The past two years I have been spoiled with not one, but TWO opportunities to celebrate Thanksgiving.I celebrated the first with my family up in Washington State, in conjunction with my father's birthday. The trip was much too quick and left little time to visit, but I was able to spend some quality time with my family. The twins are much bigger than they were when I first met them in August and are starting to develop little personalities. My brother and sister-in-law seem to be surviving parenting three children. I very much enjoy watching my parents and my grandmother with my nieces.
I also had the pleasure while up this trip to visit with old friends - my dearest childhood friend and his family, as well as one of my closest friends from high school and her family. I love it when your friends are so dear that years can pass and yet when you see them again it was as if the last time you got together was merely the day before. While freezing up in the great northwest, I decided it was time to get my lazy bum in gear and start training for my upcoming races. I headed out on one of my old runs and loved every minute of it. While out running I found myself debating (an example of the things I think about while running) how long one must spend in California to call themselves a Californian. I grew up in Washington and lived there for 18 years. However, having now lived in California for 16 years, I wondered if I am truly a Californian. While I have not yet lived in California as long as I lived in Washington, I feel as though as I am a Californian, which was further demonstrated by the fact that I was FREEZING the entire time I was in Washington.
Regardless of the cold, it was wonderful to see my dear family and Northwest friends.I had the opportunity to celebrate a second Thanksgiving on the actual holiday with Chris and new friends we have come to know over the past few years. What a fun, drunken evening. Chris pours a mean drink and when I found myself tipsy while trying to pull the turkey out of the oven, I knew my drinking was over for the evening. I loved celebrating with friends and enjoyed the evening very much. (Rick and Jessica, thank you so much for joining us! Rick, it was a pleasure to meet your cousin. Bing was such a sweetheart.)
The following day, after a very entertaining (as always) lunch with my aunt, uncle, cousins and grandmother in Marin, Chris and I headed north to Calistoga for a few days of rest and relaxation. We had planned this trip back in October during the craziness of the election season to have a little restful adventure to look forward to. The moment we pulled into the Solage resort I knew we had chosen wisely. This is a place to go if you are in desperate need of rest. The resort breaths relaxation. I loved it the moment we arrived. The rooms are little cottages, complete with two touring bikes. We immediately hoped on our bikes and headed into town, with Chris humming the "Wicked Witch of the West" theme song from "The Wizard of Oz," as we rode down the street. 
While in Calistoga, we had the opportunity to tour about on bike, foot, by car and by horseback! We located the Chateau Montelena winery, which we both wanted to see after watching the movie "Bottle Shock" this fall. We toured about the Sugarloaf State Park on Horseback and could not have been more spoiled, as it was a gorgeous fall day. We enjoyed sushi at a restaurant Chris had been dying to go back to since he and his family had dined there last year over the holidays. We also found time to hit the spa, which made for a very enjoyable, relaxing weekend.We spent a good portion of the weekend planning our next adventures, including Belize, France and possibly Italy (after Ironman France). I am looking forward each already.
