Now on the West Coast

We arrived in Southern California a week ago yesterday. We drove my little Honda Civic, packed to the gills with boxes of mementos and clothes that we didn't want our moving company to move.

Here are a few photos from our trip. The first is of me, in a store parking lot, repacking my car so we could recline the seats. The second is of me at a rest stop west of Nashville. And the third is of us driving into the sunset, just off Route 66 in Arizona.

The moving company's tractor-trailer, loaded with our furniture and boxes came several days after that. We're still unpacking.

When we got to our new place, the power, gas and other utilities were still turned off, even though we had already established accounts with the utility companies here. Other moving-related glitches occurred. So the past week, like the past month, has been very busy.

Running: Oh yeah, running. My marathon training has gone to the dogs because of packing, moving, driving cross-country, unpacking, etc. But at least I've done some maintenance runs, even during our road trip.

There was the 3.5 mile run in Nashville, through hotel parking lots and around office buildings while overweight women smoked and watched us through flinty eyes. And the 6-mile run in Albuquerque, through quiet suburban streets at 7:30 AM, dodging garbage cans, the occasional dog, and sweating in the 85 degree heat.

And here in Pasadena, where we now live, I've run several times. Around the Rose Bowl, whose biking lanes were clogged with walkers, some runners, and dozens of bicyclists, going hell-bent for leather. And most recently, a 7.5 mile along the Arroyo Seco.

I'm going to try out a few local running clubs. Tomorrow, I'll do a long run with the Pasadena Pacers. I'll let you know how it goes ....