A transitional year for sure. Has it already been two months since I left the Golden State for the Sunshine State?! Yes, yes it has...and with it real connections with friends across the USA.
I left early from Oakland (4am, Aug 29th) just in time to catch the sunrising over Lake Donner...and it was chilly! Didn't stay too long and got to Reno about an hour before the local Costco opened. I was hauling my 12, 16 & 24kg bells (along with my 25 lbs quad god mace). I took the 24kg out and proceeded to knock-out 100 snatches in a shady patch in the parking lot. Can you say 'Portable Gym?!" Winding my way through Nevada, I finally reached my destination right on the border of West Wendover, Utah by sunset. Nothing but sleep and on the road again by 5am. Drove through the Bonneville Salt Flats, but I couldn't see them. Rolled through Salt Lake City before the sun rose and then took I-70 up and then through Wyoming...a whole lotta nothing there, a good amount of construction...and not much else. Finally got to dive down into northern Colorado and timed the mid-afternoon Denver rush-hour just perfect (this wouldn't be the last rush hour I got to experience).
My sister and bro-in-law, own a lovely house sitting at 7700 foot elevation. Red Rock inspiration. The perfect place for hiking and doing bodyweight exercises like gama squats, pushups, pull-ups, raking pine needles...ah yes, the 35 gallon hefty bags that would weigh damn near close to 75 pounds when full of wet needles! Bear hug carries to the rescue, until my sister said "why don't you just use a wheel barrel to haul them off" - she's smart. I think 42 was the final tally. Something about physical moving meditations that I really embrace (sweeping, washing dishes fall into this category). It goes hand-in-hand with my Super Power of volunteering to help friends whenever they move. The opportunity to lift irregular objects, down irregular staircases, is a good test of strength outside of my normal realm of kettlebells and such. The area also has wonderful staircases to climb; one being at the Philip Miller Park in Castle Rock. 200 long railroad tie steps to the top. It's quite the attraction for the locals and there is an amazing outdoor gym just across the way, where you can work your push-ups, dips, pull-ups, battle rope, etc.
Further south toward Colorado Springs, I made my second ascent up the Manitou Incline staircase. 2700 steps,1 mile, pretty much straight up. It took about an hour. Several stops along the way to regain my breath. You can clearly see who the veterans are, springing all the way up to the top, unbroken. The Barr Trail winding down from the top is 3.5 miles of pure nature. It's got to be one of the nicest trails I've ever been on.
My adventure continued on through the high plains of Kansas and down into Oklahoma where I connected with friends I had never met before, Zara & Juan, ever welcoming. They made me feel right at home. Tulsa, or T-Town, was the stop. Lucky enough to be able to train in a high rise gym. Kept the sessions simple with some dumbbell work, pullups and then an actual three mile jog down to the Arkansas River with Juan. We enjoyed a 90's style party at the Cain Ballroom and dined on tacos, played some kind of "throw the ball in a barrell" game. They wanted me to come back for Oktoberfest, but my sights were laid much farther east. I really appreciated their welcoming ways and hope to see them again soon!
Austin was the next stop, where I spent two days and met up with an student from eight years prior. Cara had just bought a house and was refurbishing it when I arrived. Her love of kettlebells ignited again and she is really getting after it (along with her Muay Thai practice). It's nice to be able to see the impact my teaching has had on folks. The only thing is, she doesn't know how to slow down. We are working on that! Her place was in deep construction mode, so I offered to help clear things up a bit. It didn't hurt that we found a $50 dollar bill in her front yard, which she graciously handed over to me for two hours of work. You just don't see $50 bills floating around! :)
My last stop was in New Braunfels Texas. Anthoney, Lindsey and baby Joshua on the scene. She is an avid runner & Coach and Anthoney is well-versed in many things pertaining to fitness, nutrition and health. His garage gym has all the toys. Kettlebells, rack system, clubs, bands and he got to play with my quad god mace. We took beautiful evening barefoot walks in the neighborhood. So wonderful to meet and hold Joshua. He is the happiest little guy I've ever seen. He is a bundle of joy and they are amazing parents. We got to do a track workout at Texas State University in San Marcos (hot) ...something like 5 or 6 100 yard sprints, then dined on some "tacos" which looked like some sort of hybrid taco/burrito, but they were delicious all the same. The one saving grace on those hot Texas days (and let me tell you, there wasn't a place on this trek that wasn't hot) was jumping into the cool San Marcos river right next door to cool us down. It's such a treasure in the area. I highly recommend checking it out! One final note, they completely destroyed me in Monopoly (the card game) multiple times before I left. Humiliating!
The last part of the trip was a long stretch of I-10. Apparently, I-10 is one of the most dangerous freeway in the country. Lots of semi trucks. I was lucky enough to hit the rush hour outside of Baton Rouge and it was quite late before I arrived and stayed the night in Mobile AL. At this point I was laser-focused on getting to Tampa. The Buc-ee's stops along the way were always a welcome site. These started in Texas and I think I visited five in total throughout. If you've never been to one, they are quite the experience!
So now in Florida over 5 weeks. A beautiful time getting to see my sons in action. Growing their businesses. Interacting with their girlfriends. It's allowed me a moment to step back and reassess. For over 10 years I've instructed people in the ways of the kettlebell in-person. Now, I've shifted online as a way to impact more lives than the ones that are in my vicinity. This is not an easy task, but I'm moving forward in the best way I know how to serve as many people that will allow! Buymeacoffee is a part of that shift and I'm glad its an option!! See you in cyberspace!..and hopefully some day in-person! Stay strong!