Race Week is Here

It's hard to believe that a journey that began a little more than a year ago with "Just a Mile" is down to one week. The big question right now is "Am I ready". The answer? I have NO IDEA.

If the race were today I'd say there's a very good chance I'd finish it. I just came in from a comfortable 6 miles. However, I last week (8 miles) and the week before that (10 miles) my confidence quotient was pretty low. I can worry about it or I can hope that the mind, body, and spirit stars will all be aligned properly next week. It's likely I'll do some of both this week. In the end analysis, I will be in a place that I love with people that I love so really there is no downside.

My goal is cross the finish line on my feet and hands in the air at any time that keeps me ahead of the sweeper van clearing the streets after the 3 hour and 15 minute cutoff time.

The day before the OCNJ Half, I and many others will be participating in the  10th Annual Laps for Lexi in Sandy Spring, MD.

Lexi Speight was my niece. Laps for Lexi is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Proceeds from its events support the endowment of the Lexi Speight Chair in Pediatric Oncology at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's National Medical Center. The Chair, created in 8-year-old Lexi's memory, will fight to identify innovative therapies to treat, and ultimately cure, childhood cancer. Funds raised also support the Lexi Speight Scholarship at Sandy Spring Friends School. The scholarship will make it possible for a student with financial needs to attend Lexi's beloved Lower School at Sandy Spring Friends School.

Laps for Lexi is about $20K short of reaching the $1 million mark. Please consider a donation. http://www.lapsforlexi.org Help other families to Keep Smiling and Keep Moving in the race against cancer.

-Paula

Summer Vacation 2019

1281.3 road miles
5 different baseball teams
4 states
4 time zone changes (back and forth between Eastern and Central)
3 baseball parks
2 airplanes trips (between Philadelphia and Chicago)
1 cruise ship
1 (only) day of rain


These are just a few of the significant stats from vacation 2019.

Here is a link to some photos with commentary.

Abundant research in advance helped us to plan this trip. The research yielded turn by turn directions which were part Google and part information gleaned from websites about the "Lake Michigan Circle Tour", "The Great River Road" and "The Lincoln Highway". We made a conscious effort NOT to use electronic GPS. This resulted is some missed turns and subsequent U-Turns. I would not change a thing. There is a time and a place for GPS. This trip was neither. We had so much fun.

We had gorgeous weather for 8 out of 9 days and even the rainy day wasn't horrible. We needed long pants and jackets for most of  the trip. A welcome change for the weeks of sticky hot weather leading up to it.

In La Crosse, WI I met a hotel clerk who went to college in Erie, PA. He noted our hometown and wanted to know how close we were to Erie. That conversation prompted another hotel patron to chime in that he was originally from a town halfway between Harrisburg and Penn State.

In Chicago at Wrigley Field, we met an usher who is originally from Pottsville, PA. I was wearing a Phillies hat and an Eagles t shirt. She HAD to ask. :) The Eagles shirt prompted a "Philly Philly" shout out as well.

Now we are back home eagerly awaiting what September brings us.

Keep Smiling Keep Moving
-Paula