300 Days of Sunshine

Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Farm, est. 1934 We spent my birthday weekend at Los Poblanos , an organic lavender farm and historical inn located along the Rio Grande River Valley in Albuquerque.  With the luxurious Hacienda spa, farm-to-table Campo restaurant, wellness yurt, saltwater pool, peaceful gardens, and activities for the whole family, Los Poblanos is a gem and a well-kept secret just a short drive from home.  It's so lush in this part of Albuquerque next to the Rio Grande that it's hard to believe we were only an hour away from Santa Fe.  There are three different types of rooms at the resort, and we stayed in the North Field with a private patio overlooking the lavender fields and Sandia mountains. Dinner and Cocktails at Campo North Field I recently heard the term agritourism to describe a farm-oriented getaway, which has become a recent vacation trend.  While we didn't actively participate in the farming at Los Poblanos there's something about being presen

In mid-July our family attended our first wedding since the onset of the pandemic at a beautiful farm in Lynden, Washington, north of Bellingham.  We made the trip into a long weekend of traveling through Seattle, Bellingham, and Whidbey Island.  I love the Puget Sound area, especially in the summer when the wild flowers are in bloom, the water is warm enough to dip your toes in and look for crabs (and maybe even spot some orcas!), and you might get lucky enough to have a clear, sunny view of Mt. Rainier.   Whidbey Island is just a short ferry ride away from Seattle through the Mukilteo station, and you can drive all the way up the island through Deception Pass and Fidalgo Island back to the mainland.  I first visited Whidbey Island for my sister's bachelorette party five years ago during which we did a wine tour and ate amazing food, and I was so excited to return to this quaint and welcoming destination with my kids and husband.  At ages 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 (trust me, the 1/2 matter

In mid-July we took a family vacation to the Pacific Northwest for a wedding in Lynden, family time in Seattle, and a gorgeous little road trip through Whidbey Island.  This is a magical time of year in the Puget Sound area and we were blessed with a rare weekend of sunshine.  It's hard to squeeze in training runs while traveling (I recall treadmill runs in the gym in Cancun, laps around a park in China, and early morning boardwalk jaunts in Virginia Beach over the years when attempting to balance race training with a travel itinerary!) but it also gives me the opportunity to explore new terrain and sneak in some alone time while traveling.   Our weekend on Whidbey was two weeks before my trail race, so I was looking to do at least 10 miles with some moderate hills.  Putney Woods, just down the road from Saratoga Woods, was just a couple miles away from our Airbnb in Langley.  I mapped out two loops around the forest for a total of 12 miles.  The trail splits frequently and each se