As I mentioned before, one of my best friends, Kara, surprised me with a weekend trip to see her. She lives in Boston, so our visits usually revolve around her coming to Dallas/Austin for family visits or weddings. I haven't been up to see her since she and Mike got married a couple of years ago. Kara said that she wanted to put together her version of a "Boot Camp" as her way of further supporting my weight loss efforts. This was SUPER nice of her!!!
So, I flew after work on Thursday, 11/20. First a little air travel sidebar... this new thing with the airlines charging for checked baggage stinks. They have created their own problems by forcing everyone to carry-on their bags to save money. It was AWFUL. I was yelled at by a flight attendant because apparently I was trying to take on 3 pieces when the allowance was 2. I had 2 bags and a purse... my purse was considered a 3rd item!! They made me check my bag at the gate and after they took my bag they told me that I would have to get it at baggage claim (not my arrival gate) and that they "couldn't guarantee" that it actually be on my flight!!! Then once I was on the plane there was NO room for all the bags because people are trying to pack for long trips in their carry-ons. Flight attendants are getting mad at passengers... passengers are getting mad at passengers. And ifyou boarded in any "Group" past 1 or 2... good luck finding any overhead space within 10 rows of your seat. Then it took FOREVER for us to deplane when we arrived because eveyone has to locate their bags and squeeze out of the plane with them (great for thos etight connection times!). It was AWFUL!! And this wasn't even a holiday weekend!! I paid the stupid $15 to check one of my bags on my trip back and I am SO glad I did... it stinks to have to pay that, but I highly recommend it!!
So, back to my trip...
I arrived after midnight on Thursday, but we stayed up for a while visiting. I also got a tour of their remodeled home... it is beautiful!! Very comfortable with a modern look to it. Friday morning we got up and hit the gym. We went to a Body Pump class. Now Kara picked this class specifically for me... why? Because she knows I hate it. :o) She wanted me to do the class with her so that she could see why I hated it and to check my form. Sure enough, I was doing some things wrong that she took note of. It was a good class and, I admit, that having Kara there made me push harder and add a little more weight than I would normally. This is something I paid for the next day... much to Kara's delight!
After class, we drove for a couple of house to their condo in Thornton, New Hampshire. Along the way, we eat a super healthy lunch packed by Kara. It was nice to have some time on the road- we were able to catch up on life and rest after class a bit. Once we arrived at the condo and got the car unloaded, we dressed in layers to hit the great outdoors. It was MUCH colder than in Texas, so I had come somewhat prepared. I had long johns, a coat, hat and gloves. Upon inspection by Kara it was decided that my outer wear was Texas-worthy but not New England-worthy. I was loaned a ski jacket, gloves, hiking boots and a hat to use. Little did we know that I had packed red track pants for that day, so I ended up being an embarrassing blinding vision in red!!! If there had been hunters out in the woods that day- we would have been safe... no mistaking me for a deer!
My tour guide, Kara.
Some of the frozen ground (it got heavier the higher we went up).
We did a nice hike that was literally in the back yard of their condo!! I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up with Kara and adjusting to the cold. However, I did pretty well. It was tough as a non-experienced hiker to trust my footing. So, I spent a lot of time with my head down watching the ground. The ground was a mix of leaves, sticks and ice. Some water had frozen over as well, but it was hard to tell what could be weight bearing. At the end we reached an awesome waterfall. (My pictures didn't come out that great- so I wait for Kara to post some.) Once we were back down, it was a great feeling of accomplishment.
The town that their condo is in a small town surrounded by mountains. We were there just before the beginning of ski season, so it was very quiet. The community of condos that is home to Kara and Mike's place was a ghost town... most of them are "part-time" residents for the ski season and the beautiful summers. It is a cute little town that is primarily residential with a few retail shops, restaurants and bars. There was one store that I loved!! It was an organic grocery store with a small food service area and retail area. We found some YUMMY hummus and some other treats there. Plus, Starbucks!!!
Part of the group of condos Kara and Mike's place is in (view from one of their windows).
View from the back porch.
After our hike and a hot shower, we headed into town for dinner. We went to a local place called Sunset Grille and it was really good. We were pretty tired (and sore) so we headed back to the condo to relax. We watched some HGTV while enjoying some hot tea and then went to bed early.
It had been an eventful and exhausting day... but there was SO much more to come the next day. A certain weather phenomenon known as snow was heading our way...
1 comment:
oh yay!! Keep the stories coming!! Sounds like a great first day ... such a good start to your trip :)
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