working out for Disney

[Sans Souci]

Good morning-

I did a treadmill workout with 5 min of core. It was grueling sinmply because I find running on the treadmill dread-inducing. I am still using this app. I might go out for a walk. It's garbage day, which is my least favorite day to walk in the summer. lol

My husband wants to go tubing down the Salt River when we go to Phoenix. My gut is telling me not to do this. For starters, I am not a strong swimmer and the tubing place does not have life jackets for rent. I don't want to buy a life jacket and have that go into my suit case taking up weight. There are snakes in this river and people have gotten bitten. If we go, I am wearing a rash guard, a big hat and yoga leggings. I don't care if I look like an idiot. I don't want to ruin my vacation getting a horrible sunburn. I am bringing my Camelbak filled with ice water. It's mostly a slow float, but there rapids that can flip you over if you're not careful. But people have drowned. I think my husband is expecting the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon, but this is in the middle of national forest where all sorts of venomous critters live and you're far away from hospitals. It sounds fun and the scenery is beautiful with wild horses wading into the water to drink, but my gut is saying no.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Good morning-

I did a treadmill workout with 5 min of core. It was grueling sinmply because I find running on the treadmill dread-inducing. I am still using this app. I might go out for a walk. It's garbage day, which is my least favorite day to walk in the summer. lol

My husband wants to go tubing down the Salt River when we go to Phoenix. My gut is telling me not to do this. For starters, I am not a strong swimmer and the tubing place does not have life jackets for rent. I don't want to buy a life jacket and have that go into my suit case taking up weight. There are snakes in this river and people have gotten bitten. If we go, I am wearing a rash guard, a big hat and yoga leggings. I don't care if I look like an idiot. I don't want to ruin my vacation getting a horrible sunburn. I am bringing my Camelbak filled with ice water. It's mostly a slow float, but there rapids that can flip you over if you're not careful. But people have drowned. I think my husband is expecting the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon, but this is in the middle of national forest where all sorts of venomous critters live and you're far away from hospitals. It sounds fun and the scenery is beautiful with wild horses wading into the water to drink, but my gut is saying no.

I you feel uncomfortable and unsafe doing it don’t do it. If he wants to do it he can maybe you could do something else that he doesn’t want to do. That’s my two cents.

 

[MinnieM123]

I you feel uncomfortable and unsafe doing it don’t do it. If he wants to do it he can maybe you could do something else that he doesn’t want to do. That’s my two cents.

I'll raise you a penny. That's my three cents! @Sans Souci, nothing wrong with setting your own safety boundaries.

 

[Songbird76]

Great point.. Not all countries have double taxation relief with the US. Right now, I am just grateful all three of us have dual citizenship.

Oh good! Your son's finally came through? I know you were having problems because they didn't accept his references for identification.

 

[Songbird76]

Are maternity clothes. crazy expensive there? I remember buying a tankini when I was pregnant with my son. It was $90--in 2001. I bought a swim suit for $40 a couple of weeks ago.

EVERYTHING is expensive over here. But put a label on it, like it's for something specific, and yes, the price goes up. It's ridiculous. Nursing bras...OMG. I had a hard time FINDING one to fit me because I generally go to a specialty shop for bigger sizes, but they don't carry nursing bras. In the end, I think I had to get bras that were actually too small, but worked.

 

[Songbird76]

Good morning-

I did a treadmill workout with 5 min of core. It was grueling sinmply because I find running on the treadmill dread-inducing. I am still using this app. I might go out for a walk. It's garbage day, which is my least favorite day to walk in the summer. lol

My husband wants to go tubing down the Salt River when we go to Phoenix. My gut is telling me not to do this. For starters, I am not a strong swimmer and the tubing place does not have life jackets for rent. I don't want to buy a life jacket and have that go into my suit case taking up weight. There are snakes in this river and people have gotten bitten. If we go, I am wearing a rash guard, a big hat and yoga leggings. I don't care if I look like an idiot. I don't want to ruin my vacation getting a horrible sunburn. I am bringing my Camelbak filled with ice water. It's mostly a slow float, but there rapids that can flip you over if you're not careful. But people have drowned. I think my husband is expecting the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon, but this is in the middle of national forest where all sorts of venomous critters live and you're far away from hospitals. It sounds fun and the scenery is beautiful with wild horses wading into the water to drink, but my gut is saying no.

Is this a private thing that would just be you and him and a guide? Or do they have a certain number of slots per time and it's a group of people you don't know? If you don't want to, you shouldn't have to. He can go and meet you afterwards. My husband really wants to do stuff like sky diving, or bungee jumping, and I'm like....have at it. I'm not doing it!

 

[Sans Souci]

Oh good! Your son's finally came through? I know you were having problems because they didn't accept his references for identification.

It didn't He sent them a letter asking them to let his dr sign off. They emailed him back saying they sent him a letter back. This was in May, he hasn't received any letter. My husband is going tp make an appointment to take him to the embassy in DC to get this sorted out. This is a replacement for a lost passport, not his first time getting one. It shouldn't be this difficult.

 

[Sans Souci]

EVERYTHING is expensive over here. But put a label on it, like it's for something specific, and yes, the price goes up. It's ridiculous. Nursing bras...OMG. I had a hard time FINDING one to fit me because I generally go to a specialty shop for bigger sizes, but they don't carry nursing bras. In the end, I think I had to get bras that were actually too small, but worked.

What I have noticed here is more stores having a maternity section. Target. has one and Old Navy does, too. But when I was pregnant, it was just specialty stores like Motherhood and A Pea in the Pod. I don't know why the clothes are so expensive? It's not like a niche clientele. Hopefully, having a maternity section in more stores helps bring down the price, because it was expensive.

 

[Sans Souci]

Is this a private thing that would just be you and him and a guide? Or do they have a certain number of slots per time and it's a group of people you don't know? If you don't want to, you shouldn't have to. He can go and meet you afterwards. My husband really wants to do stuff like sky diving, or bungee jumping, and I'm like....have at it. I'm not doing it!

No, it's a business that rents inner tubes and provides shuttle service to the river. They do not have life jackets for rent. This is on federal land, so I don't know how you get a contract with the government and not have basic water safety devices for rent. But I did some googling around and I saw that a lot of accidents happen when people don't check the water flow from the water released from the dam that day, when people drink too much booze while tubing and people not hydrating enough. I have no intention of drinking any alcohol if I go. I watched some videos on youtube and it looked fun. I actually used to go hiking in this national forest when I lived in Tempe, but the tubing kind of scared me. Hiking is probably riskier. lol Nothing is ever going to be risk free, but I feel a bit better knowing there are things I can do to mitigate the risk.

I was looking for a place to rent a life jacket and I found a place that rents kayaks and SUP boards. Life jackets are included in the price and it includes a scratch free mount and straps for the kayaks or SUP board on the car roof. I would go on a lake if we did this. I have done stand up paddleboarding in the Atlantic, so I will probably feel comfortable on a lake. This seems like a good compromise. lol

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I did a lower body workout this AM. I didn't go for a walk today. I'm just tired of humidity. lol. Tomorrow is an excessive heat warning day, so I'll just go out early, if I walk. I asked an LLM if summer was extraordinarily humid this year and it said that it was. It provided a bunch of data, too. I thought it was just me. I skipped so many walks this summer because I spend the rest of the day chugging water after a walk so I don't become dehydrated.

My son said the fattest raccoon he ever saw came up to our patio door last night. The cat was still outside, so he tried to scare it away by shouting at it. It didn't care. So, he started snarling and growling at it. He got the message. lol. They are so nervy. Last Fall, Callie came into eat and I left the door open. She came to me over for pets after she was done. I heard munching noise and this chonky raccoon was eating out of her dish. I started shouting at it to leave. It didn't do anything until I got up and ran at it. It moved as quickly as its chubbiness would let it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Checking in to say hi! We got back from California early yesterday morning. I'm not sure how we pulled it off, but we left Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley around 4:30am PT on Friday and got home around 4:30am CT Saturday. California was a lot of fun (minus David being a total jerk for far too much of the trip) even if the softball games for the girls didn't go as well as we'd hoped. I am losing track of time and can't even remember if I posted after Georgia! It's been a whirlwind summer of softball travel.

I was so thankful for PF in GA because our hotel gym was horrendous. The one in CA was useful some days, but I still hit up two different PFs in CA about 5-6x during our stay. I'm still nursing strange bug bites from the hilly trails in GA but the CA trails were pretty nice and helped keep me on top of my walking. We also went to Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, so additional walking in the sand (especially the day when I had to pull the cart) adding to my caloric burn.

I have not weighed myself YET. I feel heavy simply because I allowed myself to indulge a bit more this time, but again...I was really on top of it with workouts and I was good 90% of the time. Even when I was bad, I wasn't awful. For example, we hit up Downtown Disney and had lunch at Black Tap. I had a ridiculous over the top milkshake as well as a cloyingly sweet cocktail (and a shot of bourbon), but for my meal...I had a grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. I had gourmet pizza one night (just 2 slices) but my tummy reminded me that cheese is not my friend. On our last full day, we went to San Diego...went to the zoo for most of the days and then walked around downtown and the waterfront area before dinner in Little Italy. I have a few weeks break and then I get to fly to Montana with Sam for a softball camp. Of course it never ends... tryouts start this weekend.

 

[Songbird76]

Checking in to say hi! We got back from California early yesterday morning. I'm not sure how we pulled it off, but we left Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley around 4:30am PT on Friday and got home around 4:30am CT Saturday. California was a lot of fun (minus David being a total jerk for far too much of the trip) even if the softball games for the girls didn't go as well as we'd hoped. I am losing track of time and can't even remember if I posted after Georgia! It's been a whirlwind summer of softball travel.

I was so thankful for PF in GA because our hotel gym was horrendous. The one in CA was useful some days, but I still hit up two different PFs in CA about 5-6x during our stay. I'm still nursing strange bug bites from the hilly trails in GA but the CA trails were pretty nice and helped keep me on top of my walking. We also went to Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, so additional walking in the sand (especially the day when I had to pull the cart) adding to my caloric burn.

I have not weighed myself YET. I feel heavy simply because I allowed myself to indulge a bit more this time, but again...I was really on top of it with workouts and I was good 90% of the time. Even when I was bad, I wasn't awful. For example, we hit up Downtown Disney and had lunch at Black Tap. I had a ridiculous over the top milkshake as well as a cloyingly sweet cocktail (and a shot of bourbon), but for my meal...I had a grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. I had gourmet pizza one night (just 2 slices) but my tummy reminded me that cheese is not my friend. On our last full day, we went to San Diego...went to the zoo for most of the days and then walked around downtown and the waterfront area before dinner in Little Italy. I have a few weeks break and then I get to fly to Montana with Sam for a softball camp. Of course it never ends... tryouts start this weekend.

Your summers always seem very full with travels for baseball, and family vacations and such! I think it's good that you still make time to work out on your trips. Not everyone does that, or even can! My husband insists on staying in the cheapest hotels with no amenities, so there is never a gym. On our Wyoming trip in 2022, I had ONE night booked at a nicer hotel. We were traveling for pretty much a whole month and out of that month, ONE night in a hotel that WASN'T the cheapest of the cheap... Most of them were those hotels where it's just like 12 rooms, and they haven't been renovated in 60 years, etc. He got upset that this one room was like a Holiday Inn type and cost almost twice what the others did. But I booked it because it was while we were in Casper, which is one of the two largest towns in Wyoming. They actually have bad parts of town there where you don't want to be after dark, where crime is higher, there are homeless people and drug deals going down. Since I don't know what parts of town are bad, I didn't want to book a hotel that was going to be like a home base for drug activity and such. And I thought after a couple of weeks of traveling, it would be nice to have one hotel nice enough to have a pool to take a dip at the end of the day. DH didn't like it that it was over $100 a night, and HE had found a hotel for $50 bucks a night. I told him I didn't want to stay in a carp hole. He insisted it wasn't one, that it looked fine. I tried to warn him that motel 6 doesn't have a good reputation, that it was cheap for a reason, but he was determined. So I canceled the nice place. We got to the motel 6, and there was a drug deal going down right in the open, there was police presence on the other side of the hotel, there was a group of drunk people sitting outside with coolers of beer and a boom box being really loud right outside our door, and they warned us not to leave anything in the car because it was an invitation for break-ins. Our room had cigarette burns in the curtains and the bedding, the shower was cracked, The whole place was run down and the kids didn't want to stay there. They thought they were going to be murdered in their beds. I think DH got an education. I think he assumed that a hotel wouldn't be allowed to be open if it wasn't decent, and he doesn't know the reputations of US chains, doesn't understand what to look for, how to read through the descriptions for key words to tell if it's OK. The kids hadn't complained about a single place I had booked. There were two places that he had me change because he found cheaper ones... One was like 3 dollars cheaper than the one I booked. But the motel 6 was the real carp hole that I had warned him it would be, and he didn't believe me. If we had been spending more than one night there, I would have refused when we got there and saw the drug deal happening. But all of the places we stayed were bare essentials places. It's a bed and a shower, and probably cable, but nothing fancy. Most didn't even have laundry facilities on the property, much less a gym or a pool.

Do you usually stay with the whole softball team in one hotel? Who chooses the place?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Checking in to say hi! We got back from California early yesterday morning. I'm not sure how we pulled it off, but we left Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley around 4:30am PT on Friday and got home around 4:30am CT Saturday. California was a lot of fun (minus David being a total jerk for far too much of the trip) even if the softball games for the girls didn't go as well as we'd hoped. I am losing track of time and can't even remember if I posted after Georgia! It's been a whirlwind summer of softball travel.

I was so thankful for PF in GA because our hotel gym was horrendous. The one in CA was useful some days, but I still hit up two different PFs in CA about 5-6x during our stay. I'm still nursing strange bug bites from the hilly trails in GA but the CA trails were pretty nice and helped keep me on top of my walking. We also went to Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, so additional walking in the sand (especially the day when I had to pull the cart) adding to my caloric burn.

I have not weighed myself YET. I feel heavy simply because I allowed myself to indulge a bit more this time, but again...I was really on top of it with workouts and I was good 90% of the time. Even when I was bad, I wasn't awful. For example, we hit up Downtown Disney and had lunch at Black Tap. I had a ridiculous over the top milkshake as well as a cloyingly sweet cocktail (and a shot of bourbon), but for my meal...I had a grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. I had gourmet pizza one night (just 2 slices) but my tummy reminded me that cheese is not my friend. On our last full day, we went to San Diego...went to the zoo for most of the days and then walked around downtown and the waterfront area before dinner in Little Italy. I have a few weeks break and then I get to fly to Montana with Sam for a softball camp. Of course it never ends... tryouts start this weekend.

Sounds like a fun and busy summer.

 

[Sans Souci]

Checking in to say hi! We got back from California early yesterday morning. I'm not sure how we pulled it off, but we left Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley around 4:30am PT on Friday and got home around 4:30am CT Saturday. California was a lot of fun (minus David being a total jerk for far too much of the trip) even if the softball games for the girls didn't go as well as we'd hoped. I am losing track of time and can't even remember if I posted after Georgia! It's been a whirlwind summer of softball travel.

I was so thankful for PF in GA because our hotel gym was horrendous. The one in CA was useful some days, but I still hit up two different PFs in CA about 5-6x during our stay. I'm still nursing strange bug bites from the hilly trails in GA but the CA trails were pretty nice and helped keep me on top of my walking. We also went to Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, so additional walking in the sand (especially the day when I had to pull the cart) adding to my caloric burn.

I have not weighed myself YET. I feel heavy simply because I allowed myself to indulge a bit more this time, but again...I was really on top of it with workouts and I was good 90% of the time. Even when I was bad, I wasn't awful. For example, we hit up Downtown Disney and had lunch at Black Tap. I had a ridiculous over the top milkshake as well as a cloyingly sweet cocktail (and a shot of bourbon), but for my meal...I had a grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. I had gourmet pizza one night (just 2 slices) but my tummy reminded me that cheese is not my friend. On our last full day, we went to San Diego...went to the zoo for most of the days and then walked around downtown and the waterfront area before dinner in Little Italy. I have a few weeks break and then I get to fly to Montana with Sam for a softball camp. Of course it never ends... tryouts start this weekend.

Wow. That's quite a busy trip! Good for you for making it to the gym. I always say I am going to work out and I do it maybe once, if at all. It depends. lol You're probably also feeling heavy from the sodium in the food. I always blow up after going out to eat. lol You know what you're doing and I am sure you'll be back on track in no time.

 

[Sans Souci]

Your summers always seem very full with travels for baseball, and family vacations and such! I think it's good that you still make time to work out on your trips. Not everyone does that, or even can! My husband insists on staying in the cheapest hotels with no amenities, so there is never a gym. On our Wyoming trip in 2022, I had ONE night booked at a nicer hotel. We were traveling for pretty much a whole month and out of that month, ONE night in a hotel that WASN'T the cheapest of the cheap... Most of them were those hotels where it's just like 12 rooms, and they haven't been renovated in 60 years, etc. He got upset that this one room was like a Holiday Inn type and cost almost twice what the others did. But I booked it because it was while we were in Casper, which is one of the two largest towns in Wyoming. They actually have bad parts of town there where you don't want to be after dark, where crime is higher, there are homeless people and drug deals going down. Since I don't know what parts of town are bad, I didn't want to book a hotel that was going to be like a home base for drug activity and such. And I thought after a couple of weeks of traveling, it would be nice to have one hotel nice enough to have a pool to take a dip at the end of the day. DH didn't like it that it was over $100 a night, and HE had found a hotel for $50 bucks a night. I told him I didn't want to stay in a carp hole. He insisted it wasn't one, that it looked fine. I tried to warn him that motel 6 doesn't have a good reputation, that it was cheap for a reason, but he was determined. So I canceled the nice place. We got to the motel 6, and there was a drug deal going down right in the open, there was police presence on the other side of the hotel, there was a group of drunk people sitting outside with coolers of beer and a boom box being really loud right outside our door, and they warned us not to leave anything in the car because it was an invitation for break-ins. Our room had cigarette burns in the curtains and the bedding, the shower was cracked, The whole place was run down and the kids didn't want to stay there. They thought they were going to be murdered in their beds. I think DH got an education. I think he assumed that a hotel wouldn't be allowed to be open if it wasn't decent, and he doesn't know the reputations of US chains, doesn't understand what to look for, how to read through the descriptions for key words to tell if it's OK. The kids hadn't complained about a single place I had booked. There were two places that he had me change because he found cheaper ones... One was like 3 dollars cheaper than the one I booked. But the motel 6 was the real carp hole that I had warned him it would be, and he didn't believe me. If we had been spending more than one night there, I would have refused when we got there and saw the drug deal happening. But all of the places we stayed were bare essentials places. It's a bed and a shower, and probably cable, but nothing fancy. Most didn't even have laundry facilities on the property, much less a gym or a pool.

Do you usually stay with the whole softball team in one hotel? Who chooses the place?

Yeah, you really need to be careful of price points when staying at motels. I don't feel comfortable staying in motels that don't have interior hallways. Spending $3 more for a better motel seems like a no brainer. My friend is a flight attendant and she was based out of Philadelphia. She stopped in to visit before she went to work. She booked a motel for $35 w/ her flight attendant discount, even though I told her she was more than welcome to stay. She texted me when she pulled into the motel parking lot that it was sketch and she didn't feel safe. She ended up coming back to my house. It's not worth it . Spend a little more to feel safe.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a treadmill/core workout. I am not walking today. There's a heat alert and by the time I returned from an appointment, it was too late to go out for a walk. Tomorrow is more of the same. Boo. I like to go out before 10, so I don'r get the sun beating on me. Moisture-wicking fabrics can only go so far in high humidity and it feels gross.

They are now allowing people to proselytize at my husband's workplace. I hope this doesn't get used to punish people who don't want to be bothered at the workplace. I can see this being abused when there is a power differential and I think that's unfair. Maybe just leave people alone and let them work.

 

[Songbird76]

Yeah, you really need to be careful of price points when staying at motels. I don't feel comfortable staying in motels that don't have interior hallways. Spending $3 more for a better motel seems like a no brainer. My friend is a flight attendant and she was based out of Philadelphia. She stopped in to visit before she went to work. She booked a motel for $35 w/ her flight attendant discount, even though I told her she was more than welcome to stay. She texted me when she pulled into the motel parking lot that it was sketch and she didn't feel safe. She ended up coming back to my house. It's not worth it . Spend a little more to feel safe.

Exactly! I think we only stayed at a couple of hotels that had interior hallways on that trip. Most of them were the tiny little strips where it's just a few rooms, MAYBE there's a 2nd floor, but it's all exterior access only. One of the hotels had both interior and exterior access to all the ground floor rooms, but the key card didn't work on the outer access door.

I think reviews are a good tool, too. Look at what other people have complained about. What have other people said about the transparency of the booking site? Do they advertise amenities that people have said they didn't have access to? Have people complained about the staff? My husband has a habit of just going by price and not really looking very deeply, so we end up at hotels that LOOK good on paper, until you get there. Like, in Germany, he booked this place for multiple nights, and the picture shows this cute building with lots of windows and well-kept exterior, but when we got there, we found out that the picture was taken from an angle and that part of the building wasn't the hotel. That was senior assisted living. The hotel was next door and was really run down. You could SEE the building in the picture, but not head on, and not in detail, but technically, it was visible in the picture. They said there was free wi-fi. What they DIDN'T tell you is that only 2 devices could be connected in your room at a time, and you had to get the code from the unhelpful front desk lady, who didn't want to give out the code, and that it was pretty unstable wi-fi. Everything in the room was run down...outlets with wires exposed, a broken door to the balcony so you couldn't access the balcony, nails sticking out of the wall where there had probably previously been a painting or something, but at a height that it was easy to scratch yourself on it, cracks in the sink and tub with mold growing in them. Everything just looked like it hadn't been taken care of, but DH had just gone "Oh hey, this is a good price!" and booked it. And he's found some real gems for a good price, too, but it's kind of hit or miss. There was another place in Bavaria where he booked us for one night so we could see Neuschwanstein castle, and that place was fantastic. But they had just been taken over by new owners who hadn't proven themselves yet, so the prices were low as they tried to attract people to stay there. It worked, because when we wanted to book there last year, it was like $400 per night now. It's a great hotel, but too expensive for us. Usually, you get what you pay for, and if you are not wanting to spend more than $75 a night, you aren't going to get a nice, clean, safe place with good amenities. It's going to be bare bones. And I don't mind bare bones, but it has to at LEAST be clean and safe. I don't need to have a pool at every hotel I stay in, or have a nice breakfast included everywhere, but I do need to not worry about catching some illness from unsanitary conditions, etc and not be worried I'm going to get shot in the middle of the night by gangs or drug dealers.

 

[Songbird76]

I'm taking a rest day. We went to the Efteling yesterday, and I got almost 30,000 steps in, according to my tracker. Boy was my hip complaining last night! We were all exhausted. A didn't go...there's not much there that he likes to do and he didn't think it was worth the money for him to do the one or two rides he likes and then sit there and be bored the rest of the day. E had promised DH that she would do all the thrill rides with him, so we split up at the entrance and met back up at around 7:30pm, so I was by myself the whole day. I don't think DH has ever had so much fun at a theme park. He loves all the coasters and such, but doesn't like having to do them alone. He wants someone to go with him, and I get motion sickness, and I will not do coasters with inversions or anything. I don't even like 7DMT! I don't like thrill rides at all, and the kids were always too young to go with him. But now E will do those, so he had a blast with her. I'm so glad!! And I did a ton of things I'd never done before because he never wanted to do them.

They have a (very budget) version of It's a small world....different countries represented by their culture....sombreros in Mexico, the leaning tower of piza in italy, the guards at Buckingham Palace in the UK, etc...he always told me that was just a little kiddie ride and we didn't need to do that one. They also have a kind of Pirates-like ride, set in the middle east...it looked kind of like a cross between Pirates and SSE the way the scenes are set up. But it's a dark ride on a boat. I love dark rides and didn't even know this one existed. When I asked my husband what it was last time we were there, he said he thought it was just a walk-through thing, or maybe a kiddie coaster type thing or something. In any case, I'd never been on it, and it's one of the best rides there for me. He apparently had no idea what the ride even was, but it wasn't a thrill ride, so he didn't really want to go on it. They also had a boat ride on a lake....it's basically like a lazy river, but in an actual boat. It's just out on the lake, but on a track. You don't have to steer or pedal or anything, but there are no scenes or anything to look it. Like if people mover was a boat and it didn't go into any of the buildings. You just float along with the ducks and swans for 20 minutes. It's very relaxing, and definitely not my husband's cup of tea....nothing thrilling about it. He'd just be bored and consider it a waste of time, but I saw it as a nice break from the constant walking and the crowds. It was really nice. That one E and I did together while DH had a potty break at the end of the day before we left the park.

And it was really nice to not have to constantly be worried that I was making DH do things he didn't enjoy for the sake of having family time. I got to do whatever I wanted without feeling bad about it, and that was really nice. E is always up for whatever....she likes the dark rides AND the thrills. So she loves ToT, but also Navi River journey. And while she loves to do BTMRR, She also loves a turn on the People mover, or carousel of progress, and not just as a concession because someone else wants to do that. She actually LIKES it. So she's kind of the perfect park companion for either DH or myself. She's happy to do whatever we want because she likes it all. DH grumbles about the stuff he's not as into. He'll DO it, but you can tell he's not really enjoying it and he'd rather be doing something else. So then the whole time, you're worrying that he's not having fun, and I end up skipping things I wanted to do so that he doesn't have to sit through it, if that makes sense? And I could just eat when I felt hungry without having to ask if anyone else wanted food, or forcing myself to eat when I wasn't hungry because someone else was. And I got to pick whatever I wanted instead of just finding something that I could eat at a place that wasn't appealing to me. So as much as I missed having E with me, having someone to share with, it was really great getting to do whatever I wanted and not having to skip stuff because I didn't want DH to be bored, and not having to compromise on food. Ideally, I would travel with just E...best of both worlds. But I have never toured by myself before, and I am glad I did that for once.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Wow. That's quite a busy trip! Good for you for making it to the gym. I always say I am going to work out and I do it maybe once, if at all. It depends. lol You're probably also feeling heavy from the sodium in the food. I always blow up after going out to eat. lol You know what you're doing and I am sure you'll be back on track in no time.

The gym and walking has helped keep me sane during all of this, especially with David being so difficult (and on my last nerve). I did wind up weighing in on Monday and found that I am down another 5 pounds. So, whatever I ate/drank during my moments of indulgence and whatever extra weight from sodium I may be carrying still reflected that my body is continuing to lose. If anything, I think the dining out and making more healthful menu choices 80-90% of the time showed that maybe I've turned a corner and can balance having some fun and maintaining a lower weight. Time will tell.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Your summers always seem very full with travels for baseball, and family vacations and such! I think it's good that you still make time to work out on your trips. Not everyone does that, or even can! My husband insists on staying in the cheapest hotels with no amenities, so there is never a gym. On our Wyoming trip in 2022, I had ONE night booked at a nicer hotel. We were traveling for pretty much a whole month and out of that month, ONE night in a hotel that WASN'T the cheapest of the cheap... Most of them were those hotels where it's just like 12 rooms, and they haven't been renovated in 60 years, etc. He got upset that this one room was like a Holiday Inn type and cost almost twice what the others did. But I booked it because it was while we were in Casper, which is one of the two largest towns in Wyoming. They actually have bad parts of town there where you don't want to be after dark, where crime is higher, there are homeless people and drug deals going down. Since I don't know what parts of town are bad, I didn't want to book a hotel that was going to be like a home base for drug activity and such. And I thought after a couple of weeks of traveling, it would be nice to have one hotel nice enough to have a pool to take a dip at the end of the day. DH didn't like it that it was over $100 a night, and HE had found a hotel for $50 bucks a night. I told him I didn't want to stay in a carp hole. He insisted it wasn't one, that it looked fine. I tried to warn him that motel 6 doesn't have a good reputation, that it was cheap for a reason, but he was determined. So I canceled the nice place. We got to the motel 6, and there was a drug deal going down right in the open, there was police presence on the other side of the hotel, there was a group of drunk people sitting outside with coolers of beer and a boom box being really loud right outside our door, and they warned us not to leave anything in the car because it was an invitation for break-ins. Our room had cigarette burns in the curtains and the bedding, the shower was cracked, The whole place was run down and the kids didn't want to stay there. They thought they were going to be murdered in their beds. I think DH got an education. I think he assumed that a hotel wouldn't be allowed to be open if it wasn't decent, and he doesn't know the reputations of US chains, doesn't understand what to look for, how to read through the descriptions for key words to tell if it's OK. The kids hadn't complained about a single place I had booked. There were two places that he had me change because he found cheaper ones... One was like 3 dollars cheaper than the one I booked. But the motel 6 was the real carp hole that I had warned him it would be, and he didn't believe me. If we had been spending more than one night there, I would have refused when we got there and saw the drug deal happening. But all of the places we stayed were bare essentials places. It's a bed and a shower, and probably cable, but nothing fancy. Most didn't even have laundry facilities on the property, much less a gym or a pool.

Do you usually stay with the whole softball team in one hotel? Who chooses the place?

I've been trying so hard to get my health back on track after letting things get out of control. I was truly scared that this summer would upend all of my hard work. Trying to keep losing over the course of 7+ weeks of travel seemed daunting and sort of hopeless, but I feel like I've accomplished something even greater now that I managed to keep losing and still have a little bit of food/drink enjoyment along the way.

I remember that hotel issue from your travels. Yeah, it's just not safe or sanitary (at least in the US) to book the kinds of things he wanted. I understand the price concern, but you get what you pay for...in most cases. Yeah, that's definitely part of the challenge with our travel. I don't know all of the parts of town in the places we go but I do research semi-heavily to make sure the places I'm booking have good customer reviews. Motel 6 is usually an absolute no for me as I have yet to see one that isn't somewhere between gross and scary. We have stayed at a couple of Days Inns that were teetering on the edge of questionable but again, I use long term review data against pricing and location to help make my choices. Onsite laundry is a must if we're traveling for softball, but I have also been lucky because some of our friends rent houses and will at least help us out with washing uniforms. I will say that we usually have to go up to something that's really pricey per night to get a decent hotel gym. None of the ones this summer were great, but on days when I was short for time, having one with a working elliptical and/or treadmill as well as some weights helped.

Some of the tournaments we play are "stay to play," but it's such a pain and so many in our group prefer renting houses that we've bought out of the requirement over the last couple of years. So, we just scatter and stay wherever. Sam's closest friends all rent houses but she's always been a bit hesitant about staying together. It was determined (recently) but some of the other parents that we all need to be staying together. So, I see us all in a house for future trips.