Where's the Beach?

Spring always makes me feel itchy to travel. Maybe it's the warming of the weather, the desire to explore, the need for a break, but I always start dreaming of vacations this time of year. I have a couple of trips lined up soon. But I have so many other places I'd love to visit. If only travelling didn't require so much time off from work, oh, and money. Yep, that too. California In a few short weeks, my first vacation of the year will take me back to California. My first trip to California was San Diego back in October. I certainly didn't imagine I'd be returning again so soon. But, I am! I'll be travelling with my sister and bestie to visit Long Beach. I'm super excited, but also clueless as to what we need to do there, what we "must" see. Other than the beach of course. And it just so happens that a good friend, Jolene , will be there at the same time. Talk about luck! I haven't seen this girlie in nearly 3 years - since the Cathe Ro...

Running & Kicking on Vacation This morning I decided to take my run to the gym at the condo. It's not a fancy gym by any means, just 2 treadmills, an elliptical, and a recumbant bike. But, it's in the A/C. It was already 82 degrees at 8am. I ran 30 minutes then did Cathe's MMA Kickboxing and some abs. Of course, this was all done after eating breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Do you try to keep up with your workouts while on vacation or do you relax a bit? Day on the Beach After the workout (and some stretching), we packed up a cooler with wraps and other snacks and headed to the beach. The wraps were made with smashed navy beans that I seasoned with garlic, black pepper, salt and a bit of spicy mustard and lemon juice (getting creative), diced red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, and spinach. Gourmet beach food baby! ;-) We spent the majority of the day with our toes in the sand. We were there from just before 11 am until 5 pm. ...

Friday Follow Up First off, I need to go back to Friday's post and thank everyone for their comments and travel stories! I apologize for not responded to each comment like I normally would. But, I know you all will cut me some slack while I'm on vacation. First Vacation Dinner We started our vacation off with a nice Roasted Veggie Salad . After close to 9 hours in the car, we wanted a dinner that was loaded with veggies and that was healthier. We roasted new potatoes, red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, squash, zucchini, and red onions and served over a bed of spinach and a spring salad mix. Of course, had we had a grill (and it wasn't raining) we would have grilled all the veggies.   Sunday Beach Day This morning we got up and eased into the day. I had my breakfast (oatmeal with bananas and peanut butter) out on the balcony. I firmly believe that's how I should wake up and eat every day. We decided to take our workout to the beach. We ran just under 25 minu...

The Beach is HERE! We made it safe and sound. It was the rainiest drive we've ever had. Good news is that there is no oil to be seen. The bad news is that it's raining. Booo. We're about to make dinner, open a bottle of wine and comence to vacationing! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

After writing about Perdido Key, FL in “Missing the Beach,” I started to think that perhaps I made it sound like there was absolutely nothing to do other than sit on a condo balcony or sit on the beach and read. I really did not do the town justice. Those are just the two things that I find most relaxing and look forward to doing all year long. No stress. No worries. For me, no stress and no worries also involves maintaining some sense of routine and normalcy. I get extremely stressed and irritable when my routine falls apart. So, yes, I exercise. Yes, I try to cook healthier meals. However, when I am on vacation, I find that I actually enjoy those things so much more. I'm on no one else’s time schedule. I'm much more relaxed and focused on enjoying every moment. Maintaining a routine While it is vacation, I do try to maintain a sense of normalcy with my routine, to include diet and exercise. I think that is important. I always feel better when I'm able to continue to ...