Shreveport, Louisiana

It's official! Christian has accepted a position in Shreveport, LA for the next 3 1/2 years. I am excited for this new chapter in our life and like the old adage says, "You go heaven for the weather..." {you can look up the rest} :) Just kidding! I know we will make the best of it and I look forward to having Christian closer. 

New Jersey

From Virginia Beach, we drove to Baltimore for the night. Christian flew out early in the morning and I drove up to Woodbury, New Jersey to visit my Grandmom. I love being able to visit my Grandmom and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful relationship with her. I was also able to see some of my cousins while I was up there, so that was a bonus!

Cousins in Hopewell, NJ

My Uncle Andy

Grandmom, Uncle Billy and my cousins who live in Woodbury, NJ

Grandmom, Mr. Bob, Aunt Ro, and cousin Ali {from Pennsylvania}

Poppop {My Dad's father}

My amazing Grandmom and her friend Mr. Bob

I had a wonderful East Coast vacation! 

Washington D.C./New York City/Virginia

From San Francisco, I flew to Washington D.C. Christian had a 4 day conference, so I joined him for the last 2 days. Afterwards, we took a bus to New York City to take in a few days of Chinatown shopping, delicious food, and the Feast of San Gennaro. 

When we left NYC, we headed south to Richmond for the Color Run and then on further south to Virginia Beach. 

Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington D.C. ALMOST as good as Kara's in SF, but not quite. 

The Feast of San Gennaro was going on last year when we visited NYC, so we are going to try and make it a tradition to go every year. It is a huge Italian festival that takes place on Mulberry Street. Lots of food and games!

We ate wayyy too many cannoli's!

 For our 2 year anniversary, Christian surprised me with tickets to The Book of Mormon on Broadway. The show was AMAZING. Definitely for mature audiences though!

After the Color Run in Richmond, VA. 

 Virginia Beach, VA. 

San Francisco/Alcatraz/Tiburon

We drove to Austin at 4am on Friday morning and arrived in San Francisco at 9am. We rented a 15 passenger van and drove to our hotel, which was only 2 blocks from Fisherman's Warf {where the start of the Alcatraz swim was}. We went straight to packet pick-up and then had lunch at Boudin. We then toured the city, ate at Kara's :), tested the water {soooo cold without a wetsuit}, headed to dinner, then got ready for the race. 

Kara's cupcakes

 Love this city!

The night before the race. This was the outside temperature. 

The long process of getting our wetsuits on. 

Boarding the ferry to take us to Alcatraz. 

I finished!

The water was 58 degrees and extremely choppy on race day. The swim was definitely challenging. We spent the rest of the day walking and touring more of the city. 

Driving the 15 passenger bus down Lombard Street. 

Oxygen bar and massages after the swim. 

On Sunday, we drove to Tiburon for the RCP Tiburon Open Water Mile. It was a nautical mile {2000 yards} and the conditions were so much better than Alcatraz- still cold, but not nearly as choppy. 

The Tiburon Swim group. 

Tiburon Harbor. 

 I finished!

Wetsuit hickie. 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival.

As always, San Francisco did not disappoint. I love everything about this city and I look forward to coming back and visiting again. 

Now I am off to Washington D.C. for some Christian time :)

The Escape from Alcatraz

In 2 days, I will begin my annual month of travels. This year, my first stop will be San Francisco for the 17th Annual Alcatraz Invitational. I am going with a group of Master's swimmers here in San Antonio. 

A ferry will drop us off here.....

And we will swim in the 60 degree San Francisco Bay {in a wetsuit} all the way to shore. 

The hardest part is reading the details of the swim, which are totally psyching me out:

"Indeed, some swimmers never make it. The swim, while only about 1.75 miles, can be a difficult test.... the San Francisco Bay runs like a river and swimmers must angle themselves properly and have enough strength to battle the side-current. If not, the current will carry them past the destination point and under the Golden Gate Bridge where boats are waiting to pick them up. Not to mention several species of sharks, jellyfish, sea lions and seals make the bay their home. The creatures reportedly don’t bother humans, but can still cause a mental block for swimmers to overcome." 

The thought of eating one of these after I finish is my motivation:

Hands down the BEST cupcakes in the US.... trust me!

The next day, we will be swimming the Tiburon Open Water Swim.  

I will post pictures {via Instagram} along the way!