Austin

Sharon and I are climbing out of Austin piloted by Captain Dave. We came in Saturday afternoon and have had a wonderful visit with old friends since our arrival.

 

We stayed with Deborah and Duane Campbell in Pflugerville. It has been years since our last visit. I drove through here in 1996 or 1997 on my way from visiting my father in Houston. That would be 18 or 19 years ago. Neither us remember. I do know that I flew in and out once before through Austin Bergstrom Airport. I do know that Austin has grown and changed tremendously since I was last here. In one regard I feel they paved paradise and built, not a parking lot, but miles of tollway. The concrete contractors have made out like champs.

As we were approaching Austin on Saturday I was getting nostalgic about Austin, central Texas, and the hill country and wondering why I didn't want to move back here. I've got generations of ties to Austin and Texas. Now I think it is a great place to visit but I don't need to live here again.

On Sunday Sharon and went exploring from Pflugerville, up through Hutto then Taylor and then toward Georgetown and then into Round Rock where we ate brisket and beef ribs at Salt Lick. I had wanted to go to Louis Mueller's in Taylor but they were closed on Sunday. Taylor is looking sad, progress has passed it by. Round Rock is booming and mostly unrecognizable, but I did manage to drive down Chisholm Trail and across Brushy Creek where we got a glimpse of the round rock. Between the heat and the dryness we remembered why we live in Glen Ellyn rather than Austin. In the evening we drove to south Austin to Strange Brew for an evening of music from Trout Fishing in America and Dana Louise and the Glorious Birds. We all had a great time.

 

Monday saw us taking it easy. Sharon did some work and we went shopping with Deborah. Sharon and I drove to Beverly and Rebecca's home in the afternoon for a very nice visit and catching up with each other's lives.

Tuesday. Sharon spent much of her day working. Me? Reading. Sharon made an awesome cheese cake while Deborah made charro beans and rice and we headed back to Beverly and Rebecca's. Pete and Audry Deckinga joined us and we had a marvelous time taliking and dining and drinking. Rebecca introduced us to Miracle Seeds. Ever tried them? Quite an experience with changing taste buds.

Wednesday and departure day. Sharon and I went shopping. This time to Burnet Road and Karavel shoes where I got some Clark Waves and some orthopedic inserts. I turned it over to a sales person there and she seemed to know what she was doing. I feel these should be comfortable to work in. We shall see. Our next stop was at Fiddler's Green to shop ukuleles. Wow! They have a great selection of many stringed instruments. I now have a new one, an Ohana concert ukulele with a solid cedar top and rosewood body and it sounds great.Thankyou Sharon.

Colby and Sharon Visit Redmond

We went to Redmond the first week of September to visit John, Kristie, Avery, and Anika. The weather cooperated and cleared the smoke from the Redmond area, but it was a bit cool at night. Avery is on the JV soccer team for his first year at Ridgeview High School and Anika is starting middle school. We drove Avery back and forth for soccer practice and games, took on a craft project with Anika, ate some pretty darn good meals, and otherwise took it easy for the kiddos last week before school.

Health

Sharon has been going to Orangetheory fitness for quite some time now, and she is getting more and more fit. I suppose I was jealous and more and more concerned about my fitness and I began looking for ways to up my game. I've been biking regularly for over a year now and know it has helped me but I wanted to step it up. I chose to get a Polar heat rate monitor and focus on heart health. This is one of the keys with Sharon's visits to Orangetheory, they wear heart rate sensors and strive to stay in higher heart rate zone to improve cardiovascular health.

In the month I have been using a heart rate monitor while riding And targeted a maximum heart rate of 152. I can't get there yet because my legs give out too soon! I can however get up to and slightly above 130. I have been able to spend more time at heart rate levels 3 and 4 and I have seen my at rest heart rate fall from about 72 to about 62. My recovery time has improved also. In a short time I have seen visible results for consciously watching my heart rate as I exercise.

I am still enjoying my rides, getting in about three a week. I have been sticking with the Illinois Prairie Path going either east or west from Glen Ellyn. I can get on the path within two blocks of the house and simply have to decide which way to turn onto the Prairie Path. The crushed limestone surface means more rolling resistance than on pavement, dust when it is dry, and wet cement when it is wet, but in general it is good to ride on. There are the occasional asshat riders going too fast and not announcing when they are passing, and those that ignore cross traffic, and those that ride two or three abreast. But, the majority of riders and walkers and runners share the path with courtesy.