Week 49 Update

Wednesday morning 5:00 from Lincoln, Nebraska

Here I am on another road trip, and Mr. Scale is responding like a happy puppy, eager to be on the road and getting into mischief. He has already dropped me down to 179.5 once and I have been eating over 60 points for two days in a row and he says that I am staying at 181.0. This morning I even weighed at 4:00 AM (Central Time yet!) and he didn't change his mind. There is just something about going on the road…

Saturday was a long drive of 13 hours to make it to Salt Lake, City. The miles were long, and I-84 in Oregon is 65 miles per hour all the way. So, I was pretty tired by the end of the day. Fortunately, on Sunday, I was able to take a day off from driving and visit with Barb and Rick in their lovely home. They made Dotti and I feel like one of the family, and two nicer people you will never meet. Barb took us down to see Temple Square and to go shopping. (I had forgotten to bring my microphone for my guitar amp on the trip, and so I had to buy a new one.) Dotti and I had a wonderful time visiting.

Monday, we drove across the Rocky Mountains all day long, for over 400 miles. We apparently got out of Salt Lake just in time, as a large snow storm came through right behind us and closed the freeway, and knocked out power to thousands of homes. As it was we had a very windy drive the entire day. I could seen cars and trucks swerving all along the way with the wind gusts and even the weather-hardened shrubbery (trees were pretty scarce in the desert-like conditions there) was moving around its stunted branches. I felt like I was driving across the Mojave Desert again as the day progressed. It made me a bit homesick. :) The drive was much shorter than the one on Saturday (about 7 hours) but I was still tired and went to bed early.

Tuesday, the wind continued, but the terrain changed to farmland. Unfortunately, it is too early in the year for the tall stands of corn to be lining the highway, that have been there most of the times that I have driven this road, but the deep cut plowed rows of the fields were still a beautiful sight. I love seeing the rolling fields dotted here and their with the occational farming house, barn, and silo. This is indeed the heartland of America, and one place where the traditional American way of life is still going strong. We hit Lincoln, after our second time change, at about 3:15 PM, having averaged almost exactly 60 MPH all the way for the day, even with numerous stops. (I love that 75 MPH speed limit that we have had ever since hitting Utah.) The wind was still strong but the temperature had soared to over 80 degrees. I hate seeing high temps on the High Plains when I know it should be cooler. That means a thunderstorm cannot be too far behind, and the one downside of this part of the country is that thunderstorms can mean tornadoes. I know I am traveling with Dorothy and we are just above Kansas. Fortunately, we don't have Toto with us… :)

Today we will be heading south towards St. Louis. The trip out is drawing to a close. It has been fun, and the time alone with Dotti has been very pleasant. (It is hard to estimate how much time is given over to the web page every day until we break away from it for a few days. Then it suddenly becomes clear.) The conference is almost ready to start, and we are getting pretty excited about it. We have very high hopes, since last year's conference turned out so well.

It is about time to hit the road…

Thursday Morning…

We pulled in to St. Louis about 3:00 PM yesterday, and were able to check into our room one day early at the Hotel where the conference is being held. That makes one less time we have to take the suitcases, etc. from the car and put them back. :)

Yesterday's drive was the least enjoyable so far, because after leaving Lincoln, we never saw 75 MPH speed limits again (65 and 70 all the way to St. Louis), and the freeways (I-29 and I-70) are smaller and in worse condition than I-80 was all the way across. East Coast highways are normally narrower than West Coast ones and I-70 looks like an east coast road with smaller shoulders. Even so it was not too bad until we were about 45 miles out of St. Louis, and the road constructing began. The freeway came to a halt and slowed us down considerably. I was telling Dotti that I was very happy that we did not hit anything like that coming across country. With the long drive nearly over, I could remain completely patient with the lousy traffic conditions. >:

The hotel is great and they are filling up the pond outside our window even as I am writing this. Hopefully by this weekend it will be all filled up. A couple of water fowl couldn't wait and are already wading in. :)

I upped my points again yesterday to see if I could bring my weight up a bit more. I ate 81 points. :eek My weight this morning was 182.5 and so I was up 1.5 pounds. Of course most folks will probably see the 81 points and not the fact that I am now only 0.5 pounds below my range instead of 2 pounds below my range. :lol Today, since I was successful in getting Mr. Scale to move upwards finally, I will not up my points again. In fact I will probably drop back quite a few points to avoid over-swing in the other direction.

People are going to start showing up today for the conference. In another 3 hours or so the first group should be landing at the airport. Dotti and I are very excited! I don't know how much posting I am going to be able to do from now through the end of the conference but at least I will get my data up here.

Off to get ready for the incoming arrivals...

Saturday Morning...

The Friday evening session is done and I am going crazy with things to do. We are having a lot of fun so far and looking forward to the next 2 days.

I weighed in at 4:00 AM and my weight is still down again, but I will work on bringing it back up this week.

336 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6'3" 239.5/181.5/185 ± 2/BMI:22.7/WK-49
Weight Loss Graph/Maintenance Graph/Success Story