We were recently reminded that we hadn’t posted anything to our travel blog in awhile.  It’s not that we haven’t been busy (and traveling); it’s just that we’ve been busy!  In an attempt to catch up and document a few of the highlights of the past few months, this post will be a mishmash of fun stuff.

The Holidays

After our time in Greece, we hung around Prescott for the holidays. It was nice to spend time with family, do the traditional holiday things, and play in the New Years Eve snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The heaviest snow so far this year didn’t stop us from hosting a neighborhood NYE party.  Steve dug a path from each neighbor’s door to our door so there were no excuses!

Our hike back into the forest on virgin white snow on New Year’s Day was also unforgettable.

Hiking the Prescott Circle Trail

When the weather has cooperated, we’ve been hitting our local trails, either by foot or on bike. One challenge we’ve set for this year is to hike/run the 55-mile Prescott Circle Trail.  So far we’ve covered several segments, and we look forward to exploring more as the year progresses.  We’ve even had some friends join us along the way. Below is a photo of our neighbor Peggy joining us for a segment. Steve plans to do a one-day run of the entire loop later this spring, so our hikes have been his reconnaissance.

January Jam

In January we made the pilgrimage to Rocky Point, Mexico to celebrate January Jam with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers and some of our best friends.  Our neighbor Sheri joined us for her first RCPM experience, so we tried to show her the very best of our home away from home. We ate, drank, sang, shopped, walked the beach, did yoga, visited new places (check out the photos from the hole-in-the-wall bakery we found), and had an overall great time.

We Lost Our Baby

Shortly after returning home from Mexico, our little dog Nica got really sick.  Within 36 hours she went from normal to gone. The vet says she got some kind of bug of unknown origin, got dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea, and just couldn’t recover.  At less than six pounds, she didn’t have much to fight with.  They don’t think it was anything from our travels south, but we really don’t know what took her from us. Nica gave us seven awesome years of fun.  Her energy, personality, and sometimes annoying habits (anyone missing a sock?) are sadly missed.  Sister Mia is helping us through the loss, and she’s loving the extra attention.

The Year of Marathons

Steve has set a goal of running a marathon a month in 2019.  So, the year ahead will be filled with blog posts related to running events. His first marathon of the year was successfully completed in Charleston, South Carolina on January 12.

I also ran the Shrimp and Grits 5K, which was held simultaneous to the marathon. Since we traveled so far, we enjoyed a few extra days in the city, which allowed us to learn about a part of the country we’d never visited.

New Orleans was the site of the February race and on the 10^th, Steve completed his second marathon of the year, and I completed the 10K.

But the races were just a small part of this trip, which also included time on Bourbon Street, a Mardi Gras parade, and a visit to the National World War II museum, which is not to be missed.

We’ve got quite a few more adventures planned in the coming months.  We’ll also be in Prescott in between, spending time with Dad and enjoying our beautiful hometown. Stay tuned for more fun!