Secret Get Out of Town Free Trip

So we were going crazy cooped up in the house with our adult children so we left.  Don’t tell anyone but we googled what was open and found The Great Smoky Mountains could accommodate us. So we got in the RV and rolled out of the neighborhood at dawn…

They, The Great Smoky Mountains, are amazing!  Good thing I had started the walking per my last post because we did some real hiking.  One trek took us on the Appalachian Trail.  We stopped and turned around at one of the overnight shelters and out-door toilets – not for the faint of heart.  My dream of hiking the entire run of this trail will require significant resources to either have a chase car with facilities or easy hiking from one bed and breakfast to the next with large swaths of the trail missed due to lack of plumbing.

Our last hike took us to the highest peak in Tennessee, Mount Conte and Myrtle Point.  The view was just like you see on the website with the mist among the peaks.  Note of warning the trail sign said it was 5 miles, it was more like 8 according to our fit bits! 

Not only is the road through the park worth the drive (in case the hiking is a turn off) but the wild life was abundant.  We saw wild turkey, bear, deer, and bunnies.  So next time you are cooped up with your family remember camping is solitary and somewhere in America you can probably do it.

Attack of the Incredible Steaming BLOG

I can’t write this BLOG while I am working.  My work sucks all the humor out of me.  I am sure many of you feel the same about your jobs, but it’s why I am so anxious to retire.  Read GenXGetsOLD introduction if you are not familiar with the origins of the BLOG.  Don’t get me wrong, I also have some great joys and feelings of accomplishment about my chosen profession, it just leaves me exhausted.  This week I helped several students that left school with only a few classes to college degree completion get on the graduation list – it was a pretty good week.  So I am back to try the weekly update intended to grow my GenXGetsOLD Brand!  Just kidding – read my Real World GenX Edition for the GenXGetsOLD swan song. 

In addition to sucking the humor out of me, I have discovered that I am also a stress eater.  Maybe I have always been a stress eater but the diminishing metabolism of middle age and menopause have made it evident to all the world.  I am not a scale user – so I don’t know how much I weigh.  I like to have it be a surprise every 5 years or so when I go to the doctor.  But the larger size wardrobe I bought myself two years ago was getting very tight.  So I have used this COVID work from home time to walk my dog a lot and I have made a depressing discovery.  Yes, I feel better.  Yes, the clothes are not as tight.  BUT, it takes a long time to make a dent!  Six weeks of 3-5 miles a day.  UG!  No wonder we get fat and stay fat.  So on that happy noted – see ya next week!