Lightning Sharks STRIKE.

On Saturday, Tim and I participated in the Great Urban Race - San Diego! This year the race was held in 20 cities across the US. San Diego was the last city before the National Championships (Nov. 10 in Las Vegas). 

The premise of the race is to solve clues that lead to stops somewhere within the city. We were given all 12 clues at the beginning of the race and then it was our responsibility to crack them and create our own plan of attack. 

I'm pinning on my bib number. 

 Like our shirts? I designed them the day before and we got them printed that morning!

Ok, I'm going to post the clue, post the picture and put the answer below!

Clue #10: Holy Flavors! Craving something above-the-clouds sweet? As seen on Good Morning America, this divine location as treats for you and your pup! When you arrive, match the famous flavors with their corresponding photos. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates with the cupcake on wheels AND the provided flyer as proof of completion.

Answer: Heavenly Cupcakes right in the East Village! We knew exactly where this delicious cupcakery was located!

Clue #8: Feel your way to this 3-digit address on 6th avenue:

Upon arrival, locate the GUR staff to get the clue break down. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates posing with your egg sporting its new markings AND a GUR stamp on your clue sheet as proof of completion. 

Answer: 355 6th Avenue is The Broken Yolk Cafe, also in the East Village! Tim had to take a pizza box with stickers on it and roll the egg around until all of the stickers were on the egg. He did a great job, but the stickers never wanted to stick!

Clue #9: Ezra Pujols and Edward VII have something in common. Determine what it is to discern the name of this grocery store on 14th Street. Upon arrival, go hog wild and locate the designated area in the parking lot where a GUR staff member will explain each participant's role. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates completing their responsibilities AND a GUR stamp on the clue sheet for proof of completion. 

Answer: Albertson's. The task - Tim had to hold a pickled pig's foot in his mouth while I translated a phrase from Pig Latin to English. I did it so quickly, the guy next to us threw his answer sheet over to me to translate because his partner was still googling how to speak pig latin! Tim definitely took one for the team!

Clue #5: Have you heard the buzz? Use the Yelp reviews below to find this clue location that will bring extra color to your life and your skin! (There were three reviews.)
Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates in front of the studio showing off your new ink AND the provided flyer as proof of completion. 

Answer: Superfly Tattoos, in downtown SD. Tim actually did read through several reviews on Yelp to find this one! When we got there, I was blindfolded while Tim described what I was drawing on him - a fly. I'm sure Tim will want my artwork on his hand forever, right?!

-At this point, we got on a bus and headed to Little Italy. The rules of the GUR say that you can go on foot, or you can use public transportation. While waiting for our bus, another group passed us and, in all seriousness, asked if taxis were considered public transportation... - 

Clue #4: Voted Best Yoga Studio in San Diego, you'll never want this clue to end! Nestled among art galleries and antique dealers, use the icon to the right (Click here to see) to serve as your guide through the winding hallways off Kettner Boulevard. Return to the finish line with a photo of TWO teammates in the yoga pose AND the provided flyer as proof of completion. 

Answer: Infinite Yoga in Little Italy. And the hallways really were very winding. Oh, and that's the "Titanic" pose, according to the instructor taking our picture.

Clue #1: Repeating parts of words to make new forms is called "reduplication." Unscramble the letters needed to complete each reduplication below to spell out this two-word reduplication, which is the founder's name that started this art store located in Little Italy!

Itsy-_itsy   Ho_us-Pocus   Hoity-to_ty   Ho_ey-pokey   Razzle-_azzle   

N_tty-gritty   Een_y-Weency   Han_y-Panky   _ovey-dovey

Answer: Dick Blick Art Supplies. We had to complete the canvas puzzle (above) and grab a flyer. This was actually really weird, because the store was so busy and no one was supervising the clue area. We thought we were going to get a penalty here, because we picked up a different flyer than some other people. (But it was all good!)

Clue #6: Discover the correlation between the letters to figure out the correct number that completes the statement. For example: ___ D in a W would be 7 (Days in a Week). This 4-digit address will be your next location on Columbia Street.

___ = Number of W on a U

___ = Number of H on a U

___ = Number of D in a ZC

___ = Number of W of the W

Upon arrival, the GUR staff will explain the clue brewed up for you! Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates in front of their completed challenge AND the provided flyer for proof of completion. 

Answer: 1157 Columbia Street -or- The Karl Strauss Brewery. I had to blow a deck of cards off the top of a beer bottle, until only four remained. (1 wheel on a unicycle, 1 horn on a unicorn, 5 digits in a zip code, 7 wonders of the world)

It was REALLY hard and I got so close! But after 5 tries, they let us move on. 

Clue #11: Vroom! Pack your bags and head to the Office Depot by the bay parking lot because you're going on a road trip with this mental puzzle driven by Chevrolet. Brush up on your vehicle knowledge and get ready to ride! Using the puzzle pieces found inside each vehicle, write the six items you will need on your road trip on the lines below. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates outside of a Chevrolet vehicle and a GUR stamp on your correct answer sheet as proof of completion.

Answer: This was lame. When we got there, we used the six spaces to COPY down the things we would "need" on our road trip. It was the token advertising clue, since the six things we "needed" included how many MPG the car got and that it came with 6 months of OnStar. Moving on...

Clue #2: Don't blink...it's time for your vision examination! To determine the three-digit address of this spot on West Harbor Drive, find the three numbers (0-9) hidden in the sentence below (for example: vision examination would be 'one').

Surrounded by boats of all different heights, there is always something fun happening at this Beach House! Don't let the beautiful sights keep you in a daze, "roll" through this challenge using this mode of transportation that kids, even adults, use to get around.

Upon arrival, locate the GUR staff member near the back patio to get started. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates balanced on their pair of wheels AND the provided flyer as proof of completion.

Answer: 

Surrounded by boats of all different heights, there is always something fun happening at this Beach House! Don't let the beautiful sights keep you in a daze, "roll" through this challenge using this mode of transportation that kids, even adults, use to get around.

807 West Harbor Drive is in Seaport Village and is the address of Buster's Beach House and Longboard Bar. 

-By this time, we were SO close to being done and we decided to tackle the "tic-tac-toe" clue.-

Clue #12: Let's play Tic-Tac-Toe! This clue will require three separate boxes to be complete. Your team must complete three of the nine challenges listed in the Tic-Tac-Toe squares to the right. The three challenges you complete must be in the "Tic-Tac-Toe" order - either three boxes in either vertical column, any horizontal row, OR on any diagonal. NOTE: All required items in the pictures much be clearly visible. Strangers must be non-GUR participants. 

-We opted for a vertical row-

Box #1: Take a photo of ALL teammates with 2 store employees in uniform.

Box #2: Take a photo of ALL teammates holding a fish. 

(Those are swedish fish - Arianna for the win!)

Box #3: Take a video of ONE teammate surprising a stranger with flowers.

(It's a good thing I'm so outgoing! We had to film this a few times...)

Clue #7: San Diego's Ronald McDonald House offers a loving home away from home where families can find support and share experiences with others during their journey to overcome a critical childhood illness. Head to the CVS located at 71 Horton Plaza and contribute to the cause by purchasing TWO of the following: A toothbrush, an umbrella, a hairbrush or comb, a stick of travel-sized deodorant. Drop the items off at the Ronald McDonald table outside of CVS. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates clearly visible holding the donated items AND the provided flyer as proof of clue completion. 

Answer: Well, the clue was pretty specific! This was also a sponsored clue, because the GUR partners with St. Jude's Hospital to raise funds. This was the local contribution.

AND FINALLY...

Clue #3: Miller 64 is brewed for the better you! They've also brewed up a challenge that's sure to test the better brain in you. Head to The Local and use the materials provided to sole the puzzle that awaits. After your collection of cans reflects the sample shown, receive approval from the GUR staff and rest your board as your found it. Return to the finish line with a photo of ALL teammates posing with your completed puzzle AND the provided Miller 64 swag as proof of clue completion. 

Answer: We had to move the cans around, one at a time, to form a 64. It's hard to see in the picture. Tim did this SO quickly and I was thankful for the all the time he spent doing that "Rush Hour" game. The first place team said this was their most difficult challenge! 

After this, we raced back to the finish line!

We officially made it back in 3:19:03 -or- 81st place! We were hoping for Top 100 and we did it! (There were 187 teams and over 500 participants.) And we didn't get ANY penalties for missed or wrong clues. GO LIGHTNING SHARKS!

And here's the map of where we went: 

In all, we did about 6 miles, with about 5 of those on foot! It was exhausting!

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Ma - I'm a STAR! (Part 3)

Monday was the day of our television debut. We were meeting our fellow TV stars at 11:00am to get in line for the taping. Everyone made it safely from San Diego and we were ready for our close up!

Too bad we had to wait several hours for the taping. It was actually close to 4 1/2 hours of waiting!

At one point we got our picture taken:

And then everyone in the audience was interviewed by the producer, Stan, for the opportunity to be a contestant.

About an hour later, it was time for the taping! I've attached the link to the online video below, in case you didn't see it when it aired on October 15th.

The Price is Right

Ma - I'm a STAR! :-)

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Ma - I'm a STAR! (Part 2)

Sunday morning, we were up bright and early so we could go on a tour of The Dolby Theater. Did I mention my love for The Oscars? Yes. Ok, so this is one of about a million pictures I had Tim take of the outside for me. 

 Oh look, here's another one...

 Unfortunately (and I'm so serious about this), we couldn't take any pictures inside the theater. Supposedly one of the networks owns all the rights - blah, blah, blah - crushing dreams - blah, blah. LAME!

After our great tour, we found out we could get super discounted tickets to the resident Cirque du Soleil show, Iris, with our tour tickets. We decided to get some for that night and we ended up with tickets in the fourth row, center section, on the aisle. I'm pretty sure someone super famous sat in my seat. Yeah, I shared a seat with like Brad Pitt or something. No big. :-)

Next door, is the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. This is a picture with Anne Baxter's prints - which was really special for me (I didn't know she was in there) and definitely reminded me of home.

 And I couldn't leave without a picture of the Harry Potter trio - which Tim had to ask some people to move so their shadow wasn't covering it. (It was actually more of a "TIMMY - MAKE THEM MOOOVE!" from me - they got the idea.)

 Proof that Tim was there...

And after all this, we still had about an hour to kill before our Brunch reservation, so we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Points for whoever can name these celebrities. Are you ready?

How'd you do? Pretty easy - yeah, but it was awesome! 

Finally it was Brunch time at our hotel. 

Then we headed out to find The Grove shopping center and the CBS studios, so we would know where we were headed the next morning. While at The Grove, we spotted Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson shopping at Nordstrom. Smart girl. And short. Very short. 

Our next stop was Rodeo Drive!

 We looked in some of the boutiques, which sadly, weren't what I was expecting. I say this because we've been shopping in the Ginza district of Tokyo, which is so over-the-top and so overwhelming, that the snooty little boutiques of Rodeo just didn't compare. Later, we found out from friends, that most of the merchandise is "in the back," but I just wasn't as impressed. And surprisingly, it was empty. There was almost no one shopping that day, so we couldn't even people-watch. The upside - CUPCAKES!

We left Rodeo Drive and tried to go see The Beverly Hills Hotel, but all of the surrounding streets were blocked off for an event, so we headed back to our hotel via The Sunset Strip. 

And we ended the night with Iris. Follow this link for a preview video of the show. It was really amazing, but I think for me was seeing it in The Dolby Theater. That was just...awesome. 

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Ma - I'm a STAR! (Part 1)

I FINALLY got to go to Hollywood and I'm sold. It's awesome. By now, you should now that we went to a taping of The Price is Right, but in preparation for my TV debut, we decided to live it up - Hollywood style. 

I 'Hotwire'd a sweet hotel - The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - that was smack dab in the center of Hollywood. Literally across the street from the Hollywood and Highland Center.

Our room was great! A nice mix of modern and vintage. 

We settled in and then headed out to find some stars! On the way, we took some pictures of the famous 'Hollywood' sign.

 And then we were off on a search - our destination: Lucille Ball. I was a little disappointed that her star was in front of a shop for ::questionable:: ladies, but since those shops make up 90% of Hollywood Blvd, I shouldn't have been too surprised.

 Of course, I HAD to get a picture in front of the Dolby Theater, aka The Home of the Oscars. If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with the Oscars, so this was a big deal.

 That night we opted to see Frankenweenie at the famous El Capitan Theater, which has been the location for several movie premieres and offered a rather unique experience. Prior to the start of the show, they hold an organ concert with an original Wurlitzer organ and then before the movie, they had a laser show. It was a very cool!

We ended the night at the Disney Soda Fountain with an amazing hot fudge (and marshmallow cream) sundae! Did I forget to mention that the El Capitan Theater is owned by Disney? Next door, which you can kind of see on the right (above), is the home of Jimmy Kimmel Live - also owned by Disney. 

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Disney for FREE.

Every other week, I get together with the other wives (and their kids) for a park day on Coronado.A friend of ours was down here with her husband for only a few weeks, but in that time they had gone to Disneyland with friends. They ended up getting three-day passes, but only used two of the days. Instead of having them go to waste, she gave me the tickets! With two extra passes to Disneyland and only a week to use them, I asked my friend C if she wanted to join me. She had a guest visiting, E, so it worked out perfectly!

We started out touring the new Cars Land. I thought that we got there early enough for FastPasses to the Radiator Springs Racers, but they were closing up right as we got there. Bummer.

We followed that up with some roller coasters and the swinging ferris wheel.

It turns out I didn't explain the rides very well and we were all gripping the side of our seats on the ferris wheel. Me, because I don't like them and I don't like heights; Them, because the swinging is pretty unexpected.

After that we went on the swings, which was actually the very first time I had ever been on this type of ride.

Disneyland is currently decked out in Halloween splendor. It's awesome.

 We went over to the classic Big Thunder Railroad, where C screamed "I just don't know about this!" from the last car the entire time. :-)

 And then we hit up the Tea Cups and went to wait in line for the Matterhorn. When we went to get into the final waiting area for the Matterhorn, I realized I was missing my Minnie Mouse card holder. Why is this a big deal? Well, it was holding my annual pass, an almost empty gift card, and our FastPasses. But honestly, I wasn't that concerned about those things - I was more upset about the card holder! Tim and I had gotten those at Tokyo Disney and have a matching pair.

So I got out of line and started searching the ground. I asked people in line. I asked the ride operator. C and E had also gotten out of line by this point, so we searched the ground between the Matterhorn and the Tea Cups and then asked the T.C. operators. No one had seen it. Ugh.

At this point, I'm trying to keep a good attitude, because I'm basically hosting for my friends and don't want to be a big stick-in-the-mud, but I was pretty bummed. The operators all suggested we go down to City Hall and ask at the Lost & Found. Knowing that I had just lost it, I figured the best I could do would be to report it missing and hope someone would find it and turn it in.

We walked down the L&F and I gave a description of the holder and what was in it. The lady was so nice and said they don't usually worry about lost Annual Passes, because they can be replaced (it is linked to my picture and my fingerprint), but if it's with something, they'll call the owner. This meant my Minnie Mouse card holder, which made me feel better. And then - and this is why Disney ROCKS - the lady asked me "Is there anything else I can do to make your day better?" I said, "Well, yeah, I lost two sets of FastPasses too." So she filled out two "Skip to the Front" passes for us. Amazing.

After all this turmoil, I needed to blow off some steam, so we walked across the park to Splash Mountain and used our first "Skip to the Front" pass.

Somehow I convinced my two guests to go in the front...

They got a bit wet. 

Then it was back to the Matterhorn to actually ride it and ask the operators AGAIN if they had anyone turn in my card holder. And...

SOMEONE DID! 

The operator was so nice about it and even commented that she always loves the souvenirs people bring and then she finds out they're from one of the International Disney parks and not available here in the US. We were all jumping up and down with excitement. It was awesome. 

Our day ended back at California Adventure, where we took in Tower of Terror. E even took out a chunk of C's leg on one of the descents. Guess I didn't explain this one very well either...

And we stuck around for the World of Color show - which we spent singing along to the songs and dancing.

In all, it was probably one of my most memorable days at the parks. It's a good thing we have annual passes, because I have definitely made mine worth it!

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