Walking and Working Out Around Town

As much as we loved our hotel, the fold-out couch that was meant for two people was not comfortable at all. (At least that was what I was told... I got the King Size bed with Bekah the first night!) Poor Sheree and Rachel were not only sleeping on cardboard, but were also freezing with just a sheet and a light blanket. Bekah and I were wrapped up in down comforters!!

We had one rollaway bed that Michelle slept in (because she snores.) (Guess what... so does Bekah!)

So we requested another rollaway and then put blankets on the couch. The second night Sheree and Rachel got the comfy bed and I took the couch. We put the snorers in the rollaways in the corner. 

Bekah was our room rearranger/organizer. She moved around a club chair and a cute chess table & chairs so that the rollaways could fit out of the way and we could comfortably move around the room. She's a great stager!

The couch was super comfy! (When not in fold-out position.) And we requested more blankets -- and the hospitality guy who brought them showed me the closet where we could help ourselves to more... including a down blanket! The 2nd night everyone was happy! (Unless Michelle and Bekah on the rollaways were just being good sports. They said they were comfortable!)

We met Flex for our training session at 10 am so hurried to a grocery store to get protein bars, juice and fruit to eat ahead of time. As soon as we walked up, he put us to work. Maximized that 60 minutes for an excellent nearly puke-worthy workout. Worked every muscle extra hard. Going up 2 flights (equivalent of provably 5) holding a 25 lb kettle bell was what almost sent me running to barf. Then when we thought we were done and free, he circled us up for a meditation session. (Dang! I just remembered I forgot to play my favorite mediation song for my sisters. "I Am" by Nirinjan Kaur. It's super spiritual.) It was hard, but it was really, really fun!

After working out we walked back to Montana for lunch. Then back to our hotel to relax by the pool for a couple of hours. (Or one.)

We had plans to meet Susan and Annie Wasserman for an early dinner. It's always so good to see them! Susan is the most generous person and Annie is incredibly smart and delightful to spend time with. Our links to them are many... We met Susan and Annie at Carlthorp when Annie and Courtney were in the same Kindergarten class. We hit it off immediately. Susan also had a daughter, Emma, same age as Marty. A couple of years later we were looking to move closer to school. Susan said we should see her rental. It was a little out of our range, so I demurred. (vocab!)

One day we were at a birthday party with our kids at Bel Air Bay Club. I was just coming from looking at houses. She insisted I look at hers and she'd give me a good deal. I went straight there and it was perfect! Clean, new kitchen, a great yard perfect for our kids, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths on the most amazing street. We took it! A year later we were needing to lower our budget that included looking for a place with cheaper rent. Also, "laying off" Rachel who was nannying for me. Susan lowered our rent so we would stay AND was ecstatic to meet with Rachel to talk about hiring her as a nanny. It was a good fit for both and Rachel stayed with her for a lot of years. Until she graduated with her nursing degree. In addition, Susan also hired 2 of Rachel's roommates for various jobs over the years. 

Annie just graduated from a top undergrad business school and is working for a firm that is doing work for Dan's company right now. What?! Small world! She showed me a photo of Courtney and her together with a few more of their friends in Kindergarten. That little group has gone on to do some amazing things: Annie, working in M&A for an investment firm, Courtney getting her PhD, Lily working on Wall Street, Maddie in grad school, Taylor is an actress and model in LA, Madi in her last year at a top undergrad school with a job lined up at Goldman Sachs. Um, yeah. I'm proud of these amazing girls!

After dinner we ran across the street to take photos. Then we had a great idea to leave the car, walk back to our hotel, change into comfier clothes and shoes and then walk down to the Pier. (Sheree was dying to go on the roller coaster and talked us all into it too!) We made it back to the hotel and changed. Then sat our tired, aching bodies down and just talked. An hour later Bekah voted and I seconded to stay at the hotel and forget about the Pier. But fortunately Rachel remembered that our car was still parked back by the restaurant a mile away. So we all headed out to pick up the car. Beech elected to not come and instead ordered flowers for Susan who had treated for dinner and figured out her flight info because it was a fiasco on the way out.

When we got to the car area, Sheree talked us into going all the way to the Pier. So we walked another mile and went on the Tidal Wave and Ferris Wheel. We got popcorn for a treat and enjoyed being out with the crowds on a Saturday night. Then we walked to gelato and then the final way back to the car. Only we went two blocks too far and had to go backwards a bit. All in all I think Michelle's watch tracked us at walking 12 miles that day!

Ferris Wheel Selfie!