Adventures on the East Coast
We somehow decided to save most of our adventures until the end of the summer, so sorry for the delay, but we have a lot to talk about! Lauren and I just got back from a little "East Coast Tour" where we have been traveling for the past week or so. The week before that we had the opportunity to spend a couple of days on an island near home and in less than a week, we will return to our day jobs, cultivating little minds. 😁 To be honest, I think we are both ready for a set schedule and some normalcy, especially in the food department. Traveling is hard when you have to plan out almost every meal! We weren't perfect, but we made it work for the most part.
We started off the adventures on a small island called Little Gasperilla. I have an aunt that lives there so we parked our cars for the weekend and headed over on the ferry. Those couple of days consisted of laying the beach, reading in the hammock, paddle boarding, kayaking, fishing, and playing fun games with friends. Lauren was really excited about the paddle boarding because this was her first time doing it and balance has never been her forte!!! She was able to stand up, balance, and actually get it done! My goal was to catch a fish...which I did...and then had to return it home because I felt sorry for it...so much for trying out for Naked and Afraid! It was so nice going on vacation with fitness-minded people. Lauren and I were talking about when we used to go to the beach we would lay around, and do nothing (which is always good and definitely needed), but this trip we were playing catch, paddle boarding, and swimming. We got to relax, but we didn't feel like complete slugs either!
Getting back to the mainland was bitter sweet, but Lauren and I had to get ready for our next trip! We started off on Friday morning at 3am. Lauren was a little nervous because we didn't exactly have our whole trip planned out. I had told her when we were leaving and where I thought we would go, but I didn't have solid details myself because if you don't know me by now, I kinda just go with the flow. For the most part, this worked out in our favor. Lauren being the organized one had done as much planning as she could, which included our meal prep. I cooked what felt like 1 billion boiled eggs and she cooked the chicken. Our in-car food mainly consisted of chicken, eggs, green beans, strawberries, and blue berries. Lauren is totally the mom out of both of us because she would make me wait to eat the blueberries until I had eaten the rest of my food! Not fair if you ask me! I'll take this moment to explain what a great co-pilot Lauren really is. First of all... if you didn't know, I have a crazy mind, and it thinks of a lot of things, which in a normal situation would lead to me asking questions and looking weird things up (you should see my google history 😳). Because the control freak in me likes to drive, Lauren got the brunt of my questions... which then involved looking up the questions and reading things out loud to me. Here are just a few examples: 1) "Please look up the history of Charleston." 2) "What are the gun carry laws from state to state?" 3) "Is there really a Gullah Gullah Island?" 4) "Why is it illegal to have your flashers on when it's raining, look it up!" She also had to peel all the eggs, and type out my text messages for me. So take that as a warning people, if you want to road trip with me...these are the requirements!
Our first big stop was in Savannah where we stayed with another one of my lovely aunts! We had less than 24 hours there, so we hit it hard. We walked over 13,000 steps...and that's after being in the car most of the day. I took Lauren down to River Street, and we even did a very corny ghost tour. Lauren also got to see the house that the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was based on. I surprised her with dinner at the Pink House, where I had my first WHOLE fish dish...it will go in our top 5 meals ever. We also got to meet a long lost cousin of mine who happens to work at a dueling piano bar, Savannah Smiles, and it turned out to be a song-filled good time. After getting a good night sleep, we bid our fair well and headed for VA Beach.
Before we got to Virginia, we had to make a stop at South of the Border in South Carolina. I have passed this place many times, but never stopped. One of Lauren's friends suggested we stop, so we were super excited. What a let down! If you have ever passed by, it looks awesome...it's colorful, they have signs 100 miles each way advertising all of the amazing things to see, and then...nothing. Other than their gas station and touristy shops, none of the rides, mini golf area, or reptile rooms were open. We did get to meet some new friends, but that was the extent of our stay there.
After the first day in VB we got smart and realized that my sister-in-law had a YMCA membership, and she could get us week passes. We got really excited when we realized that they had new classes that were not offered at our Y and so of course we had to try them! We tried one of their barre classes, which Lauren and I decided was not our cup of tea. I don't want to hate on anyone who does barre or likes it because it was a crazy workout, and our legs hurt for a solid couple of days. I just don't like my exercise to be slow if that makes sense? We found our favorite class ever though, which was CYCLE BOX! If you couldn't guess... this is a combo class where you are cycling part of the time, boxing with the Box Master another part of the time, and doing other floor exercises the rest of the time. It was exciting and we loved every minute of it! If you have it at your Y we definitely recommend it! We spent 4 wonderful days in Virginia Beach, and I got to visit with old friends and family that I loved seeing again! Earlier in our trip, while traveling to Virginia Beach, we passed by an exit for Charleston. Lauren mentioned that one of the books she had read took place on Sullivan's Island in Charleston and that she had always wanted to visit. I told her I had never been either...and within 10 minutes we had an Air B & B booked for Thursday night!
We were a little nervous at first because neither of us had actually stayed in an Air B & B before, especially not one where we were renting out a single room. We did our research and arrived cautiously on James Island in Charleston. Our hosts were a nice, young couple, and we had our own room and bathroom. One of the benefits of staying with someone you know or in an Air B&B is that there is a refrigerator available which makes it a lot easier to eat clean and stick to a schedule. We didn't spend much time at the room because again we were racing the clock, with less than 24 hours to explore this new city! I always use YELP where ever I go, so between that and getting some recommendations from our Air B&B host, we headed downtown. We knew we still needed to watch what we were eating but also wanted to find a nice meal. We usually turn toward seafood in these situations because it's one of our favorites, and we can usually find healthy options with seafood. We found a tiny little restaurant called 167 Raw, and the meal we had has been placed in the top 5 meals of mine and Lauren's life. We got to sit at the chef's bar and watch them cook with fresh ingredients. The staff was amazing! After getting some recommendations from the owner, we ended up at a venue with live music and a perfect glass of wine. It was an awesome night in Charleston. The next morning we woke up early and fulfilled Lauren's dream of visiting Sullivan's Island. We even got to lay in the sun for a bit. Tip for road tripping... don't get sand all over your body and then drive in a car for 8 hours...uncomfortable. Lesson learned.
We ended our trip by visiting our dear friend Kate in Jacksonville where we made sure we were up for the sunrise. There is nothing like a sunrise over the east coast. We had originally intended to shoot down to Orlando mid day because we had tickets to see a comedian, Eddie B, that night, but we made a fun discovery...St. Augustine was only 30 minutes south! Lauren had never been, so we decided to head down there before we ended our trip in Orlando. We got to see the St. Augustine lighthouse, had a yummy lunch at the Floridian, and walked through the old cells at Fort Castillo de San Marcos. It was also the first time we had seen rain in a week...welcome back to Florida! We made it to Orlando and enjoyed 3 hours of belly laughs with our friends from work. Eddie B., if you don't know, is a comedian who focuses on teachers and the education system. I don't know how much someone outside of education would appreciate him, but as a teacher, he's the best!
Six cities later, we made it home safe and sound! We were really eager though to have a good ol' fashioned Mark the Trainer workout, which we got Monday night. It felt good to be back. And one of the best parts of the night.....drumroll please....Lauren is OFFICIALLY out of the 200's! So proud of all of her hard work!! She also ran the equivalent of a 5k today! What an exciting night!!! It's crazy to think that once we're under, we'll never see those numbers again because we are more determined than ever to live a healthy, active life style.
Next week we go back to work and the summer of 2017 will go in the record books, but we can't resist thinking into the future and imagining what this next year will bring us and where we will by the start of next summer! The options and possibilities are endless!!!
Travel, Travel, Travel,
Two Fit Girls
Random Picture and Video from our Adventures:
yes...we wore bikinis for the first time! |
Hammock Time |
Getting back to the mainland was bitter sweet, but Lauren and I had to get ready for our next trip! We started off on Friday morning at 3am. Lauren was a little nervous because we didn't exactly have our whole trip planned out. I had told her when we were leaving and where I thought we would go, but I didn't have solid details myself because if you don't know me by now, I kinda just go with the flow. For the most part, this worked out in our favor. Lauren being the organized one had done as much planning as she could, which included our meal prep. I cooked what felt like 1 billion boiled eggs and she cooked the chicken. Our in-car food mainly consisted of chicken, eggs, green beans, strawberries, and blue berries. Lauren is totally the mom out of both of us because she would make me wait to eat the blueberries until I had eaten the rest of my food! Not fair if you ask me! I'll take this moment to explain what a great co-pilot Lauren really is. First of all... if you didn't know, I have a crazy mind, and it thinks of a lot of things, which in a normal situation would lead to me asking questions and looking weird things up (you should see my google history 😳). Because the control freak in me likes to drive, Lauren got the brunt of my questions... which then involved looking up the questions and reading things out loud to me. Here are just a few examples: 1) "Please look up the history of Charleston." 2) "What are the gun carry laws from state to state?" 3) "Is there really a Gullah Gullah Island?" 4) "Why is it illegal to have your flashers on when it's raining, look it up!" She also had to peel all the eggs, and type out my text messages for me. So take that as a warning people, if you want to road trip with me...these are the requirements!
Our first big stop was in Savannah where we stayed with another one of my lovely aunts! We had less than 24 hours there, so we hit it hard. We walked over 13,000 steps...and that's after being in the car most of the day. I took Lauren down to River Street, and we even did a very corny ghost tour. Lauren also got to see the house that the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was based on. I surprised her with dinner at the Pink House, where I had my first WHOLE fish dish...it will go in our top 5 meals ever. We also got to meet a long lost cousin of mine who happens to work at a dueling piano bar, Savannah Smiles, and it turned out to be a song-filled good time. After getting a good night sleep, we bid our fair well and headed for VA Beach.
We made pretty good time, even with Lauren's over-active bladder! We knew staying active was super important while we were on vacation and Virginia Beach is just the place! So we got up early the next day and went to Mount Trashmore...yes you heard that right Mount Trashmore. This is a once landfill turned into park. It has a really nice fit trail that goes along the different paths. There are 3 paths, one going around the lake at 1.3 miles and the longest being somewhere around 2 miles. We choose to do the fit trail around the lake and stopped at the different stations. In between we would run of course. They were actually hosting a Sunday Funday ,5k and so we had to share our path with some other people, but we had a lot of fun. The view isn't too shabby either.
After the first day in VB we got smart and realized that my sister-in-law had a YMCA membership, and she could get us week passes. We got really excited when we realized that they had new classes that were not offered at our Y and so of course we had to try them! We tried one of their barre classes, which Lauren and I decided was not our cup of tea. I don't want to hate on anyone who does barre or likes it because it was a crazy workout, and our legs hurt for a solid couple of days. I just don't like my exercise to be slow if that makes sense? We found our favorite class ever though, which was CYCLE BOX! If you couldn't guess... this is a combo class where you are cycling part of the time, boxing with the Box Master another part of the time, and doing other floor exercises the rest of the time. It was exciting and we loved every minute of it! If you have it at your Y we definitely recommend it! We spent 4 wonderful days in Virginia Beach, and I got to visit with old friends and family that I loved seeing again! Earlier in our trip, while traveling to Virginia Beach, we passed by an exit for Charleston. Lauren mentioned that one of the books she had read took place on Sullivan's Island in Charleston and that she had always wanted to visit. I told her I had never been either...and within 10 minutes we had an Air B & B booked for Thursday night!
167 RAW |
Nick Clyburn Band |
We ended our trip by visiting our dear friend Kate in Jacksonville where we made sure we were up for the sunrise. There is nothing like a sunrise over the east coast. We had originally intended to shoot down to Orlando mid day because we had tickets to see a comedian, Eddie B, that night, but we made a fun discovery...St. Augustine was only 30 minutes south! Lauren had never been, so we decided to head down there before we ended our trip in Orlando. We got to see the St. Augustine lighthouse, had a yummy lunch at the Floridian, and walked through the old cells at Fort Castillo de San Marcos. It was also the first time we had seen rain in a week...welcome back to Florida! We made it to Orlando and enjoyed 3 hours of belly laughs with our friends from work. Eddie B., if you don't know, is a comedian who focuses on teachers and the education system. I don't know how much someone outside of education would appreciate him, but as a teacher, he's the best!
Six cities later, we made it home safe and sound! We were really eager though to have a good ol' fashioned Mark the Trainer workout, which we got Monday night. It felt good to be back. And one of the best parts of the night.....drumroll please....Lauren is OFFICIALLY out of the 200's! So proud of all of her hard work!! She also ran the equivalent of a 5k today! What an exciting night!!! It's crazy to think that once we're under, we'll never see those numbers again because we are more determined than ever to live a healthy, active life style.
Next week we go back to work and the summer of 2017 will go in the record books, but we can't resist thinking into the future and imagining what this next year will bring us and where we will by the start of next summer! The options and possibilities are endless!!!
Travel, Travel, Travel,
Two Fit Girls
Random Picture and Video from our Adventures:
Littler Gasperilla Island
Goofballs we are...
Ab Work
Ab Work
Hammock
BEST co-pilot
Put me in a car for too long...
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