Saturday, my husband and I took a little road trip. We live in central Virginia, so we headed toward Virginia Beach with our dog Louie. Our plan was to check out First Landing State Park, but when we got there it was packed with no parking available. So we went a couple of miles further to Fort Storey, which has a Chesapeake Bay beach and an Atlantic side beach. Since we are military we were able to get on post.
We went to the bay side beach, which had luxurious green belt of trees and plants all about on the walk down the pier to the sand, and it was very pretty, with only a few people there. However, we soon found out why. The deer flies...the biting kind that seem to plague Virginia through the month of June were doing sentinel duty. They are sneaky little rascals. They'll buzz around a few minutes, dive bombing your head, and then one would find somewhere to latch on and bite...at which point a dozen would suddenly appear like sharks scenting blood in the water...causing me to scream like a little girl. Well, I exaggerate...a little. After a while I simply felt a bit panic stricken and hunted, and a bit like I was being held prisoner while those flies plotted my ransom note. I went in to the water where I stayed...with the water up to my neck to protect me from their attentions. We probably stayed there about 45 minutes. But only because Alan had taken Louie up the beach for a jaunt before we realized how bad the flies were, so I was stuck waiting for him to get back, plotting revenge all the while from the chilly depths of the water. It was also "fun" hauling all our beach stuff half a mile back to our car.
So after that little adventure, we decided to go across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to see what we could see on the other side. This is a 17 mile bridge across the bay, and it is beautiful. It is pricey too...$15 each way. But once we got to the other side, we decided to check out a little town called Cape Charles. I can't tell you how charming and almost magical this little town is. It is off the small highway, and on the way really to nowhere. So you are riding along a country road, take a left and find this little insular community of gorgeous, rehabbed Victorian, Craftsmen and Colonial Revival homes. Everyone of them looks like a potential bed and breakfast. There are small sleepy streets with golf carts being driven at approximately 80 miles per hour by intent little old men, and grandmas riding their bicycles in white polyester pants. There was a beautiful, silky soft white sand beach, and turn of the century row of storefronts on Main Street with galleries, coffee shops, an ice cream parlor and a single venue theater. It was gorgeous and peaceful, and we could not figure out how it sustains itself. In a strange juxtaposition, there was a cement factory across from the bay and across from the lovely main street, but despite that, the area seemed way more genteel and well heeled than a factory could supply. I had the odd sensation that I'd stepped into some sort of Stepford town, but it was beguiling. I would love to come back and stay overnight.
Today we went to Williamsburg to bicycle. We went to the original Jamestown Settlement, which is on an island, reached by a causeway. There is a 5 mile loop around the island and it is gorgeous...the last time we came it was cool and a little drizzly. The road is quiet with few travelers, bordered by dense tree and plant growth and occasional glimpses of the James River. Today the weather was gorgeous but those darn flies found us and swarmed us the deeper we rode into the island. I ended up peddling for all I was worth to get out of there. My face was the color of a tomato and I was relieved when we got back to our car (8 miles total). I felt a deep hatred in my heart for those little buggers,but they made good trainers. I don't think a drill sergeant could have made me pedal any faster.
So it has been a fun, though buggy, weekend, with lots of exercise. I'm feeling disgusted with myself, though. I am definitely not losing weight, despite all the exercise. I need to do something to make normal, reasonable changes in my diet...but I'm not sure what. I want to be normal, I want to be healthy. I want to lose some weight without making myself crazy, even if it is slow. Is that possible? The last couple of mornings I have eaten a high protein, no bread breakfast (eggs and some fruit), and I do seem to do better with that, but by lunch, I find myself turning to my old processed carb choices. I think it is mostly habit and convenience, and lack of ideas for what to make myself. A sandwich is the old faithful standby. For years I have wanted to try cutting out highly processed carbs and so much sugar to see if that was helpful, but I don't know if that is the right path or not, and I've always talked myself out of even trying it. I am not about to try and follow an "Atkins style" diet. I guess I'm just thinking more mediterranean...without so much bread and sweets. I wonder if eating a higher percentage of protein, with plenty of veggies and some fruit would be helpful? Like I said, I want to eat and maintain a normal lifestyle. I tend to go overboard with everything I do, but when I don't know the "rules" I feel all adrift. Maybe I could try eating a whole foods diet in the main, and somehow still manage to allow myself to eat "off plan" on occasion. Maybe it is a matter of building new habits and seeing the high sugar, high processed stuff not as forbidden, just as not everyday choices. I don't seem to go overboard with things like rice, pasta or potatoes. Its the bread and sugary treats that call my name. I have been doing a lot of thinking about this. I know I need to find a path that is healthful and sane, one that I can follow by eating when I am hungry and not eating emotionally. I just don't know if I am capable of infusing common sense in my eating routines. Isn't that silly?It smells of a lie I have taught myself to believe. Why should this be so hard? Habit is a mighty magnetic thing.
