My husband and I traveled to Ann Arbor Friday afternoon. He talked to a company to get a deduction taken off a bill. He was inside the building for 10-15 minutes. I couldn't believe how many other customers were there. He got everything worked out. The company took the item off our bill and also gave a $20 credit for having to drive to Ann Arbor to take care of the matter. The person that helped my husband said that there should have been a way to handle this over the phone. After leaving the company we headed towards downtown Ann Arbor and Graffiti Alley.
We were there a couple of weeks ago and I took a bunch of photos. I decided that my Graffiti Alley photos will be used in an upcoming photo exhibition. I wanted to go back and take more photos to decide which ones I want to have displayed in the gallery. Getting to Graffiti Alley was a disaster. So much traffic in Ann Arbor on a Friday afternoon. Nothing but college students all over. Just finding a parking spot took longer then the time I spent in the alley. We found a parking spot on the street two blocks away from Graffiti Alley. I didn't have much change in my pocket and thus that meant I didn't have much time. I only had enough money for 15 minutes on the meter.
I was so thankful that I couldn't smell anything this time. My cold took out my sense of smell. I was able to work fast and take photos. I took photos at some different angles and took some of some new graffiti. I got what I needed and we headed back to my husband's truck. When we arrived, time on our meter had expired.
Instead of waiting until Saturday to get my ring cleaned, we stopped at a jeweler Friday. I gave my ring to the employee and she looked at it before cleaning it. She said one of the prongs holding my diamond has worn down. I need to get it replaced. Boo. This week, I will be dropping my beloved engagement ring off of the jeweler. I'm always sad to be without it, but I would be even sadder to lose my diamond. When I get it back, I know it will be in better shape then what it was in.
After the half marathon, my husband and I traveled out of town for a getaway for our 10th wedding anniversary. We headed to the
Holiday Inn French Quarter in Perryburg, Ohio. The room was a little small, but the hotel was nice. After checking in, we headed to
Levis Commons to walk around. Our first stop was Books-A-Million. Sadly I didn't find anything that I wanted to read. Leaving a bookstore without buying any books is a sad experience for me. I love books. The restaurant that we planned on eating at later in the evening was right across the way from Books-A-Million. We walked over to
Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano to look at the menu that was posted outside. After looking at the menu, we headed back to the hotel to go swimming.
When we got to the pool, there were so many kids in there. We knew that the hotel had an adult only pool, so we walked over to it. Unfortunately it was closed due to a wedding reception. We had to go back and join the kids. There were so many kids in the pool, we decided to sit in the whirlpool first. It was so nice. The water was just right and the jets felt good on my legs and back. After enjoying the whirlpool for a while, I followed my husband into the pool. The water was really cold. It was one of those pools were you could swim under a barrier to have excess to the outside pool. Since it was a little chilly outside, the cold water found its way into the inside pool. I was only in the pool for five minutes. I couldn't stand it anymore. I told my husband I was getting out. He said to go back to the whirlpool. I looked over at it and the kids found it. It was packed with so many children. I went back to our room and took a hot shower. It felt so good.
After my husband finished swimming and a visit to the sauna, he got ready for dinner. My husband ordered Capellini Di Mare (angel hair pasta, large shrimp, scallops and calamari sauteed in a spicy tomato-vegetable sauce and topped with mussels and Little Neck clams). I ordered Ravioli Quattro Formaggi (Ravioli filled with ricotta, Parmesan, Romano and blue cheeses. With a delicate cream sauce, basil and pine nut pesto over a fresh tomato sauce.) The food was wonderful. Its one of the best Italian places we have ever eaten at. But the best Italian place ever is
Maggiano's Little Italy in Boston, Massachusetts.
The next morning, my cold woke me up. I couldn't breathe because of my stuffed nose. Since I was awake, I decided to head to the fitness center and run on the treadmill. I thought it was a weird that I didn't see a water cooler. I ran 10 miles without any water. The treadmill stopped after 65 minutes. By that time, I had run 7 miles. I got a drink out of the restroom faucet, which is gross, I did it because I was thirsty. After the drink I continued on the treadmill for another three miles. When I finished, I noticed that the fitness center had another restroom/towel area in the back. I walked back to it and saw it had a water cooler. I couldn't believe I didn't see it when I walked it. Oh well, so I drank out of a restroom faucet.
This past weekend was wonderful. I photographed graffiti, had my rings cleaned, ran a PR and spend time with my husband. I loved every minute of it.
I was thinking I was going to attempt my first 100 mile race in 2013. But I've heard from people that Burning River 100 is a good place to run your first 100 miler. I found myself on the Burning River 100 website this week.
