A Pleasant Pennsylvania Run

I'm writing this from Pennsylvania on my father-in-laws lap top computer on this the last day of 2006. I had intended orginally to compile the year end stats today but hadn't really considered the fact that all my data is on my desktop computer at home in Californina. So the big year end wrap up will folllow sometime next weekend.

Last Friday we flew non stop from LAX to Philiadelphia on Southwest Airlines. My wife found very good fares that we couldn't turn down and if you've ever flown Southwest you know that a non stop flight across the US is unheard of. My in-laws live in Annville near Hershey and Harrisburg, PA. Friday night we pick up pizza at CC's Pizza and then drove over to Hershey to see Sweet Lights, a drive through Christmas light show. The lights were really cool. There were some fun animated displays of roller coasters, snowball fights, etc. I took some pics but will have to wait until the return home to download them.

Saturday we drove to Stamford, CT to have lunch with some relatives. Getting to Stamford is a 3.5 hour drive through PA, New Jersey, New York and then finally CT. We had lunch at Pellici's. I had the tortellini pesto; wonderful. I've waited at least 8 years to return to Stamford just for the tortellini pesto.

Today I was able to go for my final run of 2006. My in-laws live in a small, quite, rural community so I was able to just run out the front door and head down the road. I saw a total of 14 cars in the 6 miles. I ran out their little neighborhood, took a left on Louser Rd and the next left on Mount Pleasant Road. It was 42° and cloudy when I left the house at 11:30 a.m. I wore shorts and a long sleeve, My father-in-law thought I was crazy going out in shorts. At first my hands were freezing. It was a little windy. It took a little longer than normal to warm up. I was starting to think that maybe my father-in-law was right. When the road turned south, the wind was at my back and the comfort level improved significantly. When I hit Route 322, I turned around and went back.

Later today we visited Chocolate World for the Really Big 3D Show and the Chocolate Tour. After each attraction you get a free piece of Hershey's chocolate. The end of the tour conveniently dumps you into the biggest chocolate gift shop you've ever seen. We spent nearly $60 on chocolate. Later tonight after dinner and board games we may go over to Lebanon to watch the bologna drop. That's not something you see everyday.

Today is the first official day of training for the next marathon but with the travel I may postpone things a week. I would like to explore the Lebanon Valley Rails to Trails and some trails in Mount Gretna before we leave if it fits into the schedule.