Hiking Discovery Bay: Lookout Point

One thing we've heard about Discovery Bay is that there are a lot of hiking trails. They even publish free guides.

Since we enjoyed our hikes up Nanshan Mountain in Shenzhen so much, we were anxious to find a comparable hiking trail here. Using the information in the guides and our keen observation skills, we easily scoped out a trail entrance off Discovery Bay Road which is the main road in town (it helped that there was a big green sign). The trailhead is across the street from the playground on the corner of Seabee Lane.

I have to admit that we were a little spoiled in Shenzhen with paved steps leading to the top of Nanshan. The trail to Lookout Point is a steep climb over various types of terrain. 700 meters (roughly 4/10 of a mile) going up, up, up feels a lot farther than on flat land.

The views along the top are amazing though. You can see all of Discovery Bay, HK Disneyland, Peng Chau Island, and even all the way to Central on a clear day. And just like all the other hard things we've done (run a half marathon under-trained and injured, climb a volcano in the dark), the reward makes it all worth it and you forget the struggle.

The top (the very top) is a great place to take a little water break and even rest your legs on a nicely placed granite bench while enjoying the view of Discovery Bay and beyond.

From the (very) top, we hiked down a little ways to Lookout Point where we found a roomy pavilion and viewing compass.

The hike back down is mostly stairs that lead right into Parkvale Village. Then you just have to follow the road or take the pedestrian stairs the rest of the way down to Discovery Bay Road. There is also the option to hop on a bus if you time it right.

This hike is short and sweet. It's challenging going up, but relatively easy coming down and takes just over an hour to complete.

Since we were so close to the plaza, we grabbed a coffee before heading home for some breakfast.

Other hiking posts I've written:

Exploring Chiwan, Shenzhen

Shenzhen International Garden & Flower Expo Park

Dragon's Back and Big Wave Bay

We Moved to Hong Kong (and I squeezed in some fitness too)!!

After a blissful extended stay in the US while mrC transitioned to a new job and a new airplane, we hit the ground running upon our return to China and we haven't really stopped! With the clock ticking on our Chinese resident visas, we had to find a new place to live in Hong Kong and MOVE!

We spent our final days in Shenzhen squeezing in as much time as we could with our favorite people and places.

I met up with the SWIC hiking group for one more Monday hike up Nanshan. This is probably the thing that I will miss the most. Every week, no matter how I was feeling, I could count on hanging out with this group and having a blast. The last time was no exception!

Then mrC and I climbed the mountain one last time together. Even though he never shied away from joining the SWIC ladies, we always enjoyed doing the climb on our own too. Moving is never easy, and exercise is a great way to let go of frustrations.

It took us just one day to find a new apartment in the Discovery Bay neighborhood of Hong Kong (we visited here back in June). The apartment that we chose was being renovated on the inside and the whole building had just undergone a makeover on the outside. It was unfurnished, but the owner offered to buy furniture if we paid a little more rent. This will make things a lot easier when it's time for us to return to the US.

We had to hire a company to help us move our belongings across the border and through customs.

We have spent the last two weeks moving in and getting settled in Hong Kong. There has been a lot of waiting for furniture deliveries (IKEA is the #1 place to shop here), workman arriving to put together furniture, and shopping for odds and ends --> we were thrilled to find out that there was a market at the plaza featuring locally made items.

We've also spent A LOT of time in Central setting up bank account, getting a new China tourist visa, seeing our new chiropractor, and becoming official Hong Kong residents.

We have also made time to walk around and get to know our new neighborhood which is located on the east side of Lantau Island. Discovery Bay stretches about 1.5ish miles from the DB North Plaza to D'Deck Plaza and is only accessible via a tunnel on the north end coming from Tung Chung/airport or a ferry from Central. There are about 14 developments (called villages) housing 10,000+ residents. We live in Parkridge Village almost dead center between the two plazas (marked in red below).

Some views from our walks around town:

Siena Park (aka Central Park)

D'Deck view of Tai Pak Beach

Super Moon gazing from Tai Pak Beach

Friendly off duty carriage ride horses

There's too much to share in one post, but I will share a preview of what I hope to talk about next time!

What's new and exciting in your world?
Ever been to Hong Kong?

Catching Up from Ohio

Wow!

Time has flown by since my last blog post.

mrC finished his work in Connecticut and we wrapped up our stay in New England with a weekend visit to the girls in Portsmouth, NH.

The weather was great on Saturday for a day of hiking and exploring in Maine with D. We hiked Mount Agamenticus in Ogunquit and had lunch (we brown-bagged yummy sandwiches from Backyard Coffeehouse and Eatery off the main street) at the summit. We stopped to view Cape Neddick Lighthouse and then browsed Stonewall Kitchen in York. Later, back in Portsmouth, we met up with G for dinner. After brunch at Popovers on Sunday, we escaped the rain at the movie theater and watched Girl on the Train (just as good as the book!) and then went out for lunch before saying goodbye to the girls.

We spent one more evening with Booney and mrC's family before flying to Ohio for one more week of work for mrC.

The great thing about mrC working in Ohio is that we can see my family while we are here (we really are blessed that he gets to work in both places when we return to the US). We came to Ohio a couple of days early and spent time in Cincinnati at my mom's. We met up with my aunt at Howl at the Moon downtown and had a blast bowling after a great meal. While mrC works in Columbus, we get to visit with the BFF! We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (little O's choice) and then met up for a free yoga session at the Athleta store the next morning.

After sticking to low intensity workouts (or no workouts 😳) for a couple of weeks, it feels good to use the fitness room here at the hotel for some HIIT cardio on the elliptical and cool down walks on the treadmill. I was feeling a little unmotivated doing the same at-home workouts and getting back on the elliptical is helping bring back my workout HAPPY.

Sprint Workout ---> 10 minute warm up on elliptical, 15 sprints: 20:20 seconds intervals, and 30 minute cool down on treadmill.

The fitness room at the Residence Inn Easton is TINY compared to what we had in Montreal, but it will do the trick while we are here. The room is steps away from the dining room making it super easy to grab some breakfast to-go.

It's a bit rainy here today, but the weekend promises to be beautiful and everything we love: cool temps and sunny, blue skies. It will be our last weekend in the US for about 6 months, so we are trying to soak up everything fall before we leave on Sunday morning.

Do you ever get in a fitness rut and feel unmotivated? How do you break out?
Tell me something you've been up to lately!

Scenes from our Newport Weekend

I know it's Wednesday, but I still wanted to share a little from our trip to Newport, RI over the weekend. 

It was a little rainy Saturday morning when we crossed over the Pell Bridge into Newport. Crossing that bridge will always bring back fun memories.

We killed some time indoors at the Navy Exchange until the drizzly weather had passed. Wanting to soak up as much of fall as I can before we go back to China, I took mrC to the Newport Harvest Fair. It was the perfect place to pick up some gifts from the arts and crafts vendors while enjoying little tastes of autumn.

After a late lunch/early dinner at The Red Parrot and dessert at Kilwin's, we did the traditional Ten Mile drive and checked out the Newport mansions at night.

On Sunday, instead of going to mass at Chapel of Hope on base (where we were married), we decided to go into town and attend mass at St Mary's. It's a beautiful church. JFK and Jackie were married there, so a lot of people visit. I've walked by MANY times, but this was my first time going inside.

Fun fact ---> mrC and I met in church in Ohio (true story) and pew 42 has special meaning for us. We noticed that we were sitting across the aisle from it during mass.

After church we walked to The Franklin Spa, an old-school diner popular with the locals, for some off the grill breakfast. It's moments like this that make Newport one of my favorite places.

mrC promised to take me to the top of Newport, so we climbed up to the Miantonomi Park Memorial Tower. The 100 foot tower was built in 1929 as a memorial to veterans of WWI and is located on the highest natural point in Newport. The tower is only open twice a year (Memorial Day and Veteran's Day) so we did not get to climb to the observation deck...this time.

On our way out of town, we saw a sign for an Open House and played House Hunters. It was fun to see the inside of the old Victorian and check out the renovations. It was a cute house with a nice front porch, a great deck and backyard, but it wasn't OUR HOUSE. Needless to say, it was easy to drive away and start thinking about our immediate future of apartment hunting in Hong Kong in just a couple of weeks. 

So far this week, I've been sticking to low intensity workouts. After another relaxing weekend, I was just getting the feeling that my body needs a little break. 

Instead of fast paced HIIT workouts, I've been enjoying some restorative yoga sessions. My darn heel is still bugging me, but I can stay on my toes and get through most of the poses without aggravating it.

 And daily walks. Every morning feels colder than the last, but my hilly route still feels amazing when I'm done. I only walk my SIL's dog around the yard when I'm done because she's a loner and not a fan of her furry neighbors. We rocked a little pink for #WearPinkWednesday to support BCA.

PS ---> my new yoga pants are also great for cool morning walks.

Apparently Saturday was National Walk Your Dog Day. I hope all the dogs out there got at least a walk around the yard. I know my favorite dog gets lots of love from the retirement village down the road when he goes on his daily walks with his adoptive family in Hopkinton.

On a walk ~ April 2016

How's your week going?
How was your weekend? (better late than never)
Where did you meet your spouse?
Did you celebrate National Walk Your Dog day?

Low Impact Activities Give Me Balance

A morning walk after a few days of HIIT workouts felt pretty good, especially with views like this. I walked the hilly route yesterday for my low intensity sustained state workout and enjoyed every step.

When I got back, I spent some time outside with my SIL's dog. I'm trying to teach her how to take selfies like Booney. She's a little camera shy.

It was so nice outside that I decided to do some backyard yoga. Earlier in the week, the weather forecast said it was going to be grey and rainy all week. I wasn't going to spend an extra second inside if I could help it!

My look: tank and pants and flip flops

My backyard yoga flow focused on poses that give me a good stretch and open up my hips and shoulders. Then I did some poses that are challenging to me. They challenge my flexibility and my balance. My left heel is still bothering me (so I have to say on my toes), but I can still move through my go-to yoga sequence without much pain.

Not wanting to go inside, I helped my SIL out by watering the new lawn. It's amazing how fast the grass is coming in.

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Yesterday was the kind of morning that runners wait all summer for. I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss it. I found myself thinking about it a lot on my walk yesterday. But I've also come to really enjoy taking walks and I do a lot more yoga than I ever did pre-knee issues. Walking and yoga give me a feeling of balance that I think was missing from my fitness before.

Balance: An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. Stability of one's mind or feelings. 

My workouts ---> high intensity and low intensity combined make me feel balanced both physically and mentally. During HIIT workouts I'm in the go, go, go frame of mind and pushing my body to its max. There's no room for reflection. Even when I was running, I was always thinking more about the distance, the time, my body. LISS workouts let my mind and body rest. I'm able to connect with myself more emotionally. I feel more aware and STABLE doing both types of workouts.

Speaking of awareness...October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I'm joining up with FitApproach and AfterShokz to get #AwareWithPink and I challenge you to join in too!

Until October 31st, AfterShokz is donating 25% of proceeds of every unit sold on aftershokz.com to Bright Pink, a nonprofit organization specializing in breast and ovarian cancer awareness and education. AND every time #AwareWithPink is used on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, AfterShokz is donating an additional 25 cents to Bright Pink! So get to hashtagging, sweeties!

All month long you can help spread the #AwareWithPink message. Follow FitApproach on Instagram and Twitter and look for the weekly prompts every Wednesday and Friday and help raise BCA awareness.


How do you find balance?
How will you challenge yourself to raise BCA?