Lifting June Gloom

In 1997 Thatfamily experienced a life changing event - Thatdad had a heart attack. The doctors advised that he should lose some weight and Thatdad began his morning 4 mile walks. Thatmom and I kept him company every morning and joined him. Now, even though Thatdad may have been lacking in the "length of leg" department, he was a FAST walker. So fast, in fact that Thatmom and I had to run to keep up with him. And that's when and why I began running.

So when I saw that there was a "mother daughter 5K" down here in San Diego, I asked Thatmom if she'd be interested in doing it with me - for old times sake. Thatmom was hesitant- although she walked on the treadmill every morning at the gym before Thatdad died, she hadn't run in years, and she hadn't been back to the gym since February. She had joined a new gym, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to the one where Thatdad died, but she had yet to make use of her membership. I promised to train with her on the weekends and she agreed to the race. This was Thatmom's first 5K and because of that, we decided that we'd run/walk it. I don't really care about time anyway, and it was more important for me to do it with her. Every Sunday we ran/walked about 4 miles, just to show her that she could easily do a 5K.

This Friday we headed up to Thatmom's house as usual, but after selling the last of Thatdad's cars Saturday morning, we headed back down to San Diego. We toured Thatmom around Balboa Park before heading to one of our all time favorite restaurants, The Prado.

We'd be dying to take Thatparents here for years, and were thrilled to finally have the opportunity to share it with Thatmom. We were even more delighted when she was as enchanted with the place as we are.

Thatboy suggested we start off with a pitcher of their fantabulous sangria. Thatmom thought this was the best idea ever and declared that we would henceforth be ordering sangria at every restaurant that served it. This was after her third glass. We also decided at this point in time that Thatbrother and I would have a Sangria-off in the near future when he returns from his Central Coast trip with UDubb.

Thatmom ordered the lemongrass grilled yellowtail with sweet potato puree and sauteed pea vines. She was hesitant about the pea vines, but they quickly became one of her new favorite vegetables. She thought the yellowtail was perfectly cooked and mild.

I ordered the forest harvested wild mushroom risotto with fresh herbs and white truffle whipped goat cheese. The mushrooms were so meaty, and the arborio rice was creamy creamy creamy, only accentuated by the creamy goat cheese.

Thatboy was planning on ordering one of his old standbys when he heard the waitress telling Thatmom how fantastic the basil fettuchine was. He quickly changed his plans. He LOVED the dish with sauteed tiger shrimp, artichoke, tomato, red onion, garlic, and white wine.

Okay folks, here comes my plea. You old school readers probably remember that my undergraduate degree is that ever useful B.A. in theater from UCLA. While I, like many of my classmates, have ended up in a career far from the kelig lights, I am still a rabid supporter of the arts. And my friends, the arts are hurting. I IMPLORE you to go out and support your local theater.

This is the second year in a row Thatboy and I have purchased season tickets to the Starlight Bowl's summer musical festival. In March we received a letter stating that the producers were unable to afford to produce all four promised shows. Instead the season was cut in half and we're only going to be able to see two shows. While neither show is high on our "ooohhhhhhhh" list, we're attending in high spirits in the hope that this season won't be the last. In the hope that somehow enough funds will be raised to continue a 63 year tradition.

The Starlight Bowl is an outdoor ampitheater - which means you can enjoy your beer, wine, cheese, hot chocolate, dinner, snacks, whatever as you enjoy your musical. One of the highlights for us is the fact that the theater is right in the flight path of the airport. In order to take care of that excess "noise," everytime a plan passes over, the action on the stage freezes. It never gets old for us. But we are easily amused.

In order to raise more funds and attract a wider audience, the Starlight Bowl's season this year is very family friendly. Last night we got to watch High School Musical, the musical. A good time was had by all, even though by the time it was over, Thatmom and I were having a hard time staying awake. We're not night people. After the show we hurried home so we could get a good night's sleep. We had a big day planned!



This morning we headed to the Del Mar Fairgrounds for The Aflac IronGirl 10k/5k. The event was all about women empowerment. I believe the announcer said there were 3000 women there. You could run the 10k or the 5k, individually or in a mother-daughter team. Thatmom and I decided to do the 5K as a mother-daughter team.

Thatmom was so nervous as the race started. Her one goal was to "not fall."

Thatmom far surpassed her goal. Not only did she "not fall," but she ran almost the entire thing! I don't think she walked more than 1/2 a kilometer. As we neared the finish line she told me her goal was to "start slow, but finish strong." I told her she was pretty strong the whole race. My only regret is some lady got in front of her as Thatboy tried to get us crossing the finish so there's no fantastic finish picture. Just know that the little black and white hat beside me is Thatmom.

After the race, Thatmom got to experience one of the best parts of racing - the goodies!!!! One of the reasons I thought this would be a good race for her is because everyone who ran got a finisher medal. It's a tangible symbol of her accomplishment. I'm trying to convince her to wear it around town all week. We also got a great bag which is perfect for groceries, a t-shirt specially fit for women, a stuffed duck, a sun pack with sunscreen and chapstick, as well as all the vendor goodies. Thatmom got into that very quickly, making a beeline for the Luna bar stand and filling her bag. She thought the goodies would last all day as she began filling up her bag with stuff from our pantry when she got back to our place. "I thought the goodie bag was good everywhere." she told me.

To celebrate our accomplishments, we headed to breakfast at Original Pancake House where "it never felt so good to feel so full." (Thatmom's words...not mine.) Then we headed to the outlets for a little retail therapy.