Late Summer Road Trip Plan

 Down to 2 finalists.  Washington State or Southern California.  I can't go wrong with either.  If I am healthy enough to run 13 miles, it's gonna be SoCal even if my time will be over 2 hours.  Would I do SoCal if I have to downgrade to the 5K?  Not sure about that.  

Here's what Washington State would look like:

Day 1- Fly to Seattle with a preferred connection in Denver.  Night will probably be in Seattle but I can be flexible.  If a Mariners game fits my schedule, I will consider it but I've already done the tour.  I can be flexible with the weather forecast.  It's usually pretty nice in late summer but I definitely want a clear day for Rainier and North Cascades.  I don't care if it's dreary at Olympic.  

Day 2- Leave Seattle, hopefully ahead of the traffic to North Cascades and Ross Lake.  Night will definitely be in Tacoma.

Day 3- Olympic NP then a ferry to Victoria BC with a night in Canada.  

Day 4- Morning ferry back to USA.  Rest of the day at Rainier NP.  Tacoma for the night.  Edit: a night in Canada will not leave enough time for Rainier.  I'll either have to skip it or make it a day trip.

Day 5- Fly home.  

Southern California:

Day 1- Fly to John Wayne airport in Santa Ana, Orange County.  Probably connect in Dallas but open to other cities.  The John Wayne airport should be much less crowded than LAX or San Diego.  Should have time to take a dip at Huntington Beach.  It's only 20 minutes from the airport.  I would have preferred to get a hotel in Laguna but prices are outrageous.

Day 2- Morning session in Huntington Beach then head 30 minutes south to Laguna.  Need to go on a week day.  It will probably be Friday.  Night in San Clemente.  Laguna to San Diego is less than an hour and a half.

Day 3- If I am to race, I should take it easy today.  Stop in Oceanside on the way to San Diego.  Tour San Diego and may or may not take a dip.  

Day 4- Race day.  Rest of day in La Jolla and Torrey Pines.  From there, it's only a half hour to Oceanside.  

Day 5- Can be flexible in the morning.  I can either stay in Oceanside or go back to Laguna.  By late afternoon, I will need to be in Anaheim for the Angels game.  Anaheim is just under an hour from Oceanside and there are several hotels within walking distance of the stadium.  

Day 6- Fly home.  The airport is just 15 minutes from Anaheim.  Option of an overnight layover in Dallas.