Returning to the Gym: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly

This morning I returned to the gym for the first time in 187 (a half a year, six months, etc). I know this because Leslie, the woman who checks me in told me so. It was a pretty humorous experience to say the least. I'm going to end with the good though, since I should end on a positive note, right?
The Bad
- Having to get up at 5:30AM... Not so bad on a normal day, but I woke up at 2:45AM and couldn't get back to sleep. Eek!
- Doing the walk of shame into the gym. I'm friends with the above mentioned Leslie, who was in shock at my return.
The Ugly
- I packed my gym bag the night before and managed to forget a towel and one other thing that I will not mention. Luckily, I realized this before I stepped into the shower and was able to purchase two little hand towels from the front desk.
- Forgot my iPod so I was stuck listening to their overhead music. Which is not too bad, but I would have preferred my workout mix.
The Good
- I got to see my friend Leslie again for the first time in six months. Woohoo!
- I made it to work by 8AM with the visit to the gym.
- No traffic at 6:30AM on the way to the gym.
- It felt good to workout again.
- No wheezing!
- Starting February, I'll be reimbursed by my health insurance for 12 visits a month to the gym. Woot!
So the good far outweighs the bad and the ugly. I think I'll do it again Friday.

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

The starting point.

This recipe is inspired by a recipe I found in Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You) by Frances Price, RD. I've tweaked it a bit and it serves about 8 people by the time I'm done with it. I basically took the recipe, substituted some quicker parts and added mushrooms to make it a little heartier. It makes really great leftovers.

Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 package sliced baby portobello mushrooms
8 oz. bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar pasta sauce (I use the garden or veggie type)
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°.
Trim both ends from each eggplant and slice them crosswise into circles of equal thickness. About 3/8" to 1/4". Brush a baking sheet with olive oil, arrange the slices on it in a single layer and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the slices are browned on top and tender in the center.
Rinse mushrooms.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°.
Brush a 9" x13" pan with oil and arrange a single layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of the pan. Spoon marinara sauce over the eggplant. Cover with a layer of sliced mushrooms and half the mozzarella. Repeat all layers.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is browned. Serve immediately.

So in my recipe, I've replaced the fresh mozzarella with shredded, since I had a hard time slicing the chuck of cheese and I needed to cut the time down.

The final masterpiece.

Camping the San Juan Islands

View across one of the many bays around the island.

My sister and I took a risky route to camping on the very popular San Juan Islands. We just showed up. We lucked out that there was on camp site available when we arrived. To avoid the stress the next day, we called and reserved a site for the next night. Same day reservations are not allowed.
While we roughed it by tent camping and having no showers, we did splurge on food and coffee. Lopez village has a perfect little cafe called Isabel's. Our barista was a true artist and drew beautiful designs in the foam in our cups. Bumper stickers adorn the walls, including on that says "friends don't let friends drink Starbucks." I thought it pretty funny.
We had read how friendly the Lopez residents were and that everyone waved when passing in cars or bicycles. We discovered that was not an exaggeration and happily started waving as well.
Did I mention we brought our bicycles? One of the reasons we picked Lopez was because it was listed as the flattest of the islands. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't hills. In fact, on our adventurous attempt at a 30 mile bike ride, we hit a fairly long hill and decided to return to the campground for the car. We wound up with a total 17 mile bike ride and felt it would be better to enjoy our hikes by not overdoing the cycling.
The weather was beautiful though it did get a bit nippy at night. The first night I wound up stealing some of Stefanie's sleeping bag. Did I mention we only had one? :) The second night we put the fly over the tent which cut a lot of the wind chill and I was fine with my sheet and blanket, though Stefanie did try to cover me multiple times in the night.
Lopez Village was delightful and we spent some time at the Farmer's Market (crepes and produce!) on it's last day of the season. Did I mention crepes? We had a savory one with prosciutto, pear, and Gorgonzola. Very tasty. We stopped by the Fudge Factory and sampled a few types before making out selections. I loved the mint chocolate and salted caramel. Oh, and there's a winery on the Island and you can stop by their tasting room on Fridays and Saturdays. For $10 we sampled 7 of the locally made wines. I liked the blackberry wine the best. Oh, and blackberries grow wild on the Island, so don't be surprised to see people on the roadside picking them.

Berries, berries, every where berries.

Washington State in general has a lot of parks--state, count, city and federal. Lopez island is no different. We stayed on Spencer Spit State park while camping and walked down to the spit the day we left. There were a few historic notes and a decently priced canoe and kayak shop. We decided to pass on the kayak since the weather was uncertain and we were tired.
The other two parks we visited were Shark Reef Sanctuary and Iceberg Point. Shark Reef was a short .5 mile hike where we were able to seals sunning themselves on small islands off the coast. We were even able to hear them talking to each other. Iceberg Point is a little tough to find, but well worth the trek. It was over 2 miles round trip and we walked the coastline, saw sail boats and discovered the boundary marker for the US border with Canada.
My visit to Lopez Island has definitely made me want to return and explore more of it and the other islands. I may stay in a bed & breakfast next time.