A major milestone

Posted: December 6, 2010 in The Toe of Wonders, Weight loss
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Greetings from the Chair of Doom.

This time I write with some good news. When I started the weight loss, I weighed in at a tick over 330 pounds. This morning, I weighed 280.0. That means that the first fifty pounds is down. Still have 30 pounds to go to get myself ready for the Segway tour, but I’m a lot closer than I’ve been in a lot of years.

This goes to show what a steady balanced diet can do for you. I’ve lost weight with no exercise at all, other than the periodic visit to the bathroom and up to bed. I’m really encouraged that it is coming off and I think it should get easier with exercise.

I think I’m really missing the freedom of walking. Walking has been my preferred exercise since I started this. I like being able to put on some tunes and get some fresh air. I’ve never been a runner (when people ask if I run, I say “Only if chased.”), but walking is pretty much my speed. I’m hoping that I will be able to walk regularly again. I’m hopeful, since I won’t be losing my entire toe. I’ve read some blogs from people who’ve lost an entire big toe and it’s no picnic.

If I can’t walk like I used to, I at least have a good memory of the last walk I took before landing in the hospital. The Management and I joined our friend Margot and her mom for the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on November 14. The way I sweated during the walk probably shows that I wasn’t in the best of health, but it was still a great day for a great cause.

Kathleen, Margot, yours truly, The Management

Perhaps the neatest part of the walk was being at the ballpark while it was empty. I’m used to being there with 40,000 people and to see all the empty stands was very different.

So, I’m going to continue with the diet and see how it goes. Thanks again for your support. This is not an easy fight, but knowing that family and friends are willing to support you helps a lot. In a way, weight and diabetes are a lot a like. Both take a lot of effort to manage and keep under control, but both can be controlled.

I’ll keep you posted.

Still stuck in the Chair of Doom

Posted: December 3, 2010 in The Toe of Wonders
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Good morning, campers!

I still write from the Chair of Doom. Not necessarily a bad thing, if you aren’t stuck sitting in it about 14 hours a day. See, I still have to keep off the Toe of Wonders as much as possible, so… here I sit. I’ve spent so much time welded to this chair that my ass is going to assume a complementary shape before too long.

There’s good news, though. All the doctors seem to think that it’s healing up pretty nicely. I keep threatening to take a picture of the toe, just to post on here, but The Management says that wouldn’t be a particularly good idea. I might use a word picture to describe things, but that would probably be a little graphic as well.

Getting back to the doctors, the infectious disease doctors say that the strep is going away. Three more weeks of antibiotics and I should be ready to go. The surgeon wants an X-ray, which I’ll get done on Wednesday, but they are probably going to amputate the tip of the toe. Apparently, the bone loss from the infection has really been severe and if they leave the whole toe, the risk for further infection is quite significant. I’m troubled by having part of my body cut off and tossed away like garbage, but if it improves my overall health and reduces my chances for further visits to the hospital, I can deal with it. I might ask if I can have the piece and put it in a Lucite block as a paperweight, but Laura says that’s creepy.

So, next week will bring more doctor visits. I see the infections doc on Tuesday who will look at the toe and review the bloodwork and make sure it’s all kosher. I see our new internist on Wednesday. This will be my first time with a woman physician. It’s not that I’m a sexist about it, but I just always had a male doctor. We shall see how it goes. I also will get the X-ray done that day.

Finally, I see the surgeon on Friday who will let me know about the X-ray and maybe a timetable for the snip job. He assures me that after the amputation, I’m back to normal (or what passes for normal with me) in two weeks. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Finally, I’d like to give a shout out to everyone who has taken care of me. At LGH, the biggest shout outs go to Dr. Christopher Addis and Dr. Jennifer Delutis, both of whom took great care of me and got me started on the road to better diabetes management. Not to mention they both have Penn State ties, which counts for a lot. Also, Tabby Jones, the diabetes educator who answers all my silly questions and genuinely cares about my concerns. This is a new thing for me. I also would like to thank the nursing team on 8 North who really took good care of me. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Dr. Michael Flood, surgeon extraordinaire, who carved up my toe like a Thanksgiving turkey, but saved the rest of my foot. Thanks for keeping me upright.

Since I’ve been back home, I’d also like to give a big thank you to the people from the visiting nurse association. All of the nurses who have cared for me have been skilled and professional and have been more than willing to share their expertise and suggestions for dealing with diabetes.

Thanks also go out to my friends who have sent well-wishes and kept us in their thoughts. I know it’s helping me get better faster with all the positive vibes. Specific thanks go out to our Disney crew, most notably Mike Newell, who have been live streaming  events from Reunion and whetting our appetite for next December. I would also like to thank our friend Margot who has come over to visit regularly and cooked dinner for us.

The final and biggest thanks go out to my two biggest caregivers. They are my lovely wife and my mother. They have been taking good care of me and sacrificing a lot until I can get better. If it wasn’t for them, I’m not sure where I’d be. They can drive you nuts, but it’s for the best… I’m usually trying to push the envelope, but slow and steady wins the race. So, Laura and mom, thank you. You guys completely rock.

Until next time, I wish you all good health and good shopping.

Missed opportunities and recovery

Posted: December 1, 2010 in family, Stubby the Wonder Toe, The Toe of Wonders, Weight loss
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Greetings!

I am typing this from the “comforts” of my own living room, where I’ve been recovering from the Magical Mystery Toe. This is not quite as good as it sounds. See, I have to keep the foot propped up and my ass is crazy numb from too much sitting. I’ve been home a week and a half, and not done much. I’ll be two weeks post surgery tomorrow with no complications.

Today is a sad day, though. Today we were supposed to be flying to Orlando to spend a week with many of our friends for Reunion. My toe situation kind of put the kibosh on that trip. We were both looking forward to this trip… there was a lot of good stuff planned, including a dessert party and private time at the Osborne Spectacle of Lights. Alas, my need for I.V. antibiotics made travel problematic at best. Also, I’m really not ready to do Disney in an ECV.

There’s a good side to the problem, and that is just how great everyone was to deal with. When we realized it wasn’t going to work, my first call was to Disney Vacation Club (our timeshare). When I talked to the lady there and explained my situation (hospitalization, surgery, etc.) she managed to get things fixed that our points went back to our regular account and not into a holding account. This is great news and it gives us the flexibility to reschedule at our convenience (when the Toe of Wonders is healed up). After that, I called the airline. I have had issues with airlines in the past, so I was expecting to lose the money. With great trepidation, I called AirTran’s customer service line. I was connected to Frances and I related my story. Frances cancelled our flight without a cancellation fee and now we have the entire airfare as a credit in our account with them. AirTran could not have been more helpful and they were a pleasure to deal with. I will be sad when they are taken over by Southwest.

The other major stumbling block would conceivably be Micky’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a special hard ticket event at the Magic Kingdom. I called Disney about these tickets when I returned home and they were able to refund our money for the tickets. All told, we’re out about $5 in PayPal fees. Not too bad when you consider how bad it could have been.

So, moving right along, I’m making progress getting my blood glucose under control. The doctors put me on insulin, which kind of sucks, but it has not caused the suicidal feelings that Byetta caused. Speaking of Byetta, it seems that it is made from the saliva of the Gila monster. Apparently, it works for some people. Not me, though. So, I have to stick myself four times a day. It’s doing wonders, though. The downside is having a couple of bouts of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). The shakes and cold sweats are not a good thing, but once that curve is mastered and the blood sugars even out, it will be worth it. No one is saying anything in particular, but in the future, I might be able to control things with one injection a day, or maybe by diet alone.

Speaking of diets, mine is going well. I’ve gotten to about 1,800 calories a day and even though I can’t exercise, I’ve still lost 11 pounds since the day I was admitted to the hospital. This puts my total weight loss since I started the blog at 46.8 pounds. Just to think I almost lost 50 pounds in six months. This really makes me happy. When I get to 250, I’m treating myself to something I’ve always wanted to do… take a Segway tour at Disney World.

I’ll be back with another entry this week.

Current weight: 283.2

Why being in the hospital sucks

Posted: November 18, 2010 in Stubby the Wonder Toe, The Toe of Wonders, Weight loss
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Greetings from Stalag 8012!

Perhaps that is a little strong. See, I’m stuck in Lancaster General Hospital due to the attack of the Amazing Technicolor Toe. Many faithful readers can recall the epic tale of Lord GOMF, the Earl of Bunion. That particular blister was thought vanquished. Well turns out he’s back and seriously pissed off.

See, a couple of weeks ago I got a blister. Fairly innocuous, so I lanced it and slathered it with bacitracin. The usual treatment for a blister that I’ve employed countless times before. This time, well, there was a sinister interloper…. streptococci. I didn’t know this, but apparently you can get strep toe. I’m living proof.

I continued treating myself and the toe just didn’t get any better. A couple of days ago, I noticed it was becoming colorful and getting a tad swollen. Before I knew it, it was roughly the size of Donald Trump’s ego and I was running a 102.2 fever. That’s pretty steep for anyone, but since I normally run a 96.8, it scared me. I took some Advil and the fever subsided, but I knew I needed some help. Before I did that, though, I had the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk on Sunday. Three miles at Citizen’s Bank Park. I finished that with no major issues.

So Monday, I got the Management to take me to Urgent Care who sent me to the ER. At the ER, the Magical Mystery Toe was unveiled and promptly became a must-see stop. They admitted me and started the IV antibiotics. I’m pretty sure that by this point they’ve pumped me so full of antibiotics that you could drop me into a giant Petrie dish full of anthrax and I’d be ok.

So, after x rays, MRI, ultrasound and God knows what else, I’m on the cusp of my first general anesthesia. This has me freaked out like nobody’s business. I’m so skittish right now I’m like a hyperkinetic poodle on crystal meth. I’m hoping I’ll be able to continue the post when I’m out of surgery and the Amazing Technicolor Toe is less… colorful.

Thanks for all the support and well wishes. I’m going to be ok. I hope. It might curtail my participation in the next International Mr. Sexy Legs competition, but then again, the people who saw the last one might say that might not be a bad thing.

See you on the other side.

Most recent weight: 291.4

A short one…

Posted: September 12, 2010 in Weight loss
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Hey everyone.

Sorry I kind of lost the magic. I’ve been meaning to write something particularly insightful and witty, alas, those skills have seemingly deserted me. Sigh.

Just a quick note, however… I’ve been backsliding terribly and while I primarily do this for me, I’m sure I’ve let others down. This week I’m going to try to get back on the horse. We shall see how it goes.

One more quick point, it’s hard to remain positive about something like weight loss when you dread your everyday circumstances. I have been having a hard time dealing with what’s on my psychological plate here of late (job issues, separation, etc.) and as a result, I’ve been feeling incredibly apathetic and despondent. Not to worry… I will work myself out of it, but just make sure that you treasure your friends and family. Life is too short for the petty crap that consumes our lives. I used to think it was OK to be a loner. I found myself to be good company. Now? Not really. So, if you’ve been out of touch with a friend or family, reach out. Even a short email or text saying, “What’s new” can do wonders. If you’ve had a spat with a family member, get over it. If you don’t and one day that brother, sister, mom, dad, etc. is gone, you’re going to regret it. If your brother broke your favorite toy when you were 8, deal with it. There are far more tragic things happening in the world.

Let’s face it… all you really have are your family and friends. All those possessions you profess to love aren’t going to love you back. So, tell your spouse you love him/her; when next you call your mom, tell her you love her. If you’re talking to your friend, tell him/her you love them. No shame in showing your feelings. You’re not going to be less of a manly man for telling your mom you love her, or even your dad. It’s okay to love someone in a non-romantic way. When next you see an old friend, greet them with a hug. Even the man hug is acceptable.

Anyways, I’m signing off for now. Hope it won’t be so long before the next entry.

Don’t miss it.. a chance to view the World’s Smallest Mayan Ruins!

Posted: August 12, 2010 in Cruising, Mexico, Travel
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Greetings!

I’ll preface today’s entry by saying it’s been a good day thus far. Managed to get a little sleep, The Management has returned from a week up in The Jerz and the iPhone 4 has landed. Let’s pay a quick visit to the weekend before we head back to Cozumel.

I started the weekend project list by removing all the fixtures from the downstairs bathroom and ripping up the linoleum. There was a heinous pink stain on the linoleum. I’m not sire what the root cause of said stain was, but it predated our arrival. My intention was to replace the linoleum with some very chic ceramic tile and all that rot. I spent Friday installing backerboard and getting things ready for Saturday when I intended to do the tiling. I thought, set the tile on Saturday, grout on Sunday, back in business on Tuesday. Ambitious, yes, but I didn’t think it would come down to an epic fail. Boy, was I wrong.

You see, third shift reared its ugly head again. I should never attempt a project of that scale on little to no sleep. As I had mortar on my freshly painted walls, squeezing through the tiles and making an all-around nuisance of itself, I had a little bit of a breakdown. I have a little problem with failure, have had it for years. I don’t want to go into root causes at this time, but it can be crippling at times. I sat back and wept. Because I failed, because I wasted a lot of money on tools and material. I reached out for some support, but was rebuffed, which didn’t help my mood any. I did what any self-respecting guy would do. I tore out all I had done and went to Carpet Mart for a linoleum remnant. And somebody to put it in. That was done on Sunday evening and I’m currently working on getting the plumbing back together.

Anyway, back to Cozumel. As many of you I had spoken to know, The Management and I had no definitive plans for Cozumel, assuming that it would be a day to hang out on the ship and relax. The night before, in the bar (big surprise), Fred was expounding on his shore excursion, which was an island tour with beach time. I suggested to Management that it might be fun, and she half-consciously agreed, so I went to the shore desk and signed us up on the tour, joining Fred and his family, as well as the Colorado Sisters.

We went ashore, passing a store calling itself “Drugs and Deli” (I am not making this up) and met up with our tour guide, Miguel. Now, I could be way off on this, but Miguel looked like Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. For the record, Drugs and Deli wasn’t that great. I ordered a Reuben with a side of Vicodin. No dice.

Off we went on our air-conditioned coach. Our first stop was to a lovely stretch of secluded beach. As it turns out, the island of Cozumel is very underdeveloped, compared to Cancun and other well-known resort areas. Much of the beaches are off-limits to protect the sea turtles. You will see small vertical sticks in the ground showing where turtle nests are located. There were a few shops along this beach where you could buy bongs, serape and coconuts. Very beautiful stretch of beach, primarily made up of crushed coral.

After that, it was off to the World’s Smallest Mayan Ruins! I’m not one to judge, but this place was pretty small for a temple. Must’ve been dedicated to the really unpopular god, because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen dog houses in Manheim Township that were bigger than this temple. Of course, there was the obligatory lecture on buying black coral from the one guy who will treat you honestly. I’m pretty sure that Miguel was getting a kickback, though. The prices weren’t that great.

Following the visit to The World’s Smallest Mayan Ruins! we proceeded on to some private beach where we had a grand total of about 45 minutes and that included time for a hideously overpriced Mexican buffet that would’ve sent any TexMex snob running to Taco Bell. I think the technical term for a place like this is “tourist trap” but I could be wrong.

 The Management and I, as well as the Colorado Sisters did not have time to change to go in the water, so we settled for getting in up to our knees and watching Fred and his family have fun in the surf. The water is amazing…. so very clear, even in the harbor we could see the bottoms of the ship’s rudders.

 After our brief experience, we went back to the ship and got ready for a delicious dinner that included a wonderful capreze salad, scallop risotto that Unibrow Jeffrey kept bringing plates of to the table, and also the best chicken marsala I ever had.

 That’s enough for today… I’m going to talk about our slightly damp experience in Key West during the next post. Until then!

It’s an honor just to be a part of the competition… really.

Posted: August 4, 2010 in Cruising, Mexico, Travel
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Greetings from the land of the sleep-deprived. Otherwise known as third shift.

Today was not a good day by any stretch. Work just seemed to drag on and on. I thought 8 AM would never arrive. I understand that doing a turn on third is part of shift work, but it’s never been my favorite thing to do. Usually it ranks right below bamboo shoots under my toenails, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anyway, when 8:00 rolled around I wanted nothing more than to get in my car and head home to bed. I got in my car, turned the key and it wouldn’t catch. The little red “SECURITY” idiot light was blinking. Again. I did not unleash Captain Furious, but instead decided to walk over to Office Max and Home Depot. While at Home Depot, I purchased a floor scraper, figuring that if the car didn’t start I could administer a beat down on it with the floor scraper. Suffice it to say, the car started upon my return.

Moving right along, I mentioned the Mr. Sexy Legs competition, so let’s get to it.

As I mentioned, we were not going to Key West due to Bonnie, so they made our second day our day at sea. After midnight pizza, we had agreed to meet for breakfast (where we saw The Joker) and figure out what to do. As was often the case, our group found each other, and there was talk of the Mr. Sexy Legs competition. Our friend Brad was convinced to enter due to a large infusion of cash to our favorite charity. After a few more contributions, our friend Fred was coerced to enter as well. There was consumption of alcohol (or liquid courage) involved and contributions continued to pour in. Our group moved poolside and I thought I was in the clear. I was going to shoot video… after all, blackmail can be useful (just kidding). Then more of our group decided to join in… John, Mike, Mike, and sure enough, I was prodded into joining the competition. This was not my finest hour, y’all.

Next thing you know, two of the women from our group were in the judging chairs, along with three complete strangers. Now, I thought this would be a “go out there, flex your calves, dance around a little and done” kind of thing. Boy, was I naive.

The host for the event was a very fit young man from Jamaica who gave a demonstration that involved hanging off a light pole. That’s where I should’ve been like, “Oh, HELL no!” We all stuck it out, and after the drunken frat boys were done cavorting all over the deck, followed by some of our guys, it was my turn. I still had a shirt on, because I didn’t want anyone to be wounded by flying cellulite.

I kept it family friendly, as there was no uncalled for pelvic thrusts. Then Mr. Emcee decides that I need to be shirtless. I was trying to say no when I realized a cruise ship full of women were baying for blood. I’m not one to disappoint the paying public, so I went for it. After all, who wants a six-pack when you can have the whole keg? It wasn’t pretty, but it was for a good cause. We raised over $700 for Avon Breast Cancer Walk. We even had two of the five winners… John won the hairiest legs and Fred won the most muscular.

Now, you may wonder what The Management was doing during the aforementioned festivities. She was on Deck 10, shooting pictures and apparently laughing her ass off. True love.

Tomorrow, we will talk about Cozumel, Daniel Ortega and the World’s Smallest Mayan Ruins!

Oh, and for anyone following along at home, I think we need to figure a name for The Joker’s paramour.

… and your room has a lovely view of a tank farm

Posted: August 2, 2010 in Cruising, Travel
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Yesterday I told you of our thrilling journey to Fort Lauderdale (or Fort Liquordale, as The Management refers to it). Today, we will look at the accommodations at the Embassy Suites and also at the port transfers.

So, we arrived around 4:00 PM. It’s a pretty long drive down through Florida, so it was a relief to get in. Mike and I unloaded our cars, got checked in, and finally got a straight answer about parking. I had called three times to find out what it would cost to leave the car at the hotel for the duration of our cruise. One guy told me $5 a day, one $13 a day, and the other $15. Turns out it was $5.00. Not too bad, considering Port Everglades gets $15 a day. I’ll take that.

We were on the eighth floor and immediately started seeing people from our group. I checked in with our fearless leader, Fred, who came up to the room to invite us to the pre-cruise meet. It was a very nice affair, including a grand prize won by our friend Julie. After the meet, back upstairs to organize the suitcases. One downside to travelling by car is you take too many clothes. Not a bad idea this trip… it was a lot of two and three shower days.

We woke up the next morning, opened the curtains and noticed our view was of a tank farm. Forget the beach. Sigh.

The Embassy Suites staff collected our bags and we went and had breakfast. They have an excellent selection, complete with omelet station. After breakfast, I went out to feed the koi.

 There’s something very zen about watching the fish swim and, well, beg. I kid you not. There was a big old fish who kept sticking his mouth out of the water. It was pretty funny, actually. As it turns out, the gift shop sells bags of Cheerios at vastly overinflated prices. The fish love the Cheerios.

We got everyone loaded on the bus and headed to the port. It’s about a five-minute ride from the hotel, but it’s quite a sight to see this giant white cliff towering 11 decks above the waterline. The ship, Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, is actually a smaller ship as cruise ships go. It’s beautifully appointed, though… glass, marble, open atrium. Our stateroom was not ready when we boarded, so our group found some space on Deck 9, where RCCL was providing a buffet lunch.

 If there’s one thing about cruises, you learn the meaning of the word buffet. You can have buffet three or four times a day. We were able to kill time until our room was ready. Maybe we were spoiled by our Disney cruise, but the room was a little cramped. Could also be that I cheaped out and didn’t get a balcony. We had a window, though, which let us see the outside world. The Captain, who apparently moonlights at The Improv on his off nights, came over the PA to say that our itinerary was being changed due to the Coast Guard closing the port at Key West. This did not make me happy, as I really wanted to visit Key West.

 So, after that and the obligatory muster drill, we got ready for dinner. We had a great table… it was The Management and myself, Mike and Mary, Jamie and his wife and kids and one of our resident travel agents, Annette. Our server, Jeffrey was from India and had a monobrow that you could do chin ups on. The assistant server, Lido, was Filipino and I kept hearing the Boz Scaggs song in my head every time he came by. All in all, the service was excellent and only got better as the cruise went on.

 RCCL does a nice job making nutrition info available and they have a selection of lower calorie fare on every menu. The first night, I had an excellent tortilla soup as an appetizer. There was a nice heat to the dish and plenty of vegetables. My main course was a roasted sea bass with veggies that was awesome. For dessert, I had sugar-free vanilla ice cream. Total caloric damage, near as I could tell, was about 800 calories, so not too shabby.

Post dinner, it was determined that we would meet up at the champagne bar, located on Deck 4. There was a band playing that wasn’t too great, but it was here that we met The Joker.

 The Joker is not known to us. He and his paramour (wife, mistress, concubine?) were cutting a rug over by the band of questionable talent. We were taking note of his skills or lack thereof, when someone noticed the pair headed toward our group. I thought maybe The Joker was ready to rumble, but he stopped, and for no apparent reason, began to tell long rambling “jokes” with no discernible punch lines. As he is telling the “jokes”, we notice that The Joker’s left hand has began to grope his paramour’s left breast. This is not the bad part. At the same time, The Joker’s paramour has began to, well, fondle The Joker’s dangly bits.

The Joker works it in the morning

The Joker’s right hand had began to rub the shoulder of on of our people who shifted so far toward me that she was practically in my chair. We laughed heartily at The Joker, and he eventually left, paramour in tow. The next morning, The Joker was spotted at breakfast, looking suave and debonair.

Suffice it to say this is not the last we will see of The Joker, however, he was danced into submission twice. Tomorrow, we will talk about the Mr. Sexy Legs competition.

Oh, and even after a cruise and a Disney vacation, I weighed in yesterday morning at 293.4.

It’s been such a long time…

Posted: July 31, 2010 in Auto Train, Travel
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Greetings from steamy Florida!

First of all, let me just say that I had every intention of writing more frequently while away. Obviously, that didn’t happen. The whole road to hell thing, you know what I mean. I’ll be trying to play catch up, so bear with me as I start to recap the cruise. Brian vs. the Midnight Buffet is still going to happen, but not today.

So anyway… last Tuesday, July 20, we loaded up the car and headed south to Lorton, VA. Lorton is better known as the northern terminus for the Auto Train. There ain’t much else, let me tell you. After checking in, we boarded our superliner car with our friends Mike & Mary Newell. After navigating a very narrow stairway, we were confronted with our frist challenge, namely where the heck to put our stuff. The Superliner Roomette is not a bad place to sit. There are two facing seats, a big window, just not a lot of space. After unpacking the tech, it was time to head back for the free wine and cheese. The cheese was good, the wine, well, was a little pedestrian.

Once back in the roomette, I set up the GPS, the power strip, the iPhone chargers, the netbook, etc. I realize that we were on railroad tracks, so GPS wasn’t real helpful, but it was nice to know where we were at any given time. The train started heading southbound through Virginia. Auto Train is billed as the world’s longest passenger train, which is not entirely accurate. Maybe the longest train that actually carries some passengers. The auto racks make up a larger part of the consist than passenger cars.

We signed up for late dinner and at 9 PM, we headed back to the dining car. I had been informed that the food was actually pretty good onboard the train and I wasn’t disappointed. There were four main entrees (beef, chicken, seafood and vegetarian. Between the four of us, we had all the entrees and we were all pleased. I had the crab cakes and found them very tasty. They were served with vegetables and a nice spicy remoulade. Laura had the stuffed manicotti, which was the meatless choice. Mike had the medallions of beef and Mary went with the chicken.

After dinner, we went back to the roomette to find that the attendant had converted it into bunks for the overnight. Here came the challenge. Being plus sized, both Laura and I found the accommodations a little cramped. This is when we started referring to the roomette as the bouncy broom closet. Laura wound up on the top bunk, where there is webbing to make sure you don’t fall out of the bunk.

After a bumpy night (the engineers had the hammer down to make up some lost time) we got showered and dressed, then grabbed breakfast. Continental, but pretty tasty. Not long after breakfast, the train pulled into Sanford, FL. It’s quite an operation in Sanford. First the autoracks are uncoupled then the passengers cars are split. Seems that Sanford is a smaller terminal (it is being refurbished) and takes a little more work.

After leaving the train, you are directed to a holding pen to wait for your car to be offloaded. We were among the last 40 cars to be offloaded, but we found our car as we left it. The Amtrak valets even cover the seat with a plastic cover to keep the seat clean. Very nice operation.

We stopped by CVS to pick up some missing essentials, including a toothbrush and a SunPass toll transponder. I signed up for the service while in the parking lot of said CVS, only to find out that the account would not be active for three hours. That helped a lot. Mike handed me a two-way radio and we headed east bound and down (for those of you keeping score at home, I did download the Jerry Reed song on the way, much to Laura’s chagrin) to Fort Lauderdale and the Embassy Suites. Granted, there was an obligatory Chick-Fil-A stop along the way.

After several hours and a driver change, we made it into Ft. Lauderdale.

I will continue with the cruise story when we arrive at home and I don’t have to type in the dark. I wish you all a great weekend, hopefully not as brutally hot as it has been here in Florida.

 

Cruising…

Posted: July 18, 2010 in Cruising, Travel, Weight loss
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Howdy!

Hope everyone is staying cool on this warm Sunday. We had a good time here at Chez T last evening. I made one of management’s favorite dinners, zucchini parmigiana, and a friend of ours joined us for dinner, drinks and game time. The zucchini turned out pretty good. I served it with angel hair pasta and red sauce. We accompanied it with a nice salad, garlic bread and a Riesling that I had raved about last week. We went in search of said wine only to find it on clearance at the state store. We wound up buying four bottles and I couldn’t help thinking it fitting that I finally find a wine I actually like and it’s being discontinued in PA. Sigh. After dinner, there was Scrabble. I was outplayed by the management’s English degree and our friend’s journalism degree. Outplayed was a bit generous. I was smoked like a trout. I’ll get my revenge one of these days. Break out the Trivial Pursuit. 

As I write this, the management and I are preparing for our second ever cruise. We had a lovely experience the last time, onboard the Disney Wonder, where we stopped in Nassau and at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.

This time, we’re going on Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas for visits to Key West and Cozumel. We are taking a non-traditional trip, though, as we are taking the Auto Train to Florida. I look forward to talking about our experiences on the train and on the ship in further posts. I think this cruise will prove to be interesting, since both the management and I are striving to lose weight. Maybe a post called Brian vs. the Midnight Buffet? We shall see.

I’ve got to try to steer this blog back toward weight loss. Today, I’m going with walking music. As a former band geek, I still tend to walk in step with whatever music I am listening to. This can work well for walking, if you pick the right music. For as much as you might like an 80’s hair metal power ballad, they have a slow beat that’s not particularly good for walking. By the same token, a high energy dance mix might have to scurrying at a pace you can’t keep up forever. I often will post that “Joe Satriani kicked my ass on my walk today.” (If you want a strenuous pace that you can keep up with, I recommend “Summer Song”) I suggest that if you like to walk to music, make a playlist that has the type of music that you can keep up with, but challenges you. You can easily update your list as your personal pace changes. If you find yourself flagging on a walk, you can focus on the beat and get your feet moving in time with the music.

 Have a great day today!

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