San Diego Part Three: Balboa Park

Pretty much everything we have done on this trip we have done on previous trips to California. I would go as far as saying has been the greatest hits of trips to California (without Alcatraz).  

Our days here in La Jolla have started the same way they did last year, a trip for coffee to the Brick and


Bell every morning and then walks down to the beach and around town (except for our side trip to Anaheim).  The only real exception is that the weather has been a little wild yesterday and today. We lucked out during our adventure yesterday the sun poked it's head out and the skies cleared if only for a little while. More on out adventure yesterday in a minute... 

Mitt Romney is tearing down his beach house down the street from the condo where we are staying and building a new home three times its size and I understand why, La Jolla is amazing. I could live here and walk the shore everyday. I love watching the seals and sea lions. Yes, sometimes the smell is disgusting, but over all La Jolla is wonderful.

San Diego as a whole is amazing. I think it is my favourite place in California that I have visited so far (apart from Disneyland, but that is not a real place).

One thing that we had not done in San Diego was visiting Balboa Park. We visited San Diego Zoo (which is in Balboa Park) last year while we were here but that was as close as we had come.

Lets just say, I was a Sour Sally when we made plans to walk Balboa Park yesterday. My legs were exhausted from a full day at Disneyland the day before, but as soon as we pulled up to the park I was happy we were there.

We walked around the magnificent park and took it all in, I was in absolute awe over the spectacular architecture. It is so hard to believe you are in the middle of a city when you are in Balboa Park!

We did not go to the Museum of Man, the exhibits looked very interesting, I am kind of hoping to go back. They were showcasing historic exhibits on beer and torture mechanisms, is it weird that I find that really intriguing? They also have Ancient Egypt exhibits; a very interesting mix.

We ended up visiting the Museum of Natural History at Balboa Park and taking in the ‘Real Pirates’ exhibit. It was very cool, we all agreed that we like that they simply focused on the adventures of the Whydah and gave some background information on pirates rather than going all over the place with various ships. If you ever see this travelling exhibit you should check it out, you even get to touch real pirate treasure, very cool!

You can also learn a lot about local natural history at the museum with their typical exhibits. We did not focus too much on the normal exhibits; we went to the Museum of Natural History in New York when we travelled there this summer. It was still a very informative and hands-on, a great place to take children.

I imagine I would spend a lot of time at Balboa Park if I lived in San Diego; it is truly a beautiful place. It is almost as if you are transported to another place while you are visiting.  I don’t think I would mind running daily if I had a place like that to run to!

Now we are off to do a little shopping in this wild weather, grab some In-And-Out Burger and hopefully a scone!

Fingers-crossed tomorrow will at least not be so windy and rainy, right now it feels as if a palm tree could come crashing down through the glass windows of the condo at any minute.

They even had an Albertosaurus!

Kate the Hater: Running

If you are crazy about running you may want to stop reading this blog right here.

If you are super excited to get a run in just to update the world on Facebook or Twitter about your commitment to fitness, you definitely want to stop reading this blog right now.

I have really tried to like running, for a really long time. I have always wanted the long lean body I thought running would give me if I just committed some breathless gasping moments to putting one foot in front of the other at a heightened pace while jamming to my iPod way too loud. Alas, I am coming to the conclusion that it is just not for me. As much as I loved sports and embraced being an athlete early in life, I would always try to find reasons to skip running at my rugby, soccer and tennis practices. I’m not even sure that I was ever ashamed of my laziness; I don’t think I ever really tried to hide it. It was a little different at hockey, because let’s face it skating is awesome.

This is half a new revelation, half an old embarrassing admission I have been harboring for a while. Not so long ago I was in a phase where I thought life would not complete until I crossed running at least a half marathon off my bucket list, I even wrote a blog about it (if you want you can search it out). But, as I turn nearly twenty-four and a half I am completely fine with my lack of ambition to pant in public while looking as unattractive as possible. I have even lost a little luster to chase after people who have the rubber toy I want in this very docile stage of life I am in. Life used to be a battle of chase or be chased, score and stop them from scoring;  but right now I am content to just being warm and not overly hungry (because let’s face it, I am always a little hungry)*.

Now, if you nay-sayers are still reading 1. I told you to stop and 2. I get your to each their own nonsense. I have no problem with people who love running. It is some people’s hockey or soccer or rugby. It is your jam and enjoy it, I doubt any of you will stop your pass time just because of this little ole blog and I would hate to contribute to our general lack of fitness as adults.

Nothing made me happier than a vent tweet about this and getting an instant response from my sister who feels the same way about running that I do. I don’t consider 5k a real run (that is why I am so uppity about this, it is in response to way too many people sharing their minor achievements over social media all the time) and ‘Run or Dye’ is actually one of the few runs I would ever take part in (I like bright colors).  To be honest, ‘Run or Dye’ is the only run that doesn't involve Disney that I would ever consider doing.

Anyways, in conclusion the point I have been scrambling to make here is that I really don’t care if you can run 5k. Like every human being who hasn't run a marathon (or maybe even the ones who have) I will be astonished and marvel at your athleticism if you run anything over 10k, because that will just never happen for me.

I am now going to eat some candy and complete my soft, sloth mood today.

*Reading this back I am realizing I have turned pretty soft, even though I have never been thinner or happier (ever). 

Learning to Run (Again?)

Please feel free to sing the title of this blog in the style of the Foo Fighters, I sure am. 

Midday host Jenny Fines and I want to start running.

Okay, well Jenny Fines wants to start running. I want to just do a 5k and cross it off my bucket list. Before moving to the Kootenays I was in amazing shape. I went to the gym everyday and worked my butt off. Seriously, I was weight training 5 days a week (with minor cardio) and doing full cardio blasts twice a week. I was in training to get that 5k off my summer to do list.

But then I moved to BC and became a slight work addict, nixing my plans to run a 5k by the end of summer 2013. In the battle between spending half an hour working on my show prep or running, show prep will win every time. 

So, I am looking for you suggestions on getting into running. I am athletic, should I just run it and set the bar for myself that way or should I start a training regiment? To be clear, this is not about weight loss (I love my body) this is about putting one foot in front of the other foot over a distance that has been pre-determined and doing it in a timely fashion.

I have no desire to be a runner; I want to be able to say that I did it and wipe it clear off my bucket list. 

So what are your tips for breaking into the running scene? How much is too much to pay to run your first race? How much water should we bring? What is a good first finishing time? What is the best local 5k to run? Do I load up on carbs or cut them carbs before my first 5k?

I am a pretty healthy individual. I eat well; I live on a low carb diet (20g ish a day). I think I can run this cold without training, but I am still open to all suggestions and would consider giving it a few weeks of practice.

Here are some infographics I fully intend to read for advice: 

by hightable.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.