Family Vacation: Scotland Part 1 - Crossing Timezones

"Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo." - Al Gore


My new rule is, if I cross more than two timezones in one day, I am packing the NyQuill.  I got to London on 4 hours of sleep in 48.  The first thing I did when checking in was take a nap.  I slept about three hours and woke up.  That sounds great, right?  It was morning and I wouldn't want to sleep away my short time in London.

So, I slept three hours, woke up and had time to take the Tube into Picadilly Circus.  I was actually trying to get to the London Eye, but the hotel clerk recommended getting off there, so I did.  Then had to walk quite a ways to get to the Thames.

Picadilly Circuis was packed and even with GPS, I had a hard time orienting and figuring out which direction I needed to start out.  Once I got headed in the right direction, I came to Trafalgar Square and got turned around again.  Multiple streets coming into a huge roundabout,, the center of which was packed with tourists (those darn tourists always getting in the way!), it took a while to figure out which one I needed to be on.

I finally found the Thames and the London Eye, only to find that there was a Tube stop right there on the corner.  Thats what I get for taking advice from a local, even if they are in the hospitality business!

It was getting late so I didn't have time to go further up to the Tower Bridge, but I got a few shots down river of Big Ben and Parliament.  Besides, I was still tired and looking for some more, much needed, rest.  So, back on the Tube to the hotel.

Had dinner and I was exhausted so I headed upstairs and to bed.  Another three hours and I was wide awake again.  1 am!  I never did get back to sleep.  We were up and off to catch a train to Scotland in the morning and I sleep about as well on trains as I do on planes - not at all.

Murphy's Law

"No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy." - Unknown

I woke up this morning and got on my laptop and a program I had running had errored.  So I rebooted.  Then my email client wouldn't open it's file.  And I got a weird error.  Whenever I get a weird error, the first thing I do is run a virus scan.  43 infected files!

Cleaned those.  My email client still wouldn't open.  That is, of course, where all the originals of my travel confirmations were stored.  Found a repair program.  It actually worked and I was able to open everything up.

Take that Murphy.  You tried to get me, but I fought back!  

Of course, there are also redundancies and back-ups so things like this won't kill me, but it's the nice rare occasion when I don't have to use them.

24 hours and I'm off to the airport.

source: Unknown

Two More Days...

...until the latest adventure begins.  I'm trying to enjoy the anticipation, to break from my generation's "now" attitude. 

I want to savor the entire journey, from the first "Where should I go?" to the last load of laundry when I get home.  It is all part of the adventure.  Let the excitement build and bubble and swirl in the head.  Appreciate the rise of adrenalin and excitement.

Taste the adventure on your tongue.  Smell the colors of exotic places.  See the scents of foreign lands.

Surround yourself with the passion of the adventure of living.  Not just when off on a grand adventure, but also in your own backyard.

I Crossed My Legs!

"Rich, fatty foods are like destiny: they too, shape our ends." ~ Author Unknown

Does the title make me sound like a reformed slut?

Not that there is anything wrong with that, reformed or otherwise.

Unfortunately, that is not what I am talking about.

I ACTUALLY crossed my legs the other day.  I can't remember the last time I was physically able to cross my legs.  One day they were just too fat and I couldn't do it anymore.  I could cross an ankle over a knee but a full cross was impossible.

I was at a friend's, sitting in a chair chatting while I installed some software on her computer.  I shifted in the chair and crossed my legs without a thought like I had been doing it all along.  It took me several moments to realize the enormity of what I had done.

I still haven't dropped below 200 pounds, but it is proof positive that, while the actual loss is slow in coming, the weight is shifting as I eat healthier and move more.  My legs have apparently gotten much more svelte from all the walking.

I can't say how happy that one small accomplishment has made me feel.

The Art of Eating

"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." - Author Unknown

I took the weight box off the side of my blog.  

Not because I'm not losing weight, or don't want to be accountable for my weight issues.  

I took it off because, while I don't want to ignore that weight and health are a big part of my life right now, it is not the ONLY thing in my life.  I don't want my weight to be my only focus of my blog.  

It is, of course, ironic that just as I decided to take it down, I've actually started to see my weight dropping.

I guess the adage is true.  "You can't out exercise a bad diet."

I just didn't think my diet was all that bad.  I cut out most soda and sugar.  I didn't eat huge portions.  A restaurant meal usually required a doggie bag for at least half of it.

But when I came home from Atlanta, I became what I call "mostly veg."

My main foods consist of fresh fruits and vegetables and grains.  I still eat eggs, fish and dairy (except cheese) regularly.

What I have all but removed is meat and cheese.  Cheese for obvious reasons.  High fat.  And, like soda, for me it is an addiction.  I haven't completely stopped eating meat.  My goal is to only eat meat occasionally.  Basically, just enough to keep from getting sick when I do eat it.  Dinner at a friend's house, restaurants, the rare Italian deli sandwich.  Treats.

That seems to be what my body needs.  I've lost 7 pounds since I started, and took down my weight box.

I even started using my calorie counter app again.  Not to count calories, per se, but I wanted to see exactly what my new diet looked like.

When I first used the app, my own competitiveness made it a truly unhealthy endeavor.  I ate less and less always trying to "beat" my calories from the day before.

Now, to quiet the competitive voice, I try to get as close to the recommended calories as possible.

What I am actually finding, with my new food choices, is that I am having a hard time eating ENOUGH.  My veggie stir-frys served over rice or barley are so low in calories, I find myself eating handfuls of nuts at the end of the day just to boost the number a little.  It also allows me a few treats.  The occasional piece of chocolate or bit of cheese.

The best part?  I'm dropping weight.  Without feeling hungry or deprived.  I've lost 7 pounds in the last 5 weeks.  A respectable AND healthy weight loss.

Of course, this is not a weight cure-all.  I'm sure I will hit plateaus and find times where it doesn't work.  But for now, I'm going to learn to enjoy fresh, healthy food, loosing weight and feeling successful.  I'll cross other  bridges when I come to them.

Road Trip: Atlanta: Part 3

"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." - Jane Austen

Things have been insanely busy lately so I'm very late in posting the last day of my road trip to Atlanta.

Day 2 in Atlanta, I got to spend all day with Susan.  We started with a hike in Sweetwater Creek State Park.  Or should I say we started with driving back and forth through Sweetwater Creek State Park trying to find the turn off to the trail head?

After several wrong turns, a useless gps and a very friendly park ranger, we finally fount it.  It was not a very long hike to an old ruin of a textile mill destroyed in the civil war.  It was not too hot, but extremely humid as it is wont to be in the summertime South.  I was standing in the shade, leaning on a railing taking pictures, barely moving with sweat running down my face and into my eyes, making it very hard to take pictures.  That didn't stop it from being beautiful.

After the hike, we stopped for burgers at Flip Burgers.  I think it was the fanciest burger joint I have ever seen.  We had lamb burgers, but you could get just about any burger you could possibly think of and several you never would have.  Absolutely delish!

That evening we went to the Gerogia Aquarium.  The lighting, while spectacular for fish tanks, was terrible for photography and they didn't allow any flash which would have just glared off the tanks anyway.  But I still got a few shots with my iPhone.  I just wish they had more turtles.

Then, a long drive back home the next day.  I'm glad I went, even if it was so short.  It was so fantastic to see Susan after such a long time.

Road Trip: Atlanta Part 2

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." - Lin Yutang

I had two days to spend in Atlanta.

After spending all day in the car, I thought I would get up early and run to get all the kinks out.

Unfortunately, my body had other ideas.  No run was going to get these kinks out!   But a nice layabout did no harm either...

Then off to The Buttermilk Kitchen for a lovely fresh, local breakfast with fresh-squeezed orange juice in that staple of the south, the mason jar  Delish.

Then, since Susie was working, I had a day to get myself into trouble.  Of course, I found Atlanta in the summer is just too hot for trouble!

First stop was the Oakland Cemetary recommended by a photographer friend Susie's.  It was interesting, with sections for rich and poor, black and white, christian and jewish, and most interesting, Confederate and Union.  And lots of family plots.  Margaret Mitchell is buried there.

I thought about driving out of Atlanta to some of the surrounding towns because I always wanted to see an antebellum plantation, but the afternoon was progressing so I opted for the Atlanta History Center.  The museum was interesting with several exibits of the town's varied past, but what I went to see were the two historic houses on the 33 acre grounds.

There was the Tullie Smith House a pre-civil war farm house:

And the Swan House, an early 20th century mansion house:

And the grounds were beautiful:

By this time the heat was killing me.  Back to Susie's place for a nice cool shower.

That evening it was dinner at The Atlanta Fish Market, wich was good, but apparently their staff has no idea how to handle food alergies, causing my friend some discomfort.  Then, later on, drinks at a fantastic Irish pub called The Olde Blind Dog.