2010 June 06

It’s official – I need to come back to Washington DC ASAP. This trip was way too short.

The morning started with a wonderful light breakfast courtesy of Ms. Jacquie.

Jacquie prepared a selection of fresh fruit

Bowls of plain yogurt. (Oikos! )

And even had Great Harvest Scones for Ashley and I to enjoy!

(Check out her photography ‘studio’ )

I topped my bowl of yogurt with strawberries, cherries, kiwi, fresh apricot, apples, a homemade pomegrante sauce, and about 1/3 of a scone.

This was the perfect summer breakfast for a very hot & humid morning.

Our only plans for the day consisted of a blogger brunch at 11:00am. We took advantage of the extra time and played tourist during the am.

We eventually ended up at the Dupont Farmer’s Market.

This Farmer’s Market put every other farmer’s market I’ve ever attended to shame. there were so many fresh, beautiful vegetables and fruits from local and organic farms. I would kill to live within walking distance of these selections!

Check out the line for fresh local eggs!

After a little sampling and drooling we headed to Scion for the brunch.

Scion was recommended by the sweet and beautiful Sarah for brunch and she was spot on with her recommendation. The restaurant was very accommodating for our group of 15 and the food was fabulous. They even had a fruit bar we could nibble on while we waited on our meals.

I had a small plate while chatting away.

For my entree I had a ‘Build Your Own Omelet’ with egg whites, black beans, asparagus, mushrooms, onions, and wheat toast.

The omelet was perfect. I love how they chopped all the veggies and that there were plenty of them. I would say 3/4 of our party ordered omelets and each us were impressed by the amount of veggies. My only complaint was that the feta flavor got lost in the mix, I think next time I would try for a strong cheese or just leave it out completely.

As always it was great chatting with such a great group of ladies. Bloggers and blog readers seriously ROCK and never cease to amaze me on how sweet and charming everyone is. A list went around so we could all keep in touch via twitter and blogs. I could always use a dozen or so new friends.

I was really hoping to explore some of the DC memorials a bit more, but we just didn’t have time! However, I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the Lincoln Memorial before it was time to head out of town.

A million THANK YOUS to the wonderful Ashley for being my buddy this weekend (LOVE this girl!) and to Jacquie for being our amazing and gracious host for the day!

After a few good byes and some last minute packing, I cabbed it to Virginia where the Lovely Anne P was waiting for me!

I <3 Anne P!! But doesn’t everyone? We’re BFFs from her days in Tampa and it’s always nice to play catch up with a good friend. MAJOR congrats to Anne P for running her FIRST half marathon this morning! Despite the awful heat she rocked it. Obviously.

We chilled in Starbucks for a bit and I ordered an Orange Mango Smoothie (sans the banana) and made good use of my new nifty tumbler Derek got me he other week.

Thanks to Anne P I made it to the airport just in time to discover my flight has been delayed – Bummer. Oh well. What’s 45 minutes in the scheme of life anyways?

Thank goodness for proper tables and WiFi!

On the way to the airport we made a pit stop at Whole Foods where I picked up dinner for the flight.

Check out my future dinner.

I also plan on having one of Jacquie’s famous chocolate chip cookies.

Looks like my flight is about to board!

I’m flying to Orlando and driving straight to Tampa tonight. Tomorrow Derek, Maddie, and I are driving down the coast to meet my parents at the beach house for a week of fun in the sun. I can’t wait to just relax!

Have a great week everyone!

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11 Girls. 3 Teams. 5 Hours. 1 Hell of a Marathon Relay.

My first marathon relay was a success! And so much fun! I loved getting to know all the ladies and the 6 miles we each ran were gorgeous! All in all I would say this was a successful race.

The Northface Mid-Atlantic Endurance Challenge took place in beautiful Algonkian Regional Park, Virginia. Not only was there the marathon relay option for today there was also the option of running a 50 miler, 50k, or full marathon. It was fun watching all the different distance runners come in. I felt especially close to the 50kers.

Our teams met at the park just after 10:00am.

Team Run Bloggers Run

Me, Ashley, Heather, and Jessica

Team Run to Eat

Leslie, Amanda, Gretchen, and Cara

Team Awesome (who were missing a runner!)

Brittany, Julia, and Amy

The marathon relay course consisted of a 6 mile loop that each runner completed once.

Jess was the first runner for out team.

The first team members got the official send off.

Then the waiting began.

The one downside to a marathon relay? All the downtime! From the time the first runner left I had a full three hours to wait around until it was my turn. There was a lot of napping and chatting.

And eating.

I had 1/2 of this new bar while the first runner was out.

This was a new-to me- bar that I wasn’t impressed with. The texture and density was great, but the flavor was awful! Yuck!

I also had a piece of bagel and orange slices at one point.

Ashley was our second runner to go.

Jess came in in record time and had a smooth transition handing the chip to Ashley.

Runner #3: Heather

We were definitely starting to get the hang of it by this one.

I was last

By the time I left it was after 2:00 and the clouds had begun to roll in. It had actually drizzled just a tad right when I left , but nothing I couldn’t handle.

The race was a pretty simple out and back. The first mile or two took place on a a paved path that took you around a golf course then by a playground and soccer fields. At mile 2 you pass an aid station where the trail starts to narrow and actually become a trail.

The trail loops around to the river and then brings you back the way you came. That point right before and after the turn around is probably the most difficult. That is the part of the race I would actually consider trail running because of the thick trees and dirt. I bet if we would have ran the 50k or 50 miler we would have had more of a taste of the actual trail running, but considering how short the out and back was for the relay, I can see how we were only in the woods for so long.

I would love to run the race again next year, but next time something a little longer. 50 miler anyone?

I made it back to the finish line in around 50 minutes (maybe more?) and immediately scarfed some skittles Leslie handed me.

Skittles + End of Race = Not so happy belly. Oh well.

None of us have no clue was the official times were, we were here to have fun and that’s what truly matters.

Cara was describing a snake she saw on the trail.

After all those snake warnings I think she was the only one that spotted one!

We said good bye to our fellow teammates – you ladies rock! – and a few of us headed to Uncle Julio’s for a late lunch.

We all immediately dug into the chips and salsa presented to our table.

The vegetable fajitas immediately struck me on the menu. I loved how the dish was served with large chunks of grilled veggies that looked like the had actually been grilled as opposed to sauteed to resemble grilled.

I think I had 3 fajitas?

After lunch Ashley and I said our last good byes to the gang and braved the metro to head to our next stop in the DC area.

Jacquie is putting Ashley and I up for the night in her lovely apartment. She is so cute and a bundle of energy! We were immediately greeted with chocolate chips cookies – I had one – and once showered we were wisked away to Blue Ridge Restaurant in Georgetown for a fabulous light dinner of appetizers.

I LOVED Blue Ridge! It was an amazing southern restaurant with a modern twist.

Beer was on my mind.

I had The Star Hill ‘ The Love’ Wheat Beer.

It was ok. A little too fruity for my taste.

Instead of bread we were served popcorn.

Our table split a wonderful array of appetizers.

Carpaccio Country Ham and Herb Biscuit with a honey drizzle and raisins

This dish was a wonderful twist on my personal favorite biscuit and ham. The honey drizzle was probably the best part, it created the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Chilled Asparagus Soup