Staycation Mode
I just wrapped up an amazing weekend of stay-cation in Williamsburg with my boyfriend Dave—we had so much fun doing all of the tourist-y things that we take for granted and rarely do even though we’re lucky enough to live in this awesome place! So, I wanted to devote a blog post partly to telling you guys a little bit about our vacation [because seriously I think it might make you want to visit Williamsburg], but also to talking about the roles that fitness and food played this weekend.
If you don’t know me personally [although you probably could’ve guessed from the existence of this blog and my running it], I would consider myself a pretty health-oriented person. Add to the mix Dave, who is a very health-oriented person, and you have a couple who is definitely going to make vacation an active endeavor. It can be a little bit challenging to work fitness into vacation—I mean, it’s supposed to be relaxing, and going to the gym is not always exactly that. However, I think both Dave and I feel much more energized and ready to take on the day after a workout, so we did our best to fit in some gym time and make plans that would keep us active throughout the day. So, here’s a closer look at our itinerary to help you guys get a better sense of what that looked like for us:
Friday
We woke up around eight and I went for a five mile run while Dave worked out at William & Mary’s rec center. After we’d both exercised, we had a late breakfast/early lunch situation and then headed over to the colonial area to soak up some historical fun. Pro tip [I don’t know how I didn’t know this before]: W&M students get free passes to the colonial attractions, so we took advantage of that and we toured the Governor’s Palace and Capitol Building as well as just walking around the main stretch and checking out some cool old buildings. It was a really great way to spend a few hours walking around and being outside but also really making the most of this super neat place that’s literally right down the street.
We wrapped up our colonial time with a little shopping [hello, everything at the Bookstore that I certainly don’t need], some meandering through the peanut shop [hello, all of the samples that I definitely do need], and a stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. Then, we headed to the Williamsburg Winery for a tour and tasting, which was SO fun! I feel like my very limited wine palette was broadened, plus it was fun to get tipsy at approximately four in the afternoon. Yay vacation and delicious raspberry flavored dessert wine! I also totally took the bait here and bought some wine to bring home, because hey, I’m twenty-one now and I can do that!
Friday ended with a nice dinner at Amber Ox, which Dave and I have been meaning to try together for a while and finally did—it was delicious! And I was still tipsy from the wine tasting [whoops, sorry to my parents if you’re reading this] and some more craft beer we had with dinner. We got poutine as an appetizer and then I had a really delicious burger and then we went home and were happily subdued by a major food coma. So all in all, a pretty awesome day—plus, getting in a workout in the morning and walking around a lot in Colonial Williamsburg felt really good.
Saturday
We slept in and it was so, so nice! After another late breakfast, we chilled out at home for a little bit until the rec center opened up at noon [these weekend summer hours are killing me a little bit as a morning workout person, but don’t worry guys, I’m surviving]. We spent about an hour there then headed home to shower and eat lunch before our next big adventure: Busch Gardens!
I know this sounds crazy, but I have lived here for three years now and this weekend was my first time ever going there! I’m also a huge roller coaster junkie, and luckily so is Dave, so we really made the most of our time there and went on some awesome rides. My favorite was the Griffon, which is truly one of the best roller coasters I’ve ridden to this day [and guys, I pride myself on trying all the scary stuff at amusement parks]. If you haven’t been to Busch Gardens, it’s super cool! It’s “theme,” so to speak, is that it’s organized into different country-themed areas—so for example, there’s a little Scotland area, an Ireland area, Italy, Germany, France, etc. We ate dinner in a Canada (?) themed part at some sort of buffet “smokehouse” situation [honestly still unclear exactly what country this section was or what this restaurant was trying to be] and it was, you know, amusement park food. Barbecue, fries, mozzarella sticks, fried pickles—you get the gist. We also had some Dippin’ Dots which just whooshed me back to childhood, and guess what: they still taste like delicious cold Styrofoam balls! Wild! The night ended with some cool fireworks at the park, and then a long trek back to the car before heading home. Once again, it was nice to get in a bunch of walking and being outside in addition to the gym.
Sunday
We had decided in advance that our last day was going to be our “chill” day, so we took it off from the gym. In the morning, we got breakfast at Astronomical Pancakes, which did not really live up to the hype [sorry if this is a hot take, yes the pancakes are huge but they were not that delicious], before heading to Waller Mill Park for some midday kayaking. Waller Mill Park is a hidden gem that I have only just discovered! It’s quite close to school and very beautiful—there are a bunch of trails and such, and you can also rent different types of boats to take out on the reservoir there. We opted for a tandem (two-person) kayak, and although we were not the best at paddling in unison or, you know, steering, we did some fun adventuring on the lake.
After our kayaking experience, we had lunch at home and then went to the movies to see “Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood,” which was fantastic and I love Quentin Tarantino and that’s all I have to say about that because I WILL NOT spoil this movie. Just go see it. Now. But seriously, “Pulp Fiction” was the first movie Dave and I watched together [so romantic, right?!] and we both really like his films, so it was a great time. Plus, movie candy! I’m addicted to M&Ms.
Later, we randomly decided to have dinner at Applebee’s, which happened to have a really good deal going on, and we had some delicious mozzarella sticks after a recent streak of bad mozzarella sticks in the last month or so. Basically, this was a huge victory, and a great wrap up to a fantastic weekend full of food and fun and happy times with Dave!
So now that I’ve recounted my vacation in probably more detail than you all were actually interested in, I’ll share some insights that it brought me. First, I am so glad that Dave and I were equally invested in finding time to work out. Even on our off day, we still got outside and did some active things—exercising makes me feel good, and I want to feel positive and happy all the time, but especially on vacation. I know that many people feel like vacation isn’t the time for going to the gym, but since it was important to both of us and fit in our schedule nicely, it was great to be able to do it. I don’t think it’s bad at all to make time for something that, while it might take up an hour or two, will make the rest of the time of better quality. [Also, if you don’t want to work out on vacation, more power to you! This is just me saying that vacation doesn’t have to be a total no-gym experience.]
This weekend also involved a lot of eating and so much delicious food. I’m pretty sure we had dessert every single day and we definitely did lots of eating out at restaurants and such. Previously in my life, eating on vacation has been really challenging for me. It’s super hard to count the calories in restaurant food [or anything that doesn’t come with a nutrition label or that you don’t make yourself, honestly], and eating a lot of big or indulgent meals can feel really stressful. I know I talk a lot about intuitive eating, but I will be honest with you guys—I did not consume much in the way of veggies or healthy food this weekend. For a hot second on Sunday morning as I was eating a mediocre syrup-drenched pancake and knowing that I wouldn’t be exercising later, I felt stressed about this. Why hadn’t I made more healthy choices or eaten less or just “done better?”
And then I decided that no, I was not and am not going to guilt myself about eating food on vacation. Yes, this week I am going to take time to remind myself that I also enjoy vegetables and salad and chicken and eggs and lots of other “healthier” things, but I am also happy that I didn’t worry too much about it this weekend and just ate delicious food, drank lots of wine, and had dessert so many times. Like I’ve said before, my goal above all is to make the food and fitness choices that make me happy without being motivated by guilt or fear. I think that this weekend I achieved that in maintaining a workout routine that energized and sustained me as well as enjoying a variety of tasty food that I don’t get the opportunity [money-wise, not calorie-wise because I refuse to think of it like that] to eat every day. So, I’m proud of myself for being able to enjoy vacation in every aspect.
Because I think good things should be celebrated, here’s a list of some of the amazing things I ate this weekend that brought me happiness, and not guilt:
Chicken hibachi and tempura shrimp roll [Oishii is open again, guys!!!]
Baseball Nut ice cream
All of the Peanut Shop samples [milk chocolate covered cashews, I love you]
Poutine that had pulled pork on it omg
A delicious burger
My favorite chilled Styrofoam ice cream treat, Dippin’ Dots
Approximately three glasses of worth of ~fancy~ wine at wine tasting
Fried pickles with mysterious but delicious sauce
Plain M&Ms
Honey barbecue chicken mac and cheese
Food lion freeze pops
Not including my pancake because it did not bring me joy [trying to Marie Kondo my food habits here]! Anyway guys, just eat the things that you love and make your lifestyle such that you feel comfortable and happy eating them, whatever that means to you. Cheers to stay-cation!
