We took it a little slower this past week, having been a bit burnt out by the constant tourist life we’ve been living in every spare moment we get. Plus, Jen’s work schedule got shitty and she had to work a second weekend in a row. Friday, we met up with my aunt and uncle, Dick and Sharon, as they traveled from Phoenix to visit my other aunt and uncle, David and Nancy, in Pleasanton. We met up for lunch and visited a little while before Jen had to leave for work, but I came back for dinner with the family.

And what a dinner it was. Nancy is a kick-ass cook and everything was delicious. Thus, I was shocked when she related a story to me about how my dad was out to visit a few years ago and she made him the same amazing salmon dish she made that night. My dad refused to eat it, whining like a little bitch about how he doesn’t like fish. I am appalled. Dad, if you’re reading this, you’ve got some explaining to do. All those years of making me eat broccoli and brussel sprouts, telling me that I need to eat whatever I have and be grateful for it, and this is what I find out about you in your private life. You’ve put our good family name to shame, so I ate double the portion of that delectable salmon dinner, and it’s the best food I think I’ve had yet. Come on, live a little. Next time you’re over, I’m making fish, and you’ll like it whether you like it or not.

It was great to catch up with the part of my family that lives west of the Rockies. We only see each other a few times a decade, if that. Next time, we’re going to have to go to Pleasanton on a night that Jen isn’t working so we can all hang out.

Saturday was gloomy and rainy. I felt like I was back in Michigan. Jen worked all night and slept during the day, so I occupied myself with working and waiting for the rain to cease. It didn’t, and I drove out to Mission Peak for some more running to get me in shape for all the hills in the upcoming half marathon. I don’t know whether the rain or the sweatshirt made it harder, but it was way tougher than last week. Plus, there were two ladies running about the same pace as I was, one in a hijab and the other a fitness freak who yelled at the top of her lungs any time the other was too tired and walked. We passed each other a few times, and I felt too much like a creeper when they were ahead of me, so I walked until they were out of sight so as not to look like a potential rapist. The rain never let up, and I copped out and only ran six miles total which is good, but I missed my goal of ten and all I had to show for it was the look and smell of a wet dog.

With Jen working again that night, I made a plan to hit as many breweries in the area as I could. I first tried to go to a festival they were having in Palo Alto, only to find that it had already ended. Instead, I drove around the area for a bit and wow, what a nice town it is. There’s a great downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops; something in which you could spend a few evenings just walking around, exploring. The residential areas have a quaint Hispanic flair and they’re all spread out with a lot of greenery everywhere. I don’t want to know what the housing prices are in this part of town, because it would probably ruin the awe I have for the place.

I drove down to Mountain View, home of Google, because there was a brewery there called Tied House Brewery. The beers were good, though their IPA had a bit too much of a green taste which I, knowing nothing about the beer-making process, assumed was from having hops which weren’t yet ripe enough. I downed a few pints, then toured around downtown Mountain View, yet another of those comfortable downtown areas with a lot going on. After that, I headed to the Firehouse brewery in Sunnyvale, which was more of a full-scale bar which happened to brew a few beers. The beers were average, palatable, but not outstanding in any way. Their gimmick was having a bunch of big-boobed waitresses wearing little red Catholic school girl outfits. Easy on the eyes, if not a bit demeaning. At least they had some TVs playing the UFC fights. It’s a little weird to me now because I rarely see any MMA fighting any more, but having trained and taught that stuff for a while, I can still spot a lot of the technical aspects of the fight but damn, I don’t think I ever want to go back to getting pummeled in the head like that any more. I may need my head later on, so I’ll keep it as fist-free as I can.

This morning, when Jen got back from work and headed to bed, I made a cajun pot roast because that’s how awesome I am, and because I wanted to give Jen a little taste of back home. It’s a bit hard cooking anything with our Spartan kitchen, but I managed. Having felt guilty about my sub-par run yesterday, I took advantage of the sunshine today and ran a new path just west of Los Gatos, running up and down and up and down a hill overlooking the bay area, then down the front of a dam and alongside a river for a ways. I got up to my ten miles today, and it was hard but fulfilling. The thing I was most unprepared for in regards to this whole long distance running thing was the havoc wreaked upon my nipples by the sweat-soaked shirt. They chafe something fierce. I talked to a few guys who said that bandaids worked well, or my sexually deviant brother who was all about having hot wax on his nipples, but I think I’m going to go with something a little more flashy; a little more San Franciscan. Titty-tassels. I’ll have to work on the whole helicopter spinning technique so I can get’m spinning with each stride. That should go over well here.

So all in all, it sucks when Jen’s working and I have the weekend off. I’ve been busying myself with running and drinking, running and drinking. It’s not so bad, but it’s much better with my girl by my side. She’s the one who bullied me into training for this marathon in the first place. I should make her run with me one of these days. I may need another pair of tassels.

In other news, Jen got her work schedule through the end of July, and many of her requests were fulfilled. This will make it easier to spend time with other family we’ve got coming out in June and July. If you’re one of them, we look forward to seeing you!