Rest Day, Vacation Day

My training off-day felt almost like a vacation day. First it started with breakfast in bed at home. Stephanie surprised me with scrambled eggs, chicken sausage and wheat pancakes with strawberries.  That's pretty much the best wake-up one can have.  For the next several hours, Steph and I toured wedding venue locations in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara.  We even think we found a possible winner: Firestone Vineyards.  The destination is far enough away to feel like a weekend getaway, but close enough that it's actually not.  And the town of Los Olivos (population 1,000) itself is seriously charming and cozy.  Should we ultimately choose Firestone, the whole experience would feel a bit like a small town country wedding.  Relaxing and intimate.

We topped off our sunny day of exploring with a fantastic dinner at Tuscany in Westlake Village.  The food is outstanding; it's one of those "special occasion" places you go to a couple times a year yet wish you could visit more often.  I dined on the mustard and herb-crusted rack of lamb while Steph enjoyed the jumbo prawns and crab claws.  We split an apple tart for dessert.  Perfect portions, fantastic service, well worth the price.

Now, once again, the end of an evening finds me blogging on the couch.  The windows are open, the lights are low, and life is good.

Tomorrow brings another week of training.  But for now, I'm just going to savor my final few hours of rest before logging more hours on the bike, pool and road.

165 days and counting.