GCFL - An Epic Girls Weekend

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gulf County, Florida. All opinions are 100% mine.

As most of you know, we were littering your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram newsfeeds with #GCFLnofilter

 images and posts from our trip to Gulf County, Florida last weekend. It ended up becoming an impromptu girls weekend after the boys each had to pull out at the last minute for reasons not under their control (they still have "real" jobs)! Neither one of us girls have been on a girls weekend since we got married (Tiffany - 7yrs and Whitney - 6yrs) and it was the first time Tiffany had been away from Bryce, their little boy for more than 1 night. It was also the first time Tiffany and Whitney had traveled together. To say it was a blast and totally productive would be an understatement!  WE HAD A RELAXING, BACK TO NATURE, BLAST!

They really weren't kidding when they said the county has only 2 stop lights and spotty wifi! It's peaceful and calm - an atmosphere that is so different than the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. 

From Atlanta, it was a REALLY easy drive. It took us about 6 hrs to get down to Gulf County and Cape San Blas, where our rental house was located. We didn't even have to stop for gas (Tiffany's car gets over 30 miles/gallon)!

On Friday night, we settled in. After checking in, we drove back to Port St. Joe, where there are more stores and restaurants and visited the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store where we were able to find meats and organic vegetables and fruit to stock the pantry and the fridge since we cooked the large majority of our meals. We made dinner and sat outside enjoying our ocean front view and the crashing sound of the waves on the shore.

Saturday, the fun began! After visiting the Farmer's Market in St. Joe, we stepped out of our comfort zone (ok... maybe just Tiffany's girly comfort zone) and took a 2-hour eco kayak tour with Happy Ours guide, Debbie. We kayaked a little more than 1.5 miles in windy conditions on the bay (a workout we were really excited about) and were able to beach the kayaks on a small island in the bay and learn about the marine inhabitants. Anything from Giant Blue Crab to Stingrays to the smallest Shrimp - we were able to see them. Debbie told us stories about the area and really helped us learn more about the region.  That night, we cooked up some of the most amazing shrimp, caught right on the bay from the St. Joe Shrimp Co. (a recommendation from guide Debbie).  

Once we got back to the house after kayaking, it was back to cooking meals, enjoying the beautiful sunset and exploring Cape San Blas' two market stores for a few items we missed at the grocery and farmer's market. Then, it was back to work as usual!

Sunday morning, we got up super early to take advantage of the beautiful sunlight and georgeous scenery to take pictures and film a few workouts on the beach for our readers. We also took our paddleboards down to the beach but after an unsuccessful attempt at trying to figure out how to actually paddleboard, we used them as props in our pictures! It truly was the MOST amazing backdrop. Afterward, we decided to go to the tip of Cape San Blas and go for a nature walk/jog at the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. With 2 trails inside the park and one right outside, we had some great options.

We rounded out the late afternoon with a 1-hour horseback ride on the beach with Rockin M Ranch. It was such a fun experience! You can tell a lot about a person by the horse that they choose apparently! Whitney chose one of the larger horses, who we found out had later been rescued and was up 200 lbs in weight, but didn't like to sit still and liked to keep a close, but not too close, distance from others.  Tiffany chose a shorter horse, unlike any of the other horses out there - Charlie. He was a different color than the others, easy going and had a spring in his step. Tiffany would have loaded him in the back seat of her car if Jim wouldn't have told her explicitly NOT to bring the horse home!  We rode directly on the sand, right next to the water!

After our beach horseback riding, we were pretty beat, but had time to snap some pictures, make some food and call it a night.  It was sad to say goodbye on Monday, but it was a great trip!

For more information on Gulf County Floriday, visit Come visit GCFL and Like GCFL on Facebook and salute real beauty!

What would have been your favorite activity? Horseback riding or Kayaking?

Pinnacles National Park + San Francisco

Trip Dates: April 9-14, 2014

We went to California at the beginning of April.  I was able to tag along with Scott on a work trip and he took a few days off so that we could explore the area.  We flew into San Francisco and then drove to Pismo Beach from there with a few stops along the way to hike!

We like to take our own food with us when traveling so that we do not waste money on buying food at the airport OR waste money by having our prepped food go bad by the time we get back home (my lucky sister gets all the food we can’t take!). We like to save our treats for real food once we get to our destination - not just eating whatever is in front of us at the airport.

Food we took on the plane:
Boiled Eggs (We did not eat these on the plane though!)
Boiled Chicken
Sliced Cucumbers
Homemade Trail Mix
Quest Bars
Convenient Packets of Clean Protein

Day 1 – Fly into San Francisco (hiked 2.5 miles)
Day 2 – Pinnacles National Park (hiked 11 miles)
Day 3 – SLO/Bishop Peak (hiked 4 miles)
Day 4 – Pismo
Day 5 – Monterey (hiked 8.6 miles)
Day 6 – Fly home from San Francisco

Day 1 {San Francisco}

We woke up at 4 am (after being at the Masters all day Tuesday) to get to the Atlanta airport to make our flight out by 6:55 am. We landed in San Francisco at 9:11 am.  We packed our food and ate some of it on the plane but after the non-stop 5 hour flight (sitting on our butts for that long) we were hungry and very anxious to get off the plane. We tried to find somewhere new and exciting to eat but we ended up at a Whole Foods hot/salad bar in San Francisco!  We also stocked up on some food for the trip while w were there (rice cakes, unsweetened almond milk, and fruit).  After that we checked in at the hotel, rested up for all of about 10 minutes and then went exploring.

First we went to the Golden Gate Bridge and we walked around some of the trails but it was pretty foggy and cold so we didn’t spend much time there.  Next time maybe we can run or bike the bridge.

Next we went to Lombard Street and after paying $6 each just to ride the trolly 2 blocks we decided we would walk everywhere else. I’m glad we rode it because it was something we wanted to do but didn’t realize we were that close to our destination! We also went to  Fisherman’s Wharf which gave us a much better view of Alcatraz without all the fog! We aren’t really “city people” so we just quickly saw all of the main tourist attractions and made sure to leave time for a hike in Muir Woods.  It was very short (only 2.5 miles) but pretty! We also made a very quick stop at Muir Beach before heading back to San Francisco.

Day 2 {Pinnacles National Park}

The next morning, we woke up early to leave the city to head for Pinnacles National Park.  It took us about 3 hours (with traffic) to get to the park.  Without much rest we hiked 11 miles in Pinnacles.  We did the High Peaks and Balconies Loop Trail was pretty cool and some areas even had a hand/guardrail so that you didn’t fall off the steep side of the cliff! As usual, we added in extra miles to what we had actually planned on hiking!  We took the long way back which included the Bear Gulch Trail.

Day 3 & 4 {Pismo & SLO}

After hiking we drove to our hotel in Pismo where we stayed for 3 nights.  Scott had to work Friday afternoon so we got up early (again) to hike Bishop Peak which was a very difficult 4 mile hike.  It was actually pretty scary getting to last section!

After he went to work I still had a lot of energy so I ran to the beach (over 3 hilly miles roundtrip) and then hung out by the pool to work (without a swimsuit because I forgot mine)!  All of this was totally out of my comfort zone but I didn’t want to sit in the hotel room all day!

Scott had to work Saturday morning so I woke up and got a quick workout in at the hotel gym and then walked to the grocery store to stock up on more food!

We found ourselves in San Luis Obispo more often than Pismo.  I was on this trip 2 weeks before my photo shoot so while I did indulge in a few small things and ate bars and shakes that I normally would not eat 2 weeks from a shoot…we kept it very healthy.  We even ate at the same restaurant 3 times we liked it so much!

Below is a collage of the food I had for dinner on our trip.  Just because you eat healthy doesn’t mean that you have to eat boring food!  I did not feel deprived at all!

Day 5 {Monterey/Carmel}

On Sunday we woke up and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway, making our way to Monterey for the night.

Below are some shots we got along the Pacific Coast Highway.

We stopped for a 3.5 mile hike in Julia Pfeiffer State Park on the way to our hotel.

After eating lunch in Monterey we headed to Point Lobos State Reserve and hiked 5.1 miles. Then we quickly went on the 19 mile drive with a stop at Pebble Beach, of course!

Monday we woke up and drove to the airport after stopping in Palo Alto to eat at…you guessed it…Whole Foods before getting on the plane!  We had a great trip and I can’t wait to go back to CA – this time to San Diego – in June…just a few weeks away!

5 Ways to Increase Variety with Clean Eating

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Eating clean doesn't mean that you are locked into a lifestyle where you eat the same meals every day or even each week. (Of course, if you would prefer that, you are more than welcome to do so.) Adopting the clean eating lifestyle can provide as much variety as no dietary restrictions.

As soon as we start talking to people, a few will mention that they have a hard time sticking with clean eating because they got sick of eating the same thing week after week. If you are they type of person that enjoys trying new foods, why pigeon-hole yourself into a situation you won't WANT to stick with! There are countless possibilities for foods when eating clean - don't get in a rut!

How do we do it? We follow 5 rules when we plan our shopping lists and menus for the week.

5 Ways to Increase Variety with Clean Eating

1. Try at least three new recipes per week. Think breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides, dessert, shakes, protein bars, etc. 
   
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2. Try one vegetable that you haven't tried each week. If you have tried them all, find a new way to cook a more "rare" vegetable.
3. Have a theme day, not just a theme night. This will force you to cook a certain food a particular way, including your breakfast, lunch, dinner and side dishes. Think Mexican, Italian, etc.
4. Let your spouse, children or a friend choose one of their favorite dishes for a weekly meal. It may be the same as last meal, but if others are excited about it, it will make eating it more appetizing.
5. Set a rule in your home for how many times you will repeat a meal (perhaps during food prep) per week. For example, if you make Salsa Chicken this week, you cannot make it again for 2 weeks. 

How do you increase variety week to week while still eating clean?