I can’t believe it’s finally here! Back in April I outlined my crazy travel plans which stretched from April to the last week of June. Now, three months later I’ve successfully conquered the travel while also staying pretty sane and not packing on stress pounds.  I attributed this feat to a few simple things that I’ve focused on the past few months:

• Improved mindset
• Larger lunch salads
• Protein powder
• Enough sleep
• Workout flexibility

With that being said, yesterday we headed down to Philadelphia to begin the wedding celebration of Mike & Liz’s wedding.

These two have been close friends of ours for four years so we’re both thrilled to be part of their weekend. So thrilled in fact, that I didn’t share with the blog or Facebook world this week that Bo was in bed with a 103 fever Wednesday and Thursday! Oh no, I know what it’s like to be a bride and the last thing I wanted them worrying about was being short a groomsmen. I was the best nurse possible forcing fluids, medicine, sleep, and ice packs so that Bo would be back to normal by Friday.

Success! His fever broke early yesterday morning and so far he’s feeling 85%!

It’s always wonderful to come back to Philadelphia for a weekend after living in the area for three years. It’s even better when the wedding party hotel is one you always ran past and the rehearsal dinner is held at your favorite restaurant!

We didn’t rent a car for the weekend which means we were dependent on Amtrak and SEPTA to get us from NYC to Wayne, PA out overall it worked out quite well. It only took 2.5 hours doorstep to doorstep and cost less then $50 per person!

Our hotel for the weekend is the Wayne Hotel, a Victorian style hotel which has recently undergone extensive renovations. The new lobby and front verandah are absolutely stunning. I also loved that our hotel room happened to have makeup remover face wipes!

 

The rehearsal dinner was held at Nectar, an Asian fusion restaurant on the Main Line which is perfect for almost any occasion. It’s managed to maintain it’s food, service, and reputation over the years. Their draft beers are hand picked from Pennsylvania’s finest craft breweries while their cocktails are creative and potent. The groom’s family organized the menu which featured three appetizer and three entree options ranging from tuna tartare to Thai Chili Fillet Mignon. The lobster and scallop risotto stole the show and was definitely the best entree choice of the evening! Just look at the size of that lobster claw!

 

The dinner was so wonderful filled with lots of smiles and fun stories! While the food was just as delicious as I remembered, it was the company that truly made the evening.

This morning I woke up at 7 ready to hit the road for a 6 mile run. Unfortunately, the run wasn’t exactly as I planned. Even my Reach the Beach shirt couldn’t motivate me to push through the heat.  But, it was wonderful to run through my old neighborhood seeing all that has changed in such a short period. There are some wonderful new restaurants I wish we had time to try on this trip including a gorgeous Mexican restaurant, Xilantro, with a full patio right on Lancaster Avenue! The heat and humidity were already brutal at 7 and the path I chose had little to no shade. I listened to my body and cut my run at 4.1 miles opting for 15 minutes of hotel boot camp versus another 2 miles out in the heat. I have a long day of wedding festivities in front of me and therefore thought it best to listen to my legs. I’ll be the first to admit that the run was humbling after weeks of strong runs but maybe it’s the wakeup call I need to begin marathon training on Monday!

Now it’s time to freshen up and prepare for the wedding. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since we celebrated Leslie and Charles’ wedding at Villanova!

H