22 December 2019 - Ohio Christmas

Most of my family lives on the other side of the country. While I don't want to give up my southwest US lifestyle (and weather), I do compromise and head east for some holidays as I can afford the airfare. This year was time for Christmas in Ohio. We started our week in Cleveland, enjoying the sights and sounds. The Christmas lights at the Zoo was fun.

Next, we made our way to Atwood Lake/Dellroy for some family time.

Finally, we headed out into the woods at Hocking Hills state park for some hiking and cabin camping.

8 December 2019 - Riverside Reigndeer Run Half Marathon, Riverside,CA

My last race of the year! This year I set a goal to complete a California Race series challenge (in addition to my running of the Beach Cities Challenge). The first 3 included Tustin, Irvine, and Laguna Hills. This one is a race I have wanted to do since 2015 ever since I moved here. I was a little worried as it has been raining for the past few days and I do not like to run in the rain.

I left my home at 5am and drove to Riverside, arriving around 6:15am. I rode a shuttle bus to the starting line. The weather was really good, cooperating with cloudly skies and mild temperatures around 60deg F. This was a much smaller race (participants) than I expected. It was kind of nice to not feel so crowded.

The first part of the run followed some city streets. Next, we transitioned to a river trail for a few miles. Then, we did a square mile in a residential neighborhood. Maybe it wasn't the most exciting course, but it was a new one for me and I enjoy the exploration.

I finished with not that great of total time but was happy to have met my goal for the year.

7 December 2019 - Temecula Valley, California - Wine Tours

While I am not much of a consumer of wine, I do like to explore the culture of California farms and wineries. The girlfriend and I took a day trip to Temecula Valley to explore one of the closest wine country locations to Los Angeles. It was a bit of a rainy day so the fields and vineyards were not all that great, but it also kept the crowds away. Since most of the wine and cheese tastings occur indoors this was perfectly fine for us. Here are a few photos from the day: