6 November 2017 - Redwoods National Park, California

Imagine the length of a football field. Next, image a tree as long as that field. Stand the tree upright and you've got the monster redwood trees of Northern California. I'd been arguing with myself for a few weeks about driving further north from San Francisco. It's once thing to do a 7 hour drive there and another thing to do 4 more hours north of that. Once I got outside the city the hills, forest and fog made themselves known.

I started seeing the great trees sooner than I expected (only 2 hours into my drive). One of my favorite photos shows the scale of my car next to one of these biological marvels.

A little further up the road I found myself at Richardson's Grove State Park. Once again I stopped to hike and admire what nature can do. This place was beyond anything I have ever imagined.


I returned to my car and continued my drive. Eventually I would find the Avenue of the Giants and enjoy nearly 20 miles of pristine redwoods. I recommend this route to anyone that wants to experience this.

I eventually ended up so far north that I found the Shasta/Trinity National Forest. Why not explore this one too?

It was a long day of exploring, but I ended it very happy with what I had experienced. Someday, I will return and explore further.

5 November 2017 - San Francisco, CA - SoFi Half Marathon

For a few years, as I have discovered new race destinations, I have had a growing list of places I want to run. One of these goals was to run across the historic Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Last June, thanks to another race, I was made aware of one occurring this month. While this is not the official SF Marathon, this smaller event was perfect for my needs.

I decided to drive 7 hours from LA and spent most of Saturday on the road. It's been a few months since my last road trip so it felt good to get on the road again. Arriving early in the afternoon, I took a walk along the bay.

I had a nice pizza dinner and then went to bed early. I had forgotten that it was the time change weekend so I got an extra hour of sleep. Never thought I would say that I got to sleep in before a race. The starting line was just 2 blocks from the hotel so it was an easy warm up walk. It was a little cold and I found myself shivering a little bit.

I approached this race like any other. Take it slow at the start, listen to my body, and take walk breaks as needed. The first few miles were average and this course had small hills to deal with. Around mile 5 I felt a sensation I have not experienced since Disney in 2016. I didn't need a break...I just felt like going nonstop. Here are a few more photos of the experience...




It was an amazing day. As I neared the last mile I noticed a little bit of cramping so I slowed my pace a little bit. Crossing the finish line I was pleasantly surprised with a new Personal Record of 2h 20m. The last record I set for myself was 2014 at the Dayton River Corridor half with a 2h 28m. I want to keep improving.