Went on a Vacation

I went on a trip that lasted roughly ten days. I didn't really take any meals with me, I decided to try "roughing" it and just being kind of careful of what I ate.

The trip consisted of one 11 hour day in the car, then a 6 hour day in the car to reach the destination. We ate out a lot. Once in awhile some fast food...McDonald's for breakfast meant a McMuffin, for example, or we had the hotel breakfast buffets to save some cash. Other times we ate out at places like the Rain Forest Cafe or Bubba Gump's.

I knew I was eating more than I should, but I tried making sure I never ate until I felt uncomfortable. Most of the time I began to wonder if the pouch was stretched out; I'd eat the mushroom burger (the meat wasn't meat, from what I could tell) at a restaurant, and I wasn't hurting or uncomfortable at all.

We walked a lot. We walked a lot. One day was spent in Chicago, and I swear I don't remember walking so much in my life in one day. We walked the zoo, we walked around parts of town, we walked 10 blocks to the Navy Pier and 10 blocks back in stifling humidity. And I loved it.

The walk back from the pier, after the fireworks, my 5 year old son was complaining about the distance. He wanted to get to the hotel to see if he and his sister could go swimming, and we didn't know when the pool would close; we'd be getting there rather late. I knew we needed to step it up, but as my wife put it, "Daddy, your legs are longer...every step you take is two for him."

So I stopped and said, "I'm already stinky and sweaty, but what the hell...," and picked him up and placed him on my shoulders. "C'mon dude...we're going to get to the hotel!"

He leaned down and said, "You're my favorite Daddy!"

And you know what? We got back to the hotel in time for him to have a good swim.

I've never seen so many people walking everywhere. We saw runners everywhere we went in Chicago. We walked a lot at our destination, inside a giant mall, but that was more like meandering while shopping than actually walking in a city. I walked until my feet throbbed. I walked until my fingers swelled. I had sweat glistening on my arms in less than half an hour from 80+ degree heat and humidity high enough to swim through the air, and I didn't care. I stank. You stank. Everyone was sweaty and hot. I didn't care!

It was fun. But I was certain from the food that I had gained 10 pounds.

When I got home...I only gained 2.

Nice.