eat out in Pullman, WA: Paradise Creek Brewery

Last weekend my entire family (minus my husband, who decided to go to the Husky game over stepping a foot in Cougar territory) ventured the 6 hours to the other side of Washington. While the rumors are true and there really isn't a whole lot to set eyes on, there is the city of Pullman, home of WSU, home of Cougar Gold cheese.

We went to visit my little brother who moved over this summer to attend school. How he grew into an adult and is living by himself is beyond me - I think trickery is involved, but I'll roll with it for now.

I had never been to the campus before, but whoa. It's beautiful. Granted, there is the Fall factor that lends a hand in making things beautiful, but I think WSU's grounds were pretty even before all the red and orange shades came into play.

While my Dad and brother watched the football game, us laaaaaaadies went to see a movie (Gravity, which fulfilled all my expectations and was awesome) and then grabbed some food at Paradise Creek Brewery. Now, I love breweries. Not only do they typically have great beer, the food is always great and the atmosphere is fun. When traveling to a new town, I always looks up their local brewery. And if there isn't one, I do not go to the town. End of story, do not collect $200.

Paradise Creek did not disappoint. The three of us all ordered different things, and they were all delicious. I got the "southern thang" burger and doctored it up with the lentil patty (amazing), sans bacon. It was really the best decision of my life. Here's its selfie (lighting wasn't on my side):

But yeah, that deep-fried pickle sealed the deal. I could eat this every day and be completely content. Even the salad was phenomenal, and it was a side salad. My mom got the grilled cheese and my sister chose the lentil burger with the mac and cheese as a side. There are no words to describe that Cougar Gold cheese they use. Wait, yeah there are - creamydecadentgooeyomg.

Oh, and the beer wasn't too shab either. ;) Oh Behave was my favorite, which unfortunately I could only handle a sip of thanks to the monstrosity that was burger.

I'll be back tomorrow with more running talk!

What is the first thing you look for when you visit a new city?

music at McMenamins Edgefield

This past weekend my boy and I took a little day/night trip 3 hours south to Portland, Oregon to accomplish 3 big goals:

1. Eat at Nicholas Restaurant
2. Hang out in the beautiful ground of McMenamins Edgefield
3. Watch The National send their audience into a giant awestruck stare

And guess what? ALL THE THINGS HAPPENED!

I've waxed poetic about Nicholas Restaurant before, and I will do it again, hopefully at least another 82 times. It really is the best food I've had in a long time, including Turkey where much of this is the same cuisine. We get their vegetarian grape leaves and their Arabian Vegan Meze every time and I swear it only gets better. Throw in the complimentary pita bread (which they know have a gluten-free version of!) and it's un-for-get-table.

After stuffing ourselves to high heavens, we ventured off to McMenamins at the Edgefield, which is one of the neatest places in the Pacific Northwest. It's a brewery, winery, distillery, golf course, garden, hotel, restaurant, and concert venue all rolled into a gorgeous estate. It was raining off and on, but it didn't matter since there was delicious wine involved.

This was our second time watching The National, and they never forget their passion and love of performing at home. Home boys brought it, and it's definitely up there as one of my favorite concert experiences ev-er. It stayed dry the entire time up until the very end when it poured during the encore. It was very emotional.

What's your favorite band to see live? And have you ever been to a McMenamins?

get into the groove

After being away from home for three weeks without adhering to any sort of schedule, I was a little invigorated to return home and get back into a steady routine. Traveling is exhausting, in the very best way. The mind is constantly working, soaking up new sights and information, and the legs are always on the go, covering mileage I never thought I would cover when I wasn't running.

Seriously though, there was so much walking. I now think that falling into bed at night with aching, twitching leg muscles and barking dogs for feet is one of that most fulfilling feelings ever. I walked across Athens, and then walked the complete other way across Athens, and then came back and BAM, log those 16 miles in the book.

Give me a coin collector can and spare some change for the tired American girl.

 So yeah, now we're back, and aside from napping (er'ry day), doing laundry (2 tons of it), and scrambling around trying to restock our fridge, I've gotten a few runs in. It hasn't been too deathly hot around here, so I've been able to venture out after work.

I had so much energy my first day back at work, which was really unexpected given that I had only slept 9 hours after being awake for 30. (It must have been the outcome of eating all those calories I consumed while riding in planes the entire 2 days before.) That energy stuck with me on my first 6 mile run that evening, which was ab-so-lute-ly blissful - I didn't want it to end! It was one of those runs where everything feels fresh, from the air to my legs to my tunes. I had to tell myself to slow down a few times so that my thighs could be guaranteed to still work the next day.

It feels strange not training for anything at the moment, and simply running for the love of it. To have such a simple outlook on when and how long and why to run is pretty refreshing at this point, when I'm back at home and trying to get a routine going. I might just bask at this point for a little while longer and see what happens!

France-y Pants

My feet are tired. My eyes are dry, from wearing my contacts for hours and hours and hours. My brain is both tired and wired, from not sleeping and trying to sort through all these new experiences and sights. 

But, my heart is happy. My camera is chock full of pictures, from trying to capture every last thing I pay eyes on that I just can't forget. 

These past 5 days have been a busy, fulfilling blur. We have been walking all around France, or so it seems. We've walked at least 45 miles alone since Wednesday, and it doesn't seem that we will slow down anytime soon. There's too much to see and feel. 

Sure, we have had some fantastic food since we landed in Paris on Wednesday morning, sleepy-eyed with hollow stomachs. With Scott's gluten intolerance, it has been tough finding him a balanced meal, or at least one that doesn't focus solely on French fries (but hey, they are French, oui?) We have had our fair share of quick food, when hunger strikes after walking 12 miles and dinner still isn't for another 3 hours. 

But the best meals have been our picnics.   We focus on he basics: bread, cheeses, lettuce, fruit, vino. Maybe some pre made quinoa salad. And then we sit on my scarf-gone-blanket and talk about how it can't really get better than that. This. 

We leave for Turkey tomorrow morning for 6 days. France has been invigorating, and while I'm sad to leave, I know there will be so many other experiences to be had in Turkey. Like hot air balloon rides and sleeping in a cave. Seriously, I think I'm ready for that. 

Euro-trip 2013

Hi, friends! Sorry for the lag in updates, but there really hasn't been too much running going on my way after Ragnar. I've logged in some summertime evening miles whenever I've felt like it, which has been really lovely. 

We're leaving for a vacation abroad today (!!!), so I made sure to get lots of exercise yesterday to try and tire myself out. While the effort was there , it proved to be futile as my excitement completely negates any muscle tiredness I'm currently feeling.  

We will be flying into Paris about 14 hours from now, and will be posting an update soon! I tried to find a race to run in one of the three countries we are visiting, but it was a loss. Even in Greece! 

Alright, I'm off to board our first plane. Paris, here we come!

straight up debauchery

Happy Thursday, friends! I will be MIA until next week while the hus and I are splashing around in Palm Springs and dancing our boo-tays off at Coachella. This is the third time we've taken the venture together, and I can honestly say it just keep getting more and more FUN.

We are meeting up with our good friends tonight who have the cutest 1 year old daughter that we haven't gotten to spend much time with, so it will be fantastic to visit with them. Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will consist of morning pool time followed by afternoon/evening/buttcrack of midnight Coachella time - all in 96 degree heat! I sweat just anticipating it.

SeaTac snacks. You can keep your $3 granola bar.

Have a great weekend, and I will meet you back here Tuesday!