2012 (April - May)

Greetings from Paso Robles!

Mike on the balcony attached to our site, which overlooks an oak filled ravine. We're enjoying sipping wine here each afternoon, watching the blue jays and squirrels that are everywhere.
We are here in Paso Robles, at the Wine Country RV Resort, kicking off Mike's retirement in grand style with a 12 day RV trip. The park has free WiFi, but they have been at 100% RV capacity over this past Memorial Day weekend, and the speed has been sloooow accordingly. Today, however, is checkout day for most of the folk here that have to return to work, so I'm finally able to upload a photo and do a blog entry. 


We are having fun!


We've spent the last three days here with friends, visiting about five wineries a day. The RV Resort has free tasting coupons to about 50 of the wineries in the area, so our tastings have all been free thus far. Our strategy going in had been to enjoy the free tastings, and write down the names of the wines we really liked, then wait for a 20% off coupon from our local wine store before buying anything. The savings in doing it this way is easily 40% over the cost of buying the wine directly from the winery. (Which is ironic, don't you think?) But this year, the wineries, darn them, have gotten clever, and are offering 12-bottle case specials of 40% to 50% off retail all over the valley. So we have altered our strategy, and bought two cases so far, which we are splitting with our friends. 


We allocate wine to our Entertainment budget in case you are wondering!


We're here through the week in order to take advantage of the RV park's Stay 6 Nights, Get One Free perk, but today we're taking a break from wine tasting and heading to Morro Bay to do some hiking and enjoy fish n' chips at the harbor. Tonight the plan is to take advantage of Happy Hour at Downtown Brew back here in Paso Robles and enjoy $1 tacos and $2 margaritas for dinner . . . hey, we're on fixed income now!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I Kinda' Like This Dual Retirement Thing!



One day into this dual-retirement thing and I can already tell life as I know it has just been turned on it's heels. Having my husband home with me has amp'd up my day by about 200% and I am in heaven. I didn't realize until yesterday that I've been a bit of a lady in waiting this last year. Yes, I kept busy doing things I enjoy, but I also spent a good chunk of time laying the groundwork for our upcoming dual retirement. I spent many, many hours streamlining and organizing our budget, de-cluttering the house, and laying out the blueprint for how we would spend our time, but I couldn't do any of it until Mike retired and joined me.


He spent his first post retirement weekend on an 800 mile motorcycle ride and had a blast. My older daughter rode with him, and they spent much time talking and laughing over the two day trip, a very special time for both of them. I kept myself busy running (literally!), running around, and attending several parties while they were gone, but I was very excited to have the two of them arrive back home on Sunday. I have plenty of things I can entertain myself with, but in my heart of hearts I am happiest when my husband and I are doing things together. Even after almost 30 years of marriage I look forward to seeing him each morning when I wake up, and we never, ever run out of things to talk about. 


We spent our first "real" day together yesterday, Monday. We enjoyed morning coffee and conversation as usual, but did so about an hour later because we both slept in just an itty bit. Which was nice! We worked out independently as usual, but my husband got himself to the gym differently than before . . . he dusted off his bicycle and rode it to the gym instead of driving there. And then proceeded to run a couple of small errands afterward before pedaling home, happy, sweaty grin spread wide over his face as he walked in the door.


He summed it up for me as follows: "I realize already that I will still be doing many of the same things I did before, but that I'm doing them differently now without the rigid constraints of time, which there never seemed to be enough of previously. Actually, there still doesn't seem to be enough time now either, but it's different. It's absent the "bad" stress. It's pleasant stress instead."

We spent the afternoon running errands, about twice as many as I normally would have done on my own, because even errands are fun when we're doing them together. We timed our errands so we'd be in the vicinity of one of our favorite Japanese restaurants around dinnertime for a delayed "Welcome to Retirement" celebration. When we walked in we discovered we were there early enough to order from their half price Happy Hour menu . . . something we had never, ever been able to swing before given Mike's long commute and even longer work day. A very fitting end to an absolutely fabulous day, and start of our "new" life together.


Next up - a 12 day RV trip to the coastlines and wine country of Central California. Stay tuned!

Friday, May 18, 2012

We're Both Officially Retired!



Today is my husband's last day at work. As of about 2:00 PM this afternoon he will be on his way home as an official new member of the retiree club. Our plans for the remainder of the day are to do some free wine tasting at Total Wine, enjoy homemade mushroom risotto for dinner, and then head to our dance studio to take a $10 per person salsa dance class and stay for some free social dancing afterward. Nothing mind or bank-blowing because, hey, we're on a fixed income now!


Actually, the reason we're keeping tonight low key is because Mike and my daughter are taking off bright and early tomorrow morning for a two day, 800 mile motorcycle ride to and around Yosemite National Park. The ride is an annual event sponsored by the Pasadena Motorcycle Club called the Greenhorn Road Tour. Although the original plan was for me to go with him, when I mentioned the ride to my daughter, she immediately got so excited I didn't have the heart to tell her his passenger seat was already taken. And besides, I'd participated in the ride several times over the years on my own motorcycle, so I was truly very happy to give up my seat to her this year so she could enjoy some quality time with her dad. Who knows how many more times they'll have the opportunity to do so? 


What really feels surreal to me at this point, is that on Monday we are going to run around together to Camping World and a few other places, in order to enjoy spending some gift cards he received as retirement gifts from his co-workers this last week. We're going shopping on a Monday . . . now that feels weird! But in a really, really nice way. Sort of like Christmas morning nice - to me it feels like the whole world is opening up and everything is about to change. As nice as my first year of retirement has been, there were many, many things that had to be put on hold until Mike retired, and my world is therefore expanding right along with his. So, this morning I'm as giddy with elation as I think he is.


Life suddenly feels full of new possibilities, and I'm so excited to dive in and get started. And thankful, so thankful to be able to do so while we both have our health . . . and each other.


And so the next chapter begins.



Monday, May 14, 2012

My Unforgettable Mothers Day Gift


I received a wonderful gift this last Christmas from my two adult daughters, Kelli and Megan: my choice of a half marathon in 2012, which they would pay for and run with me. Thrilled at the opportunity to spend such wonderful, quality time together, I chose the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon, held on May 12, over this past Mothers Day Weekend. The date worked perfectly for all three of us, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Mothers Day then to share the excitement of running a half marathon with both my daughters at the same time. We'd all run races together before in varying combinations of two - Kelli and me, Kelli and Megan, Megan and me, but never all three of us together at the same time. This was going to be special, and I couldn't wait to get started . . . 


Friday

Kelli and I left together from Southern California at the same time my younger daughter, Megan, left from the Monterey peninsula. The plan was to arrive at the same time at our motel, the oh-so-average Days Inn in Buellton (my fault . . . the original plan was to RV at Flying Flags RV Park, a lovely place in Buellton, for a modest fee, my treat. After our new trailer arrived I decided it was not feasible to try and handle the RV by myself all weekend, and so I scurried to find an affordable, available room at the last minute, hence our ending up at the Days Inn.).

As Kelli and I were enroute, we got a chagrined call from Megan explaining that she had decided to take scenic Highway 1 down from Monterey, not realizing how much slower it was to travel than the 101, a major artery running north and south through California. As a result, though she was thoroughly enjoying the world famous coastal views, she was running about 45 minutes later than expected.

Megan's "oops" allowed Kelli and I time to pull off the highway for lunch in Santa Barbara. A quick search on Kelli's Smartphone yielded a little gem of a place called Adama Vegan Comfort CuisineAnd what a find it was! We shared a lovely Gardin "chicken" ranch sandwich on the freshest bread I've enjoyed in a long while, accompanied by a side of fragrant curried onion rings. I highly recommend this place if you are ever passing through - it's just a few blocks off of Highway 101 at State Street.


Tummies now full, we drove the remaining 45 miles into Buellton, and arrived at the Days Inn within minutes of Megan. What a joy to be all together in the same place! After hugs all around, we checked in to our room, freshened up and then headed off to pick up our racing packets at the Corque Hotel in Solvang. Inside of our packets, should you never have had occasion to enter a running/walking event, were our race bibs and our timing chips, which go onto your shirt and running shoes respectively, marking you as an "official" race entrant. On the way out of the hotel we couldn't resist posing for a mother-daughter photo in front of some beautiful spring flowers.

From left to right: Megan, 26, me, Kelli, 29
Sun shining, we headed back to the hotel to laze by the pool a bit before the girls headed out pickup a veggie pizza to enjoy in our room so we could get to bed early . . . our race day wake up call was set for 4:30 AM.

Saturday

Race Day! I woke up early at 3:30 AM, very normal for me on any race day, and did a mental walk through of everything I needed to make sure I wore or took with me, including remembering to pin on my bib, lace my racing chip through my right shoe, fill up my water bottles, pack my room key, cell phone, a banana and some energy supplements, and figure out where to park to catch the bus to the start line of the race. Race day mornings are stressful, there's just no way around it!


By 5:15 AM we were all awake, dressed, coffee-ed up and ready to go. We left the room and headed out into the brrrr, cold and mist. This is always the point in any race when I wonder why on earth I ever thought this was a good idea!


We found a parking spot near the Solvang Park finish line, which was good - it meant we wouldn't have far to walk to get back to our car after the race. This is one of the advantages of a smaller race, by the way (this race capped out at 3,000 participants). At larger races, which can have upward of 30,000 or more participants, getting back to your car after a race can be a lengthy exercise, sometimes even requiring public transportation. Anyhow, back to our race - we located the buses taking runners to the start line in Santa Ynez, boarded, and enjoyed the warm four mile drive before arriving and having to get off and go back out into the - take two - brrrr, cold and mist. We immediately headed for the port-a-potties where we took turns in line, and then huddled together trying to stay warm. We eventually started looking around for someplace, anyplace that might be warm. We noticed a few runners huddled near the back of a portable generator, enjoying the warm air being blown out the back end, but we decided it was a little too toxic(!) and kept walking. Success! An enterprising coffee shop owner had decided to open up early to service some of the 3,000 runners wandering around waiting for the 7:00 AM race start. We found a warm corner to stand in, and hung out there along with a few other dozen runners, until 6:50 AM, when we headed outside to get into the start line chutes and await the 7:00 AM gun start. 


Not-so-promptly at 7:05 AM, (trust me, every late minute matters when you're shivering from both the cold and the adrenaline anticipation!) the starting guns went off, and the girls and I cheered and started running. As we crossed the official start line, I teared up at the realization that I was actually going to share this challenging 13.1 mile event with my two daughters. What an amazing gift they had given me!


Megan and I were hoping to run together, clear that since we hadn't included speed work in our training, we weren't going to set any personal records (also known as PR's), but Kelli, my older daughter, had been doing some extra training and was therefore planning to run separately in the hope of setting a new PR. She stayed with us for the first mile in order to warm up (yes, Megan and I were both at bit chagrined at discovering that our top racing speed was her slow start speed), after which she, literally, took off. Megan and I yelled "Good luck" as she went, and then we settled into our 10:30 per mile rhythm, agreeing that in spite of our earlier attempts to stay warm, the weather couldn't have been better for a race - cool, misty and overcast. We talked a little, listened to other racers chatting, and pointed out the interesting sights we passed to each other along the beautiful, winding route - wildflowers, windmills, farms, buffalo, long horn steer, alpaca, donkeys, horses, rabbits, squirrels and a couple of, eek!, dead snakes. But mostly, really, we ran in silence. 13.1 miles is a long way to run, and it does take getting into your head a bit to get through it.


The early miles went really well and I was enjoying myself tremendously. When we got to Mile 11, I still felt good and strong, but the top of my right foot was beginning to burn. With only 2.1 miles left to go, I was not about to give it any attention, other than to hope it didn't get a whole lot worse. As we neared the 12 mile mark, Megan had pulled just a little ahead of me, and I was working hard to catch up with her so we could finish together. My right foot was now burning so badly I was having a difficult time maintaining a sprint, so it took me almost to the 13 mile marker to catch her. I finally did though, and we linked hands for the last 1/10th of a mile, heard the sound of Kelli's voice cheering to us from the sidelines (she had run an 8:00 minute mile pace the entire race to set a new PR of 1:44:58!), and pushed through to the finish line, hands clasped tightly and held up over our heads.


Oh the joy! 
Kelli, Megan and me at the end of the 13.1 mile race, finisher medals around our necks.
The rest of the weekend


There was much more to the weekend, including wine tasting after we cleaned up from the race, shopping, a picnic on the lawn at a winery to enjoy dinner and the Santa Ynez film classic Sideways, and a delicious Mothers Day breakfast at a charming Danish bakery in Solvang, but sharing this half marathon experience with my two girls was the absolute highlight of the weekend, and something I will treasure forever.


Though we do hope to make it a new Mothers Day tradition!


The charming finishers medal - it's a wine cork!
First we ran, then we drank! Here we all are at Curtis Winery after the race.

My girls! That's beautiful Bridlewood Winery in the background.
Where the girls took me for Mothers Day breakfast. Yum!
  

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

What We Enjoy About RV'ing

We spent the last weekend in our RV, making a return trip to Crystal Cove Moro State Park in Newport Beach, and rather than do another write up on the park, since I already did so previously on this blog, I thought it might be interesting to share a little bit more about why, exactly, we're so thumbs-up about RV'ing.


General RV'ing Routine
Our general daily RV'ing routine is: We wake up with the birds (literally!), flip on our heater and coffee maker, and wake up slowly in our trailer over big steaming cups of coffee while we gaze out at the scenery, moving outside once the sun warms things up. We usually have breakfast late - 9:30 AM or so - because our favorite part of the day is the morning when we talk, enjoy the scenery, and drink multiple cups of coffee before getting a move on the rest of our day. While I'm making breakfast and tidying up the inside of the trailer for the day, my husband takes care of emptying our portable 5 gallon gray water holding tank and cassette toilet. (We do have a 13 gallon permanent gray water holding tank, but we prefer to use the portable one whenever possible so we don't have to add "get in dump station line" to our breakdown To Do list.) A note about the cassette toilet - although most trailers have permanent toilets, including what's called a black water holding tank (vs. a gray water holding tank, which primarily holds sink and shower water run off), we prefer the convenience of our cassette toilet. We, or should I say my husband, can empty it daily, a very simple task, and again, avoid the hassle of dealing with a dumping station. We also use it for, ahem, liquids only, a personal preference, but one which I hear more than a few other RV users adhere to as well!


Every day we plan one 4 - 5 hour activity like hiking, biking, kayaking, touring a museum or visiting a state monument or historical site. Doing just one activity allows for ample downtime both before and after, ensuring we're getting equal doses of relaxation and stimulation each day. Lunch is usually a sack lunch eaten in the midst of whatever our daily adventure is, but on occasion we'll dine out if there is a particularly interesting place we'd like to try. After our daily activity, while on the way back to camp we'll try to remember to take care of any small errands, like getting gas or picking up extra groceries or ice, so that once back in camp we can stay there. Depending on where we are, re-entering camp may necessitate getting into line behind a row of cars waiting to get checked through by the camp staff, so once we are back in camp we really don't want to have to go out again. Likewise, we tend to shower immediately upon our return to camp so that once we are done, we can relax for good. 


Late afternoons are for napping, reading, snacking and sipping wine. 

We tend to eat dinner a little later when we are RV'ing, because the afternoons are so lovely we want to stay outside and enjoy every minute we can before the cooler night air moves in and chases us indoors. I try to keep our dinners simple because trailer prep spaces tend to be minuscule, and clean up is also a bit of a bear for same, so the less is more theory prevails here. Not that we don't eat well . . . we eat very well! We just stick to the basics and try to enjoy our food as close to how it came out of the ground as possible.

After dinner we'll either watch a DVD, play a game, read, or sit out by our compressed gas fire stargazing until 10:00 PM or so, our normal RV'ing bedtime. 

There is just enough mix up of work and leisure in RV'ing to keep us feeling consistently satisfied at the end of each day. Which is great, because it's affordability is the primary reason we'll be able to be on the road so extensively in our early retirement journey.


Just some of the places our RV travels have led us so far . . .
Hiking among the giant Sequoia's while RV'ing at Sequoia National Park
Preparing to set up our picnic lunch after hiking 2.5 miles and gaining almost 1,000 feet in elevation to lovely Sherwin Lake while RV'ing in Mammoth Lakes, California
Hiking among the palms and cacti at Joshua Tree National Park
Gazing out over a colorful valley while hiking through Bryce Canyon National Park.
We kept our RV at Ruby's Inn Campground, just outside the Park entrance.
Having some fun with my camera during same hike. I always carry my camera with me while hiking,
since you never know when you'll stumble across some amazing sight.
Hiking up to Zabruskie Point during an RV trip to Death Valley National Park . When we got to Zabruskie Point after five long, hot miles of hiking, we discovered a road, a parking lot full of cars, and dozens of tourists, but we wouldn't have traded the fun, the wonderful things we saw, the interesting people we passed, or the stimulation and satisfaction of getting there on our own for anything.
I should add that the reason I remember the details of all of these trips is because I keep a detailed log in a notebook I refer to as our RV Memory Keeper. I note the distance we traveled, how long it took us, where we stayed, what we did, what we ate, and anything else I want to capture permanently. Aside from being a lot of fun to flip through and review, it's been a tremendous aid as we find ourselves occasionally retracing our steps somewhere, and I would highly recommend same to anyone considering RV'ing.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

May Bucket List

I am borrowing an idea from another blog that appeals to my sense of setting goals - creating a monthly bucket list, beginning right now with May. I'm going to print and post it next to my computer so I see it every day when I enter my office.


May Bucket List
  1. Attend one yoga class a week
  2. Lift weights at least once a week
  3. Add speed training to at least one of my weekly runs to begin to lower my per mile time from the mid 10:00's back into the low 9:00's/high 8:00's, where it was last year.
  4. Pick another running event to begin to train for once I complete the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon on May 12
  5. Eat no more than 150 calories of low value food per day, preferably after dinner
  6. Limit online viewing to one hour or less per day, preferably after dinner (I have to laugh - we may have cut out cable, but the lure of TV continues via streaming instead!)
  7. Search the internet for healthy, easy to make meals to bookmark for our upcoming RV travels.
In looking over the list, I see that every single item listed is about raising the bar in my own life, exactly what I was shooting for. And just seeing them in print is already getting me excited about achieving them, even better!


At the end of the month I'll share how I did here - good, bad or otherwise, before moving on to the month of June. It should be interesting to see how the lists evolve over time. My hope is that they will continue to move me forward and bring increasing levels of satisfaction to my early retirement journey.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Why I'm So Passionate About Being Active

The tools of my running habit - water belt, energy supplements, hat, sunglasses and a Garmin wrist watch to track time, distance and speed.
My husband and I share a passion for being active, understanding it is the key to staying fit, retaining energy as we move into our middle and senior years, and being able to move through each day with vitality and contentment.


If you are not currently active, I encourage you to read the last part of the above sentence again - being able to move through each day with vitality and contentment. I know of no other way to ensure that I will receive a flood of feel-good chemicals than to break a sweat doing something active I enjoy. Being physically active is much, much more than its own reward for me at this point in my life, and I would love nothing more than for others to discover same, regardless of how old, young, thin or heavy. It's never too late to reap the benefits of being active, and trust me on this, the rewards for doing so begin immediately.


When I first began working out, after the birth of my first daughter almost 30 years ago, I did it primarily to get my pre-pregnancy shape back. Along the way, though, I discovered that it also left me feel pretty darn good. Slowly over the ensuing decades, the physical benefits of being active began to take a backseat to the emotional benefits I was receiving. No matter how stressed, how grumpy, how tired, how cruddy I might be feeling, heading out the door for a sweat inducing activity came with a 100% guarantee that I would return feeling 100% better. And in 30 years of being active, not once, not one single time, has it failed to deliver.


Being active is also a wonderful way to structure a day. It's generally inexpensive, it can take up a major portion of the day, and it leaves me with a glow that carries me through the remainder of my day. Oh, and it also allows me to sleep each night like those proverbial logs!


How intense we are in our activity varies, depending on the day or the goal being worked on. This last week in Lake Casitas, as an example, our intensity during our 25 mile bike ride probably varied from 60 - 70%. We alternated between putting the pedal to the metal, and slowing to enjoy a particularly scenic vista. 


This immediate past weekend however, my intensity was closer to a sustained 80%. My daughter and I met at the beach to do a 12 mile training run for a half marathon we are signed up to run together in two weeks. I felt fantastic for the first 10 miles of the run, and closer to exhausted for the last two, when I was probably closer to a 90% output. But regardless, the moment we finished, a cloud of exhilaration descended on me, and stayed there for the rest of the day. 


It's important to note that my 80%, 12-mile run may be somebody else's 80%, 3 mile race walk. The distance isn't significant, nor really is the specific activity. What's important is that whatever you do, you do it at a level that makes you reach a bit beyond your comfort level, and break into a sustained sweat. Because, assuming there are no health issues indicating otherwise, you need to sweat. Being active doesn't deliver cardiovascular fitness benefits until you do so at a sustained level of 70% or greater. How do you know you are at 70%? Generally you are there if you're sweating lightly, and can talk while doing your activity, but you'd really rather not. You'd really rather just concentrate on your activity, and on breathing through it.


My experience with intensity levels is that the higher they are, the greater the release of feel-good chemicals I receive in return. And at this point in our lives, that really is what it's all about for my husband and I.


From left to right - Mike,  a friend, my daughter, and me in the middle of a day long hike at Rocky Mountain National Park. The valley in the background is the same one featured on the Colarado state quarter below. How thankful am I to be able to put in the hiking sweat equity necessary to experience this view, feel fantastic, and spend precious time with my daughter in the process? You can probably guess.


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