4th of July!

Food
Had a bowl of Kashi Go Lean with soy milk for breakfast. Lunch was a hike-nic (more on that later) of leftovers: barley salad, focaccia, cabbage, watermelon & an oatmeal cookie. Dinner was farfalle with sauteed leeks, banana peppers, zucchini, eggplant and cherry tomatoes with homemade basil almond pesto. Snacks were a Luna bar and oatmeal with blueberries.

Farfalle with veggies and pesto

Exercise
We both had the day off and decided to take advantage of it with a hike at South Mountains State Park. It's about an hour from our house and we heard there was a nice waterfall loop trail. The trail was 2.5 miles. It started nice and easy for about a half mile, and then there were stairs leading up the last half mile or so. We stopped part way up at an observation point to get pics of the falls. Then we continued up to the top of the falls where there's a nice flat area with pools of cold mountain water to cool you off after a hot hike up. We stayed there for a bit and then made our way back on the loop trail. That trail was surprisingly quiet, I think most people went back the way they came up. It was super packed at the park, and I was hoping to find a more secluded spot for our picnic. Luckily, when our loop trail met back up with the main trail it was right next to a spot where we could drop down and sit by the creek for lunch. It was a good hike, and Carly kept up a decent pace. I think I still got a good workout, especially carrying the 20-30lb bag on my back!

Carly and I at the falls

Learning/Observations
Again no formal learning happening. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying nature, although a majority of them seemed to be there to picnic and likely eat crappy food. I loved watching the kids run up and down the trails and swim in the mountain water. I wish we could all capture some of that enthusiasm and remember what it was like to be so excited by nature and moving our bodies. I've been so lucky to be able to remember that feeling and cultivate it by experiencing the great hikes and outdoor spaces here.

I don''t know if I ate dairy on the 4th because I'm not sure what the oatmeal cookie was made from. Today is officially day one of being dairy free. I'm not going to use the word "vegan" to describe my eating (unless I'm somewhere out to eat where it's easier to convey). I still might eat eggs. I am still going to eat honey. I'm against animal cruelty (who isn't??) but I don't have the burning desire to go full out vegan in my entire lifestyle. I'd like to adopt a term I've heard often in my learning, and that is a plant based diet. There is less of a moral/ethical connotation to that term and I think it better captures what I'm aiming for.