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Down South

I spent a long weekend in Houston visiting my friend, Dionne, who is there for a six month internship at the end of her long educational journey. (That's Dionne and me in the picture above posing like we were taking high school senior photos.) I went to Houston expecting to find a big concrete mess but I was surprised. There were trees everywhere with most residential neighborhoods full of brick houses framed with arch-creating tree-lined streets. Quite nice, really.

My first full day there it was in the 90s and crazy humid. Supposedly, the humidity I experienced is nothing compared to the months to come but it was pretty suffocating for this California girl. Thankfully, we were inside a museum for the hottest parts of the day. That night we saw the Houston Ballet perform Madame Butterfly at an open air theater at a park. Pretty spectacular for my first ballet viewing. That night we met up with Dionne's friends at a cool little bar to drink some drinks and eat some queso.

On Sunday the humidity was back at tolerable levels. We visited another park and enjoyed some jazz music. Afterwards we explored some funky shops in an eclectic neighborhood and relaxed at mellow cafe. Here's one more "senior year moment" picture from the park.

Thanks to Dionne and her friends for a great weekend!

Mexican food and marathons

We've had some friends and family come to visit over the last couple of weekends and it's been a fun distraction from my busy work weekdays. First came Greg and Jess. We did a lot of relaxin' mixed in with some Mexican food eating. Here's proof:

Then came my brother and his girlfriend to run the La Jolla half marathon. Dave and I ran it last year but, sadly, we were not in any kind of shape to make a go of it this year. Unfortunately, the weather on Sunday was one of the hottest we've had in Southern California this year. We saw at least five ambulances as we watched the runners go by. The weather didn't allow Patxi and Stacy to hit their goal times but they finished at a great pace. Here they are dancing along somewhere between miles 9 and 10. Great job guys!