I must say that I was on a race high the rest of my vacation in Florida.

It also helped that the weather was nice.  For Floridians, it was cool.  For me, it was perfect.  In the high 70’s in the afternoon. No rain!!

My friend Georgette met me after the race.  Someone told me about the huge outdoor market in West Palm Beach so we hung out there and bought French pastries and fish and veggies to barbecue for dinner.

Then we drove to where she lives – Hobe Sound.  We had some snacks and then drove to the beach.

The salt water was just what my blisters needed.

We went back to her house and had a lovely dinner with her husband and college roommate.

Monday, we got up early and went for a walk around her condo.  She lives on a golf course.

Then I packed up my stuff and we drove around Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens. She pointed out all the sites and where some of our other friends lived.

Our final destination was Delray Beach where I would be staying with Fonda, another tennis friend. After getting a tour of  her condo, we went to a Greek restaurant for a delicious lunch.

Georgette headed home and Fonda & I went to Nature Sanctuary — Wakodahatchee Wetlands. It was amazing.  I could have stayed for hours but it was getting dark by the time we left.

Here are just a few shots:

When we got home, we walked around the area she lived, another golf course.

Since we had a late lunch, we decided to go into Delray Beach and walk around town for awhile and then have a light dinner.  We chose a restaurant with a view of the water and ate outside.

I had conch chowder (I try to have local food) and for dessert:

Monday morning, I got up early again.  I debated about running but decided instead to go for a walk.  You can walk at the golf course after 5 pm and before 8 am.

We had breakfast and then headed to the beach.  It was a perfect day.

I read a book and then went for a long walk on the beach.

It started to get breezy so we headed home and I needed to pack for my next destination.

Fonda drove to the other side of Delray Beach to my old friend, Michelle’s condo (on a golf course, of course.)

I went out to dinner with her and her hubby. It was a new Italian restaurant and they gave us free eggplant appetizers.

It was next door to a place called “The Girls Strawberry Patch – a very quirky place where rescued birds live and you can buy old toys.

We had the most delicious pizza.

When we got home, we vegged out in front of the TV.  Michelle’s sister (a college tennis coach) was in town for a tournament so we watched the Australian Open for a bit.

Tuesday, my last day started with a 3 mile walk around another bird sanctuary (Green Cay) with Michelle and her sister.

After our walk, we went out to breakfast (2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 bacon).  My diet starts when I get home!!!

Then we headed back to West Palm Beach (where I flew into) to meet one of our friends, Debbie, for a late lunch.  All of three of us taught together years ago.  Debbie just moved to Jensen Beach.

Before lunch, we toured Worth Ave in Palm Beach, where all the rich people shop.

Then we walked around Clematis Street.  Finally we headed to City Place for lunch. We ate outdoors at Brio.

The food was amazing. I had a chopped salad and chicken/sweet potato risotto.

After lunch, we killed some more time until it was time to head to airport.

I am so grateful to have been able to escape the frigid temps of the NE and to have such amazing friends to host me in SE Florida.

Happy Running!  Do you combine races and vacations?