The last two days of the trip, we didn’t have wifi, so I couldn’t blog. We spent one night with my husband’s cousin in New Orleans and one night with a good friend in Houston. We got back home today, and I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

All of the people we visited are more aware of healthy eating and exercise than average. Though they don’t follow the BTD, they all had plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. No one served a lot of dessert, which suited us just fine. We did a lot of walking on this trip. When I walk on a vacation, I always have my cameras with me, which means I have 6-8 pounds on my back. However, I missed the intense exercise I get when I am at home.

We had several long days of driving. My husband and I take turns behind the wheel. When it’s his turn to drive, I read or sleep. When it’s my turn to drive, I do isometric exercises. It makes the time go faster, and keeps me from getting stiff in the car. I start by squeezing my quads for five minutes. Then I do shoulder shrugs for five minutes. I alternate lower body, upper body isolating one muscle group at a time.

I read a book one time about a lady who had been very ill. She was confined to her bed for a long period of time, and worried about whether she would ever regain her strength. She began to observe her cat, and realized that cats never do aerobic exercise. In fact, cats appear to be downright lazy, yet they have excellent muscle tone. The lady noticed that her cat slept for a while, then did a series of stretches, then curled up for another nap. She began to stretch with her cat. You’ve already guessed the happy ending. The more she stretched, the stronger she became. One day she could get out of bed, and before long, she was walking and resuming normal activity.

While I drive I think about that cat. I squeeze and stretch my muscles. I’m serious about this. I work hard enough to get warm, and I turn all the air conditioner vents my direction. Still, I miss intense exercise.

I got everything unpacked as quickly as I could and went to the fitness center this afternoon. Hurrah, the elliptical trainer was repaired while we were gone. I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 25 minutes of weights. Walking is good; stretching is good; but this was real exercise. Running is definitely on the agenda for tomorrow.