DAY 67, 68, & 69- Regrouping and Days Off…

After the eye opening problem with the debit/credit card fiasco, my nerves were a bit over stressed and it was affecting me.  My stomach was upset and anything food wise just didn’t appeal.  I found myself misplacing stuff and I just couldn’t quite focus on things.  I was in need of some serious downtime and needed to re-evaluate what and how I was doing things.

John had offered for me to come stay with him again in Palm Desert and I kind of jumped at the idea of it.  It was some place where the weather was warmer and where I could hand out a friend and I would be in someone’s home rather than an impersonal hotel room.  So, after picking up my debit/credit card from the museum in Kingman on Friday morning, I found myself driving for Palm Desert; a bit of a back track but the possibility of downtime and days off flashed in my mind.  I couldn’t wait for the 4.25 hour drive to be over.

It was good to see John and it was a very good weekend of just relaxing and hanging out. 

Highlights of the weekend—

Friday night-               
We had a bit of partying fun at the Tilted Kilt, which is an upscale restaurant version of Hooter’s in Palm Desert with gals that wear short kilt skirts and skimpy front tied shirts but with a lot better food than Hooters.  Our server was a cute 19 year old blonde named Christina who helped make the whole experience of the restaurant fun.  John and I ended up taking a taxi cab ride home we were having SO much fun.  The fun continued when we got back to his place and we ended up running around on the wet fourth green of the golf course that’s just off of his patio area.  I’m amazed and thankful that the police weren’t called.

Photo- The sun setting and the moon rising in Palm Desert.

Saturday-

Well, a bit of a HUGE hangover for me and most of the day I spent trying to recover from it.  My stomach was almost as angry with me as was my head.  OMG!  Why did I drink THAT much?  But flashes of the night came back and it had been well worth the hangover.  John kept on looking at me and cracking up.  I guess I must have looked pretty pathetic.  However, I did finally manage to give John a ride back to pick up his car from the Tilted Kilt.  Later on, I was alive enough to prepare a meal of chicken Dijon for John and myself which we enjoyed while watching the Notre Dame Football game.  We watched the Fighting Irish win; that made John very happy.

Sunday-

In the early morning, I managed to get a nice climbing ride in on the bike in the Palm Desert area.  I climbed part of the way up Hwy 74 until the shoulder of the road got too narrow and it wasn’t safe to be with the speeding cars.  But it felt good to be climbing on the bike.  They have wonderful bike lanes in Palm Desert that are also designed for golf carts too.  I worked on my 5 loads of laundry but had enough time to go get a mani-pedicure at a local nail place where a cute gal named Kim from Vietnam waited on me. I also discovered that Palm Desert is really into their golf carts.  They closed down a main street area for a golf cart parade.  A parade of them?  Now that’s some people with some serious golf cart issues.  Later on, I made a batch of my chili while John grilled up some brats on his back patio area.  We enjoyed chili dogs while we watched the Giants win the World Series game; another wonderful way to end the day!

Photo- My pretty new purple toes after my mani-pedi.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I want to thank John for putting up with me; especially when I get silly and drunk.  But it was just what I needed to help me de-stress.

DAY 35- Dune Buggies to Eureka!

I woke up to what I thought was an amazing sight.  The sun is rising but it looks like a huge orange globe rising out of foggy clouds.  I threw on a jacket and ran out with my camera and got a picture.  I was the only one that seemed rather excited at the sight.  Is this a common thing to happen here and I just don’t know it?  They just watched me as I excitedly took pictures in my p.j.’s.  (Of course, I’m not sticking out like a sore thumb here. J)

Photo- I was the only one impressed with this scene
but I thought it was wonderful.

I drove north to the Spinreel rental place which was about 14 mile drive.  About ½ mile before the turn off for Spinreel, the traffic came to a complete stop and I waited about 15 min. because of construction.  Thank goodness I had left about 25 min early but I was still getting nervous that I would miss my dune buggy ride.  But there was a whole lot of nervous finger tapping going on in my car.

Photo- Of dunes, where trees get buried in sand and eventually die.
It's a constant battle between the pine trees and dunes.
 

I made it with a few minutes to spare, whew!  Right at 10AM on the dot the wonderful people at Spinreel opened their doors; just after bringing out all of the various vehicles that they rent out.  I tell you there’s a lot to choose from! I filled out a waiver form, paid, and introduced myself to my fellow riders; an older couple from Canada, Sharon and Rafael (Raf, for short).  I was rather glad to have an older couple figuring the dune buggy wouldn’t be such a roller coaster ride because I’m not so good on those.

Photo- In the Dune Buggy, myself, Raf, and Sharon.

We got introduced to George who would be our driver for the ½ hour tour that I signed up for.  A great deal for only $25!  He took us out to the dune buggy and we got in.  I sat up front because Sharon and Raf wanted to sit together.  Yep, I was driving shotgun in the mini-roller coaster ride.  I was a bit nervous but then as we started to drive over and George explained about the environment surrounding the dunes and he seemed so experienced that I became more at ease.

Photo- Of the dunes- just amazing!

The dunes are amazing!  Even with some of the pine trees, which were planted back in the 1930’s because of some movie star that tought trying to claim and stablize the sandy area was good. It’s hard to describe but it was a very different landscape than what I expected.  I guess it’s even more amazing as you get to closer to the beach area; which I will warn you that if you want to go to the beach you’ll need to rent for at least 2 hours.  The dunes area is that wide and they go along the Oregon coastline from Florence to just north of Coos Bay.  In fact, you will see a great deal of trailers with ATV’s on them in the area.  What was even more amazing was that there was a river running along it and the Hwy 101 is on the other side of the river.  It was all kind of surreal and amazing landscape.  I know you are tired of me using the word amazing but I just can’t think of another word to use.

Photo- George with no hands on the wheel!

George started off slow and then started to increase the speed and go into more hilly sections of the dunes.  He kind of freaked me out when he started down a steep incline, probably a 14% incline and just stopped.  He put his hands up and took his feet off of the gas pedal.  We just sat there still. WOW!  He said you would be amazed with how much control you really do have out here in the sand dunes on these vehicles.  You need something to get you going to move in this sand.  We stopped a couple of times and I had to laugh because we were basically out in the middle of nowhere and there was this Century 21 realtor sign.  I guess it was for land just on the edge of the dunes.  George got near the edge and you could look over to see an area that looked like the only access would be the dunes because the other side was marshland.

Photo- Raf and Sharon, who made me look whimpy.

It turned out I was the whimpy one in the group; Sharon had been on a Disneyland roller coaster this last summer and Raf didn’t seem fazed.  Up and down and a bit crazier it went.  Probably not nearly as crazy as George could have been but it was for me.  I was holding on the the OMDG handle which was a “T” bar in the place of like a steering wheel.  George had told me at the beginning to hold on to that if I needed to and he called it –“Oh My Dear God” handle.  I told him I was used to the “Oh Shit” handles and he teased me that this was a step up from that.  George later told me that I wasn’t as bad as some that he has had women burying finger nails into his arm, but I think he was just being nice.  I was rather sad to have it end so soon, but I tell you what I would do it again with the Spinreel rentals.  They were just wonderful!

Photo- One of several wonderful ocean views from near the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

Next, I headed back through Coos Bay and headed south on Hwy 101.  I swung by the light house at Bandon which I saw 8 years ago while I was on the coast.  I took some pictures of the ocean and a few quick ones of the light houses.  Next, I took a bit of a break at the Cape Blanco State Park where there was another lighthouse. (Kory- it was closed again! Just like the last time we visited.)  This lighthouse has some strange hours for its grounds but I walked around a plateau nearby where I saw some wonderful ocean views and even saw some people riding horses on the beach.

There were sections of construction along the Hwy 101 and there were a couple of times where the wait was about 15 min, but I did mind because you could watch the ocean.  I would roll down the windows and just listen to the ocean and enjoy it.  I looked at the construction employees and wondered how they managed to get anything done with those kinds of views but I would guess you’d get used to it.

Photo- A circle of Redwood Trees.

Next thing I knew I was in California.  The roads got curve and steeper.  The speed limits changed from 65 to 40 in a blink of an eye and sports cars were zooming around me like I was standing still.  Ye Gads!  Then I was at Crescent City.  I stopped at the Redwood Parks information booth.  I decided I would continue south towards Eureka, CA.  There was a section of “old growth” that the parks employee had told me had a paved road that went through.  It was the Pioneer Redwood area and was just south of Klamath, CA and there was an exit it ran parallel to Hwy101 and then joined back up with it.

Photo- Me- doing that I caught a fish this Big in front of the BIG Redwood Tree.

Wow!  Yes, another wow coming from me.  The Redwood forest is really something to see.  I stopped and took a hike into to see the Big Redwood.  I asked a German couple to take my picture.  It was funny because I ran into this German couple later on another hike and then later on in the evening at a brew pub in Eureka; small world!

On my way to Eureka there were a whole lot of cars stopping on the side of the road.  Well, it was a herd of elk that was just off of the Hwy on either side.  I stopped and took a couple of pictures but it was getting to be about 5pm and I still needed to find a hotel for the night.  I drove on and when I got to Eureka, I stopped at one of the first hotels I could find; a Clarion that looked nice.

And as I said earlier, I ran into that German couple at a brew pub.  The brew pub was the Lost Cove Brewing Company in Old Historic Section of Eureka and their wheat beer was wonderful.  I also enjoyed a brown derby sandwich; a pile high roast beef sandwich with melted cheddar on a toasted hard sourdough roll. Yum!

DAY 5- Jean's Wedding on Whigby Island

Photo- Myself, Jean, and various wedding guests.

I went for another early morning walk with Otis.  He took me along the back of the of the Wildwood Farm Bed & Breakfast property to a trail aptly named Happy Trail.  The B&B is on Happy Valley Road.  The trail winds through a large wooded area.  Its beautiful green and woodsy.  I ended up turning around when the 5 paths verged in the forest area and I was unsure which one to take.  I didn’t want to get lost in the woods, though I would imagine that Otis would have showed me the way back.

Photo- The stairs from the Rocky Point Lodge area down to the beach.

I came back to a wonderful amazing breakfast of fresh honeydew melon, bacon, breakfast potatoes, and French toast stuffed with blackberries with a bit of cream cheese.  All of it was terribly yummy!  Otis didn’t partake of very much leftovers from this breakfast.

I kind of just hung out around the B&B—caught up on email, a bit of blogging, uploaded some photos, wrapped up a wedding present, and other misc. things.  I wanted to be available to help if Jean needed help getting ready.  She said they were going over at 10am to start set up.  I had taken a shower and was getting ready to head over about 11am when she called and said they had it all set up.  Okay, so I hung out a little more doing a little reading and then trying to figure out what to wear to a casual wedding. 

Photo- Wedding guests along the beach area.

The day’s weather was beautiful—sunny and not a cloud in the sky.  The perfect day for a wedding.  The wedding was held at a place called Rocky Point.  It’s a large wood cabin lodge just above a beach area on the opposite side of the Island from where my B&B is located.  It was maybe about an 8 mile drive over to it.

I arrived to a hive of activity taking place.  A rock band was setting up, people were putting out coolers with beverages, the keg of beer was on ice, and all kinds of people like me were taking photos of the amazing view from near the lodge area.

Photo- Some of the kids from the wedding party playing at the beach.

The ceremony was to take place at 2pm but got delayed because of guests being late of lost trying to find the place.  At 2:30pm, the small lovely simple ceremony took place in an area inside the lodge while the guests sat at shell decorated tables.  Walt and Jean held hands facing each other as the minister talked.

After that, they opened a buffet line that had macaroni salad, potato salad, corn bread, smoked pulled chicken, smoked pulled pork, and an apricot based BBQ sauce.  Walt’s son had smoked and cooked the meat and also made the bbq sauce.  It was all just wonderful and everyone went around and visited.  I got to meet quite a few of Jean’s family from the Oregon area.

Photo- Jean's daughter Christa, with a cousin being silly along the beach area.

Shortly after eating the band started up and some were dancing, some were just listening, and others went down to walk along the beach where you could still hear the band.  The band played tunes from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  It was just wonderful. 

As the sun started to drop towards the horizon, so did the temperature.  After watching the beautiful sunset out over the water, and as the band played their last tune; I found myself chilled to the bone in my skort.  I got in my car and headed back to the B&B for the night.  I guess I should have worn the blue jeans that Jean had suggested.  But overall, it was a wonderful event and I guess they have more planned for the next day too.

Photo- The amazing sunset at the end of Jean's wonderful wedding day!

Plank Pathetic & A Pair of Characters…

Saturday night, I went over to assist a disabled friend who is the process of moving from an apartment into a condo. I’ve been trying to make myself available to her to help move some of the larger heavier items and also some of the articles that are higher up. We were sitting and taking a break at then end of the night.  As we are gabbing along the subject of my ability to do the plank position came up. She says she does it all the time as part of her therapy. I’m starting to feel about 4 inches tall because here’s a disabled person that’s able to do the plank and I can’t. How pathetic am I? Well, this morning she sends me a message and says, “Oh, by the way I was talking about a reverse plank position last night.” Whew~! That was a load off my mind because I was REALLY starting to wonder if I was just plain plank challenged! Well, I AM but…  Then I'm wondering... Wait a minute there's a reverse plank?  Maybe I'm focusing on doing the wrong plank!



Sunday afternoon, I’m out with the Popette doing our monthly Barnes & Noble visit. As we are getting settled with coffee in the café area of the store, the Popette talks with a guy nearby. He has three different thick tomes on the table in front of him; one of which is about 4 inches thick. She teases him about cramming for a professorship. He laughs and talks with her for a bit as I pick up our coffee order. The Popette and I start doing our catch up banter and I can see over the Popette's shoulder that Mr. Professorship is eavesdropping on our banter by the smirks and the quiet chuckles.

The Popette gets on the subject of a new poetry writing group that’s she’s been invited to join. It’s pretty prestigious for her to get into. She’s gone a couple of times to it. I ask her what she thought of the group. She comes back with,” They’re a bunch of A$$holes!” I can see Mr. Professorship’s jaw drop.  I chuckle because this is just classic Popette all the way.


I continue on,” So, let me get this straight you’ve gone two times. Did it take you two times to discover that they were A$$holes or is your learning curve getting slower?” I hear the chuckle erupt from Mr. Professorship. “No, no, no… I was just kind of quiet and unsure the first time I went….” I tease her about I could NEVER imagine her as being a quiet wall flower. Mr. Professorship is quietly laughing and shaking his head.


The Popette then goes on to tell of the dynamic of the group and to explain it was really just one overbearing person in the group that was TRULY the A$$hole. If it weren’t for this particularly “unsavory overbearing wench”, it could be an okay group. I can see that Mr. Professorship has forgotten about his tomes completely by this time.  I can see him shaking as he's silently chuckling.


Our lively banter continues on. I ask the Popette about her male companion; a dear sole who spends a great deal of time with her. I would describe him as a steady nice guy who literally worships the ground the Popette walks on but he’s a bit stale like dry toast around the edges. The Popette then goes on to tell how the two of them had a conversation this last week. Her companion was concerned about her dying before he did. The Popette found this very endearing that he didn’t want to live without her. Her companion responded that he was afraid that he was boring her to death.


This cracked me up! Meanwhile, I’m watching Mr. Professorship almost fall of his seat and he was laughing SO hard he looked ready to cry. Just watching Mr. Professorship over the Popette’s shoulder had me cracking up even harder. The Popette continued on with how she was SO surprised by her companion’s “one-liner” which WAS SO out of character that she ended up spitting out her coffee all over the place.


Later, the Popette took off to check out the Barnes & Noble store. A bit after that, Mr. Professorship got up to leave. I smiled at him and stated,” She’s quite the character, isn’t she?” He said,” You are both a pair of characters and you made my afternoon. Thanks!” Then, he left.

The "Stevie Wonder" & Weighing in...

The gym at my apartment’s clubhouse is nothing snazzy but it does have a newer treadmill and elliptical machine. So I am managing to workout there three times a week; a couple of week nights and then once on the weekend. I often arrive and the lights are off and I end up turning the machines on. I feel as though I have my own personal gym.

Last night the endorphins were kicking in pretty good after the treadmill workout (running 2.4 miles in 30 min). I started in on the elliptical. I guess you could say the endorphins went to the head because I just decided to get silly, and besides no one was around. So as I was on the elliptical I started to do the Stevie Wonder. Now some of you may be wondering… the Stevie Wonder? But some of you may have heard me mention the guy that Diane & I used to see at the gym. I nicknamed him the Stevie Wonder. He would be going along on the elliptical too with his eyes closed and his head wagging about.



So for 45 min., I was doing the Stevie Wonder, only with my eyes open. I was also finding that it was easier to do it with certain tunes on my mp3 player. “Funky Town” worked real well and “Don’t Worry Be Happy” was a good tune for it too. Now I’m a bit curious if it burns more calories and yes, I did look terribly silly in the mirrors as I went along. But it was only me, and actually it was rather fun! Who knows maybe I’ll do it more often?


Weighing in…
I thought that I would do updates on Friday as to my progress on my weight loss. That way I can hold myself (or try to) accountable for what I do during the weekend.  This week I’m down 5 lbs. YES!  Not too bad for a starting week. I managed to work out three times this week. Twice I worked out for about 45 min of cardio and once for 75 min. I still need to do a bit of the weight training thing.  I stayed under 1200 calories per day for most of the week.  I did have one day I went over by a couple hundred but I've been really trying to be conscious of what I am eating and the calories involved.