Martha's Vineyard

This week was mid-winter break at the high school, so I decided to treat myself to a little vacation. My mom's close childhood friend from Yakima moved out to Martha's Vineyard almost 35 years ago and still lives there. I have heard amazing things about the island and how beautiful it is, so I decided to head over that way for a long weekend to stay with Colleen and her family. Getting there was surprisingly easy and thankfully it didn't take too long, however, the journey was certainly not without entertainment. The easiest and most efficient way to get to Martha's Vineyard is to take the bus from South Station in downtown Boston. Taking the "T" downtown with bags has never been my most favorite part of traveling, as experienced through numerous trips to the airport, but I must say, my time spent at South Station took the cake on this trip for its absurdity. From the South Station "T" stop, you have to walk underground to the train station, which is fairly nice and clean, then you walk through the train station, to the back, reject land, through all the construction supplies, to the spot known as the bus depot. Oh... the bus depot. I was traveling on a bus known as Peter Pan/Bonanza Bus lines... but to get to that ticketing office you past all the other bus companies, including, but not limited to; Lucky Star Bus, Bolt Bus, and my personal favorite, Fung Wah, yes, I said, Fung Wah Bus Company. It is rumored to smell like fish inside... hmmm.

As I waited for my bus to arrive, I set my bags down on a bench next to this lady - mistake number 1. As she proceeded to eat her greasy McDonald's hamburger, I noticed her large stack of bags that were not packed very well as clothes were protruding out of the zippers like pieces of seaweed, not to mention the large, black, yard waster bag that was full of clothes. She came up to me after she finished eating and said "Would you like to finish my french fries? I don't want them anymore"... ummmm NO LADY, but thanks??? Gross. I think I have a sign attached to my forehead that screams tell me about yourself... I would love to hear all about what your life is about because that always seems to happen to me; this time was no exception. She was wearing light wash 1984 style jeans which were smashed into her bright, red, ugly, suede boots, and worst of all, when she stood up to stretch, her pants were not only unzipped, but also unbuttoned - probably the result of that nasty, fattening hamburger she had just eaten - not to mention the crop top she was wearing at age 45. blahhhhhh. Needless to say, she was a total nut.

After a relatively, short and easy bus ride (1 hour 45 min), I took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. The ferry departed from Woods Hole (located on Cape Cod), one of the most well known oceanographic institutes in the world. The water, the coast, and the ferry ride were beautiful! Martha's Vineyard is only about 100 sq. miles - so it is very accessible all the way around - we drove the whole island in just a few hours. Also, an interesting side note, it is shaped like a cowboy hat, here is a map of the island: (Colleen lives in Vineyard Haven on the upper North-east(ish) side)

Here are also some pictures:

The harbor at Woods Hole, on Cape Cod - where the ferry leaves from

Looking at Woods Hole - Lighthouse on the Cape

On the ferry

Looking back at the "West Chop" from the ferry boat

Colleen and her younger son Darren met me on the other side - it was so exciting to finally meet them. They were so nice and welcoming to me. Their house was beautiful - it is located in Vineyard Haven, one of 6 towns on the island. It is on the northern side of the island, right by a small lake that connects right to the ocean. It was such a beautiful area. Their home felt like a real home - by that I mean, I felt like I could just relax and sit on the couch, watch tv, and be comfortable. It was so nice to escape the school scene for a little while.

The three of them, Colleen, Shaun, and Darren, took me on a tour of the island - we went to every town, and every corner, saw every lighthouse, and every beach. The island is absolutely amazing and beautiful - not to mention the amazing, gorgeous homes that are there, and their famous inhabitants; such as the homes of Carly Simon, Walter Cronkite, Jackie Onassis, The Douglas family (of McDonald-Douglas airplanes), the CEO of JetBlue, numerous television, movie stars, politicians, and producers. It was unbelievable. The amount of land that people own is insane. Land is very valuable there (duhhh) and there are many farms and agricultural spaces, surprisingly, there are not that many homes, and the homes that exist are very spread out for the most part. It was really quite quaint. The island in the winter is quite calm and mellow, as only about 20,000 residents live there, yet in the summer it has quite a different feeling - much more crowded to say the least.

Two of my favorite towns were the historic town of Edgartown - it is a very traditional town, with almost all white or Cape Cod style homes (faded-grey shingle homes.... that are lovely), and the fishing village of Menemsha. In Edgartown, the streets are beautiful, the homes are amazing, nothing gaudy, the storefronts are so cute, and there is a little 3 car ferry that takes about 5 minutes to reach the infamous inlet of Chappaquidick - the site of the Ted Kennedy crash years ago. Colleen told me that several years ago when Gramma came to visit she thought the bridge where the crash occurred was so unique that she actually broke off a piece of the wood to take home... hmmm. oh gramma! Menemsha is a fishing village of the northern side of the island that has a beautiful beach and the cutest harbor for fishing boats!

The view from Walter Cronkite's home in Edgartown - we snuck onto the property... he also has a building on his property that was built in the 1870s that was built strictly as a bowling alley - it is a long skinny building with an old fashioned alley in it

Walter Cronkite's home in Edgartown

The cute little fishing town of Menemsha and Menemsha Beach - these are the lobster boats

Colleen and I at Menemsha Beach

Looking East on Menemsha Beach

Menemsha Beach - the beach faces NW looking straight at the Elizabeth Islands

We also saw the famous cliffs of Aquinnah, which have continue to erode farther and farther back each year because of the water, wind, and rain. They are beautiful cliffs, however, and the lighthouse has been preserved - they move it back periodically as well. The lighthouses are something else - they are so interesting to see! The north and the south shores of the island are very, very different. One has colder water and a rocky coast (the north), while the south has warmer water (at least in the summer) and a beautiful, sandy beach. The south shore seemed more like the ocean - it gets the water right from the Atlantic - whereas the north shore gets the water and cold wind from the Northeastern coast of the US. The south shore was amazing - with it being winter and no one there, the beach was empty. Just sand all around you, waves hitting the shore, and a beautiful, sunny day. It was incredible. So pretty.

Looking south towards the South beach from the Aquinnah Clay Cliffs

The Aquinnah clay cliffs (you can see the erosion) - looking NW towards the Elizabeth Islands and Cape Cod)

South beach

South beach

South beach

Looking east towards Chappaquiddick from South beach

The south beach looking west - beautiful sandy beach!

And then the North side....

Lambert's Cove

Colleen on Lambert's Cove

Lambert's Cove

Lambert's Cove - on the North side of the Island

Lambert's Cove

View from Lambert's Cove

View from Vineyard Haven

Here are a few others from Oak Bluffs:

The light house in Oak Bluffs

These homes are known as the gingerbread homes....

The campgrounds in Oak Bluffs - these houses all look like dollhouses and they were built on an old campground - the owners own the houses, but not the land - it is owned by a Methodist group. You used to have to be Methodist to live there.

I didn't want the weekend to end, but after enjoying my time there, watching the Olympics, seeing the island, experiencing the nightlife - a story in and of itself - purchasing a super cute sweatshirt, and enjoying some home cooked food (not to mention A LOT of chocolate chip cookies), I had to make the trek back to Boston. I can guarantee you, though, that I will be going back soon :)

Colleen and her sons were such incredible people. They were so hospitable to me and I had such a wonderful time. It was so nice to finally meet them (at least that I can remember) and to hear her tell stories of she and mom growing up. I am planning on going back again soon this spring, and even better, Mom is going to come and visit and I can't wait for her to see Colleen and the island - it is a place that Mom will LOVE.

February Snow

While the weather has certainly been cold lately, I have been slightly disappointed by the lack of snow. Last week, school was cancelled on Wednesday in anticipation of a major snowstorm that was supposed to hit Boston... only the snow never came. (Not complaining though - I enjoyed the day off of school) I wasn't holding out much hope when the weatherman said snow was supposed to hit Boston on Tuesday (yesterday), except I awoke yesterday to a dusting of snow on the ground and some serious snow still falling. I quickly went for a run before the ground was too covered to get a good run in, and it was so pretty outside (minus the pelting snow that was hitting my face because of the wind). Throughout the morning the snow just kept coming... the sidewalks were slowly disappearing and it was coming down hard and fast. I had to venture to the post-office yesterday, and all I can say, is it was a good thing I had some red rain boots!! It was really pretty outside and I think overall there was about 4 inches. Not as much as I thought there would be, but a good enough amount!

The parking lot outside my apartment building...

There was one sad, traumatic moment yesterday despite the beautiful snow. A few years back I bought the CUTEST orange stripped umbrella at Banana Republic on sale in San Diego when I was there visiting Kelly. The umbrella has served me well and been a trusty partner through the treacherous rain storms that flash out of nowhere. I was also so proud of my little orange umbrella because it never flipped inside out in the wind... it was a great little guy. Then, two weeks ago, my first Monday back, we had the most obnoxious, dreadful, and insane rain storm. It was windy, rainy, and made for some miserable weather. Poor little orange struggled in the storm and had a few problems - but I didn't think the problems were extensive until yesterday when I went to use trusty orange in the snow.... I opened it up, and look what I was left with :( It was a sad day... and now I need a new umbrella!!

Last night, I did get the opportunity to go meet Don Delisi for dinner in Cambridge. He is in Boston for the day and flew in last night. I was a little nervous his flight might get cancelled because of the snow, but he made it in, and I took the bus to meet him at a great little Tex-Mex restaurant, Border Cafe. It was so fun to see him and he is so great to talk to!! This weekend I am off to Martha's Vineyard to stay with Colleen Patrick, Mom's friend from Yakima. I am really excited to go and I will post pictures when I get back on Sunday!

Boston Indoor Games!

Every year there are two, big, well-known indoor track meets (besides that national and the world meets) on the professional running circuit. The first is the Milrose Games, which take place in New York City, and the second meet is the Boston Indoor Games, right here in Boston (duh...). The meet is located at a facility called the Reggie Lewis Center, on the campus of Roxbury Community College. This year, the meet in Boston was on February 6, 2010... and I was lucky enough to get to go. My friend Katharine, who I run with sometimes work with at Boston College High School, got 2 tickets for us to go.... I was really excited!

Having only really been to one indoor facility, the Dempsey Indoor at the University of Washington, it was really interesting and exciting to see another indoor meet. This particular track is raised, 200 meters, and the curves are banked. Although I am definitely a little bias, the distance events seemed to be the highlight of the meet. They were certainly expected to be the most exciting, especially as Bernard Lagat (the gold medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics in both the 1500 m and the 5000 m - the only individual to ever double and win gold in both events) had announced that he was going to attempt to break the American Indoor Record in the 5000 m (13:18). The facility has a really exciting atmosphere, and because all the events happen in such a small space, the place feels crowded and really energetic, not to mention the stands were right on the edge of the track - you were so close to the action!! Because of the short track, the 60 m sprints take place on the infield.

(On a side note... the athlete in pink is Ginny Powell, she is a graduate of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle - she runs the hurdles)

The sprint races were really exciting to watch, especially the 400 m and the 200 m, which were run on the track, but because of the short, intensity of the track, footing and timing was of the essence for these athletes.... one wrong step and you were toast. Several athletes got tripped up and the races were very physical.

The distance races included the women's 1000 m, with athletes such as Anna (Willard) Pierce, a 2008 Olympian, the men's mile, with Nick Willis, an New Zealander (Olympian) who won, the women's 3000 m, with Shannon Rowbury, also an Olympian (she ran at the UW invite just this past weekend also)...

The girl in pink is Shannon Rowbury.... (in case you care....) :)

And the men's and women's 5000 m. The men's 5000 m was perhaps the most exciting race of the night. The race was headlined by Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp (U of O graduate and Olympic athlete in 2008). Galen Rupp had the previous American Indoor Record, which he set last year.

Here are some pictures from before the gun went off....

The race started out really slow and for the first 3 k they were off American record pace by about 5 seconds. Then, about 3.5 k the race go SO exciting... Galen Rupp surged to the front and pushed the pace. About 4.5 k Bernard overtook the lead and pushed for the win. It was such an exciting race and the crowd was going nuts. Lagat took the win in 13:11 and Galen was 4th in 13:14 - both were under the old American Indoor Record!!!

One of Mom's favorite runners is Bernard Lagat, so I decided that I would try to get his autograph as he was leaving the track. Since the stands were crowded, it made for an interesting scenario trying to get down to go to the edge of the track to wait for him.... I decided to jump over the railing, which was right in front of us, only to have one leg fall straight into a garbage can... classy.

I did in fact get his autograph - I was one of the first people to get it, and I did in fact also donate my blue sharpie to the cause....

Here are some pictures from the race...

This is when Galen took the lead...

To top off the evening, as we were leaving the stadium at the end of the night, Bernard Lagat was doing some interviews on the field, and he came over to the end of the track to high five some people.... me being ambitious asked him for a picture... he was so friendly and a really nice guy. He is so incredibly talented and he is one of the greatest American distance runners in recent history.