Day One-Oh-Five - Only 26 Week Until Vacation!

Yea me!  I actually made it to the gym yesterday.  I spent 20 minutes on the treadmill never exceeding 3.2 MPH, (there's no point in over doing it on the first day) but I still went 1 full mile.  Then I did 30 minutes of circuit training.  I love Planet Fitness for the circuit training area.  It has a traffic light that goes green for 1 minute then red for 30 seconds.  When it is red, you change machines or move to an aerobic step.  Once it turns green, you either work on your machine for the next minute or do a minute of aerobic stair stepping.  There are 10 machines and 10 steps so you are doing a step between each machine.

The only problem is that there are apparently a lot of illiterates who go to Planet Fitness.  There is a barricade all the way around the circuit training area and multiple signs in the area that state that those machines are for circuit training only.  Nevertheless, some idiot always waltzes in there and skips past machines 1 thru 7 and gets right on machine 8 just as you are supposed to be getting on it.  There are at least 100 machines outside of the circuit training area.  There is at least one machine that does what machine number 8 does outside of the circuit training area and there are a total of less than 20 people in the entire gym and yet some moron has to come into the circuit training area and get in my way.  I think that given the circumstances, I should not be considered rude if I happen to ask the person if they read English and point one of the signs out.  I'm just saying.....

So this morning, I am posting very early because I am driving to Nacogdoches for my Mom's birthday.  I thought my sister-in-law and I were going to take her to lunch at Shelley's but I haven't heard back from her yet and she was supposed to let me know last night.  Anyway, tonight we are all going out for dinner.  I'm not sure where we are going since Dad is in charge of that.  So in addition to posting early today, I'll be posting late tomorrow after I get back to Dallas.

Oh here's some interesting news... apparently someone at the former employer (which shall not be named) thinks that I have moved back to Nacogdoches.  They are incorrect.  I still live in Dallas in the same house doing all of the same stuff with the exception of driving out to Legacy Dr every morning.  So, if you have been told that I have moved, you were misinformed.

I thought that today I would post of few pictures of the trip to Barcelona.  Specifically, the day we went to Park Guell which incidentally was one of my favorite places in Barcelona.  The HOHO bus dropped us off at the bottom of the hill which went up to Park Guell.  Then we were supposed to hike up there.  It was a straight but steady climb.  First we went into a little cafe for breakfast right where the bus dropped us off.  We got pastries and they were really good.  I loved the coffee in Spain.  It was delicious.  After we left the diner, we started up the hill.  We were on a semi narrow sidewalk so we were walking single file.  I was in front of Jenny and as I walked I think I was just increasing my pace not because I felt like I was all powerful and could run up the hill or because I was trying to beat Jenny up the hill.  I think it was just because as I continued the climb and looked ahead of me realizing how much further I had to go and what a small distance I had apparently come, I wanted to get it over with!  It was killing me!  After a little way up the hill, I looked back and Jenny was about 1/2 a block behind me.  We laughed a little later about how I was apparently racing up the hill and she didn't even know there was a race.  But maybe I was just anticipating how beautiful it was going to be when we got there and I couldn't wait!

Here is a picture of Jenny just inside the entrance to the park.  It is just so unlike anything you would see here.

Below I am posting a picture of a guy who was playing his guitar in the pavilion this area is inside of the area that Jenny is standing in front of in the first picture.  The acoustics inside this pavilion were unbelievable.  The medallions on the ceiling were spectacular.

Here is a picture of one of the many handmade mosaic medallions from the ceiling.

 Below is one of the mosaic crosses in the park.  The ones at the main entrance were gorgeous.  I really think that it is a place that everyone should go once if for no other reason, just to see the quality of work there.  But also, once you are in the park, the walk through the gardens is spectacular.  You never know what other work of art you might see when you turn a corner.  My nephew and his wife are going to Barcelona next summer.  If I could recommend only one stop to them, I think this would be it.  I just hope that they listen to me.  :-)

I think that I will get busy now.  I am sure that you all will thank me to stop boring you with my vacation pictures.  Sorry, but I am in vacation mode now.  Maybe you will get lucky and one of the cats will do something clever tomorrow that I can go on and on about for an entire post.  Ha!  Have a great day.