Atlanta's Finest Revenge

I was so excited for JoMarie to come visit us in Atlanta...she was planning on coming down for a Red Cross training and the weekend.

We would get to spend Tues nite, Weds nite, Thurs nite, and then from Friday afternoon on through Sunday together - wahhoooo! Seriously needed girl time.

But then. Just after she arrived. Macon. Tornadoes!

As a soldier for disaster fundraising for the Red Cross, JoMarie often responds to disaster needs from the DC office.

When the tornadoes hit central Georgia it just so happened that she was a mere 100 miles away...so she got assigned to go there to support on the ground fundraising instead of to the training.

SO, Wednesday morning she headed out and didn't come back till the wee hours of the morning on Friday.

BOOOOO!

The good news is she got to go with us to CANINE CAPERS Tuesday night to get to see Tilley in action (see video for a sneak peek!).

Then she was gone. Snif.

On Saturday, we headed into the gritty city to Piedmont Park for Atlanta's Finest 5k. Put on by our clients the Atlanta Police Foundation and sponsored by longtime clients Boardwalk Consulting, Northridge sent a contingent of racers and volunteers.

Among us were me and JoMarie, Tilley (up for anything, always), and my coworker Holly who was doing her first 5k with us. Tilley's race was first. She was actually registered as Tilley Hodgeski as a 2 year old (no where on the form did it say "check here to confirm you are a human", so what the hell).

We got her checked in and we all got race numbers in order :). JoMarie ran with me and Tilley, and Holly's son Connor did the 5k as well.

Tilley and Connor both went out fast, and Connor walked a little so JoMarie and I stuck with him either just ahead or in back to make sure he was cool.

As we rounded the final turn Tilley said "all bets are off!" and I dropped her leash and let her finish on her own. She was given a finisher's ribbon and an Atlanta Police badge by a very nice volunteer whom she showered with kisses "thanks for the ribbon, lady!".

Then it was our turn. We left Tilley and Connor with Amy and the rest of the Northridge crew and headed out, running, then walking, and alternating throughout the course. Holly kept a great pace and my knee was mostly ok until the last mile - and then it hurt like a mofo. Sigh. Not that I expected less but oh well. We finished in fine form and then hung out for a while in the sunshine and I did a little work with Tilley on obedience.

On the way out, we asked the po-lice if we could get a pic near their bike and, because of course he did, he offered for JoMarie and I to git on it :). When a cop asks if you want to sit on his bike? You say YES.

We headed back north with a very sleepy Connor and Tilley in the back seat. We rallied with John and headed out for lunch then the girls - all of the girls - including Laika, Tilley, and Erah, went shopping for canine couture and spent way too much time...and money, but had a great time. JoMarie was still wiped from work and having all of 3h of sleep...so I kept plying her with caffeine all day, which worked well through a fabulous dinner at Rice Thai in Roswell and into TV and girl time that night. We also had a few secret missions related to a certain upcoming wedding that will remain unpublished at this time ;).

On Sunday we headed out on an adventure for shoes which was unfruitful...but Tilley made LOTS of friends. We clinched the night with a little takeout from Mr. Taco and yes - more Sex and the City in preparation for the movie release next week. Monday after a quick stop at the office, JoMarie and Erah were on their way back to DC. WAHH!

We had a GREAT time even though our visit was shorter than originally expected. I was glad she was able to support the fine folks in Macon and to do her duty for the Red Cross. But it was a disappointment.

SO, to make sure it doesn't happen on a future visit, I hired her to work for us as our on the ground nonprofit gal in DC.

SNAP! Nobody puts Baby in a corner!!

:D

Video of Tilley moving from the tunnel to the a-frame then over the jump:

It is SO on

At long last, we are back in DC today after yesterday's evening arrival. We (me, John, and BOTH dogs) are houseguests at my friend Amelia's just outside the city. Last night we enjoyed a delicious feast of her fab chili and David's apple pie whilst exhanging festivus treats. We all awoke this morning to a leisurely breakfast and then Amelia, Tilley, Pazzo and I made a beeline for my favorite locale - Rock Creek Park - to meet up with JoMarie and Rich. David, Oleander, and Laika stayed home. John headed to Bethesda to meet up with his pal Ed, and once we hit the Park, Rich was off on a ride so the girls (and Pazzo!) were left to our own devices.


Before Rich left however, he was entertained with the free peep show....me changing tights in the parking lot from the thin ones I was wearing to the thicker ones Jome had just scored for me half off at Spokes. Amelia did a fabulous job of creating the standard makeshift dressing room, but also had me laughing so hard I am sure I was mooning the @$&* out of the trail runners on the other side of the road. Good times.

We started out -- at about 43 degrees and with laden skies -- at the lot just north of the police station and ran north on Beach Drive, with the goal of getting in a little road time before hitting the trails. Tilley was beside herself with excitement to be running, much less to be running in my Rock Creek, about which she has heard me prattle on ad nauseum.

It was fantastic. There are runs that are tough, runs that just are, good runs, and great runs.



This was a great run.

The trail itself was easy, and we only had to be careful along one or two stretches where it was either on a slick bank, or where it had a bog crossing with boards (Tilley preferred the slog-directly-in method of crossing). By the time we got off the trail and back on to Beach Drive, Tilley and Pazzo had settled into a rhythm, and the three of us girls were deep in conversation, per the tradition. We kept a nice pace and made it up and over the first gated hill in good time, so we pressed up towards the stables to the second gate.


Just as we turned around, it started to rain a bit.



And then it REALLY rained. We had a fun run on the way back with all the rain - and the cold - and the mud - and it was weird; I felt like I could have run for days and days and days. Once we got back into the woods we let the dogs off leash and Tilley had a BLAST. For most of the run back, it was runner-dog-runner-dog-runner, and Tilley kept looking back to check on me. She's a good dog.


After a few pics (and me picking up a rock to add to the loosely self-defined 'memorable natural items' collection on my desk at work which so far includes a coaster John made out of a Live Oak branch that fell on SSI, pieces of driftwood from SSI, The Chattahoochee, and a run back in May with Jess on Haines Point, and a piece of moss on a rock from Mark and Randy's cabin in July), we got back to the car to find one wet Rich. We were all SOAKED, and Tilley had half the silt from Rock Creek stuck under her belly in oddly tidy stalagtites. I took her down to the creek for a quick dip n' rinse, which she lamented was "not nearly as warm as the Chattahoochee!" After the run I felt fantastic...that's two 5 mile runs in 4 days...it is so on :).


As if that wasn't enough, there was more. :) After a quick change and dropoff of the dogs, Amelia and I met Jome at the Mothership for Amelia to get an iPod Nano so we can all track our runs online together. I also upgraded to an armband at Jome's recommendation since my nano-in-the-pocket approach was suboptimal. We then went to Lululemon Athletics where I tried on about $500 worth of swank athleticwear...and then was very good and only got out with one on sale jacket and adorable pink run skirt for under $80 all told. After a quick stop in the wine shop we headed to Tandoori Nights for an early dinner and belated run refueling and had an AMAZING meal...The chat papri was sublime and had a secret ingredient of a touch of mint...the Raj Kachori was a new treat and stellar...there were other fine specialties but writing more details will just make me hungry again :). Let's see....what fun can we cook up for tomorrow morning???