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OK, it’s not quite a marathon but it seemed like one at the time. This morning, we woke up at the Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, Margaret’s old stomping grounds and the site of the former Barnaby’s hotel where we were going to get married before they closed the hotel for a remodel 6 weeks before our wedding (it all turned out well in the end but that’s another story as we approach our 10th wedding anniversary in July!).
After breakfast at the hotel we decided to go for a walk to see the ocean. As it turns out, despite the fact that we had lived here and Dale used to run with his running buddies all the time in this area, the circuitous nature of the roads had our little walk turn into a serious trek. Didn’t help that there was a record heat spell going on and by the time we got back it was in the 80’s and we were all sweaty! But, we survived, quickly packed and headed to the airport in a cab. The cab driver was a very nice man from Ethiopia and we got an education about the local cab situation and the politics of Ethiopia.
Our flight home was typical Southwest, on-time, our driver was waiting for us with a sign that even spelled our name properly. We picked up our puppy Spencer on the way home and relaxed at home on an absolutely delightful, warm evening on our back patio. Glass of Chardonnay, dinner with a nice Pinot Noir and an early night to bed. It’s good to be home!