Chowder (or is it Chowdah)

Hello everyone! Happy Groundhogs Day, looks like old Phil is predicting 6 more weeks of winter. That is unfortunate because I am also extending my Oneonta assignment by 6 weeks. Jesse and I were going to be stuck here through the whole month of February anyway since my original end date was Feb 28^th. The second month of the year is always the worst weather here in the North so I figured why not stay and try to enjoy some of the early spring when it starts to thaw out. Also we are totally unable to get my car out of the driveway as she is currently under 12 inches of snow and it will not be melting anytime soon; the trailer is buried pretty deep too.

We also have this grand plan. Stay here in NY until mid-April, take two weeks off and then start a new assignment in Columbus Ohio! I know, not quite a top destination but we know someone there (the awesome Hoka rep we met in Michigan) and it will be easier to get to Buffalo for the Marathon in May. Also we are hoping that either (or both) my California and Florida license applications will be approved so that we can add them to our list of definite places to go. Napa Valley and Key West sound pretty awesome right about now. But you know what they say about best laid plans so we will see what happens.

At least we are trying very hard to keep ourselves busy. It is near impossible to get off the couch when it is cold, windy, snowing and gray more days than not. As Jesse wrote about earlier we went skiing and that was fun. I have also found a great place to work out indoors when I don’t feel like freezing my butt off running outside. It is a local business owned by this amazing woman named Stacy. It is called Body by Stacy and her classes are intense! She does cardio kickboxing, something called R.I.P.P.E.D which involves lots of plyometric moves and weights and intervals and also ZUMBA smash which is Zumba with weights. They are all great workouts but my favorite is hot yoga on Sunday mornings. It is a nice warm room where she does yoga that builds strength. This is not yoga for relaxing only. It is a great class. The first time I did it I was sore the next day.

I signed up to have her help me work out and go to classes for six weeks for a really reasonable price. She even gave me homework of upper body exercises to practice 6 days a week. Since I do not have any weights at home she let me borrow some of hers.

The best part of finding her is that she is opening a new facility March first with lots of parking, a huge workout room for group classes, a spin room, a massage therapist and a tricycle track for all ages. What Jesse is most excited about is her Ninja Warrior type obstacle course. I helped do some painting and cleaning one Sunday and the place is great, much better than her current location in a big old house that has been converted into gyms and offices. This is another perk about staying here a bit longer.

Most recently we got to see my parents again, this time in Saratoga Springs for Chowderfest. I have never been to Saratoga Springs since we were always going to Lake George for family vacations when we would head north. It is a very cute town with lots and lots of restaurants and local shops and cafes. Chowderfest is when about 50 restaurants each make chowder and sell a small 3 ounce portion for a dollar. You get a ballot to fill out and when you have tried a bunch you vote for your favorite and hand in the ballot. They had all different kinds, corn chowder, lots of New England clam chowder, seafood chowder, sweet potato chowder with a piece of crispy bacon on top, hell my dad even had one that was lentil and turkey chowder. There were some very creative flavor combinations. The one I voted for was Druther’s Brewing, since they had pulled pork, cracklins, and crab in theirs. It was pretty awesome.

A lot of Chowderfest was outside and it was really sunny but very cold that day, about 15 degrees, so Jesse was less than thrilled but he called this a “Chrysa activity”. That is something he will do with me but he knows that I will enjoy it way more than he will. And of course we both enjoyed seeing my mom and dad. That is part of the reason we are up here freezing to death, to be with my parents more often and that means a lot to me.

So we will be here for a bit longer, keep giving us some warm thoughts from the south. We hope to be heading to Ohio come April but if not there maybe we will head back down below the Mason Dixon line where we can forget about the howling wind and feet of snow. We do get a break for a long weekend, we will be heading down to run the Steve Haydu Lo Tide Run in Carolina Beach, NC the weekend before St Patrick’s Day. It is a race that Jesse and I feel is “our” race and we are so excited to run it. The cause is amazing and it is always a great time.

Lots to look forward to in the coming months so keep an eye on the blog and let us know if you have any fun ideas for us to try while we travel around the US.

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