Our First Fit Road Trip Together

To celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary and Mr.'s 30th birthday, we decided to take a little road trip this weekend, sans kiddo, and enjoy a little "us" time.

We headed to historic New Harmony, Indiana, for a little historical sightseeing and relaxing. Sometime during the four-hour drive here from Cincinnati, I realized this would be our first fit road trip together. What brought on this realization? Stopping at a gas station mid-trip, of all things.

I realized that in the old days, I would've gone right into that gas station and bought a bunch of candy and junk food. Probably to replace the candy and junk food we ate during the first two-hour leg of the trip. We always used road trips as an excuse to eat to excess and overload on sugary, salty snacks--including our last road trip over Christmas last year, right before we started getting fit. But this weekend, I packed some healthy snacks to tide us over during the drive. No need for a carbfest at the gas station.

I noticed more changes in our road-trip habits, based on our new fit lifestyle. We both packed workout clothes, assuming we would get in a workout or two during the weekend. Before, we wouldn't even have considered working out--on vacation?! Vacations are for chilling, not sweating, right? Upon our arrival, we immediately noted the whereabouts of the hotel gym, glad it was open 24 hours so we didn't have to worry about when to go.

Being that New Harmony is such a small town, there's really only one full-service restaurant: The Red Geranium. All I can say is, thank God it offers some fit food options! Otherwise, we'd be SOL. Nonetheless, the restaurant also offers plenty of non-fit options, too. We were careful to watch what we ordered and stop eating when we were full--even when there was food left on the plate.

Finally, I've noticed how much more adventurous we both are (especially Jay) with our newfound extra energy and openness to calorie-burning activities. Before, we would have shied away from walking so much or going so far without a car. This time, we spent nearly the whole day walking around town and checking out the Heritage Week festival, and even squeezed in a workout in the gym before treating ourselves to one-hour massages each. Who needs naps to relax? Give me a massage anyday.

Now, I don't know if the scale this week is going to reflect how fit we were on our road trip. There may have been a few slips before the trip that could prevent us from losing. (Stopping at Dunkin' Donuts "just for some coffee"? Bad Idea Jeans.) But I know we're succeeding in the long haul if we can maintain our fit attitudes and behaviors even when on a celebration road trip.