Week 50 Update

Sleep. We don't need no stinkin' sleep. At least that is how it felt for the nearly a week of driving to St. Louis, the several days of attending the conference, and then the 3 days driving back home. It is amazing how far adrenalin can carry you along. The conference was such a ball that we managed to keep on going somehow. On Saturday we had two sessions, some free time in between and then some visiting in the hospitality room next to our hotel room.

Then it was up early and back at it again on Sunday for the morning session. In the afternoon we headed to the Mississippi River in the downtown area. I walked back and forth between the Admiral's Casino, the arch and the Gateway Cruise ship dock, getting plenty of exercise, but I didn't measure it so I can't count aerobic points. (After the cruise I made a rapid walk to the car, which was a half mile away at least, so I could give others a ride to their cars.) During the cruise I was up and down the ladders between decks a few times for a bit of exercise, and I consumed a delicious Manicotti meal, followed by cheesecake. My that was good!

Monday, I actually slept in a bit, even though I knew I was going to hit the road that day. I was just too tired to get up early. By the time we were all finished packing and I had loaded the car (there was a pretty good bit of exercise on this one too. I was up and down several times to the 6th floor and out into the parking lot with our luggage and goodies from the conference while Dotti packed and straightened up the room. It was a pretty long walk and helped me to wake all the way up and get set for a long day on the road.), we started on our goodbyes in the lobby, where several Zonies were visiting together. Dotti got to visiting, so I hopped in the car and went to a gas station down the road, so that we could start off with a full tank, and then we finally hit the road about 10:30 AM.

Eleven hours, and 623 miles later, we were pulling into Gothenburg, Nebraska. I was shooting for North Platte down the road a bit, but I felt that I had had enough for one day. We pulled in and checked in, and went right to sleep. About 4 hours later, my eyes popped open and they were not going to close again.

So, we were on the road at 3:22 AM heading west after about 4 hours sleep. After we passed North Platte, we crossed over from Central Time to Mountain Time. That put my watch, and car clock, back to 3:12, and gave me another hour before I had to stop for breakfast. I did not stop at all until we had left Nebraska, and had hit Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dotti, bless her heart, slept all the way in her seat. She is the perfect traveling companion. She finds ways to make the trip pleasant and fun, and she understands when I have to be driving in the wee hours.

There is something about having the road all to yourself, with the stars sprinkled across the sky, and moon shining down on your progress. The road construction crews are safely in their beds and not out bothering you with slowdowns. The traffic is light and not much of a concern. You make your best time, and the stress is at absolute minimum. I love it!

Cheyenne was our second stopping point on our drive out. So, I knew at this point, after my (32 point :eek ) breakfast of coffee, 2 large pancakes with butter and syrup, eggbeaters, bacon, hash browns, and large orange juice, we were within striking distance of making it home in 3 days instead of the planned 4. We hit the road at 7:00 AM from Cheyenne, which was the time that we normally started out the day of driving on the drive out, and so, it was like a new day for me, even though it had been 4.5 hours earlier that we had left our motel room.

For my lunch I had a Kashi bar on the fly and then we stopped for Subway for the evening meal. Kept driving until about 5:00 PM, when we reached Twin Falls, Idaho, 880 miles, and 14.5 hours, from where we started the drive in the early morning. With snacks, I had eaten 71.5 points. (But the next morning I weighed a half pound less, so I was using it somewhere.)

Dotti and I went online for a bit, but I was off quickly, and asleep fairly early on, getting ready for the finally run at getting home.

We left Twin Falls around 6:00 AM, after grabbing a 14.5-point "continental breakfast" at the motel, and 9.5 hours later we had completed the 553.3 mile last leg of the trip, crossing the time change line into Pacific Time, the Blue Mountains, the Columbia gorge, and the Glenn Jackson bridge into Vancouver, Washington. HOME!

We made it in, early enough, and with enough energy remaining, to go out and pick up our mail, do a bit of shopping for groceries, etc., and get the car unloaded. Not necessarily in that order.

I am still tired from the whole thing, but it sure was worth it! Besides all of the fun we had, from the time we left the house on Saturday, the 13th of April, through the day we reached home on Wednesday the 24th of April, I had consumed 707.5 points (59.0 points per day), and my weight had gone from 186.0 to 182.5 (Thursday morning), for a loss of 3.5 pounds for the entire trip.

Since we have been home, we have been trying to relax a bit, and to get things up on the page for the conference. I recorded my DWLZ song, converted it to RealAudio (and MP3 finally), and put it up. Dotti and I have been working on the pictures (Dotti especially!) and I have been working on writing my conference memories. Since I am covering them elsewhere, I am mostly sticking to the trip home here.

I have been getting to sleep early each night since I have gotten home, but unfortunately I have not been sleeping in. I think part of me is still on Central time. That will all settle out in time. In the meantime, it is sure nice to be home, typing on my regular keyboard once again.

343 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6'3" 239.5/184.0/185 ± 2/BMI:23.0/WK-50
Weight Loss Graph/Maintenance Graph/Success Story