To the Home of Ron Burgundy

Before taking off from the Tree I thought it would be a great chance to head west once again and visit San Diego. So Laura and I packed the car and drove along Highway 8 around 9 pm on Sunday night. Since my cross country travels this past summer, i have grown an appreciation for driving long distances. I knew I wouldn't make it the entire 8 hour drive at once so I would put in as many hours I could until I needed some rest. With the music cranking and Laura sleeping, I drove until midnight before pulling off at a rest stop to get a nap in. I would sleep until 4:30 am before rising again and driving another hour before having to rest. I would get a few more hours of rest until I woke to the rising sun out in the desert. The sun rise was beautiful as it rose up over the surrounding mountains. I gave thanks to my surroundings, ate a few bits of cacao and bee pollen and made my way over to the beach.

We arrived in style, and in a dirty car, to San Diego and headed right to the beach. My restless self, couldn't last more than a half an hour in the sun before feeling the need to go for a run. I felt weird lacing up road shoes and wondered if I would be able to handle the strange shoes that are so rarely put on my feet. As I ventured along the boardwalk I put myself into the zone as I passed so many beautiful people. Through my ventures along the coast of California, I have noticed that all the beachs along the western coast tons seem to blend in with each other. Similar bars, lots of dudes, and women dressed to impress.

When we arrived back to our spot on the beach I was treated to a wonderful lunch prepared by Laura. This is one of my favorite meals and so easy to prepare. Romaine leaves, topped with sliced jalapeno, avocado,tomato and shallots. Sprinkled with some seasoned dried veggies, this makes the perfect travel food.



As evening approached, we headed to Cilantro's Live for an amazing dinner. It was so nice to finally go out to eat and be waited on. Laura and i enjoyed a beautiful tomato soup, Thai veggie salad, spring rolls, and tostados. Dinner was topped off with a raw banana split with mint, coconut, and carob ice cream!!! Desert was AWESOME!!! Content and tired from a long stressful day on the beach,we parked the car and soundly slept in the back of the Suburu.

I awoke Tuesday and put another hour out on the streets of San Diego. Right after my run, Laura and I headed to maybe the most intense Bikram class I have ever attended. The one problem with Bikram in Tucson, is the inability to keep the room up to temperature. Proper temperatures should reach upwards of 110*F. The San Diego class certainly reached high temps and the instructor was extremely knowledgeable and gave the class many words of encouragement to take their practice deeper.

After class we headed out to Lakeside, Ca to purchase some goodies from Sunfood Nutrition. Owned by David Wolfe, Sunfood Nutrition is probably the most well known source for raw food products such as goji berries, cacao, maca, and many more exotic treats. It was really cool to be inside the warehouse and see how things are run. I purchased some purple corn kernals, hemp nuts, dried mulberries and barberries.

Laura and I then hoped in the car and began the long drive back to Patagonia. Along the way, we pulled over to one of many check points. As one of the officers brought his dog to sniff out my car, I was asked to pull over to the side of the road. Even though I knew I had nothing hide, I was a bit nervous when 4 officers approached me. Laura and I were asked to step outside my car so that they can let the dog inside my vehicle to further sniff out any possible drugs. Once inside my car, the dog instantly went towards my newly purchased goodies. The officer approached me and was curious to know what lay inside the brown box. I told him of my purchase and he thought the products were a bit strange. This was actually exciting because I was able to talk to these officers about a my diet which they most certainly never had heard of. I told him that I didn't consume any meat, fish, dairy,nor did I drink or do drugs. I then went on to tell them that I am training to run 100 miles. They looked at me like I was an alien,but seemed to be a bit curious to how I can actually live without animal products in my diet.

As it turns out,the dog sniffed out the barberries. The officers finally realizing that we were not carrying anything illegal, sent us on our way. We continued on and finally made it home around 8:30pm. It was indeed a wonderful weekend, and possibly the last time I will visit the west coast for a while.