August

Warning - rambling thought post. Ok, so most of them are but when I have to pick something as broad as a whole month as the title you know I'm going to be all over the place. Read on at your own risk.

So I've haven't been here in a while. 4 days after my last post we left for British Columbia to visit Carmen, Todd and the boys - Cole is 14 now and I swear 2 feet taller than he was when he came to visit us in 2011; Dawson is 10 going on 11 in a few weeks and anxious to visit us next summer for HIS 12th birthday; Brendan is 9 and still as much a pistol as he was the last time Dave and I visited together (4 years ago). They are great kids. Probably the best way to tell you about the vacation is to show you the photos. If you're not family you haven't seen them yet so here is the link. They are annotated and will give you the highlights. I'll give you the same warning I gave the family.... I was a total tourist and took way too many scenery pictures. BC ranks neck and neck with Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the prettiest places I've visited. I'm not a big world traveler (yet) but so far those two get my votes. Anyway, we had an awesome relaxing time.

Carmen and I took a nice hike one day and we (Dave and I) did keep up with 3 out of 4 parts of the arm challenge while we were away. We didn't do the arm curls because we did not want to add the weights to our bag and there really wasn't anything there that worked. But we did dips, pushups and arm punches without missing a day. We switched up a rest day and workout day so we had a rest day on the two days we knew we would be on the road all day. Other than that though I did not do much in the way of fitness. Physical fitness that is. We had major R&R which goes a long way toward mental fitness. And I did keep up the no bread, pasta grains theme of eating. I didn't get as much balance as I might have at home but kept those items out so I'm good.

August in general has been a funky month for me as far as physical fitness goes. This is true going way back to my first year training for a marathon even - 2005. There are a lot of excuses for that.
1. August is typically our vacation month. I get vacation days but Dave does not so August being an off month for softball makes it a good time for both of us to take off.
2. August is ragweed month. As I type I'm in a bit of a stupor. It's either funky feeling because of full sinuses or funky feeling because of meds. If I'd get up and move more - get the blood moving - I'd probably manage better. But it's a chicken and egg thing. Can't get the momentum to move; need to move to get the momentum.
3. August is usually really hot and humid. Kind of lame excuse this month though. Although it was 89 and humid today the rest of the month has been below average temps. I've even needed a jacket a few morning on the way too work.
4. In years that I was training for a fall race, I'd be kind of burned out by now. Obviously that is not an issue this year.

In short, it is the year of the sloth. Thanks Kristi Y. I am borrowing your sloth theme because it so works right now. And thanks to Brian D for reminded everyone that we should "just make sure you have a fitness habit that works for you". With that, I need to regroup.

The one bright spot for physical fitness this month has been the arm challenge. Who would have thought that I would ever do 40 pushups, 80 dips, 110 arm curls and 90 seconds of air punches in one day let alone less than half an hour as I did a short while ago. I do my pushups and dips in intervals. Usually 10-15 at a time with about a minute rest in between. By August 30 we will be at 50 pushups and 120 dips.  I  think for September I'm going to stay at those numbers but work toward doing more in one continuous effort. I wonder if in another 30 days I could do 50 pushups and 120 dips straight through for each?

I need to hit the trails again soon. I really want to run with the trail group but right now I'm afraid I'd just be a heavy ball on that chain gang. Maybe more important, I need to hit the trails again because I really like hiking and running the trails! And of course get the bike back on the road again. Heck, a walk would be a good idea. :)

Yesterday, Dave and I celebrated 14 years married. Where did THAT time go? We are still smiling and moving.

On Saturday we will be going to the more or less annual sibling bbq at my sister Meg's house. I say more or less because this gathering has a history that goes back probably 20 years or so. Either Meg, I or my sister KT hosted it. I don't think we've missed a year just moved it around. It's firmly in Meg's court now I think as we have settled into a routine of Sibling BBQ at her house in August, Canadian Thanksgiving at my house in October and Cookie bake at my brother's house in December. I love that all three events have become family PLUS. If you are in the area you are more or less invited.

Have a great evening everyone.

Baseball Hat Vacation 2013

We just returned from a very nice vacation. The primary reason for it was to get hat #19 for Dave's
collection. So I'll start with the game even though that was smack in the middle of the trip.

We saw the Phillies and the Braves for opening day 2013. In case you don't know, Dave wants a hat from every major league team but has to see the team plan in their own stadium in order to get the hat. We both like to travel and watch baseball games so it's always an enjoyable adventure. We don't specifically choose game where the team whose hat he wants is playing the Phillies. This was only the third time. We saw the Phils and the Marlins last year and a couple years ago we saw the Phils and the Nationals.

What Happens on a Sister Vacation....

From left to right (shortest on the top of course)
Christine (44), Meg (49), Katie (50) and Paula (52) 

is not for public review. So no blog details about the trip but I will share some photos of our 4 days in Ocean City New Jersey to celebrate KT's 50th.



Kt, Meg and I before we left. Christine joined us down there

I am not a fan of amusement parks ......

Probably never will be. I AM a huge Harry Potter fan so I decided to, bite the bullet and open the wallet and go to Universal Islands of Adventure to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was so worth it!!!!!

We arrived shortly after 10 and headed straight to Hogsmead. What a fantastic recreation. We went to the castle first as we had been warned that the line can get long quick. I don't think we were on line more than an hour and it moved the whole time. I was impressed with the use of fingerprints instead of keys for the lockers. Cool technology and handy since there really isn't a way to keep a backpack while on the ride. I remarked to Dave that a key can get lost but hopefully one will come off the ride with all one's fingers. He replied that it was good incentive to keep your hands inside the car. 

The walk to the actual ride is entertaining from talking portraits to a welcome by Dumbledore and an appearance by Harry, Ron and Hermione from out of the invisibility cloak. 

Day 6- WaWa Coffee: Cure for Persistent Cough

We decided that WaWa probably shouldn't promote that but it seemed to work for KT today. She was plagued - or maybe suffering from it - with a nasty cold these past few days. The source is likely the motel we stayed at in Miami :(   Lots of rest and husband TLC had her feeling better this morning save for a bit of cough until she had the coffee. Do the math....

 

We drove to St. Augustine today. Interesting old town. We took the trolley tour and dodged rain. We visited the lighthouse here but did not go up. More than twice as high with what were described as "Restful Platforms" on the way up. To me this translates to "Panic Platforms". Whose idea is it to make see-through stairs anyway?

We stopped at JT's Seafood House for dinner. Nice hole in the wall local place. Good food served up with a heavy dose of southern hospitality. The waitress managed to use some term of endearment to each of us at some point. Noticeable but not over the top. 

Day 5: You Can't Get There From Here..

Saturday was a day to not do a whole lot. After being on the road most of Friday we were happy to hang around in the morning and get a slow start. 

On a recommendation from Jl we headed to the Main Street Cafe in Celebration for breakfast/lunch. We tried first to visit the AAA office so Dave could get a map of the area. Dave LOVES maps. Unfortunately they were closed. 

After eating we took a walk around Celebration. There are a series of ponds here all connected by walking bridges. We wandered around the ponds and paths which meandered every which way. We saw a variety of birds and at least one alligator. The alligator was mostly submerged. Dave offered to take a photo if I stepped into the pond to get his attention. I guess 13 years is enough for him. :)

Living without Electricity

As we travelled the endless strip mall that is route 1 from Miami to Melbourne my mind wandered a bit. (No worries it was Dave's turn to drive. I drove us from Key West to Miami.) Anyway, somehow I started thinking about what it would be like to live without electricity. Could I do it even for a day? 

My  brother in law JL pointed out that sleeping for the day would be ok but the challenge would be living for a day. He's right. So what are the things we'd do without?

The obvious things are anything with an on off switch or that plugs in. 

Driving the car is out. Riding a bike would be ok but only during the day would it be safe. I can't imagine riding with a candle on my handlebars. :)

There wouldn't be refrigeration without electricity. So does operation of the stove, microwave and toaster oven. Would I be willing and/or able to not use them? And still eat healthy? For one day, probably. I think it becomes a challenge for most of us beyond that. 

Day 5 Key West to Orlando

After breakfast and check out we drove to the 0 mile marker for route 1 and took the required photo. Then off we went..... and immediately hit a detour. Not a problem however because a) we came in on route 1 (the only way in) and b) the detour took us out along the coastline and it was gorgeous! 

 

Back on the actual route 1 we retraced our miles back just south of Miami. We drove in and out of rain storms the whole way. Fortunately it was clear when we got to the sign for Marathon for a Phillyfit photo.

 

We stopped for lunch at Lorelai's a mostly bar/ restaurant on the water. This was at the far end of Islamaroda. We watched a white and a blue heron wait out the storm. As we left the rain let up and I spotted something that looked like an upside down jellyfish in the water. As we watched it move to the surface, turn over and drop back down we realized the floor of the inlet was covered with them! 

Day 4 - It Started with Chickens and Ended with Frogs

In between there were lots of fish, some really cool coral and lots of geckos and lizards. 

The B&B breakfast was served at 8:30 so at 7:30 I headed out for a run. My Garmin was being fussy about finding the satellites so I used my phone and went 15 min out and 15 min back. The humidity was already in 70% plus range and the temps about the same. Still I enjoyed getting out somewhere new. The hustle and bustle of Duval street from the night before had been traded in for quiet. A few shop-owners were getting ready to open up. I was running along minding my own business and taking this all in when a chicken ( they are roaming free everywhere here) popped out in front of me. It startled me but no harm done. Still what is it about wildlife that makes them think I'm the one to jump in front of?

We enjoyed good coffee ( not Wawa but good enough) and a light breakfast in an outdoor courtyard area. We had to share the space with geckos but they kept their distance. 

Vacation Day 3: Arrive Key West

Day 3 

 

Left Miami around 7:30 a.m. Stopped at Ihop for breakfast. Usually we'd prefer to eat somewhere we can't do at home but there didn't seem to be any options heading out of town. By 8:15 we decided it was time to give up the hunt. 

We drove straight thru then to Key West mostly on route 1. We had made a decision before starting the trip that we would save stopping anywhere for the return trip. 

We arrived at " The Grand Guesthouse" in Key west about 12:30. Too early to check in and after getting a mini tour via map from the innkeeper, Derek, we headed out on foot to explore. We stopped for ice cream cones which melted almost faster than we could eat them. Dave had a defective cone to boot. We had our picture taken at the southernmost spot and mostly just walked around. 

Vacation Day 2 Phillies - Marlins

Day 2

 

Laid out my running gear last night with no promises to myself or the gear.. Just a thought that if I woke up early enough I'd head out for 3 around the development here. As it turned out I did wake up a little before 5 and it was still pretty dark out. I really wasn't in the mood for that (although I did bring my headlamp) so I decided to wait for the sun. Unfortunately (as far as running goes) the next thing I knew it was 7:00. Since there had been talk about getting on the road early and somewhere there was mention of 8 am I decided a shower and repacking the bags (it's different from going through security than day travel) was a better use of my time. It's just a little before 8 now and we aren't really anywhere near leaving that I can see. That's fine with me. It's vacation and taking our time is part of the deal. If I'd really had my heart  set on running I would have asked for clearer instructions before going to bed last night. 

It's a beautiful sunny morning. I'm sitting out on the pool deck as I write this, beginning efforts to rehydrate. (Warning likely TMI alert for some of you.) I went to bed passing the pee test and woke up failing big time. THAT's one of the side effects of air conditioning for me. Last night was better than some. I didn't get as far as headache or puffy eyes. And for my Phillyfit friends, I am not whining I'm just explaining. :) However, it sure does look like whining so I'll probably not mention it after this. 

The Great Wawa Hoagie Debate of 2012

It came down to boys against girls and we all know what that means.......:)

I walked to MY Wawa in Media, PA and at 5:30 a.m. ordered an Italian classic, little oil, provolone cheese, roasted peppers, lettuce, tomato, salt, pepper, oregano and grated cheese. The hoagie was carefully wrapped and placed in our backpack which was carried on the planes. (Can you spot the flaw in this plan yet?)

The flights were uneventful save for three things. 1)TSA was re- checking large carry-ons in Philadelphia. The agent was very friendly and I was quick to tell her that the missile shaped object in the pack was a Wawa hoagie. 2) In Ft. Myers TSA walked around the gate area with dogs. Fortunately they were explosive sniffing dogs without a penchant for Wawa hoagies. 3) And this perhaps the strangest thing about the trip was having to fly by way of Ft. Myers. We were barely airborne before we landed again in Orlando. But it was better than waiting until 5:30 pm to leave Philadelphia.

Is a Wawa Hoagie Always a Wawa Hoagie?

Does geography or - more importantly - the roll really matter? I hope to answer that question next week.

On Monday morning before we leave I will purchase a Wawa classic hoagie- a) because they are on sale during Hoagiefest and b) it will divide into 4 decent size pieces for a taste test to be conducted by me with the assistance of Dave and my sister KT and her husband JL. Upon arrival in Orlando I hope to make a stop at the Orlando Wawa (KT, did I tell you this yet?) and purchase the identical hoagie and the four of us will conduct the test. The flaw I just noticed is that there is the possiblity of a 2-2 tie. We may have to enlist the help of an unsuspecting paser by. Won't THAT be fun :)

Photos and a full report will be posted here. Stay tuned.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Vacation is 12 days away. And believe it or not I was able to make and tolerate changes to our plan this close to the date.

Although I wish I was more so, spontaneity is not my forte...especially when it comes to spending money. I'm not a scrooge but I like to make sure I get the most that I can for the buck. Vacations can be a rather large ticket item so lots of advance planning ususally go into it and after spending that much time analyzing the possibliites I am reluctant to change.

Anyway, the car has been acting up. The mechanic isn't positive what the issue is and now I'm feeling less comfortable taking it on this trip. Truthfully I've felt that way since we first thought of it but the alternatives (renting a car) seemed out of our budget. So on Monday I started checking the alternatives again to see what we could manage: