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Our New Year’s Vacation Tradition

Over the years, I’ve come to dread New Year’s Eve more than any other holiday. In college, most of my close friends were in Atlanta while I was down in Savannah, wishing I could be with them to celebrate and party but not wanting to cut my vacation with my family short. When I moved to Philadelphia, each year we’d try something different, whether that meant hanging in and cooking a romantic meal together or doing the hotel party thing with friends. But, three years ago, our first New Years Eve in New York City, we experienced New Years Eve in a way that we’d never be able to top. Our friend Liz worked for BMO at the time, a company who has a huge office in Times Square, directly across from the ball. She was able to invite friends to the office to watch the ball drop while we toasted to the new year. It was so much fun and such a quintessential New Year’s Eve experience, especially in New York.

After that, we both agreed we were tired of the traditional New Year’s Eve plans and decided to get friends together for a trip instead. We thought that nothing would be more fun than to plan a tropical, warm vacation with friends after the Christmas holidays so we could all toast the new year with a Corona while enjoying some fun in the sun before the brutal winter months.

Last year, since it was our first time, we only went away with one other couple and planned an easy trip using American Express travel. We looked at prices and ratings before choosing a resort in Cozumel due to reasonable plane prices and the fact that it is located between Seattle, where they live, and New York City.

Here are a few of the posts from last year’s Cozumel trip:027

As you can see it was absolutely fabulous! We loved the experience of relaxing with friends over the holiday. Therefore, this year we decided to make it a larger experience for more of our friends. Back in July, we sent a quick email to friends asking if they’d be interested in a tropical vacation with approximate costs of airfare and renting a house on either Turks and Caicos and St. Croix. Now, five months later there are 9 of us spending the next six days together in St. Croix. I ended up using VRBO to rent a large house in St. Croix with a pool, full kitchen, grill, and plenty of space for everyone.

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To say that we’re excited is an understatement! The house is just as we imagined and the views are spectacular! I’ll check in each day to share our adventures with you!

A winner will be announced tomorrow morning from my Thank You giveaway!

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Condensed and Intense Circuit Workout

Good morning from the friendly Delta skies. I have heard this line many times but today especially, I really have such gratitude for the Delta team at JFK.

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I had a really bad taxi experience this morning as we arrived at JFK and the taxi told me his credit card machine wasn’t working. After some tough words and the help of a nearby police officer he finally “fixed” the problem. I was so flustered thinking about this and getting excited about the bachelorette weekend that as I went through security, I left my carry on suitcase. I didn’t notice it because the weight of my computer bag on my shoulder and how rushed I was to make it down to the gate in time and get breakfast. As I walked to the gate they asked me if I needed a pink tag. That’s when I looked down and realized I didn’t have my bag. I am so blessed that they did everything in their power, with only 10 minutes before the plane door had to close, to get my bag back to me. Sweet Dorothy drove like a madwoman screaming in her Jamaican accent that I had a wedding to get to and had to get my bridesmaid dress at security to anyone who stood in the way of her cart. This sounded better in her opinion then “move this woman has a bachelorette to get to and a race to run” but it was hilarious regardless. The security team even met us halfway since we were going all the way from Delta terminal 2 to terminal 4. So while I know that Delta, nor any airline for that matter, is perfect, they definitely one a point in my book today. I wish I could give each of them holiday bonuses!

Now that I’ve shared a story of gratitude with y’all let’s get on to the post!

Breakfast

If you are a long time reader, then you know that my go to travel breakfast is Starbucks. A perfect oatmeal, banana and iced unsweetened green tea just can’t be beat! I normally add the package of nuts to the oats for some added protein and healthy fats along with a dash of the brown sugar.

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If you’ve never tried adding brown sugar to your oatmeal you definitely should as a little bit goes a long way and the flavor can’t be beat!

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I’m enjoying this morning’s oatmeal with a banana and a side of studying. I am getting PADI Scuba certified this year, finally, and it requires some studying in advance. On December 11-13th I will spend time in the pool each night from 8-11pm with Pan Aqua in New York doing all my course work and after completing the 3 nights and passing 4 tests I’ll be able to do my 4 qualifying dives down in St. Croix over New Years!

Condensed and Intense Boot Camp

I realized, going through pictures this morning, that I forgot to share an awesome boot camp Bo created for us last week. We both wanted to work off some of the wine and turkey we enjoyed on Thursday and figured that a boot camp together was a perfect option. But, don’t worry, this workout can be done on your own at a gym as well. The entire workout took us 45 minutes but you can do bits and pieces of it or just 1 circuit group if you’re short on time!

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Cardio Blast #1:

  • 1 minute jumping jacks
  • 1 minute jump rope

Strength Blast #1

Cardio Blast #2:

  • Set a treadmill to 1 incline and spring 1/2 mile as fast as possible while maintaining the same speed the whole time and ensuring you don’t overexert yourself. For reference, Bo went at 8.5 and I went at 7.8.

Strength Blast #2

Cardio Blast #3

  • Set a treadmill incline to 11.0 and walk a half mile as quickly as possible, pumping your arms for momentum. For reference, Bo and I both walked at 4.0-4.5 for the half mile.

Strength Blast #3  (repeat #2)

Cardio Blast #4

  • On a rowing machine set the resistance to flywheel resistance to 7 then row 1,000  meters as quickly as possible ensuring proper form is maintained the entire time to reduce risk of injury.

As always, be sure to do some gentle warm-up and stretching before any workout and go at your own pace.

Question: I’m working on a video series of workouts that you all can do on your own over the holidays whether you’re in your parents basement, in your tiny apartment, or at a hotel. Any special requests? My goal is for the first video to go live by next Friday, in time for those people starting the holidays early!

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The Dorset Inn Vermont

Back in late July when my parents and I spent a long weekend together in Vermont, my aunt suggested that I return in the Fall with my brother instead. Since I was a few glasses of wine into the evening, I thought this sounded like a wonderful suggestion. Within minutes I’d texted my brother and organized a brother/sister bonding weekend in Vermont. Even though this decision meant that I missed out on Fitbloggin’ this weekend and had to sell my ticket to the lovely Amanda, I couldn’t be happier with this late night decision.

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The weekend is only half way done and already we’ve had just the weekend Ryan and I needed together. Since he lives down in Savannah still we don’t get to see much of each other and in typical boy fashion, he doesn’t love chatting on the phone. The amount we shared with each other and talked about in just the first hour of the weekend was more than we’d ever discuss on the phone.

After a work meeting in New Jersey on Thursday, I drove north through New York and into Vermont on my own. The drive was a little under four hours and even with some of the traffic I hit leaving New Jersey and going through Albany it was a really fun trip. I spent some time on the phone with a few of my girlfriends, rocked out to some Mumford and Sons and Dave Matthews Band, enjoyed the scenery and even pulled over for a few pictures. There was something serene and relaxing about the trip. Maybe it’s because Bo and I don’t have a car in the city but I really miss the act of driving. Not commuting, but just driving.

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As soon as I pulled into the driveway we headed right back out for dinner at one of our local favorites, The Dorset Inn. Continually operated for more than 200 years, the inn offers comfort food, a wonderful wine selection, a small bar area, and comfortable rooms for guests and locals alike.

The Dorset Inn is a short drive away from Manchester and as soon as you walk through the doors of the Inn the stress melts away.  The one thing that always impresses me with the Inn is the level of service you receive regardless of the day or hour. We were one of the last patrons on Thursday night and they never ceased to amaze me with the service. We asked if the fireplace could be turned on since it was below 50 outside and would put us in the Autumn mood. Within minutes our wish was answered! We enjoyed a two hour dinner filled with non-stop chatter as we caught up over some delicious food and were warmed by the fireplace.

We dug into the warm sourdough bread almost immediately since we were all starving by 8pm.

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Since I had a run the next day I passed on wine and instead focused my attention on eating. While Ryan and Rusty shared the Caesar salad and mussels, I enjoyed the heirloom tomato salad which was dressed with the richest balsamic syrup. So delicious! I also stole a sardine or two from their salad as this is always my favorite part of a Caesar salad!

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It took me longer to decide on an entrée as their only pasta dish was a 3 cheese macaroni and cheese which I didn’t think would pair well with a long run the next morning. But, as soon as the waiter overheard us discussing my run, he offered to have the chef make an alternate pasta dish. I was elated and excited that I wouldn’t have to forego my normal pre-long run pasta. Ryan and Rusty on the other hand enjoyed divine dinners of scallops and steak. My mouth watered as they devoured the rich entrees. I was presented with a pasta and vegetable pasta dish including rabbit sausage as the protein. I appreciated the chef’s effort but quickly realized that unfortunately the pasta didn’t include a sauce. Instead it was dressed with a heavy hand pour of olive oil in which the pasta was floating.

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The rich pesto, vegetables, pasta, and sun-dried tomatoes were delicious but the sausage wasn’t palatable. I guess rabbit just isn’t our thing because none of us cared for it. Before I made it halfway through the dish I realized that it was entirely too rich and was unfortunately already giving me a bit of a stomach ache. But, in the restaurant’s defense, they did their best to accommodate my needs and the other two entrees, especially the scallops, were fantastic!
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I can’t wait to come back to Dorset Inn over Christmas when we’re up here. I’m sure sipping a hot toddy or glass of wine by the roaring fire while the snow is falling outside would be the perfect end to any evening.

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