Yikes, other than a mini-post a few weeks back, you folks haven’t heard from me for almost three months! I’d love to have all sorts of excuses but, sadly, I don’t have any. I guess I’m simply in retirement mode. I’m easily amused so I’m finding that I don’t have the problem of being bored that some retirees report. There’s no longing to go back to work – even after a full year off. That was one quick year.
We’re certainly getting our share of travelling in, having spent time in The Netherlands, the South of France, and as of next week, three separate trips to Palm Springs. Speaking of France, we flew to Marseilles, rented a car and drove along the south coast to cities including Cassis, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Monaco / Monte Carlo. If I have one piece of advice for anyone planning to travel to the south of France it’s that you need to get a copy of Rick Steves’ Provence and the French Riviera. The book is easy to carry in your backpack and is an incredible resource for travelers. Hotels, transportation info, places to see, restaurants, and local customs / idiosyncrasies are well laid out and very helpful. No matter where you are going Rick Steves has a great guidebook available through Amazon.
Also, if you are renting a car, GPS is a must as it removes a whole layer of complexity from your travels. Most GPS providers allow you to purchase and download destination maps which you install before you head out. My purchase of a European map for my TomTom GPS was money well spent as I used it in Holland, Germany and France. Amazon has a great selection of GPS units available.
Today we spent a nice day at the beach now that temperatures in our are have climbed substantially (32C or 90F). Hung out with the kids and had supper at the beach as well. All in all, a perfect day.
My running has been going pretty well although I’ve had to back off on the mileage a bit. I had managed to get up to 10K with some regularity but find that my right knee was clicking a bit and was a bit tender. After a few extra days rest the soreness went away and I can do a 5K without much of a problem. This morning’s 5K was good and the knee feels fine. I think I’m learning the truth of the saying – one that my brother is fond of – which states “You can’t out-train a bad diet”. I went from about 250 lbs to 220 lbs where I’ve been sitting for the past 2-3 months, in spite of a regular running regimen. I have to get serious on the diet aspect of my lifestyle. Hopefully a further reduction in weight will result in a merciful break for my knees.
My next post will be from beautiful Palm Springs California…