My love of going to new places is dependent on my being able to establish a lifestyle in that place. I need to see how a place operates. . . how does it feel to live in that place. I often think I could have been Margaret Mead except for the fact that I have no desire to move any place exotic!
My mission today was simple: drive to the three Y's in the area, check out the facilities for working out, and join. And so that is what I did. Y number one is only about 6 minutes drive from my house. This was good news until I got to the parking lot, at around 10:30 in the morning, and could not find a parking place! To say the joint was jumping was an understatement. I literally could not park. .and the parking lot was huge. So I decided to proceed to Y #2 which was about 15 minutes farther south. This one also had a fairly full parking lot, but I went in anyway. What a beautiful facility! Dozens of cardio machines, weight machines, free-weight area, large work-out pool and hot tub, indoor walking track, fabulous locker room facilities, and huge classrooms for all manner of fitness classes (which are FREE!). A lovely woman gave me a tour and then, I guess because she liked me, signed me up for a whole month for $44! The regular senior fee is $69 for a month. This is in stark contrast to the $300 a month I pay to be personally trained by George! Not only that, but my membership in this Y is good in any of the others. I left that Y armed with my scan card and lists of classes, and headed back for the other one. The parking lot had cleared out somewhat. Apparently afternoons are better if you want to avoid crowds. It also was a great facility with a pool area plus cardio and weights. Staying fit seems to be a priority in Florida. And I imagine this is the time when all the snow birds are signing up as well.
Luckily my mission today did not include to actually work out. Although I had taken my work-out clothes just in case. But I was tired from my hard day of watching TV yesterday. If you haven't watched TV in a while, it's harder than you think. I nearly fell asleep during Downton Abbey. And of course, I was still grieving about the Redskins loss and RG3's injuries.
So I came home and decided to walk to Whole Foods for lunch and to get my salad for dinner. I should do pretty well diet-wise if I have to make a mile and a half round trip on foot every time I want to eat!
I decided to walk around the down-town area. I found a great little restaurant called the First Watch Cafe and went in and ordered the Poacher salad. Which was basically a wonderful spinach salad with bacon and avocado, but instead of a hard boiled egg they put a poached egg on top. It was fabulous! My new favorite place to eat.
Perhaps buoyed up by the bacon and the small pot of coffee that came with lunch, I got a second wind and continued to explore the downtown area. The closer I got to the water the posher it became. Until I ended up on a street called "Palm" and the shops got way out of my price range. I was pretty sure that the merchants did not want little "thrift-store-clad" me even entering the establishment. And so I did not. In fact, I've come to realize that any street with the word "Palm" in it is probably out of my league. And speaking of street names: at one point I stood on the corner of Pineapple and Coconut! And it will not surprise you that suddenly a pina colada sounded really good. But I did not give in to the temptation.
I also found the Sarasota Public Library and spent some time in there in a comfortable chair reading my current book selection: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared. It is really funny and after so much walking it was glorious to find a comfortable place to rest my feet and read my book. Not to mention the bathrooms were great. That library is gorgeous. The entrance to the children's room has a huge, over the entry-way aquarium with all manner of large tropical fish swimming around. I bought a used book in the library "gift shop." I will return to the library often.
I passed theaters and the opera house. I made my way back to Whole Foods and got my salad. Then I checked out the bus transfer station where I plan to (maybe tomorrow) take a bus trip out to St. Armand's Circle just so I can figure out how to work the system before Joan gets here. Then a quick stop in Sur la Table where I got a garlic press and a sink strainer. It helps if you're walking. You certainly don't want to load up on pots and pans or dishes!!
All in all I'm guessing I walked 4 miles minimum, making it okay that I did not work out. But tomorrow I must do that. I don't want that $44 to go to waste!!
The weather was cloudy and it rained in the morning. But it was still in the high 60's and felt really good to be out and about.
I could not be happier with my location. To be able to walk so much to get where I want to go, or to be 5 minutes away by car is so lovely after living in Nelson County where every activity or friend involves a long drive in the car.
I know this time is going to go way too fast, but I'm going to enjoy every second!
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