Pain, Pain, Go Away!

I happened to see a video on Youtube that reminded me of my favorite day of Basic Military Training School. It showed an event called Mudderella, a five- to seven-mile obstacle course through the mud. (One difference: I did not end up falling in the water and getting wet during basic training.) It looked like so much fun I signed up for it and started doing the Navy Seal Workout to get in shape. The organization automatically set up a donation page on my behalf for anyone who would like to contribute to  Futures without Violence , an organization that gets four out of four stars from Charity Navigator . This short vacation will also function as a chance to adapt myself to some hardship, something the ancient Stoics recommended to keep your desires in check and appreciate what you have. The obstacle course might be fun, but the training, the three-hour drive and, probably, staying at another hostel-style hotel won't be.

Maybe it's just the places where I eat, but restaurants seem to be putting less and less salt on their food. If you're not home, it's a bit of a problem if you find yourself low on salt : lethargic, nauseated, having a headache--kind of like having a cold, but without the congestion. What to do? Grab a bunch of salt packets at fast food restaurants.  Get a personal salt lick . Weighing in at five to seven pounds, it can double as a free weight and a weapon that would sail through TSA inspections. Sears, of all places, sells salt pinch tins . My choice is a pump salt mill produced by Vic Firth. It's the size of a small flashlight and heavy for its size. It'll fit in a small purse and it doesn't look like it would leak or get caught on anything.

As you'd expect, there's no lack of good restaurants in San Diego. I didn't go to as many as I wanted to: I was hungry only once or twice a day, even though I did a lot of walking. Since I was doing so much walking, I ate more carbs than I normally do. Grand Central Cafe at the YMCA Building, Broadway & India. So-so food; a little pricey for the lack of quality. I ate here a second time only because I didn't want to walk elsewhere in the coldest rain I'd ever been in. (I don't recommend their noisy hotel, either.) Burger Lounge. Best burger I've ever had, anywhere. Excellent salad, too. According to their website, "Our beef comes from one farm, grown by a small company where the animals are well treated and never spend time in a corporate 'feed-lot'. Their diet consists of tall green grass from beautiful Kansas prairie land. This is what nature intended cows to eat and nothing more. No hormones, no antibiotics, no grain, no corn, j

I just got back from a trip to San Diego that wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It started with skin care products. These used to be my crack cocaine, especially when I was on a low-fat diet. I thought I was past that, but a dealer found me on the street and got me to drop what used to be a mortgage payment (before I refinanced). At least the stuff she sold me worked. Spending such an embarrassing amount of money on skin care was a wake-up call to be more stoic and less of a hedonist. The weather and hotel set the mood. It was so cold, cloudy and humid that I wore my long down coat and alpaca gloves. The hotel was the noisiest room I've had since I lived in a military dorm. Some of the guests let their doors slam shut with a BOOM!; my room was across the street from an all-night construction site; and very late one night, someone on the second floor pulled the fire alarm for no discernible reason, sending everyone out to shiver on the front steps for half an hour.

I've recently been on vacation. Some wonderful things from my trip: I bought a pound of hot Italian sausage from Royer Farms , Indiana, purchased at the Broad Ripple Farmers Market in Indianapolis. Tasty, tender and pasture raised, but hot? Not even mild by Denver standards. I'm enjoying the Canterbury tea made of black tea, mango and flowers from a store called Tea Pots 4 U , who blends it for the Canterbury Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. (Call the store if you want to order it.)  Near Tea Pots 4 U in Indianapolis ***** Lincoln Park, Chicago. Possibly North Cleveland Avenue. My best friend and I took the Megabus to Chicago and stayed in Lincoln Park. Back in Indianapolis, I downloaded from a book from the Denver Public Library to my Kindle called City Walks: Chicago by Christina Henry deTessan. We walked the Lincoln Park Architecture tour in the rain. I got cold and wet with no coat, and her feet hurt, but the beauty of the area made it worth it. I'v