Road weary...

Today marks day 8 of our trip and believe me, we're all feeling it. The little guy has started to cry for "own bed, right now!" The H is feeling the walls of our studio-style room close in; being "home" all weekend has that effect on a person who has previously been out from 8am to 5pm. I am proud of the running and decent eating I've been able to do, but am anxious to get back into my own kitchen. I've been flipping through a Clean Eating Magazine I brought with me and have already flagged about a half-dozen recipes to make when we get back. It's making me homesick for my four-burner gas range and oven!

The forecast for this morning (and actually, for the remainder of our time here) called for rain, turning to thunderstorms. This ominous outlook inspired me to get up and out the door for a long run as soon as the little guy woke up (ok, a half an hour later) to hopefully beat the wet. And it worked! We were graced with sun (and humidity) the whole time we were out this afternoon.

I meandered along the Mt. Vernon Trail for just over 10 miles (out and back) and got to watch a large portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway 10-Miler, albeit backwards, and never felt a drop of rain. I feel very accomplished having done a run of that magnitude while on "vacation" more or less, and in an unknown area. I refueled with a chocolate protein shake and banana... and coffee, of course.

Our plan for the rest of the day was to jump on the Metro and check out Eastern Market.

We wandered the streets and stalls, snacking on chocolate-covered edamame and raw almonds/dried apricots, for awhile before having lunch at a teeny-tiny place across from the market building. I had a margarita chicken sandwich (the little guy ate my rice and beans) and The H enjoyed a chicken fajita salad.

I was so hungry at this point that I could not tell if the sauce on my sandwich was mayo or sour cream; nor did I care. That sucker went down fast.

By this time the little guy was transforming into CrankyPants McGee so we high-tailed it back for naptime. We all slept for a bit, then The H got up to go for a run.

Snack time was pretty much catch-as-catch-can, trying to use up some of our grocery stock. The little guy had some yogurt. I had chips and red pepper hummus. The H had the rest of the agave granola and yogurt. Then the two of them went swimming while I made dinner: gluten free pasta with red sauce and a vegetable medley.

I like this corn-quinoa pasta for its different texture than our usual rice pasta. It held the sauce very well and was not mushy at all. The vegetables, from Trader Joe's, were fresh-tasting and crisp.

After the little guy was in bed I strolled to Whole Foods (I'm going to miss having that a block away, but my wallet sure won't!) and picked up some more coffee and snacks for our return trip. I also snagged some canned corn and grilled chicken from the salad bar, to put in our chipotle-black bean soup tomorrow (or Tuesday) night. Now The H and I are settling in with our nightly decaf and the other two mini creme brulees from last night. Hope you had a great weekend!