Tippy Toe Re-Start

Boy, you leave home for a month and the routine is hard to find again. Three time zones changes, the change in Daylight Savings Time, and two strong bouts of PMS haven't helped. :)

While it feels as though my vacation was one month-long splurge, when I think back on it, I realize that I really didn't stray too far from The Good Path (if you exclude Las Vegas which is now just a sugary blur.) I had more beef in one month than I had in the previous twelve (FOUR cheeseburgers!), and more sweets than I did in the previous two years, but other than that, it was mostly lean meats, veggies, and fruit. I'm feeling pretty pleased about that. It feels like I passed some sort of test.

Exercise wasn't much of a problem on the trip. I didn't do much in the way of structured workouts, mainly because I was too busy walking and biking so much, but most days had some sort of activity built into them. Some days had LOTS of activity.

I haven't gone back to the gym--or the scale--yet, as I've been busy catching up (17 bags of leaves, so far.) I've bicycled some of my errands, and I'm counting two hours of leaf raking/bagging as one hour of gym time. I'm using the fact that all my clothes still fit, and that I (mostly) like the way I look in them, as permission to continue this path. Until Sunday, at least, when I plan to begin with structured workouts again. :)

Having the opportunity to take this trip was truly a gift. I had never seen the southwestern US or any part of the Pacific coastal areas, although I always wanted to. I can't say that the itch has been successfully scratched. More like, whetted my appetite to see moremoremore!

Favorite places: San Francisco (CA), Albuquerque (NM), and Venice Beach (CA)! All very active and vibrant communities in which I felt very much alive and at home.

Close runners up: Lake Mead (outside Las Vegas) and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. Peaceful and hauntingly beautiful.

A few photos are here: Cammy's Western Tour. I took a gajillion more photos, but after a jillion, the desert shots start to look alike. :)

With that, we return to our previously scheduled blogging.

(Edited to fix photo link: Thanks for the heads up!)