Walking My Ass Off and Other Revelations.

I spent the weekend with my cousins - they are sisters, one is also my godmother - she's 63 - the other is a year younger than I am, 46. (I don't post faces on my blog without express permission of their owners, so no photos.) My 63 year old cousin C blew me away - she's all of 5'1" on her tallest day, and she walked us into the ground this weekend. The other cousin, L, does triathalons and her sister was wearing her out. Her secret? She walks 3 miles a day 6 days a week. We did the ghost tour Saturday night - it was really godawful cold, which we never expected - and I watched C keep pace with the tour guide, a tall young man in his early 20s, while L and I lagged behind and bitched about the cold. From the rear C looks 30 years old, effortlessly keeping up with a man younger than her sons, trim and elegant in her little tan slacks and light suede jacket. From the front she looks 50. She is a testimony to the value of walking as exercise and an inspiration to me. I was clumping along in my jeans and a sweater, feeling fat and frumpy beside her. Before it gets too hot and the gym is the only option I'm going to start doing a couple of laps around the lake when I get home in the evening, because just a few short years ago when I walked regularly I was much skinnier and in better shape than I am now.

Saturday was gorgeous but windy, and the wind off the bay was chilly. L was down from MD so she laughed at her sister and me as we bundled up and whined. C never goes anywhere without a silk scarf, and she whipped it out and tied it over her head. Her sister ragged on her for the "babushka look" but her ears weren't freezing and ours were. I had debated bringing the Koigu feather and fan scarf and at the last minute left it in my drawer - as GAWD is Mah Witnuss, I will never go anywhere near the water without a scarf again!

I also will never stay at the Best Western in St. Augustine again. The Best Western in Ft. Myers Beach was one of my favorite hotels, but this one is a toilet. I swear, it looked fine on the website. It was in a great location, convenient walking distance to the Old Town and restaurants and bars. The rooms were small, badly lit, smelly, and ill-equipped, parking was a nightmare, and it cost $135 a night. For that we could have done a nice bed and breakfast, and that's what we will do next time. We were only there for one night so it wasn't worth packing up and trying to find something else, but never again.

We had a fantastic time and swore we will make this a regular event. I love my cousins - we keep in touch via email quite often but we don't see each other enough, and we vowed to change that. C lives in FL and I'm going to go spend some weekends with her this year. Girl also liked having the house to herself, another reason for Mom to get out of town on the weekends. Girl and I each had lived alone for a couple of years, and while we get along very well, it's still nice to have a little privacy when the other person is gone. This house is small and an open floorplan so it's not like we can really get away from each other when we're home. So it was a good weekend and a real mini-vacation, and if I'd had a finished Clapotis with me it would have been perfect.

And now it's Monday. Back to work. Damn.