Switzerland 2007 and 2008

I invite any of my Switzerland particpants to post a comment to this Post ---about your experiences there this year.

We really had fantastic weather in August. And our guide Fiona was great. At first, she had fallen and injured herself and we had to wait a few days for her to come with us, but we went to Lucern for a day and took a walk on the Romantik Way with Peter and friends, which was fine, but Fiona can really give lots of commentary even on the bus rides so it's great to have her with us.

The tour for 2008 is about half full as of Jan 1.

Philadelphia Walkers Rally

We had a great time in Philadelphia, with clear skies and record breaking warm temperatures.
27 particpants arrived on Sunday and gathered for a reception and dinner at the Omni at Independence Park.

Spent the next four days exploring the city, with walking tours of Old City, Society Hill and Washington Square Park, a creepy tour of Eastern State Penitentiary, the Constitution Center, etc.

Though I've been to PHilly many times, there is always something new to see. I especially enjoyed the Post Rally Tour --which included a Trolley Mural Arts Tour in West Philly and the "Taste of Philly Food Tour" at Reading Terminal Market. We sampled Bassett's Ice cream, Scrapple, Pretzels and Snapper Soup. But I have to tell you , the Crepes in the RTM are the best! I had chicken with spinach, feta and pesto... yum!

I also announced that there will not be an official "Rally" for 2008 as I blend the Rally into my other tour offerings. Check out my website for my three tour offerings for 2008.

Maggie

8 months later.....

Well, I guess my new job with Stop Aging Now really drew my attention away from the site. I forgot all about keeping up with this Blog. Makes me wonder if anyone else is really looking at it! (If you are, please post a comment saying so!)

So let's catch up on the last 8 months....

First of all, I became a grandmother on July 19th, to Zoe. I was present for (I cut the umbilical cord on command from the docs!) I am thrilled to experience this next stage in my life and enjoying the way a first grandchild brings the extended family closer together again.

I just got back from a great gathering of some of the Switzerland folks. We did a short hike locally and met for brunch at Panera's in Bethlehem, PA. Everyone is very excited about the trip and we've decided to rent a van to get all the locals to Newark International and back.

As for hikes and walks....

I lead the spring hikes again for NCC. We did some of the same and I added a new one near Pipersville PA-- though the directions proved to be hazardous if you wanted to actually GET there. Most made it (i hope) and the hike is very nice with variety in terrain and takes about an hour.

I taught a racewalking clinic for about 6 weeks or so to about 4-6 people. It was an interesting challenge. Once I get beyond teaching the basic technique and stretches and warm-ups, I wasn't quite sure how to run subsequent meet ups and make it interesting. I was not charging though so it was experimental. It was good to have a new challenge and the fast walking and especially interval training does improve fitness and calorie burn. But I knew I wasn't training enough in between-- not as much as my participants -- several of whom were hard for me to keep up with!

I spent a day in Philly following up on plans for the Fall Walkers Rally and ran into Ben Franklin, one of our special guests for the occasion. I also planned the Post Rally Tour, which is focused on Murals and the Reading Terminal Market (more on the site)

With the birth of my grandchild, I am taking something of break from teaching at the Community College. The only fall class I am offering is the Haunted House dinner and walk and that is already half full. I am considering my Spring agenda for NCC -- probably just a two walk/hike/brunches or something of that nature. As I will be babysitting weekday mornings for a year, I've decided to keep my weekend mornings to myself. :-)

I spent a week in Maine, in the Kennybunkport area and decided it would be a great place for SPRING BREAK for Women, so look for information on that for Spring. Plus I may offer the Hyde Park trip again, since it was so wonderful. And I'm still working on getting Bike, Hike and Knit in Jim Thorpe off the ground. My international trip is going to be in England or Wales this year. Details will be posted on the site in the Late Fall.

Look for my writing and recipes on http://www.stopagingnow/ and in Quick and Simple Magazine, plus Weightwatchers.com. And I've resumed writing for Lehigh Valley Style -- because I missed the local beat!

Hikes with NCC this Spring

I'm sorry I haven't brought my camera for any of the spring hikes: we did Mariton, Lehigh Gap and Ralph Stover State Park so far. This Saturday we will do the Musconetcong Gorge Hike. The foliage is probably just about right for this hike now. (it's not worth going there in the fall when all the leaves are down, trust me.)

I leave for Hyde Park on Sunday-- with 14 women on "Spring Break for Women" -- will definitely post some photos for that trip here!

Enjoy the spring and the flowering trees this week!