missed the first time, including feeding the sea lions and the shark tank. Davis and Kristen were even able to touch a dolphin! (Davis correctly called this whales as well). We also took in a different, more educational version of the Shamu show which Davis once again enjoyed. After Sea World, we packed the little one in the car and drove up to L.A. to start our visit with James and Stephanie.
L.A. was great, we had a lot of fun. Davis and Melanie were fantastic to watch together. They taught each other a lot and played really well together.
Playing with one of Melanie's trucks.
Melanie
Playing with Melanie's bike
Davis and Melanie
Friday we went to a train museum / exhibit were Davis was in heaven. He really enjoyed the trains and taking a model train ride around the park.
Trains!
More Trains!
James, Stephanie and Melanie
And more trains!
There goes a train!
Cousins
Taking a train ride
Saturday went to the local farmer's market were we picked up some amazing fresh fruit and produce. We had the best oranges we've ever had before packing up the kids and heading to the beach. The toddlers had a great time digging in the sand smashing sand castles, wading in the water and being outside. My brother took a few pictures that I hope to get uploaded soon.
The kids had some more fun playing together that night:
Wresting?
Wresting / Hugs
Sunday, Kristen's flight left very early in the morning. Davis and I had a final morning with James, Steph and Melanie. We went to the park to enjoy some final sunshine before Davis and I headed back across the country solo. Davis was a great traveler: I really couldn't have asked for more from the little guy.
This weekend, we headed up to Kimball Fruit Farm in Pepperell, MA to pick apples, get pumpkins and enjoy a gorgeous fall day. The weather was 60s and sunny which is just fantastic weather to be outside in the fall. Davis had a great time riding in the red wagon, eating apples and licking pumpkins. He even picked an apple off a tree and put it in the bag. We learned a couple things: Apples are fantastic entertainment at this age; he spent over an hour working on a single apple. Also, licking pumpkins seems to be his "thing". He did it at the farm and again when the pumpkins were on the back porch.
Friday Davis and I headed to Arlington Town Night for fair like activities on one of the town sports fields. There was food, pony rides, train rides, live music, a dog show, bouncy houses and tons of kids. We went straight from daycare and planned to meet Mom for the festivities. Since we went straight there, it meant we were going to have a hungry little guy after a little while, so I bought him his first hamburger of which he enjoyed eating the bun and cheese. We had hoped to get Davis on a pony ride, but the line for the ponies was over 45 minutes, so we spent our time walking around and watching the live music, fire trucks and chasing the train giving rides around the field. I think Davis would have enjoyed the train ride, but I didn't have the patience to spend 20 minutes in line. He really enjoyed the brass band that was there and had a great time dancing and spinning around in circles. He only tried to take food from other people's picinics a few times. We left at dusk, before the fireworks as we are still slaves to Davis's sleep schedule.
Kristen got delayed leaving work and we ended up meeting up on the walk home instead of at the festival as planned. However, it worked out great. Kristen brought Megan with her and ran into Bill and Sonya on the way and we all headed back to our place for a late dinner. It was a great spontaneous dinner and very nice to have people over for dinner once again. Davis had a great time getting all the adults to stand up and spin around in circles with him.
Saturday
Saturday we took our normal trip to the Y to work out while Davis goes to daycare. Kristen did the boot camp style class as usual, but I just ran 10 minutes on the treadmill and streched. Davis did not do well being left in daycare and my brief exercise worked out for the best as I picked him up just when they were about to come get me to take care of an inconsolable child. We spent the rest of Mom's workout playing in the mat room which Davis enjoyed a lot.
After the Y, we went to the Wright-Locke Farm to pick raspberries, but they weren't open yet so we headed home and then to Arlington Town Day. A 1/4 to 1/2 mile second of Mass Ave in Arlington was closed for the annual town celebration. There were booths from local organizations, schools, resturants, vendors as well as live music, performers and lots of people. Davis road on my shoulders for much of our time at town day which was great until he gave me a big hug and put his hands over my eyes. We grabbed lunch from one of the Indian resturants with a boot and sat on the library lawn eating and chasing Davis. Davis enjoyed dipping his part of the Samosa in sauce and pouring water all over himself.
After naps at home, we went back to Wright-Lock farm and picked two quarts of raspberries. We actually picked quite a bit more than that, but everything that went into Davis' bucket went right into his mouth. We froze half the raspberries, but managed to eat the other quart in just a day.
Sunday
Sunday we headed up to Wilimington for my first half-marathon and Kristen's (and Davis') 5k. Kristen did very well in her 5k considering she was pushing 40+ pounds of stroller and a little bit sick. I was very impressed!
My half-marathon was "fun". I've been running pretty regularly since May and decided a couple months ago to go for a half-marathon and picked this one based on the recommendation of a running coach in my office. My longest run before this was two weeks ago at 12.2 miles. On that run, I took no water or food and really struggled in the last two miles. This time I took water with a little bit of sugar and salt added and with the numerous water stops a long the way was hoping to feel better at the end.
The race really broke down into parts for me:
The first 3 miles were really easy. I was planning on really being conservative here and running 7:30 miles which is a little bit slower than I've been doing on my training runs. From past races, I knew it would be a real challenge to limit my pace in a crowd - its very easy to not realize you are going faster than you want when there are lots of other people around. I started near the front of the race and settled into my own pace very quickly. I came through the first mile at 6:55 and the second at 13:57 which was must faster than planned, but I felt really good.
The 3rd to 8th mile were just on cruise control. I felt great and just worked on slowly catching the people in front of me who I could see.
After the 8th mile, I had mostly passed the people I could see and was starting to get tired. It took me almost 4 miles to catch the last person I could see. This also felt like the hilly part of the run. Up to mile 12, I felt pretty much the same - tired, feeling the effort, but pretty good all things considered.
Mile 12 to 13. Agony. I was very tired and running out of energy. I couldn't go any faster. By far my slowest mile. Had a hard time running straight.
The last .1 miles. Saw Kristen and Davis, got a great cheer. Kristen yelled I was top 10. I couldn't believe it. Still in agony and unable to go any faster, but got a chill finishing.
I finished 10th out of 112 in 1:30:53 (6:56 average pace) and 3rd in my age group (30-39, 11 runners). This was about 8 minutes faster than I was aiming for, so I'm very happy with the result.
My Mile times broke down about like this:
Mile 0-1: 6:55
Mile 1-2: 7:02
Mile 2-3: 7:08
Mile 3-4: 6:47
Mile 4-5: 6:55
Mile 5-6: 6:53
Mile 6-7: 6:52
Mile 7-8: 6:36
Mile 8-9: 6:55
Miles 10-12: 20:52 (I forgot to hit the lap button)
Mile 12-13.1: 7:56 (7:12 pace)
After the race, I was pretty wasted. Not taking in calories during the run really drained me. Running really makes it hard for me to eat, so I could only take in a little bit after the race and spent the rest of the day eating and drinking to recover. I also had a problem with my shoes where my toes blistered quite a bit, so in the afternoon while Davis and Kristen took a nap, I went to the running store and got new shoes and socks.
After the race, we met up with Josh, Courtney, Mack and Liam at Together in Motion in Arlington to celebrate Liam's first birthday. Davis had a good time playing in the mats and I tried to not get too close to anybody since I had not showered.
After the party, a nap and a snack, we went to the mall to get him some new shoes and do some shopping for Kristen. Davis jumped from a size 4.5 to 6 and had a great time running around the mall and people watching. After the mall, we went out to dinner for the first time in about a month and had a nice dinner at a loud mexican resturant. Davis did great and enjoyed his beans, rice, guacamole, chips and pizza. It was nice to go out again. The last time was something of a mess and involved a lot of screaming and food throwing.
Next Week
This week is going to be a different for us. Kristen heads of for the first of three consequtive conferences. She is in Houston Wednesday to Friday, back in Boston for the Siebel conference on Saturday (and maybe Sunday), then off to Austin for another conference Tuesday to Saturday. Sunday I've got a cyclocross race in Glouscester, so it shoud be another interesting week around the Naegle household.
This weekend, we headed up to White Lake State Park in New Hampshire for our second camping trip of the summer. This is the same place we went before, and it is a great campground for kids. There is a very shallow, sandy lake, a great playground and it is a much closer drive than many other areas near the white mountains. We went up mid-morning on Saturday and came back around noon on Sunday.
A few of the highlights:
All three of us went swimming in the lake. Davis had a fantastic time walking out in the water then being held by mom while dad dove in the water near by. I learned an important lesson (again): don't do something unless you want to do it 20 times. I ran and dove next to Davis and by the time I came out of the water, he was saying "more" and making the sign. I had to then repeat this about 20 times, but my reward was fantastic toddler giggles.
It was a little cooler this time, so Davis got dressed up in his camping flannel. Pictures are below.
We spent about an hour and a half at the playground while we cooked over the coals on the grills at the beach.
We aborted our hike when it started to rain, but the path was easy enough that Davis got to walk part of the way back. We did have to guide him around the bear scat.
Putting the little guy to sleep was both a challenge and immensely enjoyable. When we were in there with him to try and calm him and put him to sleep, it just turned into a very cute and lovable play and cuddle time with Davis. the tent with the sleeping bags spread out was too much like playtime and apparently, when we lie down on the ground, we get sat on. Eventually we had to leave him in the tent for him to go to sleep by himself.
On the way back, we stopped to pick blue berries. Davis quickly got the hang of it and had very blue hands and lips by the end. We paid for an extra half pint to cover his "contribution" to our haul.
While picking blue berries, I caught and rescued a dragon fly. It was trapped in the netting covering the berries and I managed to catch it and release it outside the nets.
A few of the pictures:
In the flannel in the campground
Dirt, dirt and more dirt were the story of the trip.
Taking a snack break in the car. He would sit still here for a few minutes, which was a nice change.
Hiking
Hiking
More hiking. Checking out the camera.
One of the highlights of the hike was banging on this rock with a stick.
