Live Like a Tourist: Local LIVING with a Traveling Spirit

Jackson's Corner in Bend, OR:  Simple, clean, and beautiful way to display jars for filling our own water glasses.  

The best advice I received before taking off to live in Asheville, NC for a year or so was:

"Live like you're a tourist.  See as much as you can."  

I took this advice to heart and was intentional about taking advantage of my short time in such a beautiful place. I was amazed by how much I saw and did...How much LIVING LIFE we did!  We really took advantage of all there was to see and do locally and really, all along the east coast.  We traveled, became members at the Biltmore Estates, climbed hills, swam in rivers, ran on new trails, scoped out the best restaurants, and so much more.  And we still adjusted as locals and became part of our community.

When we know we will live in a place for along time, it's easy to settle into routine and end up really only seeing and doing the things that are within our small area.  I grew up in Colorado.  I lived there for twenty years.  But I didn't really see much at all.  There were so many times in college and afterwards that people would ask me if I'd been to _______ or seen ______ and I realized that I'd seen and done so little in my own home state.  I resided there but I didn't really LIVE beyond my neighborhood and the same places I went to every week. We are creatures of habit.  Isn't this true!  And I admit, I love routine.  It would have been easy for me to travel all the way to Asheville for an adventure and really not see much at all in that year if I were to settle into too much of my old habits of only doing and seeing the same things day in and day out.  I was so thankful for this friend's words ringing in my ear...challenging me to seek out new things.

Yesterday after picking all the kids up from school, we parked and walked to this place downtown called Jackson's Corner where we shared a brownie and our day. It was something that probably wouldn't have happened unless we were intentional about it.  Otherwise, we would have just driven home and done what we always do.  When we were there, I made a point to look around and take in my surroundings...truly notice things (I tend to live in my head so much of the time).  My favorite part of this place is the wall where they have the drinking jars for us to fill our own water. Just something about it that is so simple but beautiful.

Now that we are in Bend, OR for the long haul, I still want to challenge myself to live as if I am a tourist for awhile (a tourist on a budget) and not just settle into my own 2-3 mile radius.  I'd like to choose a place to visit every week or so.  This doesn't have to be expensive or even time consuming.  I plan to keep it simple and intentional.  Some ideas might be:

• Sitting in a new coffee shop (or one I've been to before but sitting in a different place or talking to someone new) 
• Driving a different route
• Finding a different trail to run on or mountain to hike
• Making a point to find all the book stores in the area (even in Sisters, OR and other surrounding areas.) 
• Exploring a neighborhood or area that's not my own, even if it means driving, parking and getting out to walk or ride our bikes.  
• Taking the kids to a variety of parks, museums, etc.  
• Attend concerts, theater performances, and local live music

Really, it isn't so much as living like a tourist as it is simply, LIVING DEEPLY.  Settling in our familiar routines is comforting and wonderful.  I love knowing my favorite places and enjoying the richness our little corners of the world bring to us.  I also know that it takes being intentional to open my eyes to things I may never do or see otherwise.  When we are exploring a new place on visit or travel, we are usually much better about noticing things, exploring and trying to soak up all we can.  Since we aren't traveling, it will be more of a challenge to break from weekly routine where we have our go-to grocery stores, daily running routes, same drive to and from school and work, and our favorite places.  Yes, we will still have these things...these things make life comfortable and great!  I just want to change my path at least once a week. Why leave all the fun and beauty in Bend, OR to the tourists?!

1.  Do you try to break from your normal routines and see new things in your own city or state?  

2.  If you are familiar with Bend, OR and the surrounding areas, what are your recommendations for spots you love (shops, trails, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.) and favorite things to see and do (big and small)??  

3.   Thanks for the dog and 50k trail advice from my last post.  We are still looking for a dog.  I might go check out a hound mix today but not so sure a hound is best for living in a neighborhood.  And I'm pretty sure her keen sense of smell might distract her on our trail runs.   

 Amanda

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When Marathon Training in Vermont....Stop and Have a Beer on the Run!

If there is one thing that I'd say my husband and I do best in our marriage it would the supporting of each other in our goals.  When we know that a goal is important to the other, we stand by them and do what we can to help them get to where they are going.

Degrees
Travel
Starting his engineering business
Races
Thinking of career change
Writing

etc.
etc.
etc.

My husband has stood by me through every big goal I've set for myself.  He's been there for all of my marathons and he's the first to encourage me to set the bar higher in everything so that I don't limit myself.  We've always done this for each other.  And now that Boston is over and I'm not training for anything specific, it's his turn as he trains for his September marathon with the goal of a Boston Qualifier.  I'm behind him all the way.  He's spent almost the last 2 years recovering from some really awful plantar faciitis after his first marathon with me (untrained at 3:24) and then his BQ attempt only a couple months later that resulted in a 3:20 and injury.  Too much too soon!  We all know how that ends up.  Now he's back and running stronger and SMARTER than ever.

I do admit, if he BQ's and we both get in to run Boston 2014, I'm not so sure that  having both of us training for a marathon with 3 young kids will be all that conducive to a life outside of running!  In fact, if he qualifies (which I think he will), I might just sit back and support him training for Boston.  I might be the one to go as the spectator this time since he has done it for me the past three times. We shall see when the time comes.

In the meantime, here we are on our 12 day road trip with a husband in the midst of a rather successful build up in his marathon training.  We've hit Washington, D.C for 2 days, NYC for 2 days, Boston for a Red Sox game, New Hampshire for a stay in a log cabin in the White Mountains for 2 days (my favorite!!) and driving through the absolutely beautiful and charming state of Vermont today.  Then we head home.

So, just how does one marathon train through all of this driving and traveling?  Easy.  We are lucky enough to travel with our best travel friends who just "GET" this type of lifestyle.  They were fully on board when we stopped on the side of the road today outside of Killington, VT to let the guys exercise...my husband to run 14 miles to Woodstock, VT while my friend's husband mountain biked back to the ski resort and down to meet us.

Approximate drop off point before we continued on to Woodstock.

While waiting, we relaxed with the kids in Woodstock.  I took the older kids to a creek to make boats out of leaves and wade through the water while I read and she waited with our boys who were sleeping in the car.  It was just a normal part of our travel routine...our usual stretch of hours so that the guys could get their endorphin fix.  Now, if I were marathon training too?  Yikes, I'm not sure how that would happen.  That would be a lot!

Waiting with the kids in Woodstock, VT. Cute town but everything closed so early! There was a creek to play in and plenty of places for the kids to run and play.  Not to mention the buildings and shops to just look at.  So quaint.  

As I was waiting in Woodstock today (adorable town btw!), I was starting to wonder where my husband was and when he'd be back.  He finally showed up, jumped in the creek to wash off so he didn't stink up the van, and we drove to our hotel for the evening while he shared details about his run.  His 2x11 minutes at threshold were all around a 6:30-6:40 pace.  Impressive and on track for his goal.  Check. Check.

Then he showed me a picture he took on his run before he started the hour of easy running. It was of him standing at the Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, VT with a Long Trail Ale in his hand.

What??! When did he have time to do this??!

When in Vermont.... Stopping at a brewery in the middle of a long run isn't the typical fueling strategy.  But I suppose it is a good story to tell.  After all, when we we be in Vermont again?  Who knows. 

Apparently, he figured that if he was going to be running past this brewery in Vermont with all these cyclist who just finished their century ride, that he MUST stop to have a beer before continuing on.  Just to say he did.  This is an adventure after all!  And he DID kick butt on his threshold portion of the run.  When will we be in Vermont again?  Why not?  The picture made me laugh.  The old Amanda with a baby in tow, lots of sleepless nights and our kids way younger and more work might have been a little irritated and stressed out but it only took me a second before I high fived him and told him how awesome that was.  What an memorable part of his AWESOME training run in beautiful Vermont!

So, here we go...rest day for him as we travel back to Asheville, North Carolina.  We'll probably spend the night in West Virginia, do a bit more swimming and splashing in creeks along the way, and soak it all in.


Cheers to Travel, Training, and Supporting each other as we go!
Amanda