On Friday, my brother flew in and we met him at the Expo after picking Ralph up at work. There was almost no traffic (shocker!) and we made it from downtown to Anaheim in about 40 minutes. This Expo was a bit different, usually the Expo opens at 9 but this one opened at 12. We arrived around 1 to a mad house, the craziest Expo I have ever seen. There were people everywhere, and the merchandise line was in the hallway-no bueno!
I was able to go try on the Donald shoes-SO ADORABLE! However they were completely out of the small sizes (junior 7 and mens 6.5) so I was try again at wine and dine and Avengers. We got our bibs and took pictures.
The expo was crowded but I was able to stop at Sparkle Athletic (got a red visor and pink sparkle sleeves). After that, we decided to have lunch at Stir Fry in DCA. Well imagine our surprise when it was CLOSED! Ahh-so we had lunch at Boardwalk Pizza and Paradise Grill. After that, we went to the hotel to check in and unpack and relax.
At 5, we went back to the Expo and got to finally shop merchandise (I got 2 sweaty bands and a magnet) and my brother and I got KT taped. I learned I had been taping incorrectly (I had been taping my shin bone when I actually need to tape the muscle that gets sore when I go out too fast), which will be so helpful in the future! After that, we headed back to get stir fry and found a crazy insane park. Ralph and Jake went over to DL to ride things while I grabbed food and ate it while I walked back to the hotel.
This is definitely where I messed up! I should have gotten food before going back to the Expo (but I was not hungry because we had such a late lunch). The food took forever (and the horror stories that I heard of trying to get into the park) and I was so full when I finally got back to the room around 8.
I doubt that I will go to the Expo so early in Friday afternoon again (unless my brother comes out again) so I should not have to worry about it. I think it is important to eat early so I can get to the room and try to get as much sleep as possible. Many other races I am also running the 5k so I will need to go on Thursday and most likely go to the Expo in the middle/late afternoon to avoid the heavy crowds.
As always, if you really want something, make sure to go the first day of the Expo. Things were pretty picked over on Friday and I was shocked I was able to get sweatybands and a magnet. They even had some of the jackets left! I am hoping that means they are ordering more merchandise, which would be great for everyone!
The Expo was pretty typical with the booths and stores. I do still enjoy going to Expos! What did you think of the DL Half Expo?