Where's the Beach?

Today I thought I'd take a break from my Boston Recap Posts. If you missed them, you can catch up on The Food and The Enjoying . I'll share about The Running next week. But my mind is seriously still on vacation mode. It's so hard to get back to reality isn't it? It's hard to jump back into our routines, which we normally crave of course. Funny how we want routine to an extent but then pine away for release from that norm (aka vacation). We usually think, "why can't I be on permanent vacation?" Who wouldn't want to sleep in a bit later, have an extra glass of wine on a patio overlooking spectacular views each day or strolling through parks leisurely rather than being in an office? But honestly, don't we also tend to want to get back home, back to our norm? Maybe not work exactly, but what we're used to like our family, friends, furbabies, own beds ... our routines. Rather than dwelling on the fact that this time last week I was li...

Picking up where I left off with the  Boston Part 1 - The Food post, now I'll talk a little more about the Enjoying that we did, and that includes some sight-seeing as well. Thursday, Jason and I pretty much hit the ground running after checking into our hotel. After a relaxing lunch, we hoofed it to Fenway Park to do their facilities tour. I'll be honest, I wasn't super keen on this but am really glad that we did the tour. It was very informative and behind-the-scenes. While watching a game would have been fun, you would miss out on some of the features of the park itself including the history. Friday morning we woke up and ran (which I'll talk more about in my Running recap post), then it was time to clean up and check out of the hotel. Thankfully, they were very accommodating and held our luggage for us as our friend, Scott, was going to pick us up later in the day. After stopping by the Farmers' Market and picking up some food to enjoy, we walked ov...

I won't even begin to lament on how hard it is to get back to reality after a vacation. Everyone knows that feeling. It's even harder when you had an amazing, whirlwind of a trip. I feel like it just flew by in a blur upon reflection. Of course, at the time, we were fully immersed in just enjoying. Thursday morning we were up super early for a 6:45 am flight to Boston. The upside of an early flight is that you have most of the day to still enjoy your destination. We landed in Boston just after 1 and were checked into the hotel by 2. The trip involved staying Boston Thursday night, sightseeing most of Friday, then moving on to our friends' house in Peabody for the remainder of the trip. We ended up staying at the  Copely Square Hotel , which was a wonderful choice for us. They were very accommodating as well by letting us check in early and also holding our luggage on Friday after we had to check out. During the day, they have an area with lemonade and flavored water s...

Do you ever feel like you can be too strict with yourself, your routine, your "healthy" habits? I think that sometimes, in all our efforts to be the healthiest selves we can be, we forget to relax. (And I will admit, ahead of time, that I wrote this post and almost deleted it.) Last week, while in Perdido Key, FL , I let myself relax. Not only relax all day sitting on the beach, but also letting myself not get caught up in being super strict with my eating habits, not stressing out about missing my strength training or even core work for that matter. Let me first say that I try to eat clean, whole foods because it makes me feel better. Plain and simple. I don't log my food, I don't count macros, I just try to avoid processed junk (not to say I don't indulge in pizza or nachos), and eat clean 80% of the time. Ok, moving onward ...  On vacation, I relaxed (as already stated). I ate more Almond M&M's than one person should be allowed to eat, I dug into p...

It's amazing how quickly a vacation flies by isn't it? Last Friday we hit the road and drove halfway to our destination, Perdido Key, FL. Perdido Key is to the east of Gulf Shores. We love the area because it's far quieter than the hustle and touristy bustle of Gulf Shores or Orange Beach. We finished our drive Saturday morning arriving with plenty of time to enjoy the beach and ocean views and our first dinner of the week on the balcony watching the sun set. Sunday morning I woke up around 6:45 ready to run. The only complaint about the area is in regards to running. The sun starts to rise around 5:30, so by 7 it's already fairly high in the sky. It's humid, I mean, it's near the beach after all. The temperatures were hovering around 68, which wouldn't be too bad if there was any shade to be found. There is none. It's just over a mile on the main, very busy road to get to a neighborhood. The most dreaded parts of my run are on that main thoroug...

Do you make it a point to work out when you're on vacation? Next week, I'll be happily sitting on the beach, relaxing. However, I do try to keep some sort of routine when it comes to being active and eating (mostly) healthy while I'm away. I know some people use vacations as a time to completely ditch routine, to enjoy, relax and not feel guilty. I definitely make it a point to enjoy, relax and not feel guilty for some indulgences. However, I do try to stay active. It simply makes me feel better. My workouts are not as intense or as long. My running miles drop. I either take a week off from weights entirely or switch to a r esistance band workout . While I always try to stay at a place with a gym, many gyms do not have free weights. Resistance bands are a great option for travel. They are lightweight and easy to pack and carry along. You also don't need much space to get in a good resistance band workout . Plus, it can be a fun way to switch up your typical resista...

Rather than discuss in great detail about our recent Florida trip, I thought pictures would be much better. It's not like we did anything terribly exciting. No parasailing, no jet ski rentals. Basically, it was all about enjoying, sitting back, relaxing and soaking up the views. Birds skittering about Waves crashing Moon during the day Sunset on our final day Full moon on our final night I finished 4 books, ran a total of 26 miles (9 being on the treadmill because it was just far too hot and humid), we ate lunches on the beach each day, we visited our friends twice, they visited us once. We did not shop, we did not go out to eat, we simply enjoyed.

I thought I'd do a super simple, perhaps fun post of some pictures so far from the week. Basically, my views thus far. I can't say we've been doing anything super exciting. But, that's exactly the point of this vacation. We pretty much spend the entire day sitting down on the beach with our toes in the sand. Jason has been doing a little fishing. I've been doing a lot of reading. We pack a cooler with lunch and snacks and take that down with us. So lunches are on the beach. Snacks are on the beach. Drinks? Yep, on the beach. I've yet to put on make up or real clothes. And I'm in heaven. It's fun to do people watching from our balcony. We often make up scenarios for people, even make up their conversations. Wine always tastes better with the ocean in the background. Nothing more relaxing than the sound of the waves crashing. Birds are fun to watch. My toenails match my chair. One happy camper. Very interesting find ...

Well, Saturday we made it to Perdido Key, FL. So far we're having really nice weather. The highs are only reaching about 80 degrees. Couple that with a steady breeze and the shade from our umbrella and it's almost chilly. But chilly for a run it is not. Sunday morning I woke up just after 6 am. I was itching to get out for a run after being in the car the previous two days (we drove half way Friday afternoon then the rest of the way Saturday). I was hoping to beat the brunt of the heat, but avoiding humidity was impossible. Luckily, I know a route that takes you to a neighborhood where there's a running/walking path along an inlet. It keeps you from having to run down the main strip, for the most part. But there aren't really any trees shading the path. And since it's off the beach, you lose the breeze as well. So, hot. What is hot? Hot is having to run on this hot stretch of the road for 2 miles of a 6.5 miler. Hot is having zero shade. Hot is 100% ...

The other day, Melissa at Melissa Dishes did a post simply called Happiness . She named 10 things that made her happy. What better way to end the week but with a post about what makes me happy? Here are my top 10 in pictures (and in no particular order mind you). 1. The beach 2. This Guy 3. My Sis 4. My Family 5. Running 6. Friends 7. These crazy pups 8. Beautiful sunrises 9. Wine 10. My niece and nephew What makes you happy?