I Heart the Beach

After a whirlwind week traveling to Idaho for work and back, I had a 2nd trip to take!  My dad lives just south of St. Augustine.  It had been about a year and a half since I'd seen him, so I planned a trip to get to the east coast!


Anytime I travel, I usually have a little food anxiety.  This time around, not so much!  My dad stays pretty active, so I knew if I just stayed busy walking and moving with him that I'd be fine.  Also, eating bad food is just not that exciting to me these days.  It just means a major slow-down in weight loss which is a SNOOZE.


ALSO... I had a chance to see one of my bestest friends from college, Jessica, when I was down in FL.  I spent the 1st night in steamy Florida visiting with her family and her daughter and meeting her husband!  Such an awesome visit.  It had been too LONG!

Here's Jess and I

The next morning, I drove to my Dad's place. I just had to get to the beach.  So, of course, we suited up and headed over to the beach after dinner!  BTW - We had grilled chicken, salad, and a tiny bit of couscous for dinner!  


Perfectly on plan!  There is something fabulously therapeutic about being oceanside.  Just gorgeous...

Note my footsteps on the left.  Walking close to the water, of course.

The next day, we went back to Flagler Beach for some fabulous time in the sun!  Now, I stay pretty tan in the summer, but I'm a little burn-ophobic.  So, it wasn't a HUGE day at the beach, but just the same it was enjoyable.  Lots of SPF!

Me and Dad on the beach

Dad and I also took an amazing walk on the beach this day.  Probably more than a mile all the way to the pier and back!  Woooooooo!  This helped significantly to counteract the evening meal.  We went to on a dinner cruise that night, where my food choices were quite limited.  AND, there may have been a 1/2 of piece of pecan pie!!!  Good news is that my dad was more than happy to eat the other 1/2 of the pie so that it didn't end up in my mouth!  It was also Dad and Joanne's 30th Anniversary this night! :)

Happy 30th Anniversary, Dad and Joanne!

We spent the next two days back on the beach, and even went to the beach the morning I left for Colorado.  I wish I had a picture of me sitting in one of those little squatty chairs.  That was my favorite part of the whole trip.  We set the chair down at the bottom of the beach and the waves just swooshed up and splashed me over and over again.  It was like being in the water, but being in the sun.  AND, no worries for jellyfish and whatnot - - phew!


There was a salad incident I need to confess.  My dad made a delicious Cauliflower-Lettuce Salad.  Now, Cauliflower and Lettuce.  That sounds innocent, right?  Hmmm.... Did I forget to mention that it had bacon and mayonnaise in it???  So amazing, and I couldn't stop eating it.  Since my dad has retired, he's gotten very into cooking and it's usually something decadent like this, as it should be.  I'm glad I tried it and can't really stop thinking about how yummy it was, but ,WOW, it won't be something I eat again for some time.

Final day at the Beach - Flagler Beach Pier

Overall, while I certainly love Colorado, I'd love to live somewhere where I had greater access to the beach.  It was a great trip overall... so nice to visit with my Dad!  GREAT GETAWAY - - Much needed!


Oh.... and, the scale looked friendly when I got home.  Looks like I was down 2 lbs!  Going to try to lose a few more before Monday's weigh in... I can almost see ONEderland!