Vacation! (All I ever wanted...) Part 2

PART 2!!!

If you don’t know what’s going on… read Part 1 HERE.

Short story: We are going on a South West Road Trip this summer!

Thank you so far for everyone’s suggestions! KEEP THEM COMING! Because of your input, I am considering renting a more comfortable car and finding a way to make it to Sedona while we are in AZ.

Now, I’ll share some of the things we are most looking forward to during the second part of our trip. And of course, if you live in these areas or have traveled to these areas and have suggestions/tips for us, I would be more than happy to hear from you!

Las Vegas Exciting Activities

We don’t gamble, and we don’t want to drop a couple hundred dollars to see a show, so we are basically just going to walk around and look at all the free stuff there is to see… including, but not limited to…

Hoover Dam
We will most likely stop by and check it out on our way to Vegas.

Checking out our hotel!
I love exploring!

Bellagio Fountains
Too bad Jelly can't come. He loves his cat fountain so he'd go ape shit for these!

New York, New York  The Venetian Casino and Grand Canal The Mirage Volcano
MGM Grand Paris and the Eiffel Tower Experience
Just bopping around and seeing all of the crazy sights!

Breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi
I like to google things like "best places to have breakfast in Vegas"
and this place has come up in every article!

San Diego Exciting Activities

I am so excited for the San Diego portion of our trip! I have never been anywhere tropical. Not that San Diego is tropical, but it is close enough for me!

Torrey Pine Natural Reserve

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

San Diego Zoo

Mission Bay


Balboa Park

La Jolla Cove

Seaport Village

Sushi!!!!

How are we going to do all that? I don't know!

And why are all my fonts different sizes even though I made them all one size? I don't know!

If you have any suggestions or tips for me, please let me know in the comments! Particularly, I would like to know if there are any good places to run in San Diego!

Bookmark this post. You need to bookmark this post.

I just took 10 days off from running!

No, it was not fun. Yes, it was good for me.

And... I may take a couple more days off since I am on a roll! (And I am sick... imagine that, it is easier to not run when you are sick as a dog!)

***You need to bookmark this post so you can read it the next time you know you need a running break and don't want to take one. Whether you need a day, a week, or even a month off running... SAVE THIS TO READ!***

1. You are still a runner.

2. It does not matter how many miles you ran/didn't run this week.

3. Think about the months and years you have dedicated to running. You are not going to "lose" all of it but taking some time off.

4. Life is long. Do you want to run for the rest of your life? Then you better take care of your body.

5. There are 1,000 other ways to move your body and stay in shape besides running. Yoga, pilates, walking, lifting, cycling, spinning, kick boxing... the list goes on and on.

6. Think about the reason you need to take a break. If you know a break from running is something you will benefit from, then DO IT.

7. Write out a workout schedule for during the time you aren't running. Be creative and have a PLAN. Because if you don't have a plan, you may just grab your running shoes and give in to temptation. 

8. Or... give your running shoes to a trusted friend so you cannot cheat in a weak moment.

9. Remember that rest gives your muscles time to REBUILD. There is no point in tearing your muscles down unless you are going to give them time to repair and become stronger.

10. Your worth/merit/reputation as a runner is not defined by how many miles you ran today. 

Leave some motivation in the comments! Can you add some tough love!?

Tag, you're IT! (Running Favorites)

A couple days ago, Kristina and Ali tagged me to share some of my running favorites! I haven’t been running lately, so now finally you get a running post!

Favorite Running Place

I really enjoy my neighborhood runs in the morning! I know it’s not super exciting, but I love listening to my pod casts and enjoy some alone time before most of the world wakes up.

Our own little house in our own little neighborhood.

Old picture. There is no snow in PA right now!

Time of Day

If it’s a week day, first thing in the morning. If it’s the weekend, then I like to go about 2 hours after I wake up… whenever that is.

Ideal Weather

After this winter, anything above 20 degrees is fine with me! But if I am being picky, I would say 45-50 degrees and sunny.

Fuel

On weekdays, just some coffee and water is fine with me since I am going first thing. If it is the weekend and I am going a couple hours after waking up, then coffee, water, and a big bowl of shredded wheat really fuels me!

Rewards

After a long run, I love watching Dateline while stretching. Then I take a long hot shower (long for me is 5 minutes), and eating whatever I crave. After my 2 hour trail run with my dad last week, I had Lucky Charms! Well, they were the generic kind- Magic Marshmallows- but same difference!

This is an old picture... 

I guess it was from back when I was drinking diet soda on the reg!

And I am adding my own question since these questions are very vanilla… (Dan Savage reference… you like that, Ali!?)

Underwear or No Underwear?

No underwear! If my shorts have underwear lining that is fine, but I would never ever wear straight up underwear to workout. GROSS!

I would like to tag Karen, Hannah, and Rachel to share some of their running favorites!

And while I'm thinking of it... is this true or what!?

 

Where is your favorite place to run? How do you like to reward yourself after a long/hard run?

Weekend Wrap Up!

This is the third weekend in a row where I got sick. What the heck!? There is something about Friday nights where my health goes down hill. This weekend was the worst yet. Friday evening through Sunday afternoon I had a killer sore throat, headache, chills... even my hair hurt. It wasn't fun.

Here is what we were up to this weekend...

It was freezing Friday morning, but I walked anyway. After my walk, my knee and IT band were bothered. What the heck!? I was walking. This knee thing is so weird. I look for a rhyme and reason for when it bothers me and when it doesn't and I just can't find any. On my 2 hour trail run last weekend it felt great. Five mile walk today, and it is angered. I really felt like the IT band pain was gone, since I hadn't experienced it in quite awhile.

I was in a great mood at work. Fun Fact: If you let kindergarteners pick a song for the Freeze Game and Help Me Rhonda is one of the choices, they will always pick Help Me Rhonda!

When I got home from work, Paul beat my ass in a couple card games. I was still in a good mood, and managed to get some work done on my puzzle. We party hard of Fridays...

Dinner was a chicken dog and lots of broccoli!

Then we watched 5 episodes of Jeopardy. Are we the the only people who refuse to stop watching until the person we hate loses? We had to watch 5 episodes but finally the annoying woman who clicked her tongue and smiled smugly whenever she got an answer correct CRASHED AND BURNED!!!

This week, I started a new thing where I actually practice piano. With teaching music all day and then teaching piano lessons at night, the last thing I want to do is sit at a piano. However, I found an old Sonatina book of mine and have been playing from it this week. I had forgotten how relaxing it is to play piano and how easy it is to get lost in your own little world when practicing. I practiced for almost an hour on Friday night and it seriously felt like I was only doing it for 10 minutes.

Oh, I forgot to mention... Paul got me a shweet from Sheetz and a PEPSI MAX. Pepsi Max is NO JOKE. Even though I got up at 5:30 on Friday morning, I was still wide awake at 1:00 am!!! I know diet soda isn't good for you, but I may need to keep an emergency Pepsi Max around...

Why do I always get sick on the weekend? I woke up with a sore throat, but was determined not to let it ruin our day. We drove to Overlook Park in Lancaster so Paul could play disc golf and I could walk. 

I was so tired, but figured a walk and a Pepsi Max would perk me up... Wow, this was turning into the weekend of fake sugar!

Look at all the little buddies I saw on my walk...

A walked 5 miles, but as soon as I was done I felt horrible. I had a headache, even worse sore throat and chills. I was also so tired that I felt like falling asleep.

We spent the rest of the evening watching Survivor. Jelly cuddled. He's the best medicine.

 

It was really hard to sleep on Saturday night due to my coughing. I woke up around 8 and still felt really crappy. I also started to feel lazy about all the "house" stuff that needed done but I didn't have the energy for (weeding, mow lawn, clean house, scrub floors, etc.). To top it all off, Christmas peed somewhere in the dining room but I can't find it. I was down on my hands and knees twice with my flashlight. This mystery pee is nowhere to be found...

I walked with my friend Bree, even though I didn't feel great. Sometimes exercise makes you feel better and sometimes it makes you feel worse. I felt worse after but soon I recovered.

I visited my family that afternoon. They were at my brother's house. My niece Ellie and I took a selfie. She is so cute.

Well, I need to wax my eyebrows...

Daddio, Ellie, and Auntie Megan

That evening we watched... you guessed it, Survivor. We're up to season 16 now! (This is over the course of about a year and a half.) 

I will leave you with a picture of a boy and his cat.

 

Did you get to see your family this weekend?
Tell me something fun you were up to!
I walked 15 miles! How far did you run this weekend?

Vacation! (All I ever wanted...) Part 1

Paul and I have been planning our summer vacation for months, but I have been hesitant to write anything about it. After the Hawaii fiasco, I am trying not to set myself up for disappointment again. However, it’s impossible to not be at least a little excited… So I figured I’d share some of our plans for our vacation. This will probably be split up into two posts. I like vacation posts to be dramatic because we rarely do “big” stuff- although I want to change that!

What we have planned is the ULTIMATE Southwest Road Trip! We will fly into Denver and spend a night with Paul’s cousin. Then we will travel south to Colorado Springs for two nights there. After that, it’s a long trek to Santa Fe. After three nights in New Mexico, we will head up to the Grand Canyon for a night. For a complete change of scenery, we will stop by Vegas for a night. From there, we will drive to San Diego and spend three nights. Then we’ll hop a red eye home from the West Coast and have a beautiful reunion with the kitty cats. (OMG I MISS THEM ALREADY!!!!)

That probably sounds like a huge whirlwind and TOO MUCH DRIVING, but believe me, I thought this through. There are three “big” drives during the trip. The first is Colorado Springs to Santa Fe. We are actually taking the “scenic route” and making the drive more of an event than just a drive. I’ll explain more about that later. The next long drive (6 ish hours) is from Santa Fe to the Grand Canyon. I imagine we will get up early for this one so we can spend as much of the day at the Grand Canyon as possible. Las Vegas to San Diego will be about 4 hours, provided we leave Vegas at the correct time of day. This drive is described as really boring since it’s mostly dessert. But that is such a different landscape than what Paul and I are used to, so I am hoping we will be entertained for at least a little bit of the time. If not, I will make him listen to Serial with me. (Haha!) The long drives fall on Days 4, 7, and 9, so at least there is plenty of days to relax. Wait, who am I kidding? We never relax on vacation!

I’ll share some of the things we are most looking forward to during the first part of our trip. And of course, if you live in these areas or have traveled to these areas and have suggestions/tips for us, I would be more than happy to hear from you!

Colorado Exciting Activities

Pike’s Peak Cog Railway

We wanted to travel to the top of Pike’s Peak via the train when we were in Colorado last summer but we simply didn’t have the time. Luckily, we are able to go back and make it happen!

This photo of Pikes Peak is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The Incline

I got to see the incline when we hung out in Manitou Springs last summer, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. Not only was there the time factor, but there was also the knee factor. Running up a mountain on stair steps for almost a mile would have WRECKED my knee. It still may wreck it, but to a lesser degree. Ah, the twisted mind of a runner…

This photo of The Incline is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Running in/around Denver

I have one afternoon available to run while we are in the city of Denver. I am thinking of doing William Frederick Hayden Park because it would be easy to get to. But if any of you Colorado peeps have a better suggestion, let me know! We hiked at Matthew Winters last year and I loved the foot hills!

Paul @ Matthew Winters last year. Look how perfect those hills are. 

They don't even look REAL!

Santa Fe Exciting Activities

The High Road from Taos to Santa Fe

One of the coolest things about Santa Fe is probably going to be driving there! We are taking the scenic high road from Taos to Santa Fe. It will be a long but beautiful trip. We plan to stop in little towns along the way and of course take tons of pictures. This is the only thing we have planned for the day, so hopefully I will be able to unclench my butt cheeks and just enjoy the journey.

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Tent Rocks

One day in New Mexico will be spent hiking and picnicking in Tent Rocks. It’s a little outside Santa Fe, but from looking at the pictures, I don’t think it is something we should miss!

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Santa Fe Farmer’s Market

This is the largest famer’s market in NM. I am excited to taste locally grown food and check out all the other vendors and crafters.

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Grand Canyon Exciting Activities

We honestly don’t have any set plans for the Grand Canyon! I know we are not hiking down. I wish we could but I know Paul shouldn’t. I imagine one of the last places you would want to have a medical emergency is in the Grand Canyon. But I am okay with just walking around and enjoying the scenery. And it would be really cool if we could catch a sunrise or sunset. But I have to do somemore research on that!

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I’ll write another post outlining some of the things we want to do in Vegas and San Diego! If you have any suggestions or tips for me, please let me know in the comments! I have a really good track record with Paul when it comes to planning amazing vacations for us. I don’t want to disappoint him!