The Real O.C

I'm home now from my trip to So Cal. After leaving Beverly Hills, I have to say, my trip got much more interesting. I had the opportunity to drive down the coast as I was staying in San Diego for one night. I headed out Wednesday afternoon and drove through Newport Beach and stopped for lunch in the now infamous Laguna Beach. This was incredible. Despite the insistent cloud cover, which I have now been repeadity told is know as the June Gloom, this was still a beautiful drive and these two cities were well worth the detour. The hills of California are the perfect back drop to the picturesque homes and stereotypical "California lifestyle". The beachside homes and city centers all ouze with the easy laidback "life's a beach" mentality and the people are perfectly manicured to match either their enormous hillside homes or their "modest" beachside villas. This is the Real O.C.

After a short but sweet visit to San Diego, I was headed north again, but this time stopping in Hermosa Beach. I lucked out as this weekend happened to be the weekend Hermosa Beach played host to the AVP Open (American Volleyball Professionals- for all you not so volleyball inclined). I got to watch some of the worlds best volleyball players from no further than six feet off the court.


The town was buzzing with fans and players alike all out for a great weekend and some good ol' fashion tourney parties. I of course, being there on business had no part in this volleyball Tom Foolery ;) but I did get to to witness some of the lifestyle as I walked up and down The Strand, a pedestrian only street which lines the beach and some of the most beautiful houses back onto. By mid afternoon the people had started to congregate on patios and fire up the BBQ's. By late afternoon I was getting familiar with the idea that not very many people drive in this town but rather get from party to party via their uber retro- yet very cool low rider bikes followed closely by (and sometimes even towing) their buddy on a long board skateboard. This lifestyle is something I became envious of quickly and will not easily forget.



Now, I'm back in the good old T dot, and life is back to normal. Yesterday, I enjoyed my very last day of rest before getting back into my training regime. I'm going to be taking it slowly for a few weeks, just keeping it to two 5K runs a week. I'm seeing a Sports Medicine Doctor on Wednesday morning, hopefully he'll have some good advice for me.

Also, I'm very proud to announce my Team Diabetes campaign has now reach over $2,211 as of this morning. So many thanks go out to everyone who has supported me. What's next?? The end of July brings the International Jazz Festival to the Beaches and I will be taking advantage of my Queen Street front property and having a massive Fundraising BBQ!!!! More details to come. Stay tuned.

S.