Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Long Weekend in Pensacola

We spent a long weekend in Pensacola visiting my stepson who is just starting flight school. We left Quincy with a dog sitter and flew down on Thursday morning. We met up with the girls and SIL Sean (who drove down with the dog) at Grant's house. After meeting some of his roommates, we checked into our condo on Pensacola Beach and then went out for a family dinner to one of Grant's favorite places, The Fish House. I had the grilled shrimp and it was sooo good!

The next day, mrC and I were up early thanks to the one hour time difference, so we went for a morning walk on the beach. He and I have a thing for sunrises!

Then we headed to his old training base, which is Grant's new training base for a little walk down memory lane. It's fun to see and hear about the places where his flying career started.  Two F35s were visiting and we got to see them up close. The pilots gave a walk-around presentation of the planes and answered questions. It was mrC's lucky day!!

Before meeting back up with the group, we stopped to grab something to eat. I picked up a watermelon cup from the grocery and a cup of tuna from Subway. 

We met up with the rest of the gang at the Naval Aviation Museum. Grant and one his roommates gave us an awesome guided tour. It was by far the best experience I've ever had visiting a museum!


Another group dinner, this time to The Oar House. I ordered grilled shrimp again. So good!


After dinner, the kids went to Grant's to visit the dog (he and his roommates were keeping him there because our condo didn't allow pets). mrC and I caught the sunset on the bay behind our condo. Ok, maybe we have a thing for sunsets, too.

My super smart husband planned the trip so that we would be there for Blue Angels weekend. The kids set up some canopies on the beach early Saturday morning and we walked about a mile to join them after breakfast. Since our condo had a fully stocked kitchen, we had grabbed a few staple items at the grocery the day before: eggs, strawberries and gluten-free toast.

It was perfect weather to hang out on the beach for the air show. Blue skies, sunshine and hot temps! 


We stayed in the water until they kicked us out when the Blue Angels were starting. This was my first time seeing the Blue Angels anywhere and it was incredible. I think the location was just the cherry on top.



After a day at the beach in the hot sun, we kept it simple and walked to Peg Leg Pete's for dinner. There was a bit of a wait, but they have a fun bar downstairs with license plates from all over the US lining the walls. For dinner I ordered the yummy Grilled Flounder sandwich!

After dinner, we took in another sunset...this time with the kids.



Sunday morning, we all met up for breakfast in downtown Pensacola. Our first choice was the Ruby Slipper, but there was a 90 minute wait. So we walked to The Garden to Pearl & Horn. The menu was small, but packed with a variety of yummy choices. I went for the Smash Burger and sweet potato waffle fries!


We split up so the kids could go take Ralph for a walk and we headed to Pensacola's first lighthouse. The plan was to walk up the 177 steps to the top to see the beautiful Gulf Coast from above. The spiral steps without a handrail on the inside was too much for me though! So we enjoyed the view from below and walked through the museum. 


On our way back to the condo, we stopped at Single Fin Cafe to share an acai bowl. The cafe was located inside Waterboyz, a surf and skateboard shop. It wasn't the best bowl we've ever had, but I loved the decor of the shop.



We had plans to do a sunset sail with mrC's friend, Dr. Bri. He used to take us sailing when we lived on Oahu, but like us he has also relocated back to the mainland...in Pensacola! Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so we stayed docked in the marina. We still had a great time hanging out down below until the storms blew over and having the Tip Top crew back together again. 


 

Our departing flight wasn't until afternoon, which gave us time to enjoy a final morning on Pensacola Beach. It was so nice to be able to walk right across the street and see the beautiful white sand and blue water. To top it off, we saw a bunch of dolphins swimming right off shore! 


Our long weekend in Pensacola visiting Grant was the best!



Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Shred Day 10: Fasting and Pool Workouts

When I wake up on Fast Day.


Then the goal is to make it to 24 hours before breaking my fast. Today was a perfect day to get some pool time, so I asked my dad to drive me (which sounds really strange given I'm 45 years old!) and he happily did...in his golf cart.


The pool was crowded with pool walkers when I arrived and it was awesome. If I lived here I would totally join the pool walking group. Pool walking is a great low intensity cardio workout. When I wasn't lounging in the chair, I jumped in and joined the locals. I overheard some of the ladies talking about how they walk for 1-2 hours everyday. It's a great way to get in some walking miles without melting in the Florida heat. 


Inspired by all the pool walkers, I made up a pool workout on the spot. Every time I got in the water, I walked across the pool and back (which was probably 60 yards) multiple times. I'm guessing I walked about 2 miles in the pool today, plus a bunch of weightless leg exercises. Here's the workout:


Another bonus to pool time was stretching out my sore muscles in the water. They're telling me today that I hit my go hard workout goal.


My dad and stepmom hosted some friends for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant called Off The Hook. It's fun to see them with their friends and having a good time.


What I Ate:

Coffee, coffee, coffee. Obviously.


Breaking Fast: at about 20 hours, salad, watermelon, 1/2 diet dew


Dinner: popped corn (had a flavor between popcorn and peanuts), seafood chaufa (shrimp and fried rice) ---> it was very good! I ate all the shrimp and some of the rice.




Do you do pool workouts?
Ever tried Peruvian food?



Friday, March 1, 2013

Fitness Friday: Taking a Break

I was lucky enough to get a break from the weather in New Hampshire,


and spend a few days soaking up the views in Florida.


I didn't realize how much I have been missing the color GREEN!

Like most runners, I take my running shoes on vacation. This was my first visit to my parents new place and the best way to really SEE the area is to go for a run. In true Floridian tradition, the morning I went for a run was rainy which makes it hard to take more than one picture while huddled under the protection of a tree.


The next day there was no resisting the beautiful sunny weather that came. I could have taken the typical mode of transportation,


but instead I took a nice leisurely walk. 


I might not have logged a lot of miles while in Florida, but I did relax and enjoy my break


Visiting Florida increased my hunger for Spring, but it also reminded me to stop and smell the roses of New Hampshire. Even though the weather may not be ideal at the moment, I can still get out and enjoy the pleasures of life here.

What are you enjoying right now?




Sunday, January 29, 2012

Testing the Temps


January 30 - Unexpectedly, I found myself packing for a quick weekend trip to Orlando. Now I know the weather in New England has been pretty mild this winter, but who wouldn't be excited about visiting the sunshine state?

Source
I took a quick peak at the forecast for Saturday morning before packing my running bag: 51 degrees. My scheduled run on Saturday would give me a chance to see how I felt running in temperatures that are pretty average for May in Providence, which is where I will be running my second half marathon of the year at the Cox Rhode Races.



Saturday morning after a quick breakfast of PB&J toast at the hotel, hubs and I headed toward the Airport Lakes Park that the concierge recommended. It was a picture perfect day to run. Sun, sun and more sun.  


The run to the park was much shorter than we expected and it was smaller than we hoped, so we decided to follow the sidewalks. We ended up looping around the hotel before trying inside the park. Duh. There we found a nice, though short, running trail. At one point it led out to a small lake.


Since we didn't really know the area (and hubs was only running 4 with me) we decided that to be safe I should stick to the immediate area around the hotel. This was a combination of several other hotels as well as shops and restaurants. After 7 miles, I was done running what felt like circles. 


Admittedly, the warm weather did affect me. I was wearing a short sleeve running shirt, but could have easily worn a tank. When I get excited I also tend to run too fast, just like on race days. All things to remember for my half marathon in May. The best part was running on beautiful sidewalks and having water delivered. He's training for my halfathon, too!

Best hubs EVER!
After the run, we headed to the hotel pool. At 70 degrees, it wasn't warm enough for me to get in, but I did take a dip in the hot tub. You have to spoil yourself when you can, right?



Do you pack your running shoes on trips/vacations?

How do you spoil yourself after a run?

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