Easy Sunday

As great as Thanksgiving week was in Colorado and Utah, it is nice to be back in Tucson's warm weather (77 today); admittedly, I've become quite wimpy regarding cold weather:)

Worked out at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Center (TRFC) today (Sunday); running and circuit training, followed by lap swimming. After a dip in the jacuzzi, a bit of sunbathing near the pool, and a shower, I'm enjoying lunch at the club's bar while writing this blog; am I spoiled or what?

Lunch is pasta primavera and green tea; kitchen for the bar and grill (upstairs) and restaurant (downstairs) is the same and very good. The pasta primavera included crisp broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with a light butter sauce and cheese over pasta; bread on the side.

On the way home I stopped at Trader Joes to grocery shop and treated myself to one of their dark chocolate bars; feeling guilty but will get over it:)

SLC

Spent a peaceful couple of days in Salt Lake City with friends (Keegan and Jennifer and their families). The weather was perfect (no snow:), the Grand America hotel was luxurious, and the company delightful. Since I didn't have to cook, this T-day was a true holiday for me; thanks Keegan and Jennifer!

Walked around SLC this morning.  I really enjoy this town; it is diverse and inviting but doesn't come with the stress of a big city. The taxi driver who took me from the airport to my hotel was an Iraqi who has been in the States for 31 years. The hotel courtesy driver is a young, recently married Pakastani who has been here less than 2 years. One of the few benefits of traveling as much as I used to was chatting with taxi drivers from around the world:)

Found yet another good meditation book (always learning:) at Eborn Books, a quiet, used and rare book store on S. Main; read a bit over a cup of Jasmine Green Tea at the Coffee Garden, a low key coffee shop which shares an entrance with the book store.

Friday night we walked around the Temple area looking at Christmas lights; beautiful but I couldn't help thinking about their electric bill:) It was a delightful walk in unseasonably warm (57 degrees!) weather; great way to spend the evening!

Southwest view from my hotel room on the 24th floor.

Beautiful table setting awaiting the feast!

Jennifer's mouth-watering pumpkin bread pudding dessert - delicious!

Bikes for rent ($5/day) downtown.

SLC says put your spare change in here...

...instead of giving to panhandlers.

Found a well written book on meditation techniques at Elborn - a used and rare book street on Main. Highly recommend this book store. An added benefit is the low-key coffee shop (Coffee Garden) next door.

My hotel (Grand America), formerly owned by Earl Holding; prior to his death last year, Mr. Holding's other assets included Sinclair Oil, Little America, Westgate Hotel in San Diego, and two ski resorts - Sun Valley in ID and Snowbasin in UT.

Some of the many Christmas lights downtown.

Me and Keegan (Keegan is the tall, good looking guy on the right:)

DIA

Sitting in DIA waiting for my flight to SLC. Wonderful dinner with my daughter last night at The Fort in Morrison, CO. She is hosting 12 friends for T-day and is understandably stressed; funny how holidays intended for joy can cause so much pain.

While in Denver yesterday I was able to get an ear drop prescription for swimmers ear; haven't been in the pool since Saturday but since my ear is feeling better, I hope to get a few laps in today before the big meal.

Thanksgiving

Flying to Denver Monday to take care of business and see my daughter then on to Salt Lake for a couple of days; will not be bringing my computer so don't expect to blog.
Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Swim Speed

Most lap pools have clocks. I took advantage of the clock at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club to time myself. It feels like I swim really slow and the clock confirmed it:) My time for 50 yards is 1 minute; however, when I put my training fins on and barely kicking, my time for 50 yards reduced to 45 seconds. It is amazing how fast I seem to be traveling when I put the flippers on; its almost hard to catch a breadth when I swim fast:)

Body Condioning

Took another body conditioning class today at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club. Different instructor than Monday; good mix of lower and upper body workout that made me sweat a little. Worked out with weights (strengthening bones:) afterwards and then swam 10 laps. I've noticed the last two times swimming that when I swim with my training flippers after swimming 10 or so laps without, my freestyle stroke feels very fast; like I'm just skimming the water surface. Hopefully, this means my stroke is improving:)

Hike and Swim

Hiked with the Voyager hiking club today; 5 hour hike up Bear Canyon outside of Tucson. Slow pace so I'm guessing at RT in and out distance of 6 miles. Felt my leg muscles from yesterday's body conditioning class:) Since it was a short hike, I went for a brief (14 laps) swim afterwards.

Got down to around 40 degrees last night but warmed up to around 70 with clear skies; could get used to these Tucson winters:)

New Class at Fitness Club

The Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club has dozens of fitness classes; since joining last week, I've taken Tai Chi, Yoga, and today I tried Body Conditioning (BC). I was a bit nervous walking into a new class I knew nothing about; could I do it? would it be too hard or high impact?

Turns out this is a very popular class and (other students told me at the beginning) the instructor (Heather) is the toughest of those who teach it; her class is 75 minutes compared to the 45 minute class taught by others. I had no idea what the class was about but luckily met Heather at the beginning of the class; she was encouraging and helpful explaining the equipment I needed to get started - 3 colored (different resistance) resistance bands, two sets of dumbbell weights, and a mat.

The class was crowded - about 25 people (all women except for one other guy who came late). Heather is one of those 20-something fit women with 0% body fat so I knew it would be challenging:) It is basically a fast-paced, 75 minute workout (including time to warm up and stretching at the end) that is low-impact (thank goodness!) and that works the upper and lower body pretty evenly. I was concerned with the weights because I developed a bad case of bursitis 2 years ago in my right arm that has never healed; as a result I can no longer do bicep or forearm curls with much weight. So, I chose light weights (3 pounds and 8 pounds). Glad I did! I may increase the weight after becoming familiar with all the different exercises.

After the BC class I took a shower and worked on my swimming for awhile.

Swimming strokes

Mark (the swim instructor I met with last Saturday) suggested I do the breast stroke between freestyle laps as a way for my body to recover; thus allowing me to swim longer distances. I'd told him that I tired easily (after 2 laps - 50 yards). Seems like a great idea but I must be doing the breast stroke incorrectly because it is almost as exhausting as my freestyle stroke; hope to get another lesson with Mark next Saturday.

Since I only started swimming about a month ago, my quick fatigue may also be due to the number of strokes per breadth (plus the fact that I'm not in swim condition:). As a new swimmer, I watched videos, read online articles, and talked to coaches to determine the number of strokes per breadth and which side to breathe out of. Based on this research, I take breadths every 3rd stroke from alternating sides; however, I always feel short of breadth - even at the beginning of a lap. Maybe I need to take breadths every 2 strokes? It could also be that I'm just a bit anxious in the water. After moving off the farm at age 10 or 11, I played in the community pool, creeks, and ponds during summers. I could float, tread water, and "swim" short distances; however, without swim lessons, I never learned the proper strokes and most of my time in the water was just playing around - not swimming. As a result, I'm speculating, that my lack of swimming experience might cause me to be a bit tense in the water.

Hopefully, Mark will help me work this out. I was thinking today that if I swim every day for a year, it might help me to feel more comfortable in the water; good to have goals:) Swimming 1 mile freestyle without stopping seems like a fantasy at this point but...

Swimming Again

Been taking advantage of the two lap pools at my new health club (Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club). Today a swim lesson with Mark at the club; pleasantly surprised to learn that my freestyle stroke "looks good" and didn't need correction. My last instructor (Bay Area) essentially said the same thing but good to get a second opinion:)

The problem, I learned today, is that when I get tired, my head starts to pull up when I take a breadth; and I get tired easily. To mitigate this, Mark suggested I work breast strokes into my workout regime to allow my body to recover from the more strenuous freestyle stroke. While this now seems like a simple suggestion, its something I never would have thought of (I used to just rest between freestyle laps); one of the many benefits of having a trained instructor.

Mark teaches swimming at a local high school as well as at the club; he was laid back and I could tell he'd helped many people like me. He also told me that  my exercise regime of spinning, running, and other activities, will not condition me for swimming; that's why it is not unusual for me to feel tired after swimming just a couple of laps. Mark said only swimming will condition me for swimming, which makes sense, and although I'd heard it before, I think I chose to ignore it because swimming has always been more difficult for me than other cardio exercise:)

I told Mark today, and will announce here, that my goal is to swim a mile by the spring 2015; figure the more people I tell, the more likely I'll work hard enough to attain this goal:) It seems unattainable now but all it really takes is perseverance. I haven't tried to swim a maximum distance yet but know from experience that I'm breathing hard after swimming 50 yards so I'm using this distance as my starting metric; only 1,710 yards to go:)

Book Review - Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

I’m enjoying rereading some of the classics like Sons and Lovers; whether it is age or my new lifestyle, I comprehend and appreciate these novels more the second (or third) time. D.H. Lawrence is an amazing writer; hard not to feel emotion when reading his books. 

Interestingly, although the book is about love, this time around I noticed how often he uses the word “hate” (e.g., he hated her for it, she hated him, etc.). Wasn’t able to figure out how or whether my Kindle could count the number of times a particular word is used but it was in the hundreds. My take home from this novel is how self-centered we as humans are and how we view what other people do through our distorted filters. The book was a good reminder for me - everyone has their internal demons; when these demons speak or act out, it is often a reflection of the speaker's ego and shouldn't be taken personally by others. Easy to say, harder to do:)

New Health Club

I switched health clubs from LAfitness to the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club (TRFC). Although further away, TRFC has two lap pools and more opportunity to socialize. To date I've participated in Tai Chi and Yoga classes and am pleased with the instructors; looking forward to trying lots more classes:) The number of fitness machines and size of the gym is larger at LAfitness but the vibe seems more positive and opportunities for socialization greater at TRFC.

1 of 2 lap pools

Entrance

2nd lap pool

Pain is Everywhere

Over the years, and especially traveling the past 7 months through 8 states, I've visited a lot of different health clubs, from national brands to local community recreation centers. One constant, I've concluded, is that an awful lot of people are in pain. I don't mean physical pain, although in some cases it may be related, but psychological pain.

The symptoms, in my opinion, can include unwillingness to make eye contact, severe/serious facial expressions, artificial posture, and generally closing out the rest of the world. To be clear, I'm not criticizing others; a younger me exhibited these same symptoms. Moreover, these symptoms are not restricted to when people health clubs; it just strikes me that they are so evident in that environment. Maybe this is because people are insecure about how they look or think they look great and want people to know it.

Maybe its just that I'm getting older and can now see the pain in others that I used (and sometimes still do) to sometimes feel; frankly, I think all humans exhibit some of these symptoms from time to time. Whether it results from just having a bad day, general insecurity, heightened anxiety, a feeling that one has been wronged, or that the world is not fair; all of these can cause pain. I really noticed this in Bakersfield at the local health club chain but am convinced it is everywhere; not sure I ever saw anyone smile (in the health club or elsewhere) in Bakersfield. Now in Tucson, I joined LAfitness and see the same symptoms in so many people. Although I have no data to back this up, it seems young people suffer the most.

I don't know but maybe this pain is related to why we hear so much these days about random shootings and other acts of violence; people feel isolated, wronged, treated unfairly, etc. Maybe I'm crazy but it seems like we could relieve a lot of pain and suffering in the world if we would all just make eye contact, smile, and say hello to our fellow humans:) After that, world peace is just a matter of living in the present instead of the past:)

Phoneline Trail

Hiked the Phoneline (I guess there used to be an old telephone line in the area) trail with the Voyager Hiking Club today. Beautiful hike in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area; part of the Coronado National Forest outside of Tucson. The hike was only about 5 miles since our group took the Tram ($8!) up the hill; otherwise I'm told the trail is about 9 miles RT. It is a nice area with plenty of Saguaro cactus and other desert plants; geology is mostly Gneiss. The trail is relatively level, well marked, and an easy trek. We averaged about 1.5mph with frequent breaks.

Quite a few people walking and running the trail (20 in our group); surprised by the high volume (it is Tuesday), but it is probably due to the holiday (Vet. Day). Temp about 70-80 depending on whether we were in the shade or sun. We stopped at a very large, flat rock to enjoy lunch; afterwords, we walked downhill to the parking lot. Our hike wasn't much of a workout but this trail would be a great training area - running up the hill from the parking lot.

Based on this and last week's hikes, I've concluded these hikes are more of a social event than strenuous exercise; which is ok with me (for now:). My fellow hikers are all very nice so it is an opportunity to get to know them; I'll get my strenuous exercise another way:)

Tram

Habitat

Some of our group on the trail.

Saguaro everywhere!

New spinning bikes

Below are photos of the spinning bikes (Keiser) at the local LAfitness; don't know how long these have been around but they are new to me. Comfortable ride, smooth gear change, multiple hand locations, and digital computer readout.

About 40 bikes

RPM, Watts, KCals, time, and distance

Joined Health Club

The Voyager biking and hiking clubs are healthy social connections but not strenuous enough for a real work out so I joined LAfitness in Tucson. Lot of health clubs around but after much deliberation, I joined LAfitness because they are a national company and several (including the one I go to in Tucson) have lap pools. They also have yoga, spinning and other classes.

I'd eaten too much (easy to do without a fixed, all-day work schedule:) on Friday so I did the 8:00 and 9:15am spinning classes; great workout! Of course, by the time I got home, I was "starving" and ate enough for 2:)

Having spent a lot of time in health clubs over the past 30 years, including the last 7 months in 8 states, it is interesting to note the difference in class instructors. For example, Saturday's spinning instructors couldn't be more different. The 8:00am instructor was into her ride and didn't even introduce herself; I just followed along as best I could but it was very difficult to hear/understand her so didn't get much out of the class. The 9:15am instructor was one of the best; she introduced herself, did not let the music drown out her voice, gave an overview of what the day's ride would be and suggested RPM and gear from time to time.

Another thing that varies greatly in spinning classes is the bikes. In my home state, the Lone Tree Recreation Center had some of the worst (old and not well maintained) bikes I've seen; in fact, I stopped spinning there because the bikes were so bad. The last couple of health clubs had new bikes (that worked!) and complete with computers so you could monitor RPM, Watts, Kcal, gear, and time.

Bike Club

Joined the Voyager Bike Club; they meet Wednesdays and Thursdays and bike 20-40 miles each day around Tucson on a very nice trail system (wide, paved lanes with center line in most places). The Club alternates between transporting bikes and riding from Voyager Park. The club averages about 11-14 mph but since we had head winds on both days, the average speed was a bit slower. Seem like a nice bunch of people who are as interested in social connection as they are biking.

We transported bikes and rode about 34 miles on Wednesday from Brandi Fenton Park Trailhead to Rusty's Restaurant on Grant Road. We had 8 riders on Wednesday.

Thursday we also rode about 34 miles but this time from Voyager and we had 12 riders. Stopped at Brugger's Bagels for lunch. I don't recall Thursday's route; still getting my bearings around Tucson.

One surprise for me was to find a bike shop located adjacent to the trail on Wednesday; very fortunate as one rider needed a chain replacement.

Bike shop along the trail on Wednesday's ride.

Taking a break at the bike shop while waiting for one of our rider's chains to be replaced.

View of typical trail in the Tucson system.

Molino Campground Hike

Joined the Voyager hiking club; they hike weekly in the hills surrounding Tucson. First hike - Molino Campground to Prison Camp (Japanese Internment Camp from WWII); an easy hike of about 6 miles and 500 feet elevation change. Nice scenery and welcoming hiking partners; unfortunately, one hiker took a nasty fall and hit his head on a rock; he was able to walk down and others took him to the local clinic.  Hoping he is ok.

General terrain around campground.

Looking down a small canyon.

Lunch break.

I think this is rabbitbrush; it was swarmed by butterflies.

Minor Accident

Learned a very important lesson this weekend when I backed into my Tucson winter residence spot. You can jack-knife an Airstream trailer; until this accident, I didn’t worry too much about this. No injury to me but here's what happened.

It was a fairly tight spot but nothing I hadn’t dealt with previously; the difference was that the Voyager Resort requires one of their employees “help” you back in (they won’t let you do it yourself due to liability concerns). While backing in on the blind side (passenger side), I had the wheels turned pretty tight and was going very slow (1 mph) until I heard a slight crunch! I assumed the helper was watching things but he only wanted to ensure my trailer didn't hit the adjacent houses; he didn't worry about my trailer:) After the crunch, I ended up pulling forward and turning around in the parking lot so I could back into my spot from the other side (driver side); worked like a charm.

I didn’t think any more about it until yesterday when my truck tailgate would not lower all the way so I went to the GMC body shop where they told me that when I turned too tight, something on the trailer hit my bumper which in turn hit the truck bed which in turn caused the tail gate to jam. Turns out “what” hit my bumper was the case for one of my two extra batteries which are mounted on the “A Frame” on the front of my trailer; these extra batteries were installed for my solar system. Without these extra batteries, the accident wouldn’t have happened; oh well, I’ll be more careful in the future:). Thankfully, the accident didn't hurt the Airstream.

While the accident was clearly my fault, unless you know and trust the other person, and they are experienced backing trailers, don’t rely on them to watch where your trailer is going as well as the connection between your trailer and tow vehicle. One of the benefits of solo towing my Airstream over 20,000 miles over the past 7+ months and backing into hundreds of places is that I’ve learned to do it myself and not rely on anyone else; however, obviously I’ve got more to learn:)

Overall, the damage is minor; everything can be repaired; no replacement necessary and nobody (i.e.,me!) was hurt; however, the bill is about $2k! Thankfully my deductible is $500.

As I backed up, the bumper of my truck hit the corner of this metal battery case mounted on my Airstream's A Frame; no damage to Airstream.

You can see the slight vertical crease in my bumper which shifted the bed and caused my tailgate to jam. Not knowing the tailgate was jammed, it bent when I tried to open it.

You can see here how the bumper shifted slightly forward.

Yoga

Started Yoga and Yoga Yin today at the resort; pretty basic and oriented towards the older set; I tend to be the youngest person in the room when attending gatherings or classes at RV resorts. No big deal finding ways to adapt:)

Minimalism

Since retiring, I've found it liberating to reduce my material possessions (including a house:); it helps simplify my life. To be clear, I still own a lot of stuff, including a truck, Airstream, and stuff in two storage units but much less than previously. Living in the Airstream helps to minimize collecting possessions because the first thing I think of when tempted to buy something is - where will I put it? Buying a seasonal home or two would significantly increase my living space; thats why I'm only considering small (less than 1500sf) places. The Park Models that many people live in or rent for the winter are great for this; they are about 1000 SF and have everything one needs to live (bath, bed, kitchen) without having too much space; kinda like living in a stationary RV.

I'm not minimizing my possessions for any particular reason other than most of them no longer seem necessary and the less I have, the simpler my life seems to be. Also, there is something to be said for just taking up less space on the planet and using less energy, etc. This wasn't my original intention and still isn't; to be clear, I'm living a lifestyle to make me happy, not to "save the planet."

Surprisingly, I don't miss (well maybe a little:) the stuff in my storage units; in fact. When starting this journey, I thought I'd need to keep the storage units for a year (March 2015) until I settled somewhere; now I'm thinking that I either won't be settled by then or if I am, any place I settle won't be large enough for my stuff. Maybe my daughter will buy a house by then and I can give it all to her:)

Tucson Winter Residence

After 7+ months and almost 20,000 miles, I've landed in Tucson; looking forward to spending my first winter in a warm climate! I'm staying at the Voyager RV Resort; one of many such resorts catering to snow birds; have included photos of some facilities/amenities. Its a cloudy, cool (67) day in Tucson:)

My space is surrounded by permanent structures rather than other RVs.

My street.

Volleyball court.

Pickle ball courts (evidently very popular).

The lap pool; there are two other pools, one of which is indoor.

One of two hot tubs.

Fitness room.

Tennis courts; I may need to learn how:)

Onsite restaurant.

I guess retirees need a lot of massages because they have their own massage center.

Handy to have a clinic onsite.

Having a wood shop with all the power tools onsite may tempt me to get back into woodworking.

I plan to take a ceramics class; this is the studio.

Would also like to take a fusion glass class.

Onsite library.

Mailboxes for local residents.

Registration office of Voyager.

Orange tree behind my Airstream; looks loaded:)