My naïveté...

...has just bitten me in the ass...

hard.

I mentioned a few months ago that Pleasantville really isn't so pleasant anymore. Now the bloom is definitely off the rose. The gilded lily is thoroughly tarnished. And I am just an idiot, and it cost my family dearly.

The pleasant façade of Pleasantville

Last night, the burglars came calling.

Yes, we live in a very crime-ridden city...but we have The Gate. *she said pleadingly and with a whimper*  The Gate is supposed to keep the unwanted elements out of our little community. The Gate is supposed to make it safe for me to run at night and for my kids to ride their bikes in the street. The Gate is supposed to protect us from unsavories...like burglars.

This false sense of security has led me to do very naïve things... leave my house and car doors unlocked, for example. I've gone off to pick the kids up from school or go grocery shopping without closing the garage doors on more than one occasion. As with many homes, there is direct access to the house interior via the garage...and at our house, there's a ton of crap in the garage...

What it looks like from the street.

This 'path' is currently totally obstructed and has been for months.

Seriously, how could you find anything of value in this mess?

Last night I failed to lock my car doors. While the neighborhood was sleeping, someone went into my car and 'ransacked' it, found the parking change stash and the garage door opener. They opened the garage door and helped themselves to my photographer husband's equipment. He is devastated. And I feel like an idiot.

It could have been worse. They could have hurt us. Thankfully, all they took were replaceable items. But ...and if you have ever been broken into or robbed or the like, you know what I mean... we are left with a sense of having been violated...trespassed upon...and it feels awful.

You can bet I've learned my lesson insofar as locking doors. And on the off chance those wacko Kirby guys had anything to do with it, I'll be sending any and all solicitors packing from the compound with threats of calling the police.

I'm probably still going to run and bike at night though.

Night Rider...with video :)

Time: 2030 hours

Date: 10:24:2011

Location: Classified

It's no secret that I do most of my training at night. 

Some people think it's crazy. Others think it's stupid. And some are even inspired by it. Go figure!

With four kids, it's hard to squeeze it in any other time than when they are finally in bed. I know this isn't for everyone. Safety definitely factors in. If I lived 1.5 miles up the road... forget it. Gang Central. And even if I lived in a 'regular' neighborhood, I would still have reservations and many second thoughts about venturing out after dark.

I am super fortunate to live in what appears to be a gated Witness Protection Program enclave. When I am out at night in my odd, gated development, I feel strangely safe and focused and peaceful. Distractions are minimal.

Last night's workout was a bike ride within The Gate's confines. When I was done, I thought....

"Hey, I'll bet everyone is just dying to see what it's like to train at night with XL!"

Am I right? 

I know some of my readers are curious about my night activities... and some are baffled... and others couldn't care less. I have taken some night pictures and shot a few night videos in the past, but last night I videoed one whole loop... the loop I ride over and over and over again (add a few more 'over's) on my bike. Fun, right?

Get ready...

Warnings:  I say "uhhh" a lot. And "alright." And I am hoping that a few of my friends can forgive my two freak-out "Jesus Christ" exclamations. And I know... all my sniffing has you thinking I'm a coke-fiend... I'm not. Riding a bike at night and making a video at the same time without a helmet cam is kind of scary and is not easy.

So...without further ado...

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Yes, that is really a Lawn Jockey.

And it really is in my neighborhood.

And now for our Feature Presentation...

Here's the youtube link in case it gets stuck on you...

click on this.

I made a mistake early on...to correct my misstatement, my loopty-loops are point-seven-five miles in length. They are. And I want to clarify the commentary that was garbled a few times when the wind-noise-reduction feature didn't work... mostly when I turned the camera from looking straight ahead. It happened when I pointed out the unremarkable Halloween decorations and the hoodie guy and then when I pointed out the flag flying after sundown but remembered that being illuminated made it okay :) And it happened again when I turned to view the Halloween Extravaganza...

Please don't take my reference to the Russians as any sort of un-p.c. slur. They are nice people. My husband and I have lots of jokes about spies and criminals and stuff like that because of the closed weirdness of our neighborhood. We are both old enough to remember The Cold War and so 'Russian' tends to be the go-to nationality when making spy jokes. No offense intended. Just joking. Okay?

I inaudibly point out where the Lawn Jockey lives... it is not our Lawn Jockey. We do not have a Lawn Jockey or any other lawn ornaments. Sure do wish we did. I would want a Wishing Well. Or a flamingo. Or maybe a couple of gnomes working... pushing a wheelbarrow, toting a pick-axe, something like that. How about you... do you have or wish you had lawn ornaments?

The dog walking guy was on the second loopty-turn of my running route, and I failed to point that out in the commentary. He thought I was crazier than the hoodie guy did. He sees me all the time and gives me the evil eye. He might be the guy who rear-ended me back in July... but I'm not sure.

The end of the development where I point out the teenagers-who-have-keggers is considered the 'dodgy' end of the development. The houses and yards are less perfectly kept up ...and they allow keggers. The other end would never tolerate keggers. Or weeds.

One regret with regards to this video... I wish I had included a spontaneous dip in the pool at the end. Yes, that really is the real site of my barefoot skirted swim video (view here) and my follow-up triathlon video (view here). But it was kind of cold. Which partly explains all my sniffing.

Remember to nominate me for Best Documentary Short in next year's round of film awards. I would like some new trophies to put on my mantel.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

There's still time to enter the Great Moving Comfort Giveaway! You might win a new, awesome sports bra of your choice... but you gotta play to win!

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Head on over to FreeFringes and join in with this week's Lovelinks!

No more Pleasantville...

Friends who come visit me always remark on how my neighborhood looks like Pleasantville or the set from The Truman Show. Everything is "perfect"... manicured lawns, neatly-trimmed hedges, house colors all go well together, no cars up on blocks...

It always looks empty... except for the hired gardeners keeping the properties toeing the HOA's 'perfectness' line. My husband and I joke about how we never see anyone because they all are part of the Federal Witness Protection Program. In fact, I was so surprised to see evidence of life the other day that I took this picture... trash collection day and there are cans in front of every house! Trash=people, right?

I've written before about how this makes it feel safe to run at night. Sure, there is the olderwalkingcouple... hardly a threat. And once there was the hooptycarguy... but that concern was addressed. Since my husband left me... temporarily... my running and biking needs to happen at night. Usually not a problem. But as Murphy's Law would dictate, this past weekend night running saw its share of surprises!

Saturday was Dogs on the Loose and Party Central.

I started out with a run... and within moments was accosted by two free-roaming, yapping, fluffballs who almost took me out! They weren't biters, but they were trippers. Thankfully, I was able to leap over them. But after the last three weeks of mishaps, I was concerned :P A bit farther along, a very large, excited, and again, free-roaming golden retriever spied me running and wanted to 'engage.' I stopped dead in my tracks. As I said... after that series of silly mishaps, getting bowled over by a happy dog was the last thing I needed. Thinking The Force was working against me running that evening, I headed home and hopped on the bike.

Why did I think that would be safer? 

Some teenagers were having a kegger. Sharing the loop road on a bike with drunk kids driving cars... way safer than happy dogs... not. And then more dogs jumped out at me. All of this freaked me out. Maybe the fact that it was late (after 10 p.m.) and had been a long day played into that. I headed home and hopped into the shower.

Last night was single mommy hell before I even set foot out the door.

All the kids were going to have a slumber party in my room.

Why did I think that was going to work? 

After giving it an honest go, one person was banished... in tears, of course. Screaming, of course. And it wasn't me :P I needed to wait until the dust settled before I could start... 10:30. Yes, I went outside at 10:30 p.m. to get my workout on. You do what you gotta, right?

No one was out. It was awesome. I rode my bike the speed limit for 30 minutes. don't be too impressed... 15 mph  And then something surreal happened...

I decided to video it on the second pass instead of a taking a photo because I was worried the flash would startle him... sorry for the poor quality, but it was very low-light conditions....

I have no idea what was going on there. Maybe he was just getting his bike on, too? Maybe he wants a training partner? Maybe I should have followed him and asked?

***** dang it, that video is so dark you can hardly tell what it is... it is a guy riding a trike and wearing a headlamp!


***** and remember to enter my Hood to Coast DVD giveaway... click here! 

The Semi-Urban Athlete

Lately there have been some athlete blogs showcasing gorgeous scenery... mountains, trees, beachfront settings, sunsets... all inspiring vistas. Often, when I take pictures during my workouts I, too, generally focus on the pretty things (except when it is a pivotal bathroom or monumental dungheap). I tend to look one way and not the other.

I am definitely sequestered from reality, here all cozy in my little gated community. This hit me hard on Saturday morning. My husband was listening to the radio. "Did you know there was another homicide?" Another? I have been hiding my head in the sand... He went on..."There have been 8 homicides in (our city) this month!"

It is just over one mile from our house to the pre-ghetto... the edge of the Iron Triangle. Fortunately, between our house and the pre-ghetto are: The Gate, police headquarters and 6 lanes of freeway. When we moved to this city we were moving from the nation's #5 ranked crime city to #6... a step in the right direction :P but The Gate really makes all the difference when it comes to feeling safe.

Last night, I went for a ride. I decided to look that other way. Not the pretty way. I didn't head into Crime Central on my bike, though I do drive through it nearly every day. It doesn't really scare me, but perhaps it should. I guess I tend to not really think about it. It's there. I need to go through it to get where I am going. Just do it.

I headed, as usual, over to the water. For a change, instead of looking out over the water at this...

or noticing the lovely marshlands and all the interesting waterfowl or Mt. Tamalpais in the distance, I looked the other way.

About a mile of the ride is alongside a huge postal transfer center...

The razor wire lets you know you shouldn't hop the fence.

This mile goes by fairly quickly when biking but much more slowly when running.

Next door to the postal transfer center is ...

Home of $9.99 pizzas that are soooo bad for you.

Right near the Costco is a great little getaway spot...

Coffee Cup Beach

The pathway down to Coffee Cup Beach...

I thought I would find a litter-mess of coffee cups down there.

Nope... just a rainbow of colorful, used condoms.

A little further down the trail is this...

I know what you're thinking...

prison guard watchtower!

Wrong!

It has something to do with horse-racing...

the track grandstand is in the distance.

And here are the bales of straw and horse-trailers in the parking lot.

One of the exciting parts of the trail is where it parallels the freeway. Just a flimsy cyclone fence and 4-foot retaining wall between you and fast cars...

It's kind of hard to shoot video with a cellphone while biking down a trail, 

so a little slack in the professionalism department and a lot of appreciation for the risks I took :P

So that's the less-gentle side of my 'hood. I am working up the guts (or stupidity) to do a photo/video study of the harsh side.

Are you ever afraid where you work out? Of what?

Do you get to run or cycle in a lovely environment?

The Tenner.

I did the double-digit madness.

Ten miles.

It happened. In the daylight. I needed sunscreen. I haven't run with sunscreen on in about a million years... well, at least not since 2001.

The "talk" happened.  The one where you try to talk yourself out of it in various ways.

"I didn't eat enough."
"I ate too much."
"I just ate... I am going to puke."
"I ate so long ago... I am going to bonk."
"My hip is kinda hurting."
"I can't find my lucky shirt."
"Where is the iPod? I cannot run without the iPod! Is it charged? I'll bet it isn't charged."
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"I only have one hour now. I can't possibly run 10 miles in one hour. That's crazy. Oh, you can make the kids dinner and get them ready for bed? Oh, right... you've been doing that for 31 years."
"The seam on the toe of these socks is hurting. I need new socks. Do you know where the socks are?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"I can't do this. This is nuts. 10 miles is really, really far."
"My legs are still tired from my last run."
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"What if the sunscreen starts dripping in my eyes?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."

Finally I had the right socks, the right sunscreen, the right shirt, the iPod... charged, a snack, some sunglasses and went to the bathroom... then I had to go make it happen. Out the door. Ten miles.

I always forget that in the daylight, people can see me. I exited through The Gate and entered the general population...in my ratty running clothes, with my weird hairdo, singing out loud to my weird songs that no one else can hear. I guess it's kind of embarrassing. Fortunately, I am not easily embarrassed :)

It was a flat out-and-back with one mediumish hill at the turn-around. About a mile into it, the "talk" started again. "I think my hip hurts. It probably isn't a good idea to do this if I think my hip hurts." This, for me, is like saying "I think I'm in labor." When it happens for me, I know. No thinking involved. I was fine, and I knew it. Forging onward.

I ran past 3 bathrooms and two water fountains. I used them all and was very, very grateful for their presence at those precise moments. Of course, there were incidents. Not accidents... incidents. I'll share this one... because it showcases my resourcefulness ;-)

It occurred at Bathroom #2. I had to pee. I understand now that I have to pee about 4-5 miles into a run. Remember that downhill pee-fest last Sunday? That was about 4.5 miles into the run. I had the same thing happen in this run. It's .... A PATTERN. But I didn't pee in my pants this time... today was not a race, and I was running OFF THE CLOCK (yes, believe it. you can do it, too. trust me. it's good for you). So I used the handy-dandy, public, step-up-from-a-portapotty. I made the mistake of sitting down... and the mistake of not checking the toilet paper status before sitting down (in reality, I rather fell down onto the seat... or collapsed down). There was no toilet paper. But.... there were two cardboard rolls that had once held toilet paper! I shredded the cardboard and crumpled it up in my fist to make it soft... voilà. I am just like MacGyver ;-)

Another incident I'll share happened right at the end. Surprisingly, it began right where I raced the Drunken Bum. Another impromptu race took place. This time I was up against a 6' tall, 125 lb. man who was wearing what looked like his 16-year old daughter's pajama pants, a striped hoodie (with the hood ON) and Converse hi-tops. I was not interested in racing, but he was slower than I was going... so I passed him.

Since I was listening to a really great song very loudly on my iPod, I had no idea that he had started drafting off of me, inches away. If I had stopped he would have crashed right into me instantly. If I had slowed down, he would have given me a flat-tire. He was that close. I didn't notice this for about a mile and a half as I kept hitting  'repeat' on the iPod 'cuz I was so into the song. I think I need to not listen to the music quite so loud. What if he were something more dangerous than just a bad dresser?

As I peeled off the main drag, I saw him fall over. Just kidding. But he did stop. And he turned around and walked back in the other direction. I kept running... I had another 1/2 mile to go. But the song was over, and I was a little bit sick of it at that point, after listening to it 8 times in a row. That last 1/2 mile was turtle-style. Not quite super slo-mo... but almost. An ice bath was necessary. I sat in it for at least 20 minutes.

My first tenner in I think 15 years... there you have it an a rather large nutshell.

How was your weekend?

Marathon relay? Tomorrow? Me?!!

Ummmmm......

Okay!  :)

A friend called me this morning.  One of my pack of running friends... we are a pack, like wolves... a pack of ... I don't know how many 'cuz I think I am the Lone Wolf.

I know some of my friends run, but I don't always know which ones run. We don't talk about running... ever. I know they run because I will occasionally see a Facebook update about how one of them just finished an awesome 8-miler (the same route I had done the day before... alone) or how one of them has been training for a half-marathon and is getting on a plane in the morning to go to the race.

I always leave a comment. Something like, "Hey! I ran that this weekend, too! Want to buddy up next weekend?" or "Awesome! Hope it goes well! Let me know if you ever want to go running together when you get back in town :)" They always reply along the lines of, "Yeeaaaahhhhh..... okay....." And I continue my loopy-doo figure-eightyeights inside The Gate... in the dark... alone.

Until someone drops out of a relay team.

And I get the call.

They all know I am running now because since last October I have been ramming down their throats posting links to my blog on Facebook. I am not sure if they think I am laughable or intimidating :P But maybe my beginning cross-training has signaled a certain je ne sais quoi ... indicating a level of seriousness heretofore unmentioned or alluded to leads to these kinds of calls.

"Hey, XL... what're you doing tomorrow?'
"Hi, Y! I don't have any plans... what's up?"
"Want to run in the Oakland Marathon Relay tomorrow? Our second leg just dropped out on us."
"OOOoooooo (squeal of delight)! Sure! How far?"
"Between 5 and 6 miles... we have everything... the hand-off is at Temescal... you know where that is?"

I know where it is and am remembering checking out this race about 2 weeks ago as a possible "training run" as there is also a 10K and a half as part of this Oakland Running Festival. And I am realizing that the leg they want me to take is ... ummmm... well, killer.  And not in a "ooooo, killer dress, doll!" sort of way.
Check out this hump... That'll be me.
No wonder their second leg dropped out :P


Would you jump into a race like this... even if were against the rules?

A Nail.

This is the third exercise-related post in a row!

Holy frijoles!  You'd think I was training for something ;-)  Bay to Breakers, here I come!

Last night, I extended my distance beyond.  Beyond what?  welp... I'll tell ya...

I ran 8 miles back in November of 2001, when I was 5 months pregnant with my second child.  It was a really hot day and a really hilly run, and we had gone out with no water.  I was toast by the end of it.  No more running for me for that pregnancy.

What I didn't know was that it would be over 8 years before I would be able to run again at all.  And over 9 years until I would be able to run 8 miles again...which I did last month...*applause*.

Last night I ran 8.25 miles.

The workout called for 8 to 9, and I really wanted to do the 9 super badly. I knew, though, that I had taken nearly 2 weeks off of all exercise and that it would be tough.  And I started at 8:55 p.m.  And I was doing it inside The Gate.  Not as dreary as a treadmill, but 12 figure-eightyeights (take ∞ and ∞ and then overlap them) of 0.75 miles apiece in the dark would be a migh-tee tall order.  And it was.

The first half was smokin'... in a not-overdoing-it kind of way.  The first 4.5 miles were finished in 44 minutes and wee bit o' change.  I thought, "that was good. I should just go inside now and eat dinner." Then I smacked myself (figuratively) and kept running.  My pace plummeted.  That's okay. Even though it bottomed out. Really, I don't have a problem with it.  Even though my grandmother could crawl backwards faster. But I focused on form and on finishing with a contorted grimace smile on my face :)

I ran between 8 and 9 miles ... and that's what I was supposed to do.

I am a nail.

As in "tough as."

I get the job done.

And then I came home, took an ice bath :) and made my Granny's Gadgets video.  Did you know we've done a dozen of those things?

I am a nail.

Are you a nail?

mommy goed RUNNING!

yeah...

that's cuz mommy goed poop!

lol... do you like how I made that brown? click on it if you missed the background story.

In my last running update, I mentioned that I would be trying to run on Tuesday.  Well, that didn't happen.  It was slated to be a tempo run... which I usually like.  But I just wasn't in the mood.  Not like I always have to be in the mood to go running when I go running, but on Tuesday .... "oh, excuses, excuses, XL. you just suck and are lame and have no biz being on this planet"..."oh, shut up, you." yes, I talk to myself. I can't remember what happened.


I went on Thursday.  Just a mellow 5.25.  I ran 7 of my little 0.75-mile loopy-doos inside The Gate.  It was all that... but we're skipping the side of chips ;-)  Very consistent laps... only a 6-second spread between the fastest and the slowest not counting the one lap where I was messing with the iPod... gotta stop doing that... never again in a run for time like my 5K two weeks ago... but it is hard to run to anything by Flight of the Conchords and not bust up laughing, and it is hard to run to In My Father's Eyes without crying, and the seminar on How to Listen to and Appreciate Great Music just wasn't working for me, nor were the little French pronunciation mp3 downloads from the kids' school... you see?  I had to search!  It still was a very relaxed and relaxing pace right around 9:40 per mile.

Next up... 8 to 9 miles tomorrow.  I'll be shooting for the 9 but knowing that, after nearly 2 weeks off, the 8 is probably more realistic.  I am a realist.  My husband is the optimist.

I know all you running readers doubt that I really run.  And those pics from my last 5K were in the dark and I run at night when no one is looking so there is really no proof... I know that is what you're thinking.  So here are some pictures of me running in the day a few long runs ago... maybe a month or so ago...

My biggest fans giving me the ol' high-five as I speed past...

Big G in typical fashion pissing me off trying to show me some "new" way to high-five... 

that he invented as part of some mythological alien body language based on the last 40 bazillion books he has read

LOVE THAT KID!

Approaching the halfway/turnaround...

this is near that portapotty I was telling you about ;-)

And there's my sweet Q!

I have to stop for hugs!

how can I not?

Tomorrow I am hoping to share the new core workout of the century.  I started it last week... in my own way... still waiting to see the results.  But this routine... if you can do it... guaranteed to give you the core strength of... of.... the guy who is in the video!

I'll let y'all know how that big run tomorrow goes... now that I'm 'going' there shouldn't be any problems ;-)
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Creepy guy at 9 o'clock

I know, you're thinking, "Dang!  That woman has a night life!  She went out bar-hopping, got to hang out with her best buds, see and be seen..."  No.  This is not referencing some code to a girlfriend regarding a skeevy scammer at a bar or party...

It was 9 o'clock at night.

I had been running for about 23 minutes... not loving it.

I had set out in a conflicted headspace.  My husband is out of town and I really wanted to go for a run.  I talked with my older kids about this (the oldest is 11 and a half).  Would they be comfortable with me going out for a run after the youngest two were asleep?

"You're nuts!" you say.  "That's illegal!" you reprimand. No, it's not in California.   "That's just plain stupid," you think.

Hold the phone... don't go callin' CPS on me just yet...

Remember where I run.  It is inside The Gate.  The entire loop is 0.6 miles, so with the cross-streets, I am never more than a quarter mile from home.  The only people out EVER are the olderwalkingcouple and the occasional dog-walker ... oh, and once there was a group of kids skateboarding on a pole contraption ...but none of us ever speak... except me who always shouts out "hi" and waves to everyone.

So I feel like it is super safe.  And my older kids wanted to watch a movie anyway.  And I was taking my phone and set a timer for them to call me 3 times... at 25 minutes, 45 minutes and 50 minutes (at which point I would be walking in the door).  If I got no call, I would go home and find out why... and I could be there in a maximum of 2 minutes.

So it was 9 o'clock.  I had been running for about 23 minutes (I knew this because my kids had not yet called but did shortly).

As I finished up the backstretch and headed into the last turn of the lap... right near my house... there was a car.  It did not fit with the profile of cars in the enclave.  I am not being snooty just real.  It was way hoopty.  And the guy in it was a wreck.  And it was parked on this weird angle on the corner... totally not in keeping with the HOA regulations ;-)  I know this because we have been ticketed and towed for our hoopty truck not parking within said rules.  


I looked ahead, trying to not look like I was noticing but like I was some superstar badass fast runner who could kick the crap out of any dingdong who tried to mess with me and then out-run their car as they tried to mow me down in retaliation.  This was not funny... like the Drunken Bum episode was comical.  That was in the daylight... this was night.

So I looked ahead and realized there was a second guy.  I passed him and he broke into a trot.  He was big and unkempt.  Okay, so yeah... ummmm... I was freakin'.  Fuh-reekin.

Just then I saw the olderwalkingcouple.  Not like they could fend this big dude off should he decide to take all three of us out... but they could be witnesses.  Or something.

I kept running.  The kids called.  I told them to go lock the door.  They did.  When I finished that lap, the hoopty car was gone and so were the guys... and I saw the olderwalkingcouple... still walking... still alive.  So I continued.  Still a little nervous and very wary.

When I was done running, the olderwalkingcouple was coincidentally right in front of my house, finishing up their walk.  They actually talked to me!  (no, you have no idea... no one ever talks to anyone in this enclave... seriously... you cannot strike up a conversation with a neighbor... canNOT)  They said how impressed they were with my running as they see me all the time.  And how they noticed I was nervous about those guys.  Apparently, the hooptycarguys are tenants of the olderwalkingcouple.  They needed to meet up for some rental-related biz.  "They are very nice people... just they have had very hard lives."  So the creepy guy only looked creepy.  Whew.  Glad I was so lucky.

And I made friends with neighbors.  Who'd've thunk?

Do you ever run at night?  Outside, I mean.

Are you friendly with your neighbors?

The Gate

We are renters.  We like it that way.  But with renting comes an element of uncertainty.  When we rather suddenly needed to move last year, we spent a lot of highly concentrated time looking at places.  Well, I spent a lot time, anyway.  Poring over Craigslist for hours on end.  Every day getting on there, hoping to see and snatch up the perfect home for us.  24 houses total over 3 months time... actual appointments and go-inside-of-it looking.  That doesn't count my drive-bys.  A lot of places.  And with a 6-month old...oh, and 3 other kids.

There were just a couple of neighborhoods in which we were looking.  Family-friendly, close to amenities, easy access for commuting... Schools were not an issue because our kids would be staying where they were.  We wanted something big enough so that we didn't feel like too many rats in the cage.  We wanted something nice but not fancy (fancy does NOT work if you have kids).  A nice landlord was also a must, as was a yard for the kids.  And, of course, we had a price range.  lol

We ended up in a place we would NEVER have considered in the beginning of the hunt.  But after seeing all that I saw and evaluating what was REALLY important to us, we wound up not in the charming, character-filled, 100-year old brown shingle walking distance to shopping and other amenities that we had envisioned but in a cookie-cutter development... a Gated Community (we joke about it, saying the words like the South African bad guy in the movie "Lethal Weapon" says "diplomatic immunity" and laughing uproariously ... we're weird that way).

It is right by the water and a stone's throw from a waterfront trail.  Because it is near the ghetto (no lie) it is very affordable... but it is quite separated from the scary places by a freeway, and there is a police headquarters in the middle.  And there is The Gate.  The Gate tripped me out at first.  Who wants to live in a place where you need to be locked in and others need to be locked out?  But I have grown to love The Gate.

The Gate means I can run at night!  That is pretty much the only time during the week that I can run.  I have a loop that is 0.6 miles and I can mix it up with a couple of figure 8's on the dividing streets.  And right now I don't really run all that far so it isn't too boring yet.  I can leave the front door open and if I scream from anywhere in the development, my husband would most likely hear me.  If it weren't for The Gate I wouldn't be here... on this blog.

The Gate also means that my kids can run around the neighborhood and ride their bikes right out of the garage into the streets without being nailed by an oncoming car.  This is not common in these parts!

When people get freaked that I run at night, I simply claim, "Gated Community" in my best Afrikaans accent.  They never get it.