Happy Friday! With my vacation just over a week away, I couldn't be more excited. This year, my husband and I will be flying to Salt Lake City and exploring the city a little bit but spending most of our time in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Here are five things I'm most excited about.
I'm linking up with the Friday Five ladies Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Mar at Mar On The Run, and Cynthia at You Signed Up For What! It's a free theme, so I can't wait to see what others post about.
1. The weather. When my husband told me the forecast is highs of 60s and lows of 20 when we'll be there, I nearly jumped for joy. This hot weather can suck it. I'll get to wear all my cute cool-weather clothes, which I've really missed since last fall! I love, love, love cool weather and am so excited we get to hike and I get to run in it. YES!!!!
2. Running. I modified my training plan for the week I'm away. I'll still be running six days and getting in as much mileage as I can, but most of it will be easy runs. We'll be renting a cabin in a small town in Idaho, and I've found some good places to run nearby. Maybe I'll also run in Yellowstone; I'll have to see. I did check and there are quite a few races in the area while we're there, but I'm just not a race person and will never have the race-in-every-state goal. I'm just excited to do some scenic, easy runs, explore new places, and not have to wake up at 4 a.m. to run! Our cabin has a hot tub, so I'll also get to soak in the hot tub after my runs.
3. Hiking. Our vacations are not for relaxing. If I wanted to relax, I would read a book in bed with my cats and dog. Nor are our vacations about being around tons of other people in crowded, touristy spots. Our vacations are for exploring and experiencing different and gorgeous places on foot and seeing different parts of this beautiful country, mostly by ourselves. With kids in school, families aren't taking vacations anymore, and the majority of visitors to the national parks when we're there are senior citizens, many of whom don't venture beyond lookout points. We often have the trails to ourselves, and there are few things better than hiking through mountains and beautiful settings with your best friend and partner in life. The hard part is deciding which hikes to go on, and we're still working on that.
 |
Yellowstone National Park--where we'll be hiking soon!
Photo by newsnish |
4. Exploring Salt Lake City. My favorite vacations combine a lot of natural settings and some city, so I'm excited we get to explore a new city for a few days. After reading about Salt Lake City, I've already asked my husband if we can move there. He suggested we visit first, ha ha. We rented a condo Downtown, from which I've mapped out a 10-mile run that goes from city to mountain (yes, that means the first half is all uphill, so we'll see how that goes!).
 |
Salt Lake City (do I really think I can run up those mountains???)
Photo by utah.com |
5. Celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary gift to each other every year is our annual vacation, and celebrating in an exciting new place makes it special. While I remember our wedding like it was yesterday, it feels like we have been together forever. I can't imagine life without Dave and look forward to celebrating 13 married years together.
 |
| We had an outdoor ceremony and reception. It was truly the best day of my life. |
Have a great weekend!
Labels: Friday Five, vacation
