I’m grudgingly finally back from vacation. BJ and I had an awesome time in Sun Valley* – the last 8 days have me seriously considering a move out West! 
I bet you’re thinking: “random vaca spot”, right?! Well, BJ’s uncle has a condo in Sun Valley that he lets us use – free accommodations = a pretty good reason to vacation somewhere you normally wouldn’t go. We went last year, had a blast and decided to do it again this year.
This vacation is founded on 3 simple rules:
1) Train like crazy
2) Relax
3) Drink copious amounts of wine
Check, check and check. Who am I to defy the rules??
My friends think we’re crazy: “You workout that much while you’re on … vacation??!!” However, I know you will be more understanding. I can’t leave for 8 days and not workout – now, that’s crazy!
Training:
4.4 mile – run (run uphill home – 2.2 miles)
36 mile – (road) bike ride
5.2 mile – run/hike – Baldy Mountain; elevation: 9150 ft. (roundtrip: 10.4 miles)
5 x .8 mile – (run) hill repeats
2 miles – swim (total for the trip)
2.5 hours – mountain bike ride (this was my 1st time and it was AWESOME – we had such a blast rockin’ it on the trails)
5 miles – run
8.4 mile – hike – Pioneer Cabin; elevation: 11,000 ft.
30 mile – (road) bike ride – Galena Summit (last 6 miles are completely uphill and completely kicked my ass)
6 mile – run
Eat/Drink:
I love to cook, so as a budding chef and reason to make BJ want to marry me, I cooked 3 of the 5 nights we were in SV. SV has a great local grocery store with fresh fruits and veggies, great meat, wine (you get my point) – but the culinary highlight of my trip was the Farmer’s Market on Tuesday! This was the farmer’s market of all farmers’ markets – and I pretty much fell in love. I bought fresh rosemary, parsley, zucchini, squash, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, red onion, 
lemons, cheese, fresh bread… And when we got home that night, I whipped up a delicious little farmers’ market dinner (with wine, of course). The nights we ate out, the food was exceptional, weather was near perfection and the wine was abundant. I love vacation!
Globus:
-Local All Natural “Salmon Creek” Pork Baby Back Ribs Honey Hoisin Bbq Sauce, Asian Cabbage Slaw, Jasmine Rice (YES I WILL!)
-Green Thai Curry with ChickenRoasted Eggplant, Red Peppers, Baby Shitake, Onions, Broccoli, Basil, Jasmine Rice
-Wine: Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel Blend – Sonoma
CIRO:
-Grilled Artichoke with sun dried tomato aioli (this was insanely delicious!)
-House Salad – organic greens, cherry tomatoes, with lemon & olive oil
-Parma Pizza – plum tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella with fresh sliced prosciutto & organic arugula
-Americano Pizza – plum tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, mozzarella, parmigiano & imported pepperoni
-Wines by glass:
Pinot Noir Siduri – Sonoma, CA
Dolcetto D.Alba Prunotto – Piedmont, Italy
Sun Valley Wine Company:
Light fare – featuring salads, panini, pizza, and a variety of ethnic appetizer plates.
Wine: too many to choose from!
The fun did not stop at night. We went to a wine tasting. We walked around town and looked in art galleries. We went to see Dr. Stuart Brown give a talk on his book: Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, as part of the SV Writer’s Conference. We went to the outdoor pavilion – one of the best things about SV – to see the Trey McIntyre Project. The venue is super cool and while BJ and I don’t love ballet, it’s definitely worth seeing if TMP comes to your town. We just had so much fun!
I was sad to say goodbye to SV but vaca wasn’t over yet (thank God) – BJ and I headed to Boise for a few days to hang with his awesome family (uncle, aunt and cousins). Saturday was my birthday – so we spent the day on the boat, wakeboarding and hanging out. When we got back to
Uncle B’s house, the house was decorated with balloons, a banner and a delicious birthday cake. It was such a fun and unexpected surprise (especially since they aren’t my family)! We had a big BBQ, ate birthday cake and drank great wine. I guess turning 26 wasn’t so bad after all. 
BJ and I had great time on vaca – I wish it could have lasted for months (or until the really cold Idaho weather starts). It’s nice to be back in DC, though – I think I brought the delicious Sun Valley weather home with me!
*we spent 5 days in Sun Valley and 3 days in Boise (BJ’s uncle lives in Boise – so we did some family time, too)
What a fun trip! Way to get your training in there too girl. Happy birthday and welcome home to the blogland.
Sounds like a perfect vacation to me!
Happy Birthday!
You were a very busy girl while on vaca! Looks like you had a ton of fun though! Welcome back to reality! 🙂
Way to balance fun, working out and relaxing. NICE!! I wish I could cook, I totally married my husband because he can cook (among other reasons) Happy Birthday!
sounds like a great trip! Glad you had an amazing birthday, got lots of exercise in, cooked for your bf && spent time with fam!! 🙂 🙂
oh my….I'm wiping the drool off my keyboard after reading about all that food and wine….nice job balancing it all with your workouts, what a great vacay!
ohh 26 is a great year!! then 27 is even more awesome! I think it's because we're runners.
I love it when a vaca is on the cheap, but so wonderful you are ready to move!
Happy Birthday and welcome back! We are all glad you had a great Vacation! I have a friend from college who lives in Sun Valley and I visited to snow ski while we were in college. It's a beautiful place and I am with you about moving out West! It was 90 degrees today at 5:20 PM, crazy hot weather we are still having in Florida!!!!
The food and wine sound like they were amazing and your training??? Crazy!!! Glad you enjoyed!!!
Sounds like you had an awesome time. Happy Birthday! 😀 I can't believe all those workouts! Great job, girl!
Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation! Great job keeping up with all the exercise. Happy belated birthday. Hope 26 treats you well.
What a fun trip! I would love to visit Idaho, looks beautiful! And happy belated bday!
I find NOTHING wrong with working out that much on vacation. Just yesterday my bf was talking about taking a vacation day and not working out BECAUSE it was a v'kay day. And I replied "well working out IS something fun to do on a vacation day… and you have ALL day to do it!!!"
He just looked at me like i was crazy. oh well!
Hey, I saw the MCM coming up on your schedule. Is that going to be your first full????
Great food, great workouts, great wine, time with family – sounds like a great vacation! I'm right there with ya on the workouts. It's hard to relax when you don't get the workouts in! Great pics too. Glad you made it home safely.
Happy Birthday!!! Looks like a you two had a great time!
CJ
Your trip sounds amazing! I'm glad you had a great time. I love Sun Valley!!
Hey – Thanks for visiting my blog. Abby emailed me your link and was like "you gotta check her blog out".
Love exercising on vacation – glad I am not alone in that. You exercise so you can kick back and enjoy, right? I KNOW – me too!