The Best Friday Ever

Yesterday I was privileged with the opportunity to play 'hooky' from school. Okay, not really, but I attended a Track & Field Coaching Clinic down in Columbus. I was technically "working," just not in the classroom.


It was an overnight trip, so my Business Man decided to "work from his computer" on Friday and come with me. We left late Thursday afternoon, and of course just as we were leaving it started to snow. So the trip took a little longer than usual. Pretty typical, when it comes to traveling for us. 


We arrived at the Hilton, where the conference was located. Now, my school is pretty awesome, and paid the cost of the hotel room for me. All I had to do was check-in, fill out a tax exemption form, and I'd be good to go.


However, when we went to check in, they couldn't find my name in the system. Anywhere. And they couldn't find the names of the other coaches from my school that should be there either. Hmmmm... and I started to wonder, "Maybe this isn't the same hotel we are staying at?"


Now, I knew we weren't staying at the Hilton, obviously. And there's like a billion other hotels nearby. And I didn't have my other coaches' phone numbers. Great. Maybe we could just camp out in the car.


So, we began the trek all the way back through the hotel to the car, when I ran into one of my fellow coaches. And I said a quiet prayer of thanks to the Lord for letting us cross paths at that very moment. He informed me that we were actually staying at the Courtyard, about 2 blocks down the road. I guess I should start opening my ears a little better in conversation, ehh?


So, we finally made it to the Courtyard, and got ourselves checked in. By this time it was past 8 o'clock. And we still needed to get dinner. So much for making it to any coaching sessions that night. Hmmph. 

Our room looked like this. I took this picture from the hotel's website.

However, we did dine at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory! I just love this place... I've never had something bad here. Everything from the super-delish brown bread when you sit down, to the extensive list of entrees and appetizers, to the oh-so-tempting dessert case. 

I had the BBQ chicken pizza, with gouda cheese. Gosh, it was so good. And of course a slice of cheesecake to go. I went with the Chocolate Cake Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. I took a picture of it (as I ate it in bed, haha...) but my camera battery charger has mysteriously gone awol. So this picture will have to suffice.

My Business Man and I were supposed to "share" it, but he didn't even want any once we got back to the hotel! The man does not know what he is missing.


Anyways, one of the best parts about this trip was that my first session on Friday morning was not even until 11am! That meant sleeping in, running, and going out for breakfast. 


After a lazy morning with my Business Man, spent at Panera Bread, I headed to the conference. I learned all about making coaching "fun", and the art and science of distance running. I really enjoyed the conference, and just being around other running-minded people, since I don't get a lot of that in the Bean Town. I wouldn't say that I learned a ton about distance running, because the presentations mostly followed the training plans that I followed in college. It felt good to know what they were talking about though!


After the conference was over about 4pm, I met up with my Business Man again. Who was supposedly "working" all day, but texted me about 1:30 saying he was in a movie. Haha.


We hit up a few shops, and then grabbed an early dinner at another one of my favs, California Pizza Kitchen! (Yes, I did have pizza two nights in a row. I might have even had BBQ Chicken Pizza two nights in a row. And yes, I loved it.  If I had to choose any foods to eat for the rest of my life, my two picks would be pizza and ice cream.)


Of course, we also had to make a pitstop at Trader Joe's to stock up on some of our favorites, and try a few new things. I got some dark chocolate peanut butter cups that are so delectable. They are hiding on the top shelf of the cabinet. Because you know, if you have to get a chair out to reach them, you will eat less. Yea right.


We finally made our way back to the Bean Town late last night, and are getting ourselves situated this morning. We enjoyed some blackberry pancakes, and now I'm gearing up for a run. Then we're off to help some friends move this afternoon! Busy day.


I'm hoping to get cooking some more this week, so check back for a Chicken Pot Pie recipe! Perfect food for the winter doldrums...