Napa marathon Expo and other fun stuff!

Well, the big day was almost here. Satish, Mona, Senthil, and myself (henceforth referred to as the 'Gang') had planned to leave around 12:30 p.m. so we could get to the expo by 2 p.m. in order to score the really nice duffel bags (which usually ran out and would cause one to settle for the backpack - blech...). Senthil drove over to Satish's place and they then swung by to pick me up. We then drove over to Mona's place and after a brief intro to Mona's husband, kids, and dog, we set out on the drive to Napa. I had printed out clear directions and maps but Satish decided to pull out the secret weapon - 'Chechi'!! (means elder sister in Malayalam) - his trusted Crackberry :-) (so named because of the woman's voice which announces the GPS directions!!).

The weather was nice and we were fervently wishing for similar weather the next morning for the race (though the forecast called for showers pretty much throughout the day Sunday).

After an uneventful trip with minimal traffic, we arrive at the Marriott in downtown Napa where the Expo was being held. We parked the car and headed into the hotel. We then walked to the ballroom and headed over to the bib pick-up area. The area was kind of a mess even though they had clear signs listing the starting letter of your last name (A-F, G-L etc.). The problem was that there wasn't enough space for multiple lines and people got in the back assuming there was only one line. Anyhoo, Satish and I stood in the M-R line and of course, that turned out to be the longest line (I guess lots of last names in that range!) After picking up our bibs (with attached D-tag), we walked over to get the T-Shirt (light blue and pretty nice) and most importantly, the duffel bag. We then walked around the expo and Satish suggested I pick up a rain poncho (which I duly did). Mona (who had wanted to stop by the Outlet Mall but had been overruled!) saw her chance to do some shopping and was browsing the skirts on display (and eventually ended up buying one). After a quick walk around the various stalls (not a huge expo by any means), we decided to head out and get some coffee.

It was only just past 3 p.m. and we still had the whole evening ahead. After debating on what to do next, we decided to go catch a movie (and stay off our feet). After consulting Chechi, we decided to go to a movie theater in downtown Napa. We arrived there and after looking at showtimes decided to watch 'Milk' (that won Sean Penn a best actor Oscar!). Left to herself, Mona would probably have watched 'He's Just Not That into You', but luckily, we outnumbered her 3 to 1 :-)

Since we had a little while before the show started, we headed out to find a coffee place. After walking a couple of blocks, Mona sighted a Cupcake place - woohoo - guilt-free carbo loading glee ensued! We then picked up coffee next door and decided to eat and drink by the river.

Sufficiently recharged, we headed back to the theater where we picked up a large tub of popcorn (more guilt-free snacking!) and settled down to watch the movie. It was decent though more of a docu-drama chronicling the life and times of Harvey Milk (though Sean Penn did give a bravura performance). We then walked around looking for a place to eat. We saw a couple of Italian places but they were packed with 'pasta-loading' runners. After some walking and driving around, we finally settled on a Chinese restaurant (hey - rice contains Carbs too :-)). After some springrolls and fried rice, we headed back to the motel. Satish and I were roomies - we both pinned the bibs on our race shirts and attached the D-tag to the shoes. After watching Bill Maher for some time (quite hilarious), I called it a night after setting the alarm for 3:45 am (to get ready and get to the finish line/school before 5 am for the shuttles to the start in Calistoga).