vacation

Exercise on Vacation

Maggie hiking Mt Kilimanjaro

A few people have asked me what I do for exercise on vacation. The answer: it depends.

Sometimes I don’t. And that’s okay for anyone. It is necessary to allow your body a break from its typical routine for a week or two. In fact, it’s probably good. My regular routine has a lot of physical activity in it. And breaks are vital. As someone who LOVES to be in motion, I probably don’t take breaks as often as I should.

Also, sometimes our personal trips are so physically active whatever we are doing is my exercise. When we hiked Kilimanjaro or the Inca Trail, I wasn’t adding exercise. When I did the El Camino with my mom, I didn’t add more exercise to the 15 miles we were walking each day. However, if we had access to a pool, I tried to swim for 30 minutes. But moving in a pool is a wonderful addition to any workout routine, especially if your body is sore.

Maggie finishing the El Camino with her Mom

Exercise on VacationMaggie Downie2024-09-19T16:44:12-04:00

I’m READY TO EAT DESSERT!

Yippee!!! I can eat dessert again if I want. My self-imposed month of no dessert is over. Now the question is: will I eat dessert right away? What I craved most of all was chocolate covered marshmallows. I’ve never even had chocolate covered marshmallows, but I think I’m on a mission to find some.

Here is a sampling of the many desserts I went without:

Death By Chocolate made by my mom for my grandma’s 85th birthday. I was bummed not to partake and felt a little guilty!

Chocolate peanut butter cake with a peanut butter truffle and banana ice cream.

Tom Douglas’ Coconut Cream Pie

Cream filled puff pastries smothered […]

I’m READY TO EAT DESSERT!Maggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:57-04:00

Biking for Free Food

The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark will give you a free meal voucher if you ride a bike and produce 10 watt hours of electricity–that’s about 15 minutes of riding for an average fit individual.

I totally want to go and ride and get my free meal.

I love when businesses do cool things to promote health and wellness!

Biking for Free FoodMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:55-04:00

How Time Flies

Time certainly goes by quickly. Last week Matt and I were just talking about how this time last year we were hiking the Inca Trail in Peru. The altitude made us feel sick as dogs, but we had a wonderful trip anyway.

It’s funny the little tricks time can play on you. A couple of years ago Matt and I went to Tennessee. That feels like it could have been yesterday, but our trip to Peru feels like it was an eternity ago–not just last year.

No matter what perspective we have on how time passes, everyone seems to agree it moves faster and faster every year. So take a little advantage of your time. This weekend make sure you have time for a little fun, or adventure, or something that really makes you feel like you are thoroughly enjoying your time.

How Time FliesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:04-04:00

Maggie on the Mountain

Nearly every Labor Day weekend, I try and get up to NH to hike in the White Mountains. For years I went up Mt. Washington, which I still enjoy, but I got sick of hiking to the top and needing to cross a parking lot before reaching the summit.

So last year, instead of just a day hike, I started backpacking different peaks in the area. A friend from high school showed us the ropes to backpacking and he had us hooked immediately. This year Matt and my sister Kate and I went north of Mt. Washington to hike Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison. Hurricane Earl gave us a wet night at the campground prior to hiking, but we were all good sports about it. Especially my sister whose tent was flooded by 1am forcing her to sleep in the car.

Though rain had been predicted for the whole weekend in New Hampshire, we […]

Maggie on the MountainMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:10-04:00