blahgger: Meghan's Bridal Shower + Wharf to Wharf

On Saturday EJ and Matt joined me on the drive down to Yosemite Valley for Meghan's bridal shower. They dropped me off at her parent's house in Oakhurst and left for an impromptu hike together (how romantic!). It was so good to see Meghan again after about a year! She looked vibrant and gorgeous as usual but with an extra bride-to-be glow. Her parents prepared a fantastic meal complete with delicious adult beverages, and her sister prepared two games for us to play, one of which I won! Their backyard was the perfect location for her shower, although it was extremely hot. We were all dripping sweat bullets. Their house sits on 5 acres of their own wild land. There is so much plant life and geological history in their own backyard. You can't even tell how big their backyard is because of all the shrubbery and boulders. I'd like to have a house like that some day. The shower began around 1pm but unfortunately I had to leave early because of the Wharf to Wharf race the following day, so the boys picked me up in the early evening to allow us to get plenty of rest that night.

We woke up the next day around 5am and Matt arrived at the apartment around 6am -- right on time! We were shooting to arrive in Santa Cruz by 7 and we met our goal. Traffic wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be so we got there pretty quick and managed to find a spot in the free parking lot where there was also a free shuttle to the race starting point. Since it was our first race, we weren't too sure what to expect but the Wharf to Wharf staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Really though, it's not that hard to figure out where to go even if there are 15,000 runners. The run itself was nowhere as tough as I had presumed, but I was definitely feeling the pain in my knees and ankles the following day. I had forgotten how tough it is to run on the asphalt. I should've known because I damaged my sciatic nerve a couple of years ago when I used to run on the street often. I finished in 1:07, EJ finished in 0:59 and Matt finished in 0:57. We all did alright but there is always room for improvement. We can't be too tough on ourselves considering it was the first race for all of us.

We drove past the biggest wildfire I'd ever witnessed. There was also a deer family crossing the freeway to safer grounds. Matt has a better picture of it. I shot this while driving.