There is Always a Way

[coffeeandmuscles]

W3D18 6/18 Thursday 8 mile Marathon Pace

Attempting to get back to the run schedule!

I decided to hit the trail for this one.

It looks like someone had a baby!

A few trees on the trail but nothing too crazy.

I could have went a little harder for the 6 mile portion. My heart rate is at the low end of the range. I’m still pleased with the result.

The miles were good! Other than some chafing on the inside of my thigh 🤦🏻‍♀️

[coffeeandmuscles]

W3D17 6/17 Wednesday 5 mile Base Run

I did not make it out for a run at all. I procrastinated til I had few options.

I got dressed to run in the morning. Since I'm behind on some work, I decided to focus on that. Which was still hit and miss since I have vacation brain and my focus is not the best.

And then Peyten had a 10:25am appt. We left at 10am and hit standstill traffic on the highway due to construction. They had a 5 mile section completely closed. It took us 45 minutes to get to the next exit 5 miles away. I called the orthodontist and they moved her appointment to 11:15. We ended up getting there at 11am. Usually a 20 minute drive.

We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way back because Peyten needed some mailers. She has been selling a ton of stuff on Depop. We grabbed a few other things too.

When we got home, Nox was leaving to go to Kalamazoo. Peyten decided to go with him. And since I had planned to go to Kzoo later for Costco and Aldi, I asked if they would just go for me. I got the shopping list solidified and sent it off to them. Nice to have that task off my plate! I do enjoy grocery shopping, but "having" to all the time can be a grind.

I caught up on work and watched the rain come down outside. It was forecasted to rain all day. I should have just went out in the 2 hours I had, but I also had work to catch up on...so right decision? Who knows.

Lennix came over at 3pm. Aydan and I had started watching Jujutsu Kaisen and just continued while Lennix was here. Nox came home and hung out with us as well.

I thought if the rain let up a bit, I could take Lennix out in the stroller still, but I just never found the right time. Plus, I was enjoying the fact that the big kids were hanging out with Lennix as well.

I did get some meal prep done while Lennix was here as well. Soup for Peyten and chicken and broccoli for me.

Once Lennix was picked up, it was time for my watch party. And then I was ready for a quick shower and bed. Could I have gone out and run at 10pm? Probably....but that did not happen. 🙃

Some days be like that! Not such a bad thing 🧡

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Sunday, June 14, 2026 Day 5 - Travel home

It was a slow morning of waking up and making sure things were in order. And trying to use up the last of our food. Breakfast of chorizo, eggs, sausage, potatoes, avocado and toast.

Around 8:30am PST, we said goodbye to the airbnb and made our way to the airport.

Our flight was delayed about half an hour, so not too bad. Chicken for my in flight meal was pretty tasty!

Once we got to DFW, I said goodbye to Melissa and Steve and waited for my next flight. I had about a 3 hour layover and my second flight was also delayed by about 30 minutes.

I managed a little bit of a nap on a wide chair. With my feet criss-crossed and a hoodie and sweatpants for a pillow, I did ok.

The UFC fights were scheduled for the evening and they were delayed as well. The fights ended up starting as I was boarding the plane. I had wi-fi for the flight, so I was able to watch the fights with a pause here and there.

Between watching the fights and enjoying a last in flight meal, I was well distracted and the flight went quickly.

I landed at GRR around 11:30pm EST. Unfortunately, my luggage was on a later flight. But, they said they would deliver it. I'm glad that happened at the end of my trip instead of on the going out flight!

I found my truck where I had parked it and made the hour and fifteen drive home. I may have had the fights on my phone while I was driving. Don't worry, I was being careful. And there was very little traffic.

I got home when there was about a round left of the last fight and was able to finish watching with Clive.

Seriously great fights. There were only 7 fights scheduled and each of them did not go to decision. They were all incredible in various ways. The match makers did a great job and the fighters all came very prepared. It was a really fun night of fights. I especially enjoyed seeing Diego Lopes and Sean O'Malley win their fights. Clive and I ended up rewatching all the fights the next night as well.

(10 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Saturday, June 13, 2026 Day 4

Relaxing at the house. Sandwich for lunch. Steak, potato, and salad for dinner. More pool and axe throwing.

I ended up with a headache/migraine for most of the evening.

(9 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Saturday, June 13, 2026 Day 4 - Mariposa Grove

Morning Fuel. Ready for a hike.

Mariposa Grove

We started the hike with seeing a button buck again!

The hike out was 2 miles. We had the trail to ourselves. It was nice and quiet.

Once we got to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, it was fun to explore around.

The Fallen Monarch

Bachelor and Three Graces

Grizzly Giant

California Tunnel Tree

A deer bedded down.

Ended up with around 4-1/2 miles total once we were done. We took the shuttle back to the parking area.

(8 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Friday, June 12, 2026 Day 3

Relaxing at the house.

Since we started each day early, we were able to get back to the house to relax with plenty of time in the evening.

Relaxing. Axe throwing, Shooting some pool. Melissa made some killer stir fry for dinner.

(7 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Friday, June 12, 2026 Day 3 - Yosemite Valley

Lower Yosemite Falls

The view of both the upper and lower falls.

Just the lower falls. The upper falls are not visible from this angle.

There were a lot of people on the rocks!

We didn't do a big hike this day, but a few small ones around the valley.

A most delicious ice cream treat from the Valley Lodge gift shop.

After all the running around, we walked down to take a dip in the Merced River.

This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. One of many, of course. The water was fairly cold and a bit of a shock to dip into it, but also felt so very good.

The view, the clear water, the sun, the sand....it was glorious.

(6 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Friday, June 12, 2026 Day 3 - Yosemite Valley

Morning Fuel. Sausage, egg, avocado, tortilla. Get on the road.

Bridalveil Fall, again

We stopped here again so we could explore a bit more. The first time we were in more of a hurry.

There is a person at the very bottom of the picture below. Gives you a little perspective on the size of the fall.

We walked a bit past the fall and

And a walk down from the Fall to take a look at El Capitan

Stop on the side of the road.

(5 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Thursday, June 11, 2026 Day 2 - Yosemite, Post Hike

Tunnel View, again

We stopped again to see the view. I mean, it is worth it! It is also ON the road back to the house. So it is an easy stop.

South Fork Merced River, again.

This time we took our shoes off and walked around in the water. It felt SO good to put our feet in the cold water after the hike.

Relaxing at the house. Shower. Afternoon coffee.

Sugar Pine Tree Cone. Couch time. Crooked pool time.

Dinner of grilled chicken, pasta (alfredo for those two), and salad.

We did not stay up late. Alarm was set for 5am the next morning again. Getting to the park early was key to avoid people and lines.

(4 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Thursday, June 11, 2026 Day 2 - The Hike

Glacier Point Hike (down)

Pre hike fuel! After we took in the views from Glacier Point, we made sure to sit and eat before we started on the trek. We had packed some sandwiches and snacks. And we grabbed beverages from the little shop that was there. I love a little shop ;)

The hike started off simple. Flat and wide ground and plenty of tall trees.

We even got to see a fren that did not care that we were there at all. A button buck that just kept chomping away at something there on the ground.

The path ended up opening up to all the views. And then it was just all switch back til we got down the mountain. My watch clocked max elevation at 7224 (where we started), min 4104, gain of 151, and loss of 3222. That sounds about right.

If you don't know this about me yet....I have a decent sized issue with heights. And I definitely struggled with this hike. I might have done a bit better starting at the bottom so I had time to acclimate on the way up. But not really sure. Also, that would have made the hike that much more difficult. 4 miles straight down is one thing. 4 miles straight up is another!

I did my best. I took some breaks when I needed to. I only had one more "panic attack" type situation where I couldn't breathe and cried. I walked at my own pace, sometimes a little ahead of Steve and Melissa and sometimes a little behind. I also counted, which seemed to help for some reason. I guess it gave me something else to focus on.

The views were incredible. I tried to take in as much as I could while not letting it all freak me out as well.

It took us about 3 hours to complete the hike. I was glad to be done with the heights and back on the valley floor.

Even the walk back to the lodge was pretty. We were all pretty spent and ready to be relaxing.

We walked by the river and over that bridge and decided we should come back another day to jump in! There were quite a few people enjoying the water.

(3 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Thursday, June 11, 2026 Day 2 - Yosemite Valley, Pre Hike

Morning Fuel - oatmeal and coffee!

South Fork Merced River

The house where we stayed in Fish Camp was only a couple miles from the gate to the park, which was super convenient. And not too far beyond the gate is a great place to stop and take in the view of the river.

It was pretty in the morning, but we vowed to come back later in the day as well.

Tunnel View

After you travel around 10 miles on a windy road and go through a tunnel, you get to Tunnel View. Which is a road side overlook. There is a convenient place to park and you can take in the majestic view.

Bridalveil Fall

Just a tad farther down the road is Bridalveil Fall. Since we had a scheduled time to be at the tour bus, we didn't linger too long. But we made sure to stop and take a quick peek at the fall.

I am a big fan of waterfalls and they are definitely one of my happy places. Give me a book and a blanket, and I could have stayed there for hours!

Glacier Point Tour

We made it to Yosemite Valley Lodge in time for our 8:30am tour bus departure. We decided to take the tour bus up to Glacier Point and then we hiked back down.

Glacier Point Tour Stop - El Capitan Meadow

A view of Cathedral Rock

And also El Capitan, of course

Glacier Point Tour Stop - Yosemite Valley View

This is one of the "simple stops" that I really enjoyed. There is probably a theme that my favorite parts of the trip include water.

There was a small trail off to the side that no one went down. It was quiet and had a beautiful view of the river and mountains.

Again, give me a book and a blanket and I'd be set for hours!

Glacier Point Tour Stop - Glacier Point

The tour bus took a little over an hour and a half to get to Glacier Point. A few stops and the driver took it slow. Talked and gave info most of the way.

I don't even know how to pick the best photos for this stop.

The amphitheater is cool. Having a bonfire there would be even better!

And of course the pictures don't ever do the view proper justice. But we try!

Even just looking back on these, I feel so very small.

(2 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

Yosemite

Ok, I'm going to recap my trip that I took with Melissa and Steve. So many pictures, so I split it up between several posts. I also don't feel like going through for mistakes, so enjoy catching those. I'll queue the posts up :)

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 Day 1 - Travel

My day started early with a 2:45am alarm. I was on the road to the airport by 3:30 and my flight took off around 6am EST. Melissa and Steve hooked me up with first class, so I got to experience that comfort. And breakfast on the plane was pretty good! That is oatmeal with mix-ins, if you can't tell.

I flew from Grand Rapids, MI to Dallas, TX where I met up with Melissa and Steve. The clouds were so cool looking. I'm not a big cotton candy fan, but cool to see the clouds that look just like it.

I got my mile in for the Habit Hounds by walking around the airport. And soon enough, Melissa and Steve were there. Ready for our flight to California.

Again, the food on the plane was really good! I got the salmon.

I think we landed in Fresno, CA around 3pm PST. By the time we got the rental car, stopped for groceries, and drove the hour+ to the airbnb, it was around 6pm. I snagged a shower right away because that many hours in an airport/plane, it was needed!

We put together some burgers and fries for dinner.

I think I was in bed by 8:30pm PST. Which meant that I had been up for around 21 hours. Bed felt good!

And funny enough, I woke up at 3am PST the next morning, which would be 6am "my time"....my normalish time I would wake up. I did go back to sleep around 4am, but my alarm was set for 5am anyway, so not much more. Still plenty of sleep since I went to sleep "early".

(1 of 10)

[coffeeandmuscles]

W3D16 6/16 Tuesday Rest

Since my training is off track, I didn’t actually need a rest day today. Another two miles sounded good.

Went out before any storm came. And even though it looked imminent, it never actually stormed. Maybe later tonight.

And hey! Managed to pick a few more strawberries. 😋

[coffeeandmuscles]

W3D15 6/15 Monday 6 mile Base Run

I did not do my scheduled run. Not surprising since I'm in recovery mode from Yosemite. But I did get out and do a little bit.

I got some new gear from Duluth. Caught some sales. So I took them out for a run.

I have a different sports bra from Duluth that I have loved. and actually two even older ones that I still like, even if they are starting to wear. This one is just a slightly different style. I also got another color of the one I already have too. So I’m stocked on sports bras for a bit again.

The shorts are great. They have a shorts liner. And two large zipper pockets. There are also two straps in the back that you could use to loop stuff through.

[coffeeandmuscles]

Amazon Fun

This is the second time we have gotten one of these. The first time was a $14 pair of gloves, and since there were a few returns at the time, we just chalked it up to an accident. And $14 wasn't much to worry about.

But with it happening again and me knowing I returned it without question, this became more fishy.

I hopped on chat with Amazon and quickly they were able to resolve it. Apparently it was system error. I had him check the one before and we are getting our $14 back as well.

So, this is just a PSA in case anyone else gets one of these system error issues! I also might start taking a picture of the item AT UPS just in case :) I keep the receipts, but that wouldn't help if they say it is the wrong item.

[coffeeandmuscles]

Monday, June 15, 2026

And they charged me...for the same item....three months later. I had gotten another email, but thought maybe it wouldn't actually process. It did. At least they didn't give me a hard time about another refund.

Let's see if this same issue pops up again in another 3 months!

[coffeeandmuscles]

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

I moved Lennix to Tuesday so I could still get my time with her. She ran around like she usually does, getting into everything, and then she crashed out right before her parents came to pick her up. She usually sleeps well AFTER she goes home from my house lol. I did not mind the cuddles!!

No walk this time. I was feeling pretty tired. I had already run earlier as well, of course. It was nice to just relax with her for the evening. And then I was in bed by 8:30 or so since I had a 3am alarm set.

[coffeeandmuscles]

Time to pack

I leave for Yosemite tomorrow morning and I'm having trouble getting a clear idea of how I should pack. Mainly because it is more simple than my brain thinks it should be...so there is conflict.

Wednesday: Travel clothes. We will be arriving late afternoon, but will just be grocery shopping and relaxing at the airbnb

Thursday: Hiking clothes. Evening relax clothes.

Friday: Hiking clothes. Evening relax clothes.

Saturday: Hiking clothes. Evening relax clothes.

Sunday: Travel clothes.

I mean, really, I just need: 4-5 comfy outfits 3-4 hiking outfits socks, underwear, bras hydration vest hiking shoes sandals any other hiking related gear (buffs, bandana, chafe cream, etc)

There is laundry at the airbnb, so I don't even need to pack enough for all the days. Although, I'll likely just do laundry right before we leave so I come home with clean clothes.

Weather isn't much of a factor as far as swings, so don't even need to pack too many options for layers.

Seems too simple for a trip across the country, but I'll take it!

I'm so very excited to be going on this trip with @findingmelissa and Steve 💙💚🧡