A little bit of travel, a little bit of yoga and a little bit of weightlifting from a little Natty.
Written by Erica Miller aka @yogadoodsies
August 17, 2018
After being in my car for a total of 19 hours I finally pulled up the the glowing Christmas af yard that I knew had to be Mels (a.k.a. mom). She made me a delicious a vegan meal of tofu, veggies, and rice and introduced me to her family (who thought I was a robber or a serial killer; hopefully my complete lack of intimidation eased their minds).
GUEST BLOG!
FRIDAY
After months apart and a week on a cruise ship to the Bahamas, I arrived into Orlando… I had the pleasure of reuniting with my best friend and other “rabble rouser”, Natalie! Those of you who remember Natalie’s road trip will recall her first travel companion, Jay, who was also a part of the grand Florida adventure.
Even though we live across the country from each other, whenever we get together it feels like we never were apart. You know those friendships? Where you always just pick up where you left off, no matter how much time has passed? That are met with a squeal, a bear hug, and endless conversation? Those are the best kind of friendships.
Even though there were some travel hiccups (Natalie’s flight getting delayed, my accidental booking of the hotel for the wrong dates)… everything turned out better than initially planned, with an even nicer resort for a slightly lower price. We made quick friends with another small group, and stayed up way too late chatting in the hot tub and drinking sake at a sushi restaurant on the hotel grounds.
August 22, 2018
Michigan here we come! I definitely thought I would be able to drive along Lake Michigan to Ann Arbor but there were too many trees in the way. Trees along the lake, who woulda thunk! Still, it was a perfect blue sky drive.
When I got to Ann Arbor, it looked like something from a Calvin and Hobbes book. BIG, beautiful houses on wide, clean streets. All the houses have big lawns and I knew Piccolo would be excited to have a yard for a couple days. Happy Picky!
Our Airbnb was very nice, three bedrooms and a finished basement.
CrossFit Tree Town was so much fun! They had a large group workout area, a barbell club and an endurance club. They tried to get me to do some cardio (HAH!) but there was no way I was getting on an assault bike. Tree Town felt like a real community away from home and I really loved their vibez.
August 8, 2018
Moab, UT has been on my bucket list since my best friend drove 9 hours to me straight through Utah to Denver. But first, a note on travel and self care.
No matter how much I adore my travel companions or how well we get along, by day 7, I will most definitely grump out on them (sorry!!) and need alone time. I bet you’ve felt the same before! I know this and try to recognize the symptoms before taking it out on them. When traveling with people, know your limits and know when you need your down time and save yourself the headache. You do not need to be and probably should not be with people 24/7 when traveling! It’s fun to be alone sometimes 🙂
Now for the road trip from Arizona to Utah.
Jay and I arrived in Utah in the dark after a long, cranky drive. More snacks would have probably helped my mood. Kinda weird but the Airbnb was much too big for two people. It could easily fit a family and a half! Space is nice but then the Wi-Fi was terrible so we lounged around on the big leather furniture before heading to bed.
Have you seen those baby goat videos trending on Facebook lately? Welp I never would have guessed that I was going to wake up with goats in my backyard! They were so cute and friendly! Piccolo was very confused and wanted to play with them. I hope to own a goat of my own someday.
The WiFi was so bad, I couldn’t get any work done so I went down to CrossFit Moab to get a quick workout in. Everybody was so friendly, I hope to visit them again someday!
Weightlifting notes:
Everything felt really good and my coach programmed heavy deadlifts which are my favorite!
After the workout, we planned to grab some sandwiches and head into the park. For some reason, it took the sandwich dudes like 30 minutes to make to sandwiches. We just couldn’t understand. But hey maybe Jay and I were just tired from being on the road for so long our stomachs skewed our view of time, idk.
The Arches were EPIC. I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the size and beauty of these rocks.
I got to climb on HELLA rocks.
I got to rest on some smooth af rocks.
I was slightly disappointed by this small arch.
As we were leaving the park, we decided to make one more detour and it was the best decision ever! There was a double arch and, well, I climbed on it, rested on it and was not in the slightest bit disappointed by this arch. High five for arches!
Have you ever planned a picture and it doesn’t go the way you think it would?
On that note, if you don’t know me personally, I’m going to tell you that I’m extremely graceful and never, ever fall down.
Moral of the story, this was absolutely my favorite part of my road trip.
August 6, 2018
In case you didn’t know, since I work from home, I did have to get some work done every morning UGH. I also had to train for AO2!! While in Arizona, I had the pleasure of working out at Crossfit Can-Do. Everything in the gym looked brand new and the owner, Brandon, was very responsive and accommodating to my needs. If you’re in the area, check it out!
Weightlifting notes:
One good 35 snatch complex, one bad 35 complex. Saw that I was catching forward to cause the drops. Pulls felt great! Dropping at the top is nice and makes me reset before each pull. Squats were easy. Noticing huge difference when I lift with my butt vs quads.
Sweet Natty Dee