Travel | Peaches Prattlings

{October 2, 2017} Hot Chocolate 15k!

What a day!

So, you know my goals when I participate in a race: Start the race…check! Finish the race… check! Have people behind you… check!

That last one was touch and go! I totally admit, I had not trained, totally on me and I don’t know if it has anything to do with it, but fasting the day before, probably not the best thing for a race. As we’ve talked about before, I’ve done all different race lengths, from 5k to half marathon and only once, when everyone else was a runner did I come in last and didn’t like it.

So… along the route, I kept with people and then I was behind and then more behind and more behind. But I was doing it. I was tired by mile 7, ok, by mile 6, but that was a 10k, I’m doing this. Mile 7, I can’t quit now! It’s on my 2.3 miles left!

But… just before mile 7, the sweeper van was right there! The cop behind me, the end of the race, I ignored, he can’t do anything, but the sweeper van! I’ve told you about getting swept before, not a great feeling! I heard that door open and I ran for it! Just beat him!!!

Then I was with the other 6-10 stragglers. We were all motivating each other! It’s only 2 miles to go! Do you see the 8 mile? The 9 mile marker? One girl, this was her first and she said she was going to cry! I said go for it! My first 5k, I cried! And the first one I ran the whole thing, you bet your bippy!

We were so close! I was not giving up! I put my sweatshirt back on so they could see my bib number when I crossed the finish. Here are some of the advantages of finishing towards the end. Serious cheering! They can look up your bib number and say your name and where you’re from!

Now, when you look at my stats, feel free to laugh, I couldn’t stop! Overall, out of 2831 participants, I was 2827! Out of 2140 females, I was 2136! Now, in my age group, saved the best for last! I saw that and could not stop laughing!

So… Start… check. Finish.. check. People behind me… check! Get medal… check!

I’m a happy girl!

{October 1, 2017} An easy fast…A happy birthday!

It’s my birthday! And I’m fasting! What a combo, but it’s been great day!

I’m in Denver for the weekend, I’ll tell you all about it. I got in last night a little before 10pm, got the rental car, a Ford Mustang. Well, when I got to the assigned spot, no car, so when I asked the guy at the preferred desk, he said, what happened to the car? Well, that’s why I’m here! So, I had a choice, a Mustang or a Mustang. Um, I’ll the the Mustang… convertible!

PSM was asleep when I got in, just about that time, DLP texted that she was in Denver too! Well alrighty! I set up the bed in the living room and started working in my time and expenses. PSM got up a little while later and when DLP got there we all caught up. Then crashed!

Got up today with the sun, that was nice. It’s my birthday! This means presents and calls from my family!! The cards from my dad all played music and sang! Do you see the awesome JJ with pics from my grandbabies??? I am so lucky and spoiled!

Then sent DLP and PSM down to breakfast. Turns out, I wasn’t missing much, this hotel did not impress.

After breakfast, showers and get ready, off to the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k Race Expo. Only thing missing, CKM. We did this race and volunteered several years and such a blast. At the expo we picked up our packets with the bibs, jackets and maybe an extra treat or two. I have a story about that later.

After the expo, adventure! Drop the top on the car and head to Boulder for some sightseeing and fun. You never know what you’re going to find! Oh… the guy in blue! There was a Sonic convention happening in Denver. Different stores from all over the country compete! Customer interaction, car hop, whatever! These guys were the judges and were waiting for the teams and would welcome them with those hand clappers, so fun!

After Boulder, back to the hotel to cool and make dinner plans. I asked my friend AM if he, his wife NM and their daughter, A could join us. AM could, love seeing him when I’m in Denver. I can’t believe we’ve known each other for over thirty years! Wow!

We were going to go to City O’ City, that vegan restaurant I told you about the last time we were here. Who knew we needed a reservation! So, we went to another restaurant owned by the same people called Watercourse. Yum! It was all vegan! I broke my fast with a glass of water and a delicious chai made with coconut milk and cinnamon.

We had ‘wings’, which were lightly fried cauliflower with different sauces for dipping. Even came with ranch or blue cheese dressing with carrots and celery! We also had spinach and artichoke dip! Yum!

Main course, I had southern comfort food, deep fried cauliflower, like chicken, mac-n- cheese and salad. A Cuban for PSM, breakfast sandwich for AM and risotto for DLP.

Dessert time! I ordered a banana and caramel shake, didn’t think to ask, but after my ears and tongue started to itch, umm what’s in this? Coconut milk yogurt, bananas and soy milk, what? Uh oh! That explains the itching! Benadryl will clear that right up!

Then came the cake with a candle in it! A birthday should have cake! And singing! Thank you!

After dinner, back to the hotel for Bemedryl and, talk to you and say thank you for all the birthday wishes on Facebook.

I am so lucky! Thank you all!!

{September 27, 2017} Pie’s the Limit…YUM!

Oh happy vegan!

One of the things I like about traveling for work is finding new places to eat and one of the places I like to order food from in Springfield is Pie’s the Limit.

This is a local chain, local to the Springfield area. It’s a ‘regular ‘ pizza place, each pie made to order and can feed two people, I guess if I was really hungry I could have eaten the whole thing. I have lunch for tomorrow!

I had a pizza with olive oil and garlic on the crust, layered with vegan cheese, roasted garlic, spinach, artichokes and pineapple. I know that last one might seem odd, but I have to say, yum! The salty with the sweet, it works!

The cheese stayed melted and it was creamy and tasty and just yum!

Looking forward to lunch tomorrow! Come join me, plenty left!

{September 26, 2017} It’s not October…

Please stop with the Halloween decorating!!

I get that it’s fall, officially. Halloween is in October, I don’t know if you know this interesting fact. I know once fall comes, it’s time for pumpkin spice and fall decorating, I’m good with that.

If you know me, you know I la,la,la love Halloween and used to have the biggest, most fabulously decorated house. I loved decorating, setting up for trick-or-treating, seeing the kids faces when they walked the path to come to the door for candy.

What’s hard is seeing all the decorations for Halloween is that my birthday is in September and I always refused to decorate for Halloween before October!

I know the decorations are in the stores in July, I’m just never ready to put it out until October 1st!

I’m not ready, so please stop! You only have to wait six days! Then, go for it, I cannot wait to see what you do!!!

{September 22, 2017} Wow, status really helps!

United pulled one out for me tonight!

Flying to Boston on Delta tonight, flight goes from 630pm departure to 748 pm departure. Well…that doesn’t bode well for my 9pm connection in Detroit. Hmm..

Call the travel company, there is a 730pm on United going to Boston, great, I’ll take it! Less stress because of the traffic I am now sitting in with my Uber driver.

I get to the airport, drop the bag, go through security and pass gate C20 with a flight leaving for Boston at 715pm. Hmmm, I wonder. Just about that time I get a notification that my 730pm flight is now delayed to 847pm due to air traffic control. Ok…

I overhear the gate agent tell someone there are still seats on the 715, ooh! I book it over, get in line, with everyone else… doesn’t look good for me. First, there is a $75 charge for the standby seat, if I get it. Ok, I just want to get there. Then, the next sentence is, with your status, there’s no charge! Score one for United.

I look at the board with all the standby names and I’m thinking no way. Then, they start calling standby names and mine is the second or third called! Exit row ok? Yes! New ticket issued, I am on my way to Boston!

The flight should have left at 715pm, but… weather, air traffic, whatever. We don’t leave until almost 9pm.

The most important thing…I made it to Boston, I get to see my family and United came thru. Go United!

The pictures have nothing to do with flying, they were just there, on the street in Chicago and they made me happy! I hope they make you happy!

{September 22, 2017} Oh what a night! Actually two nights!

What are the odds, two fabulous nights in a row?! Well, with my folks, 10000000%! Tuesday I got a text from ST that he was going to be in Chicago last minute for work, great! Tuesday night we met up to grab some dinner and DLP joined us! I’ve told you that ST and I used to work together and he’s my work husband. So… work wife met work husband! All we needed was WIS, work girlfriend and PSM and we would have had the full enchilada! Could you imagine! We met at the bar at my hotel for a drink, then on to dinner at Rosebuds,a great Italian restaurant about two blocks from the hotel, recommendation from the hotel staff. Sorry I don’t have pics of everyone’s food, I had a treat happem, I got to talk to GES for a bit. That was the way to start the new year, dad in the morning, sister in the evening! So excited to see them this weekend! We had a great time at dinner, DLP and ST hit it off like gangbusters, it was as if they’d known each other for years. I love how my friends can do that! Tonight, ST and I met for dinner again and he said he wanted to go to Lou Malnati’s for deep dish pizza. We put our names on the list, I don’t think there’s a night the famous places for deep dish aren’t crowded! ST went to the bar to get a beer and get me a water, comes back out ahs tells me he has a seat at the bar and he’s made friends. With two Patriots fans! Seriously!? I had seen the one guy walk by, I noticed his shirt, the old Pats logo, which I like. We started talking and found out they were from Maine and… get this… in town for the same conference as ST! What are the odds!! After a bit we were enjoying ourselves so much we decided to change our individual two top tables to a four person table, awesome! We had such a good time chatting, getting to know each other, sharing pizza and beer. Well, pasta, salad and water for me! We talked through a few pitchers, laughed, told jokes, swapped travel and business stories and passed the time until it was time to head out. We walked back to my hotel, the guys promised to find each other tomorrow at the conference and we all went on our merry way. Now I’m talking to you, avoiding thinking about packing tomorrow morning and hoping to get a good night’s sleep! I almost forgot! For lunch, I got to go to one of my favorite places, Eleven City Diner! Look at that egg salad sandwich, on challah! Oh my!!! Two stellar evenings, go me! Night!

{September 20, 2017} True Food Chicago…yum!

I really like this place! It’s Monday in Chicago. I taught a great class of Managers, I was back in the hotel, I needed to run some errands including Walgreens, TMobile and food! Well, there was also some window shopping, The Disney store and that included a…yup, you guessed a costume! One grandbaby costume, check! Four grandbaby and three niece costumes to go! By now, I’m very hungry and the first two places couldn’t accommodate me, then I saw a True Food, Wahoo! Do you remember me telling you about our fabulous breakfast in Denver with PSM’s cousins at True Food? I knew they could feed me, so I went to the bar, copped a squat and set in to order. I had…yum! An inside out quinoa burger, as they called it and it was fabulous! It’s two hard packed quinoa patties where the buns would be, layered between the patties were cucumbers, avocado, tomato and hummus. I skipped the tzatziki sauce since its made with yogurt and added their almond ricotta cheese and butter lettuce. As a side, I had their charred cauliflower instead of the kale salad or sweet potato hash. Oh my word, but this was good! My server said she likes it with the lake salad because she will break it all up and mix it with the kale to have a giant salad. It was such a nice contrast of flavors. The heat, temperature, of the quinoa against the cold of all the other ingredients, so nice! I could definitely eat that again! Come with me next time!

{September 18, 2017} What a weekend!!!

I had a very quick trip to Atlanta andI want to tell you all about it!

I arrived late on Friday night, crashed with ST and got to met his temporary roommate. First thing was to go to Waffle House! It was good to catch up, we haven’t seen each other in a few months. We talked work, travel, relationships, kids, I think we covered it all!

The next morning I went to my house to see it after the interior was painted, ran a vacuum, it’s definitely not my house anymore, that’s an interesting feeling.

Then, return the vacuum and head to see my kids, TYL and my newest grandbaby, CDL, her brother, CH and his wife, AH at the restaurant they all work at. Oh, what a doll baby my newest grandson, CDL, is! Smart, curious, sweet, happy, smells good and what a giggle! I’m so glad I get to be a part of his life and be in my kids lives again. What amazing human beings they are!

Get this…CH even cooked for me!!! He made me artichoke hearts with garlic and olive oil and let me tell you, wow and yum! He can cook for me anytime! Do I seem biased? You bet your sweet bippy! Every day and twice on Sunday!

When I left the kids, I headed to met SDL, MissA and DJL at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Last time we were there was the day before we left for Mexico!

Live music, good music at that, MissA was rocking out to a lot of the songs, she can get down! Good food, friends, conversation, laughs, silliness, Halloween costumes, the only thing missing, CKM! Unfortunately, she had plans last night, bummer!

Back to SDL’s house for a little more catch up and then… crash. Zzzzz Up today, grab the groceries and head out to see the rest of the grandbabies.

Unfortunately, LB and Baby L weren’t able to come, so it was just KLB, CS and the kiddies, BabyA and his sister ELB. I was in heaven, as you can imagine! We played, caught up, giggled, laughed, chased, BabyA crawled in my lap to show me his video game controler, I learned about Sonic the Hedgehog, Minecraft and MarioKart, all in a very short period of time! Then ELB was in my lap, then both of them, oh yes! Happy JJ! They both wanted to play with my watch and the rest of my jewelry.

Now, let’s go cook! KLB made pancakes while the kids played hide and seek in the cabinets, love it! Then BabyA and I cracked, scrambled and cooked eggs for everyone. How fabulous was that!

More chatting, laughing, giggling, rubbing. Let’s just say, thanks BabyA for giving me a lot of steps today! Oh, and the discussion of Halloween costumes! Then it was time to go with promises of a next visit.

Now, for my last visit, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with TS. The Curious Garden. Wonderful! We walked the canopy in the trees, saw the lady in the water and smelled some fabulous smells.

Through the grounds, into the Chinese meditation garden. Through the archway to the orchid greenhouse.

What amazing creators orchids are!! Some even look like people. Different species and creations.

Then through the edible garden and a field of my favorite flower, sunflowers, sigh.

Then it was time to part company, I had to get gas in the retal car, return it, then catch my flight back to Chicago, teaching class in the morning.

Staying at a new hotel, I’ll tell you about it! Have a great night!

{September 17, 2017} Go ahead, ride my bumper…

Tonight, coming back from dinner, someone made that mistake…

First, she flew up the street behind me, we were on a 35, she had to be going 50…I say she because I saw her eventually. I could barely see the headlights.

Then she was riding my bumper. Big mistake.

One thing I got from the wasband was when someone follows you that closely, sllllloooooowwwww down. So I did. And she was miserable! I drive slow and stayed on my tail, then backed off, tried to figure out how to get around me, no dice.

I kept that up for a while! Until she turned off. Tickled me all the way!

Go ahead, want to get to know me or my car?

{September 14, 2017} A small victory!

They delivered to the room! Go me!

Ok, let me explain, since I know you’re thinking, huh? As you know, I live in hotels and eat out just about every meal. Well, some nights, I just don’t want to go out, I want to go back to the hotel, put on my jammies and ahhhh… just like we all do at home sometimes.

Well, tonight was one of those nights, it was a full day of teaching, energy level high, just wiped me out! It happens every once in a while and tonight was one of those nights! I got back to the room, had a little work to do then I realized I was hungry, butI just didn’t feel like going anywhere.

So, to grubhub.com I went and ordered food to be delivered. I also requested that the food be delivered directly to my room. I also called the restaurant and asked them to ask the driver to bring it right to the room.

Usually, at some hotels, they won’t let the delivery person come all the way to the room, its kind of annoying actually when they tell you its a security risk to let them up. Why is it more of a security risk for a delivery driver than any other person coming into the hotel?

I understand if the elevator requires a key card to access, then by all means, I will come and get the food, but if there isn’t a key card, why can’t they come directly to the room?

Well, it worked! I was in my jammies watching tv and all of a sudden…a knock on the door and ta da! My food delivery!

Small victory! Let’s see if I can do it again!

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