ARIZONA - Saturday–meeting family & race expo

Saturday morning everyone woke up on their own and after a light breakfast we said our goodbyes and headed to Glendale, AZ to check in to our hotel. Sadly we did not get a picture of the four of us.    We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express just a short walk from the race finish line. The people at the check in were exceptionally friendly. We texted my husband’s niece and then she, her uncle and her grandma met us at the hotel and we followed them to the Expo.  My husband’s cousin & niece are running the 5K on Sunday– their very first!

The Expo was LAME! It was outside so that was nice (and my first outdoor expo) but there was also a Farmers Market going on so parking was impossible to find. All but two (maybe three) of the booths at the Expo were the sponsors so not much for runners. Couldn’t find any GU or other form of race nutrition. We walked around the Farmers Market for a while – which was better than the Expo but then headed out to get some lunch.

We met my husband’s cousin & his wife at Pedro’s (which reminded us of Acapulco Joe’s in downtown Indy). Lindsey and Aunt Bea went with us as well. I had a chicken soft taco & a cheese enchilada. The taco was okay but the enchilada was delightful. After lunch, Lindsey, Aunt Bea, my husband & I went up to his other cousin’s house – after a brief stop @ Aunt Bea’s. This is the first time I’ve met any of these people. They were all so warm and inviting.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at Walmart to get some supplies and then it was back to the hotel to rest before meeting EVERYONE for dinner.  We decided on Cheesecake Factory because they would let us do call ahead seating.  We needed a table for twelve.  We were seated outside and it was a lovely evening.  I got some Penne pasta, chicken, basil & mozzarella dish.  It was pretty good but I didn't eat much of the chicken.  The portion was enormous and I only ate about half of it.  We also celebrated family birthdays from January & February.  So that was Mark, Ben & me!  My husband and I split the Tiramisu..but not the cheesecake version.  I’m just not a fan of cheesecake.  Dessert was delightful!

Back to the hotel to get everything ready for in the morning.  We plan on being at the buses by 6:00am so I’ll be setting the alarm for 4:45am.  YIKES!