Author: supermaren

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Shaking it up with Cardio

So as much as I like Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred, I like variety in my workouts…otherwise, I get bored and stop doing them. The way the 30-day Shred is supposed to work, you’re supposed to do Level 1 for 10 days, Level 2 for 10 days, and Level 3 for 10 days. Now, I’ve only done Level 1 for two days (remember, the Body-for-LIFE Challenge asks for alternating strength & cardio days – and then I fell off the wagon for Labor Day weekend), but even after two times, I thought, “There must be other programs I can do for my cardio days.”

And so I leafed through the Exercise TV menu on Comcast On Demand and decided to try some different workouts.

On Thursday, I went holistic with a Gaiam video (they’re known mostly for their yoga and pilates DVDs) called Total Body Cardio with Tanja Djelevic. Granted, I started on Day 4 of the workout, but I wasn’t really impressed. Yes, I sweated, yes, I felt tired, but a lot of the movements didn’t feel like I was working the muscle groups I could have been working. Plus, she did the crunches pilates-style, which I simply don’t understand, so I couldn’t really get any kind of abs workout. I think I’ll be skipping that one next time.

Today, I worked out with the 6 Pack Abs in 6 Weeks package, Level 1. Boy, am I glad I started on level 1. It starts with 30 minutes of a cardio dance routine led by an INCREDIBLY upbeat guy named Kendell. Not obnoxious Richard Simmons upbeat, but in the way that makes you want to laugh and smile all the way through the workout. Which I did. Even though I was sweating buckets by the end.

After the cardio, the video switches to a 10-minute abs workout which is INTENSE, led by Cindy Whitmarsh. Finally, I think I found an abs workout that is effective. So many of the crunches people suggest I either execute poorly (i.e., I have no idea how to do them so that I feel any kind of burn) or they’re way too hard. This definitely had me yelling at the TV, “What?! You want me to do MORE?” by the 3-minute mark and panting, “Oh, God!” by the 1-minute mark, but luckily they have the countdown on the left-hand side of the screen so you know there is an end in sight.

Now I’m sweaty and totally happy. Gotta love that adrenaline. I think should probably go take a shower, for everyone’s sake.

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Body for Life update (post-Labor Day)

Well, my Labor Day weekend really got me off track, and just as I was starting to build momentum!

I spent the three-day weekend at the PA Renaissance Faire and completely fell off the wagon. My husband and I sleep on the grounds (he has a leather shop there, and we sleep in a bedroom above the shop), so my routine was broken. I had hoped to download some workouts onto my laptop, but ended up not bringing it because of practicality (there’s no room to work out in our teeny bedroom, and every space large enough to work out at Faire is outside and dirty…and there are VERY limited showers. Plus, I didn’t want to bother the other merchants camping on grounds).

I then thought, “Hey, I’ll just go out jogging in the morning,” which is what I did on Saturday morning…but by the time I went out, all the actors were gathering for fight call, and I felt super self-conscious jogging by while they were practicing their sword fights. I’m sure they didn’t care one way or another, but it totally wrecked my motivation.

As for eating, I had brought protein bars and protein shakes to keep me healthy and satisfied throughout the day, but my planning was thwarted by the daily appearance of Pretentious Cheese.

You see, every Faire day, lunch at the shop where I spend most of my time (As You Like It/Up Your Kilt) is an affair. After the Trial and Dunke show, the shop owners put out a spread of Pretentious Cheese (all sorts of varieties of gourmet cheeses) and veggies and fruits and breads. It’s delicious, but cheese is practically nothing but fat. And though I tried to curb my grazing at the cheese table, I know I ate more than I should have.

Then every evening, because everyone is exhausted and starving, everyone goes out to a VERY LATE dinner, and it’s always lots of food, and mostly greasy food. Definitely not on my list of things that I should be eating. But I ate them anyway, because I was hungry. Bad Maren.

Sunday and Monday I ditched the jogging idea. The only exercise I really got all weekend was in my ankles, because I was spinning like mad on my spinning wheel (it’s a double-treadle wheel, so my feet got a lot of exercise moving the wheel all day long). Someone remarked that it was the Medieval Treadmill, which of course it isn’t…I wasn’t exactly burning a whole lot of calories; I wasn’t even breaking a sweat! But my ankles sure felt sore every evening.

When I got home on Monday evening, I was determined to start up again, just as intensely as before. So here is my workout for the week:

Tuesday: cardio (Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred)

Wednesday: upper body strength #1 (Bowflex)

Thursday: cardio (this time I thought I’d go with something a little different, so I watched Tanja Djelevic’s Total Body Cardio Day 4 on Comcast On Demand)

Friday: lower body strength (Bowflex)

Saturday: cardio (probably back to Jillian Michaels; I don’t think I’m a fan of Tanja Djelevic’s style)

Sunday: upper body strength #2 (Bowflex)

Monday: REST!

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B4L Challenge: Days 1 + 2

Yesterday, I started off my Body-for-LIFE challenge with an upper body workout on the Bowflex. The folks at EAS (the company sponsoring the B4L challenge) recommend 2 strength training exercise per muscle group worked (I had been doing only one), and 5 sets of varying reps & weights for each exercise.

For example, if the exercise is Chest Fly, you would do 12 reps of at one weight; add weight, do 10 reps; add more weight, do 8 reps; add more weight, do 6 reps; then immediately do 12 reps of the starting weight.

I actually like this idea because you’re not really getting your body used to one particular kind of resistance, and you’re constantly upping the ante. However, in practice — on the Bowflex, at least — it kind of didn’t work. The way the Bowflex is designed, you add weights (a.k.a. resistance rods) to each side because each arm moves independently of the other. I don’t have a bar, which would probably fix this problem (maybe it would be worth it to get one?), so there is no way I can add just 5 lbs. without making one arm work harder than the other.

As a result, every time I notched up the weight, I was increasing by 10 lbs., not 3 or 5, which are the increments more likely suited to the design of the BFL guide. The lower resistance was way too easy, and the higher resistance was nearly impossible. I went through the entire workout this way, and I realized by the end of it that I would need to change this workout next time, otherwise there would be no way for me to get a consistent workout.

I obviously did something to my muscles, though, because my arms felt like jelly for a good hour afterward. Later that night, I really started feeling sore and tight, which I know is a good thing, but reminded me that I need to do a lot more stretching before and after my workouts.

This morning, I got up and turned on Jillian Michaels’ 30-day Shred on Comcast On Demand. I figured I’d start with Level 1, and it’s a good thing, because it kicked my butt! Things I need to have next time I work out with her video:

  • a yoga mat (she switches back and forth from on-the-floor exercises–abs & push-ups–to standing/running/jumping exercises)
  • hand weights (I used soup cans from the pantry this time, but I know I have some hand weights somewhere, and I’ll have to dig them out)

I’m still not entirely sure how I’m going to do her workout while I’m at the Renaissance Faire this weekend (we basically camp out on grounds, so it’s dirty and the floor isn’t exactly even…and then there’s the whole shower situation to contend with — don’t get me started). I might have to modify this exercises program again and turn my three days in Lancaster into jogging days or something.

I figure as long as I’m doing SOMETHING, I’m working towards my goal.

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And the winner is…

…all of the above!

I decided that I can combine the 30-day Shred with the Bowflex 6-week challenge to help me with the 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge. Today* was SUPPOSED to be the first day of the challenge, but already I’m off to a rocky start. I had hoped to get some cardio done in the morning, but I didn’t plan ahead very well, and by the time I was ready to get started, it was time to leave the house.

Sigh.

It’s okay, though. I filled out all the paperwork for the Body-for-LIFE challenge, and then I made Ray take “before” pictures of me tonight (I promise, there is no way I’m posting those pictures until I have something to compare it to!), so tomorrow will be the official start of the challenge for me.

The packet for the challenge comes with some questions I have to answer about my inner transformation, too (yes, I have to write an essay at the end of all this, which is why chronicling my experience on the blog will help). Here’s question #1:

What was the turning point you experienced that made you decide to compete in the Body-for-LIFE Challenge?

It’s not like I had an epiphany or hit rock bottom; as I’ve mentioned before, my husband bought a Bowflex for us to get in shape, and knowing the way I work, I realized the way for me to really achieve my fitness goal is to have structure. Hence the challenge.

Here is my exercise plan for Week 1:

DAY 1 (Wed., Sep. 2)

Upper Body Weight Training

  • Warm Up – 10-min (Exercise TV On Demand)
  • Upper Body Weight Training
    • Chest Fly
    • Bench Press
    • Pulldown – seated
    • Row – seated
    • Front Deltoid Raise – seated
    • Rear Deltoid Row – seated
    • Biceps curl – standing
    • Biceps curl – lying
    • Triceps extension – seated
    • Triceps Kickback
  • Cool Down: stretches

DAY 2 (Thurs., Sep. 3)

  • Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred (Exercise TV On Demand)

DAY 3 (Fri., Sep. 4)

  • Warm Up – 10-min (Exercise TV On Demand)
  • Lower Body Weight Training
    • Hip Abduction – seated
    • Hip Adduction – seated
    • Leg Extension – seated
    • Calf Raise – seated
    • Reverse Crunch
    • Crunch – resisted
  • Cool Down: stretches

DAY 4 (Sat., Sep. 5)

Isn’t it just like me to pick a holiday weekend when I’ll be out of town to try to get into the swing of things?

  • 30-Day Shred Day 2 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 5 (Sun., Sep. 6)

  • 30-Day Shred Day 3 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 6 (Mon., Sep. 7)

  • 30-Day Shred Day 4 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 7: Free Day

So that’s the plan. Let’s hope it works!

—

*I meant for this post to go out earlier in the day on Sep. 1, but it looks like the time of posting will be almost midnight. So much for doing ANY of this today.

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The Contenders

As promised, I have narrowed my fitness regimen choices down from the thousands out in cyberspace to just a few. Let me know which one you think I should take!

#1: 30-day Shred

The Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred exercise regimen first got on my radar through one of my college roommates, Christine, who lives and blogs in Boston. Her “after” pictures in a bikini radiate so much confidence that I couldn’t help but check out the program she used. Turns out she followed along with the Shredheads as they worked out with Jillian for 30 days back in March.

Imagine my surprise when my friend Amy recommended the same program in her comments to my last post!

PRICE: free but limited (on Comcast On Demand) to about $8 for the DVD on Amazon.

PROS: recommended by friends

CONS: This DVD boasts that you can lose 20 pounds in 30 days. Is that healthy? Or is that just hyperbole?

#2: Bowflex 6-week Challenge

I’m kind of already doing this challenge, except for the cardio part. I mean, heck, we’ve got a Bowflex, so there’s no doubt I’ll be using it. The question is, will I be able to figure out how to do all these exercises correctly? As I mentioned in my last post, the pictures and explanations in the little booklet Bowflex provided has been little to no help, and I feel like I’m flying blind.

There are some solutions to my information problems, but those solutions cost money. FitnessBliss has a fitness software solution to track and suggest different routines specific to the Bowflex ($15). There is also a “must have” book about the Bowflex called The Bowflex Body Plan by Dr. Ellington Darden ($13 used on Amazon).

PROS: I don’t have to change much of what I’m already doing, except add cardio.

CONS: It’s still a pretty DIY solution, and I’m a busy person. I’d prefer to have someone tell me exactly what to do and when.

COST: $15 FitnessBliss software + $13 book = $28.

#3: 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge

The Body-for-LIFE Challenge runs on the principles of eating right & exercising properly, and if you join the challenge (which starts Sep. 1 — the same time I was thinking of starting!), they provide you with exercises to do and meal planning suggestions.

PROS: Cash prizes! $25,000 for Grand Master Champion & $10,000 for Category Champions.

CONS: Still a little DIY, but not as much as the Bowflex Plan. And, let’s face it, anything I do will have to be customized to my own personal workout style.

COST: Free (unless I want to purchase any of the numerous EAS products they have on their website — for which I would be reimbursed, naturally, if I win. Hey, they’ve gotta make money somehow).

I’ve got a pretty good idea what I’m going to do now, but I’d love to hear what you think, either in the poll below or in the comments section.

Let me know what you think!

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Getting Fit

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that Ray got us a Bowflex this summer, and ever since it arrived, I’ve been struggling with the idea that although I do want to get fit, I’m inherently lazy. So far, we’ve been good at keeping each other on track, but it’s only been a few weeks, and I’m worried about what might happen in another couple weeks when I start getting busy again.

I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to lose weight and tone up a little; it’s just that I really dislike exercise, and there’s honestly not a single sport (other than horseback riding, which is an expensive prospect, to say the least) that I enjoy enough to do every day or so. I’ve joined gyms before, but, like many people, have ended up canceling my membership because I simply didn’t go often enough and was wasting money.

Anyway, now we have this Bowflex, and I’ve been exercising on it every other day, but I feel like I might not be working out all the right muscles (the Bowflex Classic doesn’t have a whole lot of leg exercises) and the instruction manual that came with this contraption has pictures of some of the exercises, but not all of them. How am I supposed to do the right exercises if I don’t know how to set up the machine or how to do it “right?”

I figured there would be plenty of videos on YouTube about different Bowflex exercises — and there are some, just not a whole lot — but again, most of them are for the arms, and most of them are beefy guys trying to show off how much weight they can press.

I’m also concerned about the fact that I have no cardio training in my exercise regimen at the moment, and while strength training is good, I’m likely to burn calories more quickly through cardio. I don’t really walk anywhere (remember I live in NJ, where the car is king), and I’m not a very good biker (I get freaked out in traffic), so most likely what I would need is something I could do in the house in conjunction with the Bowflex training.

I think I need a plan for myself, and some sort of goal to motivate me. There are thousands of online fitness challenges out there, from the President’s Challenge (seems a little vague to me) to the Couch to 5K plan (I’m not really that interested in running unless chased, honestly), so I did some research and narrowed it down to several contenders. I’ll need your help to decide which one to try, though…more details to come in the next post.

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Bird on a Wire

I was at the bank yesterday because I had to make an international wire transfer. I had ordered several music scores from a Danish publisher, and the invoice they had sent me was in DKK, so it was now up to me to figure out how to pay them. Since the invoice contained wire transfer instructions right there on the page, I figured it must not be such a hard thing to send money to Denmark via wire transfer.

First I went online to the (really crappy) website and clicked on the tab that said “wire transfers.” Apparently I wasn’t signed up for their wire transfer service, and when I tried to submit an application, I got a message saying that a customer service representative would be in touch. That was five days ago…no contact from the bank whatsoever.

So I called the 800 number, and the person on the other end of the line told me I would have to go to the bank in person to initiate a wire transfer. I asked what I would need when I went to the bank, and she didn’t really have an answer for me. I figured I had all the info I’d need on this invoice, so I drove to the bank, invoice in hand, ready to learn how to wire money overseas.

The last time I had gone to this bank and tried to pay a bill in foreign currency, they had looked at me blankly and told me to go to Western Union…so I was prepared for a little bit of resistance. But I guess I didn’t count on downright incompetence. This is how the conversation went:

ME: Hello, I’d like to make an international wire transfer.

JOAN*: Sure, have a seat. Can I have your account number?

ME: Here you go.

JOAN: How much is the transfer going to be for?

ME: I’m not sure. The invoice I have is in Danish krone, so…

JOAN: Oh, we can’t do anything that’s not in dollars.

ME: Are you sure? I mean, I’m pretty sure your bank does international business.

JOAN: (clicking through some screens on her computer) Oh, I guess we do. What’s the exchange rate?

ME: I don’t know.

JOAN: Well, I can’t do the transfer without the exchange rate. You’ll have to go find that out and come back.

ME: Um…aren’t you a bank? Aren’t you supposed to know that kind of thing?

JOAN: (blank stare)

ME: Exchange rates fluctuate throughout the day. I would imagine banks would know what the current exchange rate is more than a regular person like me.

JOAN: (getting defensive) I’ve never done this before.

ME: Okay…um…

JOAN: (waving over another rep) Hey, Linda! How do I do this? I’ve never done this before.

LINDA: (coming over and pointing at the computer screen) Just hit “wire transfer.” Okay, now hit “international.” What’s the currency she’s trying to use?

JOAN: (growing increasingly more nervous) I’ve never done this before!

ME: Danish krone.

JOAN: (picks up the phone and dials what must be the help desk line) Hello? I’m trying to get help finding an exchange rate. You what? My store number? (to Linda) What’s our store number?

LINDA: (gives store number)

JOAN: (repeats number) I just…that’s not the number? But that’s the only number I have. RS Code? What’s an RS Code?

LINDA: (turning to me as Joan continues to fuss on the phone) you want to pay in the foreign currency, right?

ME: Yes.

LINDA: That’ll be an extra $35 for international wires.

ME: Fine.

LINDA: (hitting a few keys on the computer) The exchange rate is 5.114.

ME: Okay.

LINDA: So here’s what the entire amount will be that we’ll deduct from your account.

ME: Sounds good.

JOAN: Oh, that’s what an RS code is? Okay, thanks. Well, we found out what the exchange rate is without your help, but thanks anyway. (hangs up the phone)

*All the names have been changed to protect the stupid.

The rest of the meeting was fairly normal; she asked for all the information that was on the invoice, and I had to keep pointing out where the information was on the invoice that was right in front of her. She was incredibly nervous about the whole thing, which amused me more than anything (I think if I hadn’t been amused, I would have been angry, which wouldn’t have helped anyone). And I think I calmed her down by telling her I had never done this before either, so we would both be learning as we go.

I told Ray this story last night, and he said that this bank is infamous for not paying enough, so nobody who is at all good at banking will ever work for this company.

And the sad thing is, I almost went through this whole post without revealing which bank it was, but I think I owe it to you all to reveal which bank has that kind of level of consistent incompetence: TD Bank (formerly known as Commerce).

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Leaving on a Jet Plane

Previously: Seahorses

And then began the long flight home.

As I was drafting this post, I considered writing another long diatribe about the airplane business and the state of flying these days. But I decided it would be redundant, since my description of the flight to Hawaii covered most of what I wanted to say.

We were packed in overbooked flight, and once again, got very little sleep — Ray less so than I, since he was feeling sick the entire flight back. We had a layover in Phoenix, where there were so many people waiting for their overbooked flights that we had to sit on the floor.

A group of college girls were seated on the floor next to us, talking to some classmates of theirs who had been on our plane. They had gone to Vegas for Spring Break and now were having a hard time getting home because of overbooked flights. They had been stuck in Phoenix for a day and a half and had even been sent onto a plane going back to Vegas. I breathed a sigh of relief that we weren’t in their shoes, and I started wondering about the fact that we turned down the airline’s offer to give us free tickets to give up our seats on the plane.

They announced on the P.A. system that they were looking for passengers to give up their tickets back to Philadelphia in exchange for a free roundtrip domestic ticket (within the contiguous states, of course). Well, we’d already given up our free Hawaiian tickets…why take a domestic ticket?

Sigh. We got on the plane and returned to Philadelphia as scheduled, just in time for me to go to my Philadelphia Singers rehearsal.

And thus endeth my tale of Hawaiian adventures. For now.

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Seahorses

Previously: On Top of the World (Part 2)

At last, it was our last day on the Big Island. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 10:59 PM that night, though, so we still had a full day ahead of us. Unfortunately, we needed to check out of the hut in the morning, since there was another group of people coming in to stay there, so we packed up the car and headed out to explore the island some more.

We didn’t have much of a plan of action. We considered driving all the way around the island one more time (after all, we did have the time to do that), but I wasn’t really in the mood to sit in the car for 8 hours. I did express some interest in seeing a waterfall on the east side of the island, and we were told we had to go to to Tex Drive-In for their famous malasadas, which was in that direction, so we drove east for some breakfast.

We had gotten a fairly early start, so by the time we had driven through Waimea to Honokaa on the northeastern shore, it was only 10:00 or so. The Drive-In did have a drive-thru window, but we wanted to sit down and eat, so we parked and went in the front door. The guy behind the counter had an uncanny resemblance to Judge Rheinhold’s character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, both in his mannerisms and a little bit in looks.

The malasadas were good, but they were not spectacular. I suppose it was one of those experiences one “must” have while in Hawaii, much like having a beignet in at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans: they are both fried concoctions made of sugar and flour, little more than donuts without the hole, but if you don’t do it, you somehow are missing out on the local experience.

After breakfast, Ray started to not feel so well. We decided a long drive halfway around the island would not be so good, so we nixed the waterfall idea and made our way through the middle of the island (for once, we were not driving along the coast!) to Kailua-Kona.

We ended up at the only Seahorse Farm in the U.S., and signed up for a tour that would start at 1:00. The “farm” was located in an industrial park called NELHA (National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority). We were interested in touring the energy labs, too (I had heard about some interesting alternative energy systems they were developing there), but apparently there was only one tour per day, and that had been at 10:30 in the morning.

The tour of the seahorse farm had all the makings of a Busch Gardens/Seaworld presentation, complete with wireless microphones and portable amps. All that was missing was a bunch of 20-somethings singing and dancing on a stage (I would have offered my services, only I’m not 20-something anymore and I was on vacation).

Although the tour itself was ostensibly to raise awareness about reef conservation and environmental stewardship, the money from these tours were being used to raise funds for research on these bizarre little creatures. It was a good cause, so I didn’t feel so bad about the overpriced tickets; I just chafed a little bit at the sterile show/presentation.

Oh, and there were children there. Lots of hot, cranky, pushy children. And I love kids, but their parents were just as hot and cranky, and they didn’t really police the kids when they pushed to the front of the line or knocked people out of the way.

Even so, I did enjoy myself. Seahorses are fascinating creatures, and this was the closest I had ever been to one, not to mention thousands! At the end of the tour, they let people hold the seahorses…okay, actually, they have you put your hands in the water, and then they get a seahorse to wrap its tail around your finger.

I was stuck behind a horde of whiny kids, so by the time it came for my turn, the seahorse in question would have none of me. Unfazed, the biologist plucked up another seahorse and coaxed it around my finger.

I barely felt anything at all: it was very light and smooth, and the seahorse delicately held onto my finger until the biologist decided it was time for the next person to go. He gently coaxed it off my finger onto his, and I went to dry my hands.

After the seahorse farm, we wandered back to the main part of Kailua-Kona, for one last trip to Kona Bay Books. I traded all my books (which I had finished in the previous day and a half) for enough books to last me the plane trip and then some. It turned out to be an even trade, and I didn’t have to spend any money, which was a bonus.

Apparently, there was an “international market” somewhere close to the book store, so we wandered over to where it was marked on the map. We expected something more akin to what we had experienced in Waikiki on Oahu on previous trips: dozens of small stalls selling t-shirts and tikis and silly Hawaiian collectibles for bargain prices (most of which were negotiable). This marketplace was more of an outdoor mall. They still sold kitsch, but not for bargain prices, and it didn’t really seem like anything was negotiable.

We ate dinner at the Kona Brewing Company again, and we got there right before the dinner rush. Ray still wasn’t feeling very well, and although he had napped a little bit in the car while we were at the marketplace, he ate dinner listlessly. I was hoping that whatever he had would pass before we got on the plane. The skies started to threaten rain (which would have been very bad for us, since we were eating outside), but luckily, the clouds passed by without comment.

Finally, it was time to return the rental car and check in to our flight at the airport. But as we got up to the check-in counter, the woman told us that our flight was overbooked, and would we like to stay here in Hawaii a few days longer? They would put us up in a hotel and give us a free flight back to Hawaii. The only catch: they couldn’t get us on another flight until Thursday.

I looked at Ray. We were both exhausted, and not thinking right. I had rehearsal on Tuesday evening and another one on Thursday, and Ray had to go back to work on Thursday. Could we really afford to stay longer? Probably not. I told her thanks but no thanks.

Stupidest thing I’d done the whole trip. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

Next: Leaving on a Jet Plane

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On Top of the World (Part 2)

Previously: On Top of the World (Part 1)

Once we piled back into the vans, they drove up an even steeper road, zig-zagging up the mountain. Now the landscape was barren, looking more like a moonscape than earth. In fact, our tour guide said, the Mars rovers were tested on this rocky land, since it was similar to the makeup of the ground on Mars.

We kept driving, and soon we saw snow. Then more snow, then hills with ski-marks on it: our guide told us that people who work here (scientists and tour guides alike) sometimes bring their skis or snowboards, drive to the summit, and ski to the bottom of the snow.

The snow looked pretty icy, though…I can’t imagine that the skiing was actually very good.

We also learned that there is archeological evidence that ancient Hawaiians used to live up this far up, even though there is no underground water source. Apparently this is where priests and royalty went to commune with the gods, and there was a small community of people, completely dependent on food and water from the outside world, who lived their lives on the summit as gatekeepers to the gods.

We knew we were getting closer to the summit when we started to see the observatories, more modern gatekeepers of the heavens. We stopped at the Caltech submillimeter observatory and walked around it, and I got an idea of how incredibly enormous it was.

There was snow on the ground, and I was bundled in my parka, but Ray still hadn’t given into the cold. He was wearing a light jacket and still sported his flip-flops even though I had brought some socks and an extra pair of shoes for him.

The van then took us to the summit just in time for a glorious sunset. Two crazy people (not on our tour) took off their clothes and jumped around in the snow in their bathing suits. Ray just took off his flip-flops.

It’s difficult for me to come up with words to describe how I felt standing on the top of the world at an altitude of 13,796 feet, looking at the sun setting into the horizon. I felt an incredible sense of euphoria of being in such a magical place, and I could understand why the Hawaiians felt like they were communing with the gods up here. And maybe it was the lack of oxygen making me think this way, but maybe, just maybe, there really was something mystical about the summit.

After the sun set, we all crowded back into the van to drive back to the visitors’ center. Across the road, they set up two 9-millimeter telescopes and gave us a stargazing presentation as we sipped hot chocolate. We all got to look into the telescopes and see several different star formations, ending with a finale of a fantastic view of Saturn and its rings. Some of the people had gotten tired and cold about halfway through the presentation and had gone back to the van, but I was riveted.

The ride back was very quiet, and I’m sure many people fell asleep. Our tour guide dropped us off at the junction where he picked us up, and we got back into our rental car.

As soon as the van pulled away, Ray turned to me and said, “Okay, that was the best thing we’ve done this whole trip.” I heartily agreed.

Next: Seahorses