Bainbridge Island & the Warrior Dash

With my sister Jannalee in town, Rob and I got to steal away for the day and do something totally different. We had initially intended on going to Wild Waves to ride the roller coasters but the weather did not cooperate so we decided to drive down to Seattle and take our bikes onto the ferry. I had heard about the Big Star Diner on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network so we biked our way over Bainbridge Island and had breakfast at the famous diner.

Turns out, it has quite the history and is now a fully restored 1950's diner.

(This was my best Guy Fieri impression)

On the show, he at the cornmeal pancakes and the chorizo scramble so that is what we ordered. It was really was a very delightful meal. The food was fresh and wholesome as opposed to the wilted, tired food that can be served at old diners. I was very impressed and would recommend it to anyone!!

I had the vegetarian omelet and it was LOADED with spinach and peppers. I could not finish it all. I had to leave room for the cornmeal pancake!!

This is Rob doing is best impression of having fun.

We then stopped by the marina and did some gazing over the boats and water. We found the only boat that we might be able to afford.

But then....the clouds parted to reveal a little chocolate shop call Bon Bon. I did not expect much since it looked like every other small town candy store with it's homemade fudge, nostalgic candies and chocolate covered confections. I settled on trying their coconut caramel and put it in a to go bag. Once back on the ferry, Rob and I sat down to our treats (well, I did because I have no patience) and one bite of that thing and I could not chew. My eyes popped open, a verbal "woah" escaped my lips and I let that coconut caramel just melt over my tongue with a distant sound of angels singing could be heard. I very very rarely stop in my chewing tracks to really savor a bite but this one blew my mind. I have never tasted anything like it and I have had my share of homemade and store bought chocolate covered candies. It was out of this world. It reminded me of the topping on a Somoa Girl Scout Cookie. It was slightly salty with a soft creamy caramel...not grainy at all. It was packed with coconut and the texture was the right balance between chewy, soft and creamy. I immediately set it down and snapped a few pictures to remember this most divine concoction.

I still dream of this thing and it is my goal to replicate it someday. Seriously people, this single gift from God will change your life. Catch the next ferry over to Bainbridge and get yourself a 55-gallon drum full of Coconut Caramels. They are improperly named in my opinion...Island Oasis of Pleasure Gooey Divine Bliss Filled Love Nuggets is more like it. You will be forever in debt to me!!

Our main stop for the day, which we had signed up for months prior was the Warrior Dash.

This was the craziest day, filled with pain, mud, exhaustion, sweat and laughs. You will have to go to their website to even understand the enormity of this event but I will let you know our details.

Our friends Adrian and Jen Buck and the two of us decided to do this "thing" together. We were encouraged to dress up and somehow we landed on white outfits which developed into wedding dresses and veils with Adrian in a suit but Rob did not get ready in time so he was just getting out of the shower when we had to be there. So there we were, about to run 3.55 miles in the mud in wedding dresses, suits, towels and shower caps.

It was not an easy race. There were flames and fanfare to send us off but we quickly realized that rolling your ankle would be a strong possibility. The ground was very uneven and watching your step was all you could do for the first 3/4 mile. There were many obstacles along the way including rope walls, junk yard leaps, mud bogs, wall jumps, tire steps, army crawls, rope climbs and the such. I took off early thinking that my friends and husband were right behind me but quickly lost them in the crowd. Later I learned that Jen's dress had caught on her jump down from a wall and she had twisted her knee pretty bad. She had to bow out of the race and be shipped back to the first aid tent. She didn't even get to get her $17 Goodwill wedding gown muddy.

I got to to the last rope wall and heard Rob yell out my name. Somehow he had caught up to me when I had at one time been way ahead. I was glad to see him so that we could finish our race together. We got to jump of the fire and swim through the mud side by side and he finished 8 seconds before I did.

Yep, you get pretty tired trying to stay upright through all that slippery and glue-like mud.

After the race, you get to stand in a line of other nasty smelly people and a water truck hose sprays you off with 28 degree water. It was the most pain I had experienced the whole race. Getting heat with 200 pounds of ice cold water pressure was enough to make a grown man squeal. The above picture is us "clean."

Needless to say, I can't take my dress back to Goodwill.

Did we have a good time....absolutely! Would I do it again....?????...I am not so sure. There is a lot of room for injury but luckily Rob and narrowly escaped. I had a small cut on my hand from swimming through the rocks and mud. Jen's knee will probably heal but not without time. We loved every second of it and glad to have survived it.

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