EVL Happy 5K and Mother’s Day Weekend Recap

What I really wanted for Mother’s Day this year was a fun weekend, spent mostly outdoors, with my three favorite people – and I got exactly that, starting with the Ellicottville Happy 5K on Saturday morning!  Ellicottville is a beautiful town about an hour south of us, sitting right at the base of Holiday Valley, the biggest ski area in WNY.  I’d been wanting to visit for some time now – ideally during ski season, but really anytime – but I’d never done more than just drive through it on my way to or from D.C.  So when I heard about the EVL Happy Half Marathon and 5K, I thought a race seemed like the perfect way to see the sights.  I am nowhere near half marathon ready, but I can usually count on my legs to bang out an impromptu 5K, so I signed up.

The race started with packet pickup at the ski lodge.  It was a weird and surreal experience to see the slopes without (much) snow, and to walk through the lodge without dodging piles of slush.

I really need to come back here with my snowboard!

Packet pickup started at 8:30 and the 5K didn’t begin until 10:30, so we had a lot of time to kill.  Nugget was less than enthused about the whole project.

Peanut had fun, though.  She enjoyed throwing rocks at this little stream (which I’ll bet is absolutely beautiful in the winter!).

Finally, we were off!  The half marathoners started about 30 minutes before the 5K, but we finally made it over the start line.  I was a little nervous, since EVL is quite hilly – it is a mountain town, after all – but the race organizers nicely sent us down the one flat stretch of road in the area.  Well played, race organizers!

Their motivational signs were also on point.  (Another one I liked, although I didn’t snap a picture, said “This is a lot of work for a free banana.”  Ha!)

Finally, after a very hot three miles (not a lick of shade on the entire course!) I saw this welcome sight.  Don’t worry – there was a path around the bubbles.

Collected my medal, then it was out to lunch at the Ellicottville Brewing Company (I had a salmon Caesar salad and we split a sweet potato appetizer that was THE BOMB), and home for a relaxing afternoon.

The next day was Mother’s Day itself, so of course we started with brunch – although we were in line at 9:00 sharp, so it was really more like breakfast than brunch.

I love the brunch at Betty’s.  We shared a blueberry pecan scone, and then Steve ordered a mess of scrambled eggs and veggies, and I had my favorite dish – the smoked salmon eggs benedict.  (It was a very salmony weekend, now I’m thinking about it.)

After breakfast, we had been planning a trip to the children’s museum because the weather forecast looked a little gloomy.  But with no naps the previous day, and more sun than expected, we adjusted our plans to stay closer to home and hit the hiking trails instead.  To Tifft!

No matter how many times I go, I will never get tired of these beautiful wetlands.

There were other moms and babies on the trail, too.

And dads and babies!

It was such a fun morning.  I was so happy to be out in the fresh air with my favorites.  So grateful for my little family…

After a short hike, we headed home and everyone got comfy.  Some of us got comfier than others.  Nugget, as expected, only took a catnap, so he and I ran a few errands together in the afternoon, and then picked up Chipotle on our way home.  Not exactly a traditional Mother’s Day dinner, but it sure tasted good.  The best part of the day, of course, was spending it with my sweeties.  But a close second was the gift that the kids gave me (organized by Dad)…

He had a custom paper cutout portrait made by PurplePaperPeople – can you believe it?  I think this might be one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received.  I welled up when I saw it, and I can’t stop looking at it even two weeks later.  I think the likeness is incredible, and I can’t get over the detail.  Happy Mother’s Day, indeed!

I hope all of my mom friends enjoyed their days as much as I did!