Whirlwind of Adventure Pt3

So it seems like all I do is go running around the country... Seems like a great life, right??? Well let me tell you, it is... 

After being home for about a week, again I was off. This time my girlfriend had some work to do in New Orleans and I got to tag along to take some pictures. While she was working I was pretty quiet, like I should be. I had the fortune to see and hear some very interesting things. Little did I know that some 5 years later the residential areas of New Orleans were still being reconstructed from hurricane Katrina. It was eye opening to see first hand what condition it was in. I got to see some of the new building practices and hear about what different groups were still doing to help. Parts of it gave me hope for humanity because there were still so many people willing to give and work for the good of people they don't even know. While smaller portions of the companies did profit from the work being done the larger parent companies are non-profit and working from donations and government aid. Here is a list of just a few but there are more... 

Project Home Again ~ http://www.projecthomeagain.net/

Make It Right ~ http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

Global Green ~ http://www.globalgreen.org/

Now it wouldn't be that great of an adventure if it was all work and no play. So we made sure while in this city to do some walking around. We hit the much talked about Bourbon Street. When we first arrived we ventured out just a little but it was a little bit too crazy for how tired I was from traveling. Later we made a good evening and night of it though. Somewhere in the middle I realized what I thought was so funny, It reminded me of the stories of old pirate ports, think Tortuga from the pirates movies. Everyone running around crazy and loud and drunk... All having a very good time... After walking and stopping by here and there we stopped by a really nice little place that had live jazz going and it was really good. We had walked by earlier and stopped outside to listen but it was too packed to find a seat. Not the case when we came back. It was a great night of fun and adventure, but like most was over too fast and in the morning we were off back towards home..

(I didn't feel any of my pictures of this trip were artistically pleasing enough so I am not posting them...)

We actually had a weekend at home and we decided we still needed to get out and adventure. If you haven't found out already it is addicting, or maybe its just me... If you have ever spent time in the south, then you know they don't seem to be too big on nature or parks or nature parks. But, in the Atlanta area there is one and its not too bad. It is Stone Mountain Park. Well I wouldn't call it a mountain by standard terms. It is a nice hike though, except for the children running rampant and the people completely lacking in outdoor etiquette. After hiking it I decided, I will from then on refer to it as "Big Ass Rock Park".... It has a random memorial in the middle of it and after you hike to the top you cross over the center and arrive at the gift shop, bathrooms, food stands, and of course the cable car that leads to the top... According to their website it has a great view of a carving in the rock, I would say it does a fine job of obscuring it for those that use the two appendages that have grown out of the lower half of their torso... A little harsh, maybe, but none the less...

From time to time I do have to work, but I find ways for even that to be an adventure. While I was out on tour one of the people I had met convinced me to look into the Spoletto Festival. I did, and it seemed like a pretty good gig. I had a little time between some regularly scheduled programs and they were willing to hire me for the time I could commit to. So again I had a few days at home and was off to Charleston, SC. I was busy enough that I didn't get out to do too much but my girlfriend came to visit for the weekend and we made it out to the beach. It was a great spot and Charleston was a great little city full of good and interesting restaurants and bars and seemed like there were often things to do and when there weren't it is right there on the ocean.

Once my time there was up, I was off to Myrtle Beach. Did I not mention before that my family decided to rent a beach house for a week??? Well they did and it was pretty sweet! Turns out we made it just in time for Bike Week! I had for a long time heard and thought Myrtle Beach would be a nice place to be. It especially is if you like mini golf, that shit is everywhere. Im pretty sure within the first half hour of being allowed into the house I was in the ocean. You just cant get me near a large amount of water and expect me not to get in it. My activities over the course of the week consisted of; playing in the ocean, drinking, long walks up and down the beach, playing cards and games with family and friends, checking out all the amazing bikes all over the place, drinking, mini golf, caught a movie, going out to bars filled with bikers, cooking, watching the moon rise over the ocean, and about anything else you could do on a great vacation... I also had some nice time to stop and reflect on life, where mine is, and how I am happy.

My hope for you is that you are happy. If you are think about why and treasure it. If you find you are not, figure out what will make you happy and go after it. If you just don't know what will make you happy, well, its time to try new things until you find what you are looking for...

Yep that is the moon rising... Next time, I will share a 2,440 mile road trip and a couple of national parks.


"Lost time is never found again."
~ Benjamin Franklin

Whirlwind of Adventure Pt2

Wow, it has been a little while since I have taken the time to write. Last I left off I was leaving DC on my way back to Michigan. In a way it will always be one of my homes, I have several of them. There is the "Home is where you hang your hat." which has been in many places for me. My personal favorite is "Home is where the heart is." which is currently far away from me. But I will probably always consider Kalamazoo a home of mine. Now, I was not born there, I didn't even grow up there, but I have a lot of friends and great memories there. Last there is my parents house which will always feel like home because I am so welcomed whenever I make it there.

Anyway, I am going to try to keep this a little brief since I have quite a bit to go over. Also, because it was a while ago now and I don't remember the details all that well. Right, Home, Michigan. Saw my parents and some other family. Being around them reminds me all the time that I am lucky, I have a great family, They are just really good people and help me remember to be a good person too. I stopped by Kalamazoo and got to see a few friends for a night. On my way out of town I had breakfast with two of my best friends (whenever possible make sure to see your best friends, it will always be fulfilling) and on our way we went. My wonderful girlfriend and I were finding out if we were right about being great road trip partners. Yes, yes we are.

We head south, our destination, Mammoth Cave National Park. After many hours of driving, we arrive well into the night, we get right to business. She starts the fire while I setup the tent and get the sleeping quarters arranged. We open some wine and relax while prepping dinner by headlamp. I don't remember everything but I know we had some great steaks and cheese stuffed peppers. It was a great night, but then the cold began setting in. I often think about what the weather will be like and many times I will research it. This time I made a slight error in judgment, I figured we were in the south so therefore it will be warm. Well..... I was wrong, I don't know where the thermometer bottomed out but i believe it was somewhere around 15-20 degrees. Being the gentleman I am I gave my girlfriend the 0 degree sleeping bag and I took the lighter one, I am also much better at staying warm, so it was just logical. Obviously I survived and in the morning we made a great breakfast of eggs and bacon over a campfire again, it is my favorite way to have them. We had to get back to Atlanta by the
end of the night so we did not have a whole lot of time for investigating the park. We drove thru and did a lot of looking around. I also had my first experience being in a car on a ferry, it was neat. On this day they were doing the basic Mammoth Cave tour for free and we arrived at a perfect time so we jumped right in. It was a really nice cave, and yes it was mammoth, but the guides were also very nice and quite informative. Afterward we were hungry again so we stopped by the cafe and had a meal, it was good but nothing amazing. We went on a short walk after, then decided we were both a little tired from crazy amounts of traveling and we wanted to be back home. So off we went... I do have to say that I hope to find time to return some day because there is a lot there to explore and it seemed like it would be a lot of fun.

Less than a week later we were off again. This time to upstate Georgia. A while ago we found a great deal on a resort. It was about 1/3 of its usual rate and sounded like a great place to get away and relax. It was nice, but I think it was really worth closer to what we paid than its usual going rate. Upsides; great food at the restaurant, its right next to a nice lake which I'm told is very pretty when the sun rises over it, there is a fun country bar just around the side of the lake, they set out
smores and have campfires in the evening, and everything is pretty clean. Downsides; almost the entire staff needs to go to charm school and be trained to do their job with the exception of one waiter, it seems rural but is right next to a moderately busy road, and it seems we were not the only ones to find this deal because the place was pretty packed and the grounds aren't really big enough for the amount of people they can occupy. We had a very nice time and went off one of the days and found a nice little Georgia Winery, had a tour and then took a bottle of wine on a nice walk of the grounds. We found a nice little spot on the far side of the pond to sit and relax and a couple local puppy dogs came by to keep us company. All told, It was a great little getaway. Then it was home again, home again.

Next time I will tell stories of New Orleans and a couple parts of South Carolina. But, that's for Whirlwind of Adventure Pt 3...

"Experience is the teacher of all things."
~Julius Caesar

Whirlwind of Adventure pt1

So if you are me and you don't have enough time to do everything you want to do, what do you do??? Well obviously you pack it all in to a smaller amount of time and give up a little sleep and maybe a touch of sanity... So lets begin this whirlwind of adventure.

Less than a week after returning home from the great smoky mountains and all the adventure there, we are off again, this time to our nations capitol, Washington, DC. I have never been and I can already tell you i would very much like to go back and spend more time there. There are a lot of things I loved about it but not the weather, it was a little cold with a large side of rain, not how I like my weather. Anyway, we arrived and went right to seeing and doing things a little stop here a little stop there and had a great lunch at Pizzeria Paradiso, it was fantastic, a lot of great beer on tap, as well as wonderful wood fired pizzas. We then took a walk down the National Mall.
I am a bit of a skeptic, but even beyond all the people all over the place and the field trips and gift shops, I could feel the history and the heritage around me. I stood in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln reading his first and second addresses on the walls, and I cannot even explain the feeling that came over me, maybe it was a longing to have true leaders like that again for our country. I also stood on the steps and looked out toward the Washington Monument (the reflecting pool was under construction...) and thought about the pictures from days before when it was filled with people protesting war or injustice or listening to people speaking. All I can really tell you is if you have never been there, and if you have any feelings toward real patriotism, you should find time to visit. No matter how many pictures you see, or even how well they are taken and the objects depicted, you cannot understand the feeling of these "objects" until you stand before them.

That night we went out with friends and had a great time. It turns out that this city also has a great night life as well...

On my second day in DC I had most of the day to myself, so once it finally stopped raining too hard and i rolled out of bed, I took off in my usual fashion... Pick a direction and start walking. There were things I intended on seeing but I wasn't going to limit myself by setting the gps on my phone and following it with my head down. I was correct in my natural direction finding and was on my way to the Capitol Building. I wandered about for quite a while making it to many of the places I wanted to see including; The Capitol Building, The Library of Congress, The National Archives, The Smithsonian. I wandered by many building that I did not even know I wanted to see...

I laughed very hard at this one because just before I was thinking it would be cool to see. I almost walked right past it because it is so plain. When you look a bit more carefully you start to notice the cameras and security surrounding it....

 I don't know what this building is but I found the vehicle sitting outside of it a little unnerving...

Here have a better look.

Yep.

I did not previously realize that The Lincoln Memorial, The Reflecting Pool, The Washington Monument, This Statue, and The Capitol Building all make an almost perfect line... The Capitol Building is slightly off center.

Speaking of which...

The front of The Library of Congress.

 The Fountain out in front of it. It struck me as a little odd and/or angry...








Including this little guy...

DC was filled with statues and memorials most of which were very beautiful.
















After my little 4 hour walk around the city I went back to take a nap and shower before dinner, which happened to be the best Italian meal of my life. It was at "Al Tiramisu".

Unfortunately this was my last day in Washington, DC. for now, but I am sure that I will have to return to see even more.

After some traveling to Baltimore I hopped on a plane headed towards Grand Rapids, Michigan. Next time I will be talking about my trip home, a couple of road trips, and a short stay in Mammoth Cave National Park.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
~George Washington

Recipe of the Week: A Tale of Two Sauces...

Recently I have made two sauces I am very happy with. I couldn't decide which one was better or which I wanted to talk about more, so I decided both. Instead of focusing on the whole meal I will just talk about the sauces I created for the meal.

First up; Curry Sauce

I created this curry for a beef dish. Having never made curry before I did a good bit of research first even though I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do anyway. After looking at recipe after recipe I decided to just wing it how I wanted to anyway. Last, a lot of the "quick" curry recipes I found were based in mayonnaise, gross.

Anyway on to my curry, I like food to have a bit of spice but not be overly hot, I just don't enjoy it. I went with mild curry powder, but if you like it hot use medium or even hot curry powder.

Ingredients;
1 can coconut milk (1 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tsp. yellow Indian mustard
1 tsp. salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon (no I don't have a real measurement)
2 Tbsp. minced onion (ish)
1 large clove of garlic (minced)
1 Medium splash of good white wine

In a small/medium pot bring the coconut milk to a slight boil. Add all ingredients. Stir until blended evenly. Bring back to a slight boil, Then turn down heat and let it sit for 20 minutes stirring every few minutes. It is fairly quick and simple, also quite delicious. I found it has a great initial flavor and just a little bit of heat that slowly creeps up.

Sauce #2; Sweet and Spicy Barbecue

Like many people I love barbecue. Today I decided I was going to make my own barbecue sauce. I have helped friends make their own sauce before. Again I did a bit of research before jumping right in but again I just could not find one I liked. I did find one that i really did not like which was equal parts ketchup and Pepsi, I understand why this would work but it just sems wrong to me. Very, very wrong. Jump right in I go...

Ingredients;

2 cups ketchup (use plain ketchup with as few additives as possible)
1 cup brown sugar
5 tbsp. white vinegar (I think next time I will try white wine in place of this)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. papper
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
2/3 tsp. cayenne pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon squeezed

Mix all ingredients into a small pot, stir and heat to a slight boil. Turn down heat and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.

I created this for use on several chicken drumsticks so it is quite a bit of sauce... You might want to cut all ingredients in half if just making a couple of chicken breasts or smaller meals. But, I found it to be a tasty and sweet sauce with just a little bit of heat.


"What I've enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn - I love it!"
~Jamie Oliver

Smokey Mountain adventures...

This past weekend I was traveling from Georgia to Tennessee. What a better way to get there than to go thru the Great Smokey Mountain National Park? Given that we had a few hours during the first day free, and a few hours on the second day as well, it became my responsibility to plan how we were spending that time. When planning trips there are several factors you should keep in mind; obviously travel time, to wherever you are going. Also the time the hike itself will take. I use this as my general base, the avg person hikes 3mph on a hike that is considered strenuous or moderate I knock that down to 2mph. Now, in this planning you have to also be careful because if you are prone to stopping for a lot of pictures (like I can be) that will really slow your pace down, and unless you plan on getting to your destination then turning right around you might want to add some time there too.
I figured we had about 2 hours of hiking so I picked a nice easy 1.7 mile hike that would take to a waterfall. It gave use a great opportunity to take lots of pictures, enjoy our walk and stop for a while at the falls.
We arrived earlier than expected which was great! It meant we had even more time than planned. We found our first cascade with no problem, it was right on the main trail.
We also found our target waterfall in a great amount of time
























We decided that since we still had so much time we would wander a bit farther. We wandered over bridges and thru the woods... eventually we decided that the trail we were following obviously went in this direction over here... Well "A" trail did but it was not "our" trail... it was however a great uphill hike that wore me out and made me very hungry.
I probably should have know better when most of the trail looked like this... (Pictured left)
But eventually we gave up and doubled back, we had been having second thoughts for a while and the turning point for us was finding a small graveyard in the middle of the trail (not pictured, it felt disrespectful to take a picture of these graves)
Instead we headed back and found a great little place for the lunch M had packed for us. I dubbed it "lunch rock". The view from it is pictured below.














After lunch it was time to head out, I do have to say this driving thru the Great Smokey Mountains is beautiful. But for the rest of the day there was work to be done. More adventures tomorrow...

And its tomorrow.... That went a lot faster for you than it did for me, but you missed out on a fun night of drinking too. Sorry.




I spent part of the next day sitting on a bench doing some writing and thinking and this little guy came up to say "HI"





We head back into the park and decide to grab a paper map from the visitor site (I had downloaded the pdf maps to my I-pad which was great for driving) then we realize where our trailhead is and we head back out of the park and thru town and right by our hotel... then we find our trailhead, now on this day there is a massive storm cell moving across the mid southern states, not the tornado one but it didn't look too pleasant. What do we do about it you ask??? Nothing, its a giant storm what can we do except go hiking... So we did, and a great hike it was. For anyone headed that way check out "rainbow falls".

I could tell you all of the details but really there are just too many to mention on this trail, the whole thing was beautiful. I will give you a few of the pictures though.

 Multiple waterfalls.

 There we some great tiny bridges. 

 Lots of hiking by streams but no hiking in them.

I will also mention that on the way up the trail was clear, and on the way back a tree had fallen crossing the path. No, we didn't hear it... To close I will say, it didn't storm on us not even a little...


"No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause."
~Theodore Roosevelt

Flowers are people too...

A few days ago I had the opportunity to go to the Atlanta botanical gardens. I thought it would be a great places to take a nice walk get some fresh air and take lovely pictures. I don't have much to say about the gardens themselves, they are very nice but this post is mostly about the pictures.

In the edible garden and outdoor kitchen they grew all kinds of herbs and spices as well as tomatoes and other such things. the sample they gave us was delicious...

The have a beautiful orchid garden!

They also have a very lovely simulated rain forest room, complete with weird live birds, thick humidity and poisonous frogs... the frogs are the only ones I didn't get a picture of...

Overall it was a great little day trip and if there is a botanical garden near you i encourage you to go visit. Who knows it might also have a beautiful view of the city you live in...

"Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts."

~ Sigmund Freud

Recipe of the Week!

I am going to start posting weekly recipes. We will see how well I actually do with this. Not because I don't like cooking (I love cooking) but more because I am not great at adhering to my own schedule in this respect...

None the less, here we go. I figured it would be best and most fitting to start with breakfast. It is easily my favorite meal, and also the one that I enjoy cooking the most.

This is a version of the "Sweet Potato Scramble" that I so enjoy making and eating.

Ingredients; Serves 2
~ 1/2 Large Sweet Potato (Shredded)
~ 4 eggs
~ 2 Small handfuls of fresh spinach (sliced)
~ 8oz Black Beans
~ About 3oz Chopped Onion
~ 2 Slices Bread of choice
~ Butter
~ Salsa
~ Low Fat Sour Cream

In a separate pan or small pot heat the black beans on low heat. in a large frying pan, on medium heat, put a small bit of butter or olive oil depending on your taste. Begin Cooking the sweet potato hash. You will find when shredding the potato there is a good bit of water held up inside of it. (this was a surprise to me the first time) Cook On medium heat until mostly done, takes several minutes.
While Cooking the potato, whip the 4 eggs into a separate bowl.
Next put the onion in with the sweet potato. I do this because I find if you cook the onion too long it loses all of its flavor but I want it to soften and mix its flavor among the potato. This is also where I would add a bit of mushroom or chopped peppers as well, but my fridge did not have those this morning.
Toast the Bread, today I chose a simple whole wheat bread, but looking back on it, the texture of a multi-grain bread would have been wonderful and a bit healthier or I will often replace the bread with a tortilla shell.
Now that the potato and onion are cooked take the bowl of egg and pour into the pan, cook just as you would scrambled eggs.
Everything is prepared now just put it together...
First the bread makes a stable base for your plate, I chose to butter mine but this is not necessary.. Then, lay down a bed of the fresh sliced spinach, the black beans, and top it off with your sweet potato scramble. add a little salt and pepper to taste or even a little hot sauce goes wonderfully, but don't over do it there are a lot of wonderful flavors in here and it would be such a waste to drown them all out with too much hot sauce. Add a small serving of the salsa and sour cream on the side. Last, I enjoy a glass of juice with my breakfast but it is equally good with water or your morning coffee...

I hope you find, as I do, the wonderful mixtures of both flavors and textures inside this meal, while also being hearty enough to carry you well into your day..

Enjoy!

If you have suggestions or recipes of your own feel free to email them to me at WanderlustTrail@gmail.com

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. "
~Benjamin Franklin
 

Rich-What!?! Richmond!

I love that movie. But this is something else, kind of...

On a chilly March night, I finished a show.
I was looking for beer, and a place to go.
There was a nice spot, just across the way,
I thought to myself, what a lucky day!
I walked inside, the whole place was packed,
Sat down at the bar, boy was it stacked.
I looked around, it all made sense.
Their team was playing, it was intense.
Anticipation filled the room,
It could be their doom.
The Buzzer cried out,
They all began to shout!!!

So as part of my job I spent 2 days in Richmond, Virginia. I have a friend who is from there and she assures me that it is a great place. I haven't visited very much of it... Anyway, after work I went across from my hotel to grab a drink and some food. Earlier in the day I had noticed the theatre we were playing was on the campus of VCU. Since I have been following March Madness this year I also knew that VCU was still in the tournament. There were a few things I didn't know. VCU is apparently not know for being an athletic university as much as liberal arts. So, when they make it to tournaments its a pretty big deal for them. But then this school has NEVER made it past the level of the tournament they were playing tonight. It was great to see people rally and get together for something positive that they support and believe in. So yes they were excited thru the whole game and yes that energy is contagious. By the end of the game I was finding myself yelling and rooting for their team too. When the game ended and VCU won there was a deafening roar of cheers and happiness, you could really feel the volume all around you. It was a very fun time and a great moment to share with all those people and that town while I was there.

"I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match."
~Mia Hamm

Sometimes life is a day at the beach.

This past weekend I had a fortunate day off in Hilton Head Island, SC. I had never been there before and actually had never even head of it but it was quite a lovely
place. And I had some wonderful company with me there that knew of some places to go and things to do.
In you adventures there are few things more important than carefully choosing who you are with. First think about your physical level versus theirs because what is challenging for you may be really easy for them and you wont really share the same experiences but that can be ok, especially if you acknowledge it before you begin. What I find to be most important is to have similar personalities, that way you will have much you can talk about or all be ok not talking much at all. But if you are looking for a nice quiet hike and you decide to bring someone you know is a chatterbox, well you might spend a lot of time annoyed with them instead of enjoying the lovely walk you are on. The last thing I will say on this is also have an idea of who would be the best person to be in charge for the group(It might not be you...) this isint always necessary, if say, you have a group of strong outdoors people who do fine on their own. But if you have some inexperienced people or people who dont like that sort of adventure, someone should look out for them. Also if things do start going wrong someone will need to make choices for the group. Now I'm not saying that the "head" or "leader" should be telling people what to do all the time or really any of the time, but just have an idea so IF people need someone to turn to it is not a surprise to anyone.

Back to the beach though.

On this day it was what many people would call "too cold for the beach" but I come from the north and it was above freezing, so a good start there. now it was also windy. I love the wind though. We walked out onto the beach and the sand was very flat and wet with almost no footprints in it, the wind was bring sand whipping across it, and it very much reminded me of drifting snow, except a bit warmer and more abrasive. It was very pretty though. Lets clear something up right now.. I love water, I always have. Any time i spend in it I consider time well spent. So of course I had to head down to it and stick my feet in. It actually wasn't as cold as I had expected. As we ventured into the water we watched the brave people out doing water sports start to come in, I guess the wind had reached the point where you couldn't really control what was going on anymore. it did remind me how much i want to try these sports though, surfing and wind surfing even wake boarding which i think I have tried before though I was not very good at it. After a few more minutes we decided to head back to the nice little bar on the beach, we had a couple drink and watched the game on tv as well as the ocean. Eventually we got in the car and headed off to another part of the island, walked for a bit and again found a bar had a couple drink and watched part of a different game. So far a lovely day. Soon it started to get cold and we began looking for a place where we could do these activities inside or at least somewhere a bit warmer. After a little search we found a nice sports bar and settled in for a little while. Had a few more drinks and watched several games. This brings me to a topic I wanted to talk about, patience...
While at the bar we were the only two at the outdoor bar and the gentleman working behind it was closing up, most people wanted to be inside. We decided that it was still nice enough out and they had large heaters blowing onto us so we stayed out. he closed up all but what we were having and was more than happy to get us whatever we needed from the inside bar. when the first game we were watching came to a close we asked if he could change it to another station, he put up a pathetic amount of effort. Now some people might get annoyed and some people did.. But not I, then I was asked how I have so much patience. If you don't know me personally, I do have a very large amount of patience with people and things. I began thinking about how I became the way that I am in this regard. I have come to this conclusion, patience is a skill. It is something you have to work at getting better at. You can practice it and people will give you chances all the time to do so. You should look at the situation and ask yourself a couple of questions. Is this worth the effort and energy of getting upset? Could this situation/person get worse? If so, is my getting upset going to help anything? "We" stayed calm and asked him politely again to try and he went inside and asked someone else then came back and set it up just like we had asked him to. It worked out very well and he was still very nice to us afterwards... If you are making someone else feel bad to make yourself feel better, whether you are justified or not, then you are a bully and bad karma will be coming your way...

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Walt Disney

Is your body a temple?

No, mine is not. It is much more like an amusement park filled with cotton candy, deep fried everything and of course cinnamon roasted almonds.
I have found that I enjoy being outside much more when I am in shape and when that shape is not round. Hiking mountains becomes easier when you weigh less and your balance becomes better. I am far from an expert on healthy living but I do have some ideas on the subject.
First is nutrition, I'm not going to go on and on about what you should and shouldn't eat, that would be very hypocritical of me. I will say that when you keep a healthy balanced diet you feel better and have more energy, you can hike farther longer.
One thing I do know a bit about is caffeine. I have been on both sides I have worked crazy hours and depended on it to "survive" and in some ways this was true. When I wasn't able to get even a reasonable amount of sleep I drank it to get me going faster in the morning, and then had more of it to keep me from crashing in the middle of the day, then of course I needed more to keep me going well into the night. Then there was trying to sleep that night. For a long time I told myself I slept just fine, but I didn't. It reached a point where I finally realized I had made myself dependent on caffeine, I became more acclimated to low sleep. Then one day I decided that I needed to take control back. Just like any addiction I took steps to break free of it. I made a plan gave myself a timeline and prepared myself mentally for what I was about to undertake. First I limited my intake to specific amounts at certain times like having soda with meals but not in between, then removed it from my evening all together, then eliminated it completely. What I found was I slept much better. When I woke up I was alert and functioning much quicker than  before. Thru the day I didn't run into any midday crash. The only down side was I had developed a serious sleep schedule, when my bed time arrived I became very tired very quickly. Which is only a problem if I wanted to say, stay up late to have fun with friends. This was a couple of years ago and I do drink caffeine again but not nearly as much as I had. I am also not nearly as dependent on it as I was. Even with the crazy schedule I keep now I have gone days without caffeine. Now, I am not condemning your morning coffee or a nice cup after dinner. I bring this up because out hiking in the wild having a dependence like that can ruin your trip. All addictions have physical withdrawals, I know many people addicted to caffeine that get headaches if not consumed daily. Also carrying around all that extra gear, whether it's the coffee maker or a few cans of energy drinks, they start adding up in weight and taking up valuable space. I do enjoy a cup of campfire coffee on a cold morning as much as anyone else, just think about how much it is worth to you.
The second thing I would like to talk about is smoking. Again, something I know about first hand. I am a smoker and yet enjoy physical activity. Many of the same reasons that I brought up about caffeine addiction, I also apply to cigarettes. They take up space and add extra weight not to mention the part where they fill you lungs with tar and chemicals, cutting down your lung capacity and therefore slowing you down. Oh, and there is that bit about lung cancer as well. It is an addiction that I have yet to be able to break free from, but I will keep making new plans and keep fighting to be free of it., i will always give it a look
Last up is exercise. Again I am not an expert, I might barely be informed even. But I do know that when you are not in good physical condition you are limiting the adventures you SHOULD undertake. I am a deep end of the pool kind of person, when there I something I want I dive right in after it. Funny, that very recently I jumped into the deep end of a pool without checking the water in the slightest first. I imagined it migh be a little chilly but it turned out to be quite cold. It happens sometimes. Anyway, I usually start exercise routines in the same way, by picking a moderate to strenuous hike without first preparing my body. This usually ends with me having a few days worth of aches, pains, and very sore muscles. A better way to do things would be to create and maintain a level of exercise that will allow you to do the adventures you want without the drawback of being out of commission for days after.
I always like information and if you have any on any of these subjects that you would like to share please pass is along I will always give it a look.
Here is a blog that belongs to a good friend of mine that knows way more on these topics than i do and i read it often. http://thishealthygirl.blogspot.com/

"To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear."

~Buddha

Life as I currently know it.

For the past few months I have been employed by a company producing a theatrical national tour. There are some great things about this job. I get to travel all over the United States and some of Canada, the down side is I often dont get to spend as much time as I would like in some places and sometimes I have only enough time for a short walk. But, there are other times I have a day or two to explore areas and it has taken me to some places I might not have otherwise been to.
I live and travel on a sleeper bus, often we will get hotel rooms and that is always nice, but a good portion of the time you sleep at night in your small bunk while flying down the highway. You grow accoustomed to the bus and I have in fact become very fond of it, and you get used to the sleeping quarters. The one thing that gets to me the most is that this bus is enviromental destruction on wheels. We drive all over the place consuming ridiculous amounts of gas, many of our meals are prepackaged microwavable things, which not only lack in nutritional value there is so much waste in the packaging. Generally we use plastic silverware, paper plates and bowls, go thru roll after roll of paper towel. I would like to think, and I tell myself I am just a victim of my situation. We dont have much of a sink and our water is fairly limited so things like cleaning dishes are difficult. Again this is an excuse. If I would just put in a little more effort I'm sure I could reduce this waste dramatically. Reducing waste is something I find myself thinking about fairly often, about as often as I think about things like we should all spend more time shopping at local farmers markets. They not only cause less waste but also promote small and local business which is what this country was founded on. I challenge everyone to take a look at the waste output of their daily lives and see if they could reduce it by even a little? How much extra work would that be?
The upside of my life is of course the travel I have been to many states and several provinces in Canada not to mention numerous cities. I have met many wonderful intelligent people and many people who do not live up to those descriptions... I did travel to some places on my travel checklist for life, Mount Rushmore and San Diego are two of them. I came close to Vancouver, just close enough to know for sure I need to visit. I spent a few day in Las Vegas, I forget every time I go there just how filthy of a place it is and I don't just mean the greed and sin and scum everywhere but also the trash and dirt and smell. This brings me to what I find to be a funny irony of my feelings versus my work, light pollution. Yes it is a real thing. It has endangered nocturnal species and also ruins the night sky in many places.
I am pretty sure there are enough places I want to visit and see and experience to fill multiple lifetimes. So I guess I better keep moving.

"you never know where life will take you unless you are willing to go."

Beginnings

  All things must have a beginning and this one starts here. This is not the origin of my adventuring, just another fork in the road of life. I love to travel and I also love adventure. While i find these two things often go together I also know you can have one without the other. I have had many travels that have severely lacked in adventure. I have also found many adventures without traveling much at all.
  You can find adventure simply by walking out your door. its out there and pretty easy to find if you know what you are looking for. There are also several types of adventures, for the most part I will dedicate this to my two favorites; the outdoors and food. I know there is amazing food in "the city", I have had it, and yes the food is good but I dont just go for the food, I go for the experience. If you don't know what I mean then I think you really need to spend the day hiking in Zion National Park, followed by a meal at Oscars Cafe. Their southwest black bean burger with a side of sweet potato fries washed down with an ice cold beer, I swear is still one of the best meals of my entire life. What I like to think about is "Would that meal have been nearly as good had I not been hiking all day?" No one really knows but I believe, no, it wouldn't have.
  As for the outdoors, I find i like basically all of it. I also believe nature is not something experienced with only your eyes. You should use all of your senses; take a walk into a forest, sit down, close your eyes and listen to everything around you. Step into a meadow and take a deep breath and savor the aroma of spring flowers in bloom.  Feel hot sand between your toes as you walk down the beach. And of course, taste the flavor of truly fresh fruits and vegetables.
  In the future i will bring you rales of wonderous trips from here to there but until then why not take the time to have your own?

"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do."
~John Muir