DISNEY: Anaheim - Day 5 (9.06.09) - Newport Beach

[I am going to get caught up...]

Twelve days in Anaheim, and I'm going to start here, on Day 5, because it has my favorite picture of the entire trip.

(I'll explain the picture later on below...)

Anyways, the Disneyland Half-Marathon was on Day 5: Sunday, September 6, 2009. The weather was perfect - overcast and cool - and both Cindy and I got DLHM PRs. We were just running for fun, not for time, but still it's nice to know that we're not losing anything.

The pictures from the race that we took with disposables came out dark for the most part (too bad), so there's not so much evidence from that morning. Afterwards, we went to Newport Beach to escape the crowds.

Personally, I think that I'd rather've spent the time in the park anyway... I typically want to stay near a comfortable place after a long race (especially one that I didn't really train for). Also, I didn't think "a day at the beach" literally meant "a day at the beach"... I need to feel like I was doing something.

The day ended up being transformative... and for me, marked the end of the first half of my time in Anaheim.

The picture that opened this post was one that I took while trekking down the pathway that runs parallel to the beach. It goes off into the distance but it evolves to different characters. When I took the picture, the view had grown patches of lawn; it was across from an elementary school (yes, that is along the beach -- how cool is that), and it was nice to feel like I wasn't the only odd character there.

Below are six more pictures from Day 5:

For this Labor Day weekend, the sun was out, the waves were nice, and there was a good-sized crowd at the beach.

There's a restaurant at the end of the pier, and from there, its windows framed the recreational day.

There was a mix of people out. And the pier hosted quite a number of both amateur and seasoned fishermen.

Instead of just laying on the beach, I walked the pedestrian pathway southwards for about a mile-and-a-quarter. It was a nice mini-venture.

During this walk, I treated myself to a frozen pineapple bar and took in the change of scenery. And it was about this time that I took the picture of the couple on the lawn.

Back towards the settlement, I had climbed upon a collection of rocks and found a place to sit and watch the waves crash.

Overall, the trip to Newport Beach was fine, but I think that I would've preferred something more active and a scenario where I wasn't playing "kid hostage" (a lesson I have to revisit).

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