Category Health
Naples Half Marathon
If you’re looking for a half marathon to run, you should consider the Naples Half Marathon. I ran the 2020 race along with about 1,700 other runners and enjoyed the experience. This was the third time I’ve run the Naples Half Marathon. Here are reasons that I think you’d enjoy the race. The course The […]
National Park hiking tips
A recent trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a wonderful time of hiking and enjoying nature. I first started hiking in the Smokies with my parents and had my first camping experiences and backpacking trip with my Girl Scout troop. My time on the trails and in the Sugarlands Visitor Center on […]
You need to sleep — but do you want others monitoring your sleep?
As part of your approach to personal health and fitness, I’d encourage you to read or listen to Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.” Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California/Berkeley and a leading sleep researcher, explains how sleep impacts our daily lives – from driving […]
Tips for healthy eating
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
That was the theme of a nutrition workshop led by Garreth Smoak and Elizabeth Burt to encourage healthy weight loss. Smoak, a physical therapy assistant, has written a cookbook of healthy recipes. Burt lost 70 pounds by following a new healthy eating plan. I’m sharing strategies from their workshop.
Wishing you healthy holidays
I’m wishing you a holiday season of good health and good cheer. Let me offer a few encouragements for your good health. I realize these suggestions can be difficult to follow because of travel, family eating traditions, and all the demands of the holidays. More activity, less sitting One of the challenges of the holidays […]
#OptOutside on Nov. 23 (and other days, too)
Explore the outdoors as part of #OptOutside, a national movement started by REI in 2015. Rather than open its stores on Black Friday (Nov. 23), REI gives its employees a paid vacation day and encourages them — and the rest of us — to get outdoors.
My photography on display at Satchel’s Pizza
What a treat to have some of my photography on display at Satchel’s Pizza, along with two friends’ pen, ink and watercolor art. Deciding which photographs to display provided me the opportunity to revisit photographs I’ve taken of many great trips. I included two photographs from a hike on the Bright Angel Trail at the […]
Red tide at Sanibel Island
On a typical morning at Sanibel Island, the beach would be filled with shell collectors, walkers and joggers. All would be enjoying the beauty of the sandy beach, the waves and the sea breeze. But this week, Sanibel Island is a victim of red tide, which has made the beach experience very different. Red tide, […]
Birdwatching at Sweetwater Wetlands Park
By 7:30 a.m., we were on the trail at the Sweetwater Wetlands Park, and the birds were there to greet us. We started by checking a location along the boardwalk where we’d seen purple gallinule a few weeks ago. We heard the purple gallinules and caught a few glimpses of them as they slipped through […]
Joy of hiking to Mt. Le Conte
Time for one of the special treats of the year – hiking to Mt. Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After finding a parking space in the Alum Cave trailhead parking lot (which can be a challenge, as Alum Cave is a popular trail), we double-knot our hiking boots, adjust our hiking […]
Julie Dodd 