Finding ways to do fun, mostly outdoor activities is one of the things that I'm looking for when choosing my travel destinations. There is always a way to get a little motion in, no matter where you go.
For me, a vacation is never a time to “take off” from exercising and moving in order to “enjoy my vacation the fullest”. Moving is the way to make the most of the vacation.
I Don't Have To Move, I Want To
The reason why I'm always looking forward to doing fun, outdoor activities also when I'm traveling isn't the fear that because I eat foods that I usually don't, drink a few more glasses of wine or eat a slice of cheesecake, I will return home ten pounds heavier.
But that used to be the reason in the past when I exercised like crazy. About five years ago that was the main reason why I started every day of my vacation with a long run. Even when I had had too many drinks last night and it would have actually made more sense to take a rest day, I would go out and run to make up for the last night's drinks and snacks. Which doesn't make any sense, because one hour of running may burn off those three glasses of wine, but not that huge burger or several pizza slices or whatever I often happened to binge on before the bed.
But I still ran. Needless to say, those kind of “junk miles” didn't improve my performance or got me into better shape for my races. Junk miles are just junk miles. You do them because you feel the need to, and if you don't, you feel guilty, miserable and think that you'll automatically put on a ton of weight. All totally wrong reasons.
Now the reasons why I'm keeping myself active on a vacation have changed, as are the ways I do it. I don't have to keep moving or working out on a vaction (or any other time), I simply want to do it. I'm no longer thinking how many calories I burn. It's all about feeling better and truly enjoying the places I go to.
A Mini Vacation at Morro Bay
Last week, my husband and I went on a road trip to Morro Bay. It's about four hour drive from where we live.
I chose this destination because it seemed to be a pretty place with some beaches and many outdoor activities, like hiking and kayaking, which made it a perfect place for unplugging. In summer, you could also surf or stand up paddle board there (I'm not a great surfer but I love the SUP boarding!) but at this time of a year, it was too cold.
Road trips are long, so I absolutely need to 1) do even just a simple workout before hitting the road and 2) take several breaks from driving and move.
Here are the three simple things we did:
Stay Active Tip #1: Break Up the Long Drive
For me, sitting in the car for for hours is quite a bit of effort. I'm simply not used to that. To give you some perspective: In my home country Estonia it takes four hours to drive from one side of the country to another. And there's really no reason to do it all that often. In California, four hours is a small fraction of the length of the state.
To make things easier for myself I decided to look up something to do about half way to Morro Bay, our final destination, so we found 17 Mile Drive.
17 Mile Drive is a nice route that runs along the coastline and between the little towns of Monterey and Carmel. The drive is gorgeous, going through several pretty residential areas and golf courses. Most people do the 17 Mile Drive by car, but because our goal was to get some break from driving, we brought our bikes. There are also several bike rentals in the area if you don't want or can't bring your own bike.
One thing is sure–you never, ever get to see all the beauty of any area when you are just sitting in your car. Riding a bike or walking gives you so much better idea of the place that you are visiting.
Riding our bikes along the 17 Mile Drive was really like meditation. Soaking in all the beauty, being with your thoughts–or better yet, emptying your mind from all distractions, is completely possible only if you are actually in the fresh air and moving.
After about 1,5 hours of bike riding, we returned to the car like new people, ready to hit the road again.
Stay Active Tip #2: Enjoy the Magical Mornings Walking or Jogging
Getting out in the morning to explore the new area by walking or running has been something that I've done for many years. Even though I don't run obsessively, the way I described before, I still jog or walk in the mornings. Instead of 10K, it could be something like 2-3 miles.
This tradition of running in every new city I traveled to started when I worked at university and went to conferences quite often. I would always get up early, put my running shoes on, bring a map (real paper map) and go explore the city I was at. Often I would look up the conference venue so I would know where to go later. There may have been a couple of times when I got lost–yes, those things happen to me, but overall, I really liked this tradition.
While I'm not going to conferences anymore, the tradition has remained. That's what I did this time too. The morning in Morro Bay was very foggy and extremely quiet. There were a few fishermen and a couple of runners out there, but that was it.
Why are early mornings so great? You get to see places from a fully different perspective. When I went out a few hours later to get a coffee, the town looked absolutely different. There were more people out, little shops and restaurants were opening their doors, everything was so much busier.
Not to mention the difference between early morning and the night before, when people were singing karaoke at bars and restaurants were busy.
Places look totally different at different times of a day.
For me, early mornings are the most magical. I may skip seeing the busy night life (because I like going to bed pretty early even on a vacation…) but I always want to see mornings. And I usually do it alone, because nobody else is usually up yet and because I absolutely enjoy some me time.
Stay Active Tip #3: Go Hiking
A few hours later, we were ready for some exercise. Morro Bay area is known for its hiking trails, so we decided to hit up one of them–Valencia Trail in Montaña de Oro park.
The trail was only a few miles long, but it got pretty strenuous towards the end. The weather wasn't really clear, so the last third of the hike was spent in thick fog.
But it really didn't matter. What mattered was being in nature, walking, chatting with some nicepeople who were walking the same trail, taking pictures of spider nets and flowers, talking when you want to and being quiet when you want to, without feeling awkward or weird at any time at all. It was about being able to unplug and let your minds go to hundred different directions, without worrying about anything.
None of this ever happens when you are nose stuck to a computer or TV, even if surfing Facebook or watching a reality show seems like a good way of relaxing.
There are about million other activities you could do if you don't like to walk. Just get out, go explore, be outside. Anything that pulls you out from the computer screen and makes you go outside is great. It's even better if wherever you go has no coverage, so you'll have to wait a bit before you can post your Instagram pictures.
Conclusion
When you go for a vacation, try to spend as much time as you can moving around and exploring the new area. Even if you are traveling fro work, there are ways to do that.
Get up a bit earlier to see the city where you're at from a little different perspective. See if you could go for a hike. Urban hike is a hike too! If you are driving, instead of just going from one place to another without even looking what's between those two points, make a few stops during your drive.
When you are constantly moving and exploring, your vacation will turn out even better and you no longer think about it as an excuse to take a break from exercising.
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