IronJourney

                                                          My departure day. I’m sad to leave but so happy to go home and see my family. I miss them terribly. The city is overwhelming but I cannot wait to return. I get my workout in as planned at 6am- 30 hard minutes on the treadmill and 30 min swim in the pool.   Breakfast is awesome. I will miss this breakfast spread.                                    I really do like this hotel. Everything is on schedule. The uber to the airport was very smooth- no traffic which is shocking. We got lost finding the terminal 2 but eventually made it with time to spare. Check in was a breeze. And then the duty free shop- Filipino rum. Oh hell yeah, I’m buying a few bottles for James, Byron and friends. They te...

Today I planned to sleep in, I didn’t but was happy to get up and wander anyway. Breakfast was awesome at the hotel. I tried the kimchi potatoes and loved them. I wanted to check out this small art museum, Art in Island    a few blocks away, it was one of the few businesses open on Maundy Thursday. It opens at 9:30. I have a long time. SO I went for a walk. The streets were quiet but it was already hot. Both Starbucks were closed.   It was nice. I needed to check out the light rail station to see if they were closed because that was my ride to the airport tomorrow. Very closed, closed for the next 4 days. Okay I guess I’ll uber it. I walked to the Farmers Market and back to the museum. The museum is an interactive museum. Murals are painted on the walls so that you can take pictures of folks in the scene. It was short and sweet. My kids would have had fun with selfies.   I needed to get back to training. I’ve been using the excuse that I’ve been “walking” but...

We're going to the beach! I woke up several times out of fear of missing my 3:30 am alarm. The family went to extensive efforts to arrange this trip for Cynthia, Christian and me. I was the first to be picked up by the driver at 4am. I got up early and was ready. Joseph, our driver was right on time. We went to get Cynthia and Christian. The streets were mostly quiet. We ended up in a gated neighborhood with guards. The houses were amazing. We arrived at Cousin Juny’s where they were staying.   I went in and Juny and Cynthia’s mother, Mely were awake. I had a glass of juice fresh from Juny’s trees and we headed out. The drive was about 3-4 hours. It was incredible leaving the city. I saw the lush green mountains and wanted to go there. The small towns were simple. I was texting with James and somehow our conversation resulted in a quest to see a water buffalo. I finally saw one on the way back fairly up close. Those creatures are weird. They stand in a watered rice field and chew ...