Roadtrip!

Even with spending so much time on the road and so little time in my own bed I love road trips......and this last weekend was no exception..........

Jimmy Buffett in the CD player and heading South trying to outrun the rain we ended up in Islamorada.

Since we were in the Keys it was time to sample some local flavor, Key West Lager. The beer was flowing the and the Miami Dolphins were playing as we watched the Tarpon's circling alongside the dock.You can't get more Florida than that.

Even though we we're in lobster season this 28' beast felt safe to show himself at the Artisan's Village.

My friends at the Hilton Key Largo took care of all the details.....from a beautiful room in the treetops to the perfect sunset they hooked us up.

We were all set for typical fresh seafood diner when the folks at the front desk suggested Tower of Pizza... pizza in the Keys...OK I'm game. We were not disappointed, the salad was fresh and the pizza was some of the best I've ever had.

Lots of miles and lots of meals.......

According to my FourSquare account this is my 7th week in airports...Ughhhhh.......but I'm so lucky to have a job that I love.
I'm doing a North Carolina tour this week and found myself in Charlotte for the evening. Urbanspoon pointed me to a neighboring British Pub. Down a long set of cement stairs I found myself entering a dark but cozy pub. The menu was very extensive focusing on standard British fare but also adding something as exotic a Jamaican Chicken Nachos. The "on tap" beer selection offered a few nice surprises. One of my dining partners went for the Ostrich Meatloaf and the other gobbled down Fish & Chips. Monday just so happens to be trivia night, I'm not a big trivia guy but the evening was fun.

The End Of The Week And A Tropical Storm

I had a couple of business associates in town last week and since we all work for a Japanese company we decided to start the meal with the traditional "Kanpai". As all of the reviews seem to state the sushi here is fresh and the variety is vast. There was plenty of crab legs and the deserts were traditional Japanese. The buffet offered some great tempura shrimp and of course my standard go to ...... hot & sour soup. I didn't make it to the Hibachi grill but the ingredients were plentiful and the looked fresh.
The price is not cheap, not cheap...and unless you're a big time crab leg and sushi eater it might be hard to justify the $21.00 per plate charge.
Total $84.00 no booze.

 

No on to more important events...even with a tropical storm overhead I managed to get to the gym this weekend. My usual templates involve full or total body training but as of late I seem to be migrating towards a body split theme...possibly the running is taking its toll on the legs...who knows.

• Jogging(treadmill):
  • 0:11:30 || 1 mi || 5.2 mph (+64 pts)
• Plank:
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
• Body Weight Squat:
  • 1 reps
  • 2 reps
  • 3 reps 
  • 4 reps 
  • 5 reps
  • 6 reps 
  • 7 reps
  • 8 reps
  • 9 reps
  • 10 reps
  • Combination with push-ups, no rest
• Push-Up:
  • 1 reps
  • 2 reps
  • 3 reps 
  • 4 reps 
  • 5 reps 
  • 6 reps
  • 7 reps 
  • 8 reps 
  • 9 reps
  • 10 reps
  • Combination with body weight squats, no rest
• Barbell Squat:
  •   10 reps
  •   10 reps
  •   5 reps
  •   5 reps
  •   1 reps 
• Front Barbell Squat:
  •   5 reps
  •   5 reps
  •   5 reps 
• Dumbbell Step Ups:
  •   10 reps || 20 in
  •   10 reps || 20 in
  •   10 reps || 20 in
• Cable Pull Through:
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
• Rack Deadlift:
  • 5 reps
  • 5 reps
  • 5 reps
  • 5 reps 

 

Saturday, after hanging storm shutters I headed out to squeeze in an RT

• Plank:
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
  • 60 sec
• Body Weight Squat:
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
• Barbell Incline Bench Press:
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  •   6 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Snatch:
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row:
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
• Face Pull:
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
  • 10 reps
• Push-Up:
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps
  • 15 reps

Road Food

After what seems to be several months of constant road travel, more like 10 days...I did manage to find some great places to eat. From Orlando to Virginia below are 3 of the best. I have manged 4 solid cardio, 1 swim and 3 resistance sessions to stave off any food damage and I think it worked the scale is still showing me between 207 and 210...I can't complain.



Another Pad Thai Night.....Two nights in a row....not the healthiest of food choices.....but this place is amazing! It's small but packed with great service and even better food.
I started with the Chicken Satay, the peanut sauce was spot on. the Chicken Pad Thai was some of the best I've ever tasted, the sauce was light and stuck to the noodles like a dog to it's bone. The were out of sticky rice for desert. Listen to what others are saying...eat a meal here...you won't be disappointed.

 

Saisaki was located right across from the hotel and the front desk recommended it, so despite the mixed reviews below we gave it a shot. They were serving booze, which I passed on. The menu covered a bit of everything. I started with the Hot & Sour Soup (what else is new) and went with Pad Thai Chicken. Both arrived quick and hot. The soup was thick and tasty and the serving of Pad Thai was huge and delivered with a nice presentation. We didn't have much interaction with the wait staff but they were attentive and kept our drinks full. Total $15.00  

 

After a long 8 hour car ride this was a welcome stop. Kevin took excellent care of us. I went with the chicken nacho's and Kevin had them layer and bake which made the cheese melt perfectly, my dining partner went with the baled potato soup, since none was left I'm going to say she enjoyed it. . A couple of beers and a couple of vodka/diet cokes and the meal was complete. $40.38 well spent.  

Dinner On The Road

I'm not a huge fan of all you can eat buffets, and I'm sure by looking at me that's hard to believe but I'm not. I like most others take it as a challenge to get my moneys worth of food before my stomach needs to be pumped.
Having a hankering for Chinese food these evening I asked Siri to find a restaurant close to the hotel and she came up with Teppanyaki Grill and Buffet, then looking at Urban Spoon the place had 98 likes....rolling the dice we headed over there.
Walking in they had you pay before you ate....odd but I was hungry and like others have said there was 6 bars full of food just calling my name.
My buffet strategy is to stay away from as much of the fried or breaded stuff as possible, nothing with Orange or Crispy in its name. Look for clear sauces and not dark sauces and try to find something with a vegetable in it. Once I saw the Hibachi grill all was good, fresh beef, chicken, eggs and veggies. The was steamed crabs as well as baked salmon.....a great variety.
The Sushi was very fresh and of an excellent quality. Of course I did have to try a slice of what I call "Roller Rink Pizza", you know the type that they served at the local roller rink or bowling alley.
The desert bar was an average Chinese buffet bar, macaroons, brownies and that that rolled up sponge cake looking thing...again no offense it all looked good I choose to stay away from that  stuff.
All in all I did get my fill and it was well worth the $11.00.

After Dinner Walk

On the continued quest for local food we stumbled across Cabo Fish Taco and it turns out that it had been on Triple D so another plus.
It was $2.00 Tecate Tall Boys so that started the evening. They did tell us right off the bat that anything with Tuna was being replaced with Wahoo. The salsa was nice and chunky and the chips were so-so. They let you mix and match your taco plate, I did the BBQ Mahi and an Asian Swordfish combo....great choices...my side was the Jalapeno & Cheese Mashers. The bill was $15.00 and I would go back again.

The meal prompted me for an evening walk around the hotel, I don't think the beer took me that far off of my triathlon training but the walk helped to settle the stomach and prepare me for tomorrow.

Started with an early morning hotel weight room session and finished the day with a 1.5 mile walk in the nice Charlotte evening air.

• Plank:
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
  • 60 sec (+21 pts)
• Body Weight Squat:
  • 15 reps (+9 pts)
  • 15 reps (+9 pts)
  • 15 reps (+9 pts)
• Push-Up:
  • 10 reps (+15 pts)
  • 10 reps (+15 pts)
  • 10 reps (+15 pts)
• Dumbbell Step Ups:
  •   10 reps (+15 pts)
  •   10 reps (+15 pts)
  •   10 reps (+15 pts)
• Dumbbell Lunges:
  •   10 reps (+64 pts)
  •   10 reps (+64 pts)
  •   10 reps (+64 pts)
• Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press:
  •   10 reps (+38 pts)
  •   10 reps (+38 pts)
  •   10 reps (+38 pts)
• Reverse Triceps Bench Press:
  •   10 reps (+22 pts)
  •   10 reps (+22 pts)
  •   10 reps (+22 pts) 
  
  
  
  
  
  

Got In A Bike Ride.....

A bit lax on updating as of late due to a well needed vacation. I've signed up for a fall triathlon so it's back in the pool and back on the bike.
I managed to ride about 8 miles yesterday and in return my bike (Nash) got a bath.
My weight held steady during vacation week, despite a couple of pizza dinners at Bugsy's and a wing dinner at Murphy's Grand Irish Pub. All of the walking around Washington DC must have helped to keep the scale in check.

New Place In Town

Believe it or not our local Long Horn Restaurant closed...who would've ever thunk that. It's been replaced by a Salt Life Food Shack. I'm a big fan of the Salt Life brand so we had to give the place a chance.
We started with the Black Bean Hummus very tasty. My dining partner ordered the Shack Burger well done and it showed up with pink in the middle..not exactly well done, but it looked perfect for my dysfunctional food cravings.
I went for the Tuna Burger....for some reason I was under the impression it was tuna steak but when it arrived it was chopped tuna formed into a patty..delicious never the less..and oh yeah I had it without the bun. The sandwich's come without fries, which is OK with me. The bill came to $31.00 without booze, a bit pricy but sometimes that's what you pay for brand participation.
Oysters were $7.00 per dozen, I passed, and the tap beer selection went very deep which I also passed on.

 

Dinner Dinner Dinner

After a long day of set-up it was time for dinner and with this group there's two things that we will always eat....Wings & Asian, hands down no argument...between the smartphones, tablets, Urbanspoon & Zagat we usually end with a restaurant that doesn't disappoint.

Last night it was House of Chan...wow..in all my years of traveling up and down Cobb Parkway I never knew tucked away in this strip mall was Chan's. The place is small and seats maybe 30 but the food was amazing. The hot and sour soup was delicious, the BBQ ribs we had for an appetizer hit the spot. The double cooked chicken had a light plum sauce on it. Someone ordered the Egg Foo Young (I hadn't even thought of Egg Foo Young since my Mom made it in the 70's) and they were monstrous patties. The wait staff was spot on with refills of water and tea.
The bill for 5 of us was $92.00.

Tobu

After almost two weeks of a strict "Caveman" diet it was time to venture out for a treat.....tucked in the back of a close to death shopping center we found Tobu Japanese restaurant. Dinner started with Crab Ragoon which were wrapped thinly and you were able to actually see the crab....some of the best Crab Ragoon that I've ever tasted. Salads came with a warm peanut sauce dressing which we ended up eating right out of the dish. I ordered the Cashew Chicken and traded the Jasmine rice for steamed vegetables while my dining partner feasted on Red Curry Chicken including the heart shaped Jasmine rice. It's worth a return trip.

 

WOD

An on the road work out this evening..the hotels fitness room sucked so it was back to the room for a workout before dinner

3 Rounds
Jumping Jacks
Burpees
Mountain Climbers
Planks
Thrusters
High Kicks

3 Rounds
Push Up
Air Squats
Planks
Bridges

As I mentioned above there was dinner involved at the end of a long travel day.

Stopped in Columbia, SC for the night, my usual stop is the Carolina Wing house but this evening I tried something a bit different. I love "Pub" food and this place had the dark look as if you were in the U.K.....The beer selection is well rounded even though they were out of the Sam Adams Double Bock. Our waitress was a bit scattered but her service was excellent...Started with an order of Thai Curry Egg Rolls, different but very good and the main course was Turkey Green Apple & Brie sandwich with a side of Pub Chips. Well worth the trip and worth going back to. 

Back On my Side Of The World

After a grueling 8 hours that started with the "Red Eye" out Vegas my internal clock is back on Eastern Time (I think). Fighting a tweaked back and dry sinus's (try the Neti-Pot...) I feel almost human.

Saturday we got out and participated in this years Walk Now For Autism Speaks. Considering the rainy evening and night turn out was tremendous.  We brought home a whole bunch of gluten free snacks as well as packages and packages of information on Autism. A bit of $165,000 was raised for this years walk.

Rock climbing walk

Live tunes...of course they played Sweet Home Alabama

After the Autism walk it was lunch time so....my wife suggested a BBQ place that she had always wanted to try...me being no stranger to BBQ was all in. Scruby's was the place and as soon as we open the car door you could smell the smoke from the pit. We started with an order of "Sweet Corn Nuggets", my wife had the "Sloppy Joe" I had "Beef Brisket Sandwich" (without the bun, so in reality I guess it was a beef brisket plate)..the other members of the party had chicken tenders and the pork sandwich. They had a nice looking salad bar and an excellent selection of sauces. Lunch for four with drinks and an appetizer $46.00.....All in all it's worth a return trip

Mugshots Grill On A Rainy Mississippi Night

Stumbled across Mugshots Grill and Bar this evening, better yet the 5 of us did. Since I'm still in Tri-Training mode I passed on the bar part of the evening but I did manage to find some food to consume.
We started with an order of "Mild" wangs....(the Mild was closer to Medium but still very flavorful) with a side of Chips & Salsa, which I passed on.
My order was the Peanut Butter (with Bacon) Hamburger, yes it sounds odd and looks worse but after I tossed the enormous bun out was actually very tasty.  If you're ever in Flowood MS grab a burger here and yes they do sell Budweiser Platinum I just didn't drink any of it on this visit.

 

TGIF????

 I took the day off from work..not from phone calls or e-mails but from work. I started out at the gym with a 2.5 mile run and then back to the house for a power breakfast of oatmeal and protein powder. Around 11 or so I was bored as all get out and decided to go for a bike ride......as they said in the frontier days "Go West young man, go West" so I decided to heard for the "River of grass"....the Everglades. Growing up in South Florida I spent a bunch of time milling around in the "Glades", fishing, air-boating

and just general growing up. There's a dike that separates the "Glades" from the town and it goes on for miles and miles. I bet it's been 30 years since I'd been out this way..........I rode down the dike for 7 miles...nothing but exotic birds, a few gators and one noisy air-boat. 14 miles later I was back at the car and hungry......nothing beats a 6' double meat Turkey sub from Subway.

Later that evening we went and walked a few miles at "Relay For Life" in honor of my Father. The weather was perfect as the setting sun framed the cancer survivors as they walked the first lap. I'm really astounded by the number of folks who have been touched by cancer.
We grabbed a late dinner at Buffalo's to round out a day off from work.