Vacation Time!

I worked Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and then I started my stretch of 10 days off. WOO HOO! I got a lot of busy work done on Thursday, and on Friday, we hit the road for a long weekend with the boys and girls in Door County, Wisconsin. You may remember my parents had a lake house up there for many years. Sadly, my parents decided a few years ago to sell it. It was really hard to say goodbye to a place that was part of my life for so long. My youngest son was sad as well; he has returned there several times since. 

Earlier this year, he proposed a family vacation to my hubs and his brother, citing the big changes that will be affecting them this fall. He will be starting medical school, and his brother and wife will be welcoming their first child! Life will certainly be different for all of us, and he thought it would be great for all of us to go away together. The hubs and I told him to look for a place, and he found one, on Lake Michigan. It's time to make new memories!

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: Trail Sisters run/trail work 6 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene/Strength Training

Tuesday: Fluid running

Wednesday: Trail run 7 miles

Thursday: unscheduled rest

Friday: Drive to Door County

Saturday: Hike 3 miles

I met up with my Trail Sisters on Sunday morning for a run at my favorite preserve! It was a hot, humid morning, and while we took it slow, we also stopped for walk breaks. 

After we finished our run, we gathered gloves and garbage bags for our first Trail Work! The Trail Sisters organization is encouraging chapters to give back to the trails, such as picking up trash, pulling weeds, and performing other trail maintenance activities. There wasn't a lot of trash for us to pick up--during the summer, the forest preserve district does a good job of maintenance, but we found plenty of dog poop bags and cigarette butts! Which begs the question--why bag up your dog's poop and then leave the bag on the ground?

Monday's strength session followed the usual format. The heat made this tough! Remember, the gym does not have AC.

4 Sets:

Set 1: 4 rounds: :40 Slamball (20#) reverse lunges/:10 transition/:40 single leg Slamball (20#)/:30 rest

Set 2: 4 rounds: :40 Slamball (20#) slide lunge with knee drive/:10 transition/:40 battle ropes/:30 rest

Set 3: 4 rounds: :40 Slamball (40#) good mornings/:10 transition/:40 depth drops (36")/:30 rest

Set 4: 4 rounds: :40 sandbag clean (40#)/:10 transition/:40 medball (10#) shelf situp/:30 rest

Tuesday's Fluid Running sesh was in the outdoor pool again. I'm loving this!

Due to the impending heat, for Wednesday's trail run, I was on the trail by 6:30 am. I wanted to get there even earlier, but just couldn't get myself moving. It was beautiful and not too hot yet, and I enjoyed this run immensely. I spotted a few deer in the foliage, enjoying breakfast. I also spotted a few mushrooms--it's definitely not as mushroomy as last summer. The birds were singing, and guys, it was just pure bliss. I was happy to get it done before the heat of the day--we hit 97F by noon!

I skipped Thursday's strength training due to the outdoor conditions: AQI 275 (very unhealthy) from the Canadian wildfires, plus a 'feels' like temperature of 90F due to the heat and humidity. No wind, so the air was stagnant. Instead, I ran errands, and it was just gross, making my throat feel scratchy. The hubs took a photo of the sunrise from his job site.

On Friday, we drove up to my childhood vacation area, Door County, Wisconsin. The 4 1/2 hour drive from our home flew by. We stopped in Sturgeon Bay at the Eastern Terminus of the Ice Age Trail so I could take a photo with Woolly the Mammoth, the unofficial mascot. An art gallery in Fish Creek donated the sculpture. Very fun! BTW, you can see the smoky skies in the background.

We couldn't get into the house we had rented until late afternoon, so we stopped in Bailey's Harbor for lunch. We finally arrived at the house, where we met up with my two sons, wife, and girlfriend. It was time to settle in!

I woke up early the next morning, just in time to catch the sunrise. The skies were still smoky, but what a pretty sunrise over Lake Michigan!

My youngest and I were up and out the door by 7 for a hike at one of my favorite spots, Newport State Park. The photos don't do it justice. We saw a lot of birds, including a bald eagle! I shared a photo on my IG--he was too far away to get a good photo that I could blow up to share here. 

Later on, we cooled off in the lake!

We're here for 2 more days! I wish it were 2 more weeks, lol. There's nothing better than being with family. I didn't know how I'd feel about being back up here. I'm so glad we did it because it feels like home.

How was your week? Anyone else on summer vacation? Do you prefer a resort vacation, or do you like to just wing it on your trips?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.