Karen at Fifty Four

Another fairly uneventful FSR training. I didn't see too much in Fargo, except the wood chipper from the movie, Fargo. I missed a bunch of excitement in Florida though, Hurricane Milton came across the state. Thankfully my place was fine.  

Another FSR training in the books! I know I should have been super excited for this trip, but I wasn't really looking forward to it and I wasn't sure why. The trip over was long and painful. That many hours on a plane is terrible, not to mention the added hours due to flight delays!! But, no matter, I was going to Hawaii. I flew over a day early so I could be sure to get in some sightseeing. I arrived around 7pm on Sunday. I was so exhausted, I barely found the rental car and got myself to the hotel. I knew going into this that Honolulu was a monster city so I was braced for that part. The hotel was valet only, which was a bit of a pain getting in and out. The first night I ate poke from a convenience store. Ahi Spice Poke Bowl, to be exact (raw tuna on rice with spicy sauce). It was really good and I thought, hey, maybe this place isn't so bad. The next morning I booked a sea turtle snorkel tour through the Viator app. I woke up way too early... jet lag at its finest. The ...

I'm waffling!!! I took this picture when we were approaching MCO because I could see the downpours off to the west and was thanking my lucking stars that we were not in the midst of it. Great timing, I thought.  It wasn't even a bumpy landing! But it got me to thinking about the weather, because you know that will play a major part in my decision of where to live. I like the afternoon thunderstorms. I don't like driving in them, so I have to plan my road trips a little more carefully, but I love being home when the storms approach and come crashing down.  Reason to Stay: afternoon thunder storms which lead to lush tropical vegetation. Reason to go: FL is hot and muggy... really muggy, so muggy the air smells bad and it feels like it is weighing you down. So the real question is, can I overcome and learn to embrace the mugginess? Maybe if I had a pool-home. That would be a vote to leave the townhome, but not leave FL, and if I will stay anywhere in FL, I'll stay in centr...

I had a beautiful week in Salt Lake City. The lack of humidity was amazing!! The city itself was even a pleasant surprise. There were nice parks and I was able to wonder around inside the state capital (I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize this was the state capital prior to seeing the capital building). Another surprise was that Donna's friends, Rick and Jenny, live here and they took me on a fabulous hike and even treated me to dinner. The only disappointment was that the Mormon Tabernacle was covered in scaffolding so I did get to tour that. Oh well, a good excuse to return. I was so excited to see this area of the country and the neat (oh-so-different-for-me) landscape that my face was glued to the window as we made our approach into KSLC. This picture shows how the city is built right up to the edge of the mountains. These mountains are the western edge of the Rocky's. So dramatic!! On Monday night I did a quick survey of the city close to the hotel and f...

After my hill training I went to a neighborhood in Tavares, a town just north of Howey-in-the-Hills, to pop in on a few open houses. The prices were right, so I wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood. It was a 55+ neighborhood, which is what almost all are around here. To sum it up, no way. This trip did not win any points for the "stay" category. Reason to stay: cycling with El (but how long will that last, she has 12 years on me so I really need to find a cycling friend my age or younger if I want to use this as an excuse to stay). Reason to go: the heat and humidity (we have to risk heat stroke for more than half the year). Lake Harris at 7am and it was already uncomfortably hot! 

El and I have started hill training. She wants to prep for the Horrible Hundred and I want to prep for the next Woman Tours I do with Paula. I don't want to need an e-bike again. I need to get back in shape and am enjoying the challenge. This picture doesn't really show the hills, but they are big for FL (you have to look at the distance and see how the street lights dip then climb back up). The country roads out there are beautiful and we must enjoy them while they last...suburban spread is out of control.