The Best Sandal on Earth - CHACOS

It's like a massage on your feet everytime you take a step.

http://www.chacousa.com/

They are amazing!

And good to the enviornment, too. You can get them re-soled if they start to wear down. They have a really cool program where they donate people's old flip flops to Nepal. They also donate
some of their profits to environmental causes like Leave No Trace.

It's a lot of money to throw down initally for a pair of sandals -- but they're so worth it!

Scenic Ligonier, PA and Berkeley Springs, WV

Ligonier and Berkeley Springs are 2 great getaways close to the DC area.

BS has a great small town feel with cute shops and friendly people, and there are places to get inexpensive massages. It also has great trails for hiking. You can stay at the State Park for a very good price. Be sure to visit Mi Ranchito for good mexican food. 2 people can have 2 drinks, an app and 2 meals for under $25!

http://www.berkeleysprings.com/

Ligonier has a small downtown with cute shops also. It's not a far drive to Ohiopyle park which offers plenty of whitewater sports to participate in, not to mention it's very pretty there!

http://www.ligonier.com/

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/ohiopyle.aspx

Richmond Marathon and 8k

Josh was motivated over the last past few weeks to sign up for a Marathon. So he did. Very impressive.

I plan to run the 8k that day and cheer him on afterward (I think I'm done with marathons for awhile). I'd like to run a Half Marathon soon in the future.

If anyone wants to run it -- meet up with us in Richmond! I've never explored that area much so it should be a good time.

http://www.richmondmarathon.com/

VEG-GUS GUS!!!!!!!!!!! Oct 6-10th

I've booked a flight to Las Vegas!!!!! I will be there visiting Melissa Bernardo, one of my closest friends from high school. She moved out there over the summer. Angel D, Casey D and Jill (my European backpacking partner) are all also going.

I don't get to see these great gals on a regular basis so I'm really excited. Girls weekend!!!! It will feel like a high school summer again.

My flight only cost $230 which was a great deal. I found it on kayak.com

Restaurant Week

Last week was Restaurant Week in the District, and I went out twice for it! It's a good deal where fancy restaurants in the area offer a fixed menu for a cheaper price. It's a nice way to try out places you normally can't afford.

http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/#G

I went with the gals from work to Restaurant Kolumbia. We were kind of disappointed in the food and we had to wait 25 mins to get our table! (we had made a reservation)

Here are some pics from our dinner:
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=quanandviet&P=&AID=2688782&CID=1371067&T=1&ILD=1043516

By far the best place I've ever been to for Restaurant week was 1789. I'll go back there again next time the week rolls around.

RAGBRAI

Well, we did it. We biked across an entire state! All 485 miles of Iowa.

It is hard to describe in words what RAGBRAI was like. It was one of the coolest things I've ever expereienced. The people were so friendly, the atmosphere cannot be beat and it was a great getaway from everyday life. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Here is a link to the blog of one of the Register's reporters who wrote about RAGBRAI. It gives you a glimpse of what we saw everyday. Man, did we eat a LOT!

http://blogs.dmjuice.com/?cat=12