In my experience, there are "journey" people and there are "destination" people. Journey people are motivated, even invigorated by the process of doing something. Destination people are motivated by the goal and will do everything it takes to get there.

Boat Life
This may sound funny, but I came up with this idea while living around boaters. I lived on a sailboat in the Oceanside harbor (California) for about 5 years, and found that sailboat sailors were about the journey, and powerboaters were about the destination.

Power
From Oceanside, California you can take a power boat out to Catalina Island in a couple of hours. On the way, you'll get your guts pounded out as you hit every wave crest and trough at 25 or 30 mph. You can make it there and back in a day and it will probably cost $200 in fuel; but you can have a great time at the shops and night spots, and get home in time to enjoy the rest of your weekend doing other things.

Sail
That same distance is 9 to 12 hours by sail, depending on the wind conditions, but the trip is usually very smooth, quiet and one of the most relaxing experiences you'll ever have. When you arrive, you can hop into Avalon for a bite and a drink before hitting the sack on the boat. You'll want to relax and spend the day there before heading out again - but why not? Avalon is a fantastic place to unwind.

Choose Your Tactic
For a journey person, the key to success in changing your diet/exercise lifestyle is finding something you enjoy about the process - something that keeps you interested in coming back. In a way, destination people have it easy - all they need is an attainable goal and a direction and off they go. But I've mentioned all of this before...

4 Hours of Travel for 30 Minutes of Destination
What brought all of this to mind was my "family day" today.

San Diego has America's best weather... During the summer, a typical daily temperature range is 65/80F and during the winter it is 50/70F. We only see rain between December and February - and even then it is a small amount. In the 10+ years I have lived here, I can remember maybe 5 thunderstorms, and thanks to the position of the jet streams we don't get hurricanes. The best thing about San Diego, however, is winter time... It will feel like sping at home, but drive an hour or two and you're in snow.

We drove to the snow today - and the trip was fantastic. Road trips give my wife and I a chance to catch up. I love talking with her We're so busy with our daily lives that it is all about work, school, the kid and then its all about bed; but when we drive, we strap the kid in the back - and its our time to get reacquainted.

We all had a blast in the snow, but for me, the best part was the conversation to and from the mountain.

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[7:45pm]
The Food Stuff...

Just so I can include a little diet and exercise talk. I missed my workout window this morning, but fortunately, I seem to be doing okay with my 1850 calories. In fact, I have about 250 left, so I'll go munch something here in a second.

I'm a little disappointed that I blew off the workout today. I really want to know if the weight adjustment on my polar does the trick!

McWhat?
We flew out the door without eating breakfast. I'm a little disappointed in myself. I had time to throw fruit and cottage cheese in a cold-bag for snacks, but I didn't have time to make my healthy PB+J? We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, and I remembered the one "good ratio" breakfast food that they had... The 300 calorie Egg McMuffin. Even with egg, ham and cheese, the protein/carb/fat ratios are good (even if the food quality is bad) - so I had two.

The one thing I wish I hadn't done was eat a pancake. This is the first time I've eaten a McDonald's pancake without butter and syrup. Their pancakes are actual cake. I've had some great whole grain pancakes from other places that were pretty healthy, but this thing was flattened white cake. Oh well.

I ate really well the rest of the day - all fruit, cottage cheese, protein pasta and chicken. The interesting thing that I have noticed is that when I pack healthy snacks, my wife and son eat them, too. Maybe I should make meals more often.

Anyway, I should be back on track Monday with the organic stuff. It's so much easier to keep a diet on track with a structured work day.