Outside Activity

There's a running joke at our house that I have yet to "bond" with the outside of our new moose. I feel very at home inside, of course. But, you can count on one hand the number of really nice days we've had since the big purchase. So, other than coming and going, we've yet to spend much time hanging around outside our rolling home. Paul washed it in Weatherford, so he's grown attached to Big Bull. But, in my mind's eye, the exterior of our home is 32 feet of shades of brown. Every time I've raised this bonding issue Paul is quick to propose a cure: I wash the beast.

Well, washing is on the agenda while we're here in Mission. And, yes, I will help. But, I'm taking advantage of this warm sunny morning to do something I haven't done in a very long time: I'm sitting outside! And, whatd'ya know? Our moose isn't brown. It's shades of gray! And, it's BIG. Yes, folks, we might just be bonding!

One of the things I've wrestled with is how to get enough exercise on the road. For the record, I did not get enough exercise before we started fulltiming. But, this new lifestyle calls for some new, healthy habits. We walk everywhere we go and bike when we can. Paul is great about finding time and space to run on a regular basis. But, when the weather worsens or our park isn't hike and bike friendly, it's easy for me to just sit. What's a wanna-stay-fit fulltimer to do?

One answer to that question arrived early in our stay in Port Aransas. A neighbor invited me to join her for an early morning aerobics class. Although it's been more than a few years since I've stepped foot in any aerobics class, much less one in the morning, I trusted the universe on this one and went. I liked it so much I kept going back. As our stay drew to a close I began to wonder how I could keep this emerging habit going. I started searching for copies of the DVDs we used in class. Yesterday, while we were shopping in Mission, I found one.

Walk Away the Pounds: Ultimate Collection contains four power walking workouts that I can do anytime in our rolling home. (Except when it's rolling, of course.) Yesterday I popped the DVD in and did the one-mile workout to help walk off lunch. We have plenty of space to walk, lift and kick my way through the program. This could work.

On this sunny morning I decided to check out our never-used outside entertainment center. I positioned the TV and popped in the DVD. Today's workout was a two-mile power walk outside under the shade of one of our awnings. For a brief moment I worried how silly I'd look to the neighbors. But, heck, since they're all older than me they can laugh at this kid if they want. The workout was terrific. I'm so pleased to add "aerobics studio" to the list of features of our new moose.

While I was huffing and puffing I admired the curb side of our lovely Tour. It's official. We're bonding!

That said, I don't think that's going to be a good enough excuse to get out of washing the beast.