Forever Young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young

Bob Dylan

Day two is winding down and it was certainly appropriate to quote Mr Robert Zimmerman who was brought into this world a mere 26 miles down the road in Duluth, Minnesota. Considered by many the greatest American songwriter he certainly gave me plenty of fabulous music to choose from but let's face it we are at a place like this trying to stay forever young. And with a birthday next week I am really much more staying forever young than knocking on heaven's door

5:30 arrived early as you would expect on day two. I was sore, I was tired, and I was ready to go. There is nothing I do worse than walk long distances, and by long distances I mean anything further than the fridge. I hate that I sweat more than everyone. I hate that I pant and gasp, and stop more than everyone. And I hate that I bend over to catch my breath and am always at or near the back of the pack. I'm happy I could walk 3+ miles today no matter how much those other things effected me and I am damn happy that it can only get better....I hope :)


This hike each morning runs along the shores of Lake Superior. You get to see the sunrise over the lake, the lighthouse, the ships loading iron ore
and heading out on their journeys, tug boats and the train depot. It is a really cool, fun hike from a guy that doesn't really like walking in a circle. The hike starts on a paved path, transitions onto trails and ends in the downtown twin harbor neighborhood.

Each morning I make my last turn and head into the final 1/4 mile at the Dairy Queen. It's not open yet and it seems impossible to get much pleasure from downing the picture of the peanut busted parfait. Something about it makes me smile. Not that I really have a choice but I get a little joy out of walking past the DQ every morning.







Speaking of scrumdillyicious. My turkey taco tonight for dinner was just fabulous. The food here is not plentiful by any measure but it is tasty and I will certainly discuss it more as we go.

I am exhausted. I'm tired, I am beat up. I have been pushed harder in these two days than I have ever been pushed before. Today way leg day. After the morning hike and pool class, we got a 30 minute step aerobics class followed by 2 12 circuit leg rotations. They included lunges, squats, step ups, lifts and wall sits. My knee is really making sound it shouldn't throughout most of this. I was glad that was over until I found out we were doing relays up the stairs....UGH.. But doing something I would never do on my own is why I am here. A little ice and I was ready for the afternoon hike.

We hiked Split Rock State Park today. The highlight of this trip is meant to be the Split Rock Lighthouse. But as you can see the weather really didn't cooperate very well with lots of fog in the area. I did see this cool little island and wished I had worn worse shoes that weren't my best as it was possible to get to the island hopping some rocks and wading a bit. Alas next time. I was a little grumpy, a little sore, and very tired. I'm not sure I did all there was to do but I am damn sure I did all I could do...and maybe a little more.

On to Wednesday, another upper body circuit, and more of the same...Looking forward to it but I'm not going to lie, starting to look forward to Friday night as well. I need these knees for fall volleyball. Hope everyone is happy, content and forever young... Peace, Love, and eek I'm excited, Jim