Rest Amidst a Storm

Guess where I am? I'm in Vegas. Place is crazy as always. Lots of construction going on actually. I counted at least 5 construction sites on the strip. You know the last time I was here I remember enjoying it, like all the other times, but this time not so much. I've changed I guess. All these fake environments, large crowds of people, connstruction, noise, gambling, overt advertisements for sex and pornography and free flowing alcohol don't quite agree with my spirit this time around. It's hard to miss the urban scenery but I've been admiring the mountain range in the distance. Yesterday a thunderstorm rolled through and I got to see a few bolts strike the valley from a hotel window. Since KM100 I've never felt the same way about lightning:)

One thing that is good though is the food. Las Vegas is the no.1 destination for people from Hawaii and there's this hotel in the old downtown that is frequented primarily by Hawaiian patrons - The California Hotel. It's like someone took a piece of Hawaii and crammed it in a hotel. The two restaurants inside serve Hawaiian food. In particular there's a type of chili that can only be found in the islands. It's unnaturally orange and a bit on the runny side but it's so good, if you spent some time in Hawaii you'd know exactly what I was talking about. I hear the Island's Pidgin English spoken and I see aloha wear everywhere.

I'm here for a wedding and ironically I've been spending my personal time resting and laying about. A bit backwards really. When you come to Vegas you stay up, party and sleep on the plane ride home. Well my life has been more exciting than a Vegas show lately and I need this ptime to catch up on rest:) It feels good to lay around in a hotel bed, watching tv and indulging a bit on some good food. When it comes to food I will apply the famous Vegas tagline, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". My scale doesn't need to know the details. Tomorrow I leave early in the morning for my flight back to San Francisco. I'll catch up with Olga who is crewing and pacing her guy Larry at the Headlands Hundred in the early afternoon. I'll be on pacer duty myself for the second half of the race. Now that's the kind of play I'm looking forward to. I'll be on the trails when the sun goes down over the Pacific and I'll get to enjoy some night running again. Like I said, I guess I've changed.

I'll leave you with pictures from the San Francisco Marathon Expo from last weekend.

Hardworking and very hard to miss Catra Corbett.

With Glorybelle at her booth. Running skirts are uber popular these days.

I saw this woman working at a booth with a green Western States 100 shirt on and I said "did you run that race?" and she replied "which one?". My eyes quickly traveled down to her waist and saw the big ol Badwater buckle. Haha, yikes! We talked for a bit and she introduced me to one of her friends who crewed for her. Turns out she knew Mark Gilligan and Mark was talking with Julie Fingar just on the other end of the booth. Here they are; Marie Bartoletti, Mark Gilligan and Julie Fingar.

Looping back to Catra's booth I ran into Jonathan "Gundy" Gunderson. He too ran Badwater and is 3 for 3. I'm primarily a mountains and single track runner, I've no desire to ever do Badwater but I have much respect for the event, admire the runners and celebrate their accomplishments.

Alrighty then. Well I still have a pair of black shoes to polish and a best man's speech to practice. Have a great weekend everyone.