Wedding Crap: The Honeymoon

(See introduction and disclaimer to this series here, and other posts in the series here.)

What is the tradition?

Shortly after the wedding, the couple takes a trip, often to a particularly romantic or exotic location. The duration and extravagance of the trip of course varies with the couples' finances, but is often a bit fancier than they might do otherwise for a normal vacation.

What is the origin of the tradition?

 While the term "honeymoon" may have once simply referred to the glow of early marriage, and a time period for the couple to get to know each better, in the sense of a vacation it became common in Britain in the 1800s. It was not actually the couple spending time along together, though - the purpose was to visit relatives and friends who hadn't been able to attend the wedding. They were even sometimes accompanies by family on the trip.

Why do people still follow it?

Well, who doesn't need a vacation?! Getting away together, especially after all the stress and bustle of planning a wedding, is certainly appealing. Even if it's not a matter of "getting to know each other" in the same sense as in the past, as most couples have probably lived and traveled together already, it's still nice.

Why is that crap?

I actually think it's not! Not in the sense of taking time to relax and enjoy each other's company. I do feel there's some degree of entitlement - just like people want a big fancy wedding, far beyond the scope of how they typically host or attend parties, I think there's an idea that one deserves an extravagant honeymoon, which leads to honeymoon gift registries or otherwise expecting other people to foot the bill for your experience. If it goes that far, it's too far. But taking a nice vacation within your means seems totally reasonable to me.

What am I doing with this tradition?

We took an almost-two week trip, including a cruise in Alaska. In all it was a bit longer, and a bit more expensive than our typical trips, but not ridiculously so (and thus within our means).

How did/will you handle this tradition?

I would love to have a lively debate and conversation in the comments! Please join in!

Dissenting opinions (from the post itself or other commenters) are welcome, but I reserve the right to delete any comments that personally attack me or any other commenter.

Alaska Honeymoon: Seward

Earlier in the honeymoon: Washington. Anchorage.

Friday morning we got up super early and took a taxi to the Alaska Railroad train station. 

The train ride was a beautiful scenic route southward from Anchorage to Seward. We saw:

beaches,

mountains,

and glaciers.

We arrived just before lunch time, and luckily the train handles your luggage and checks it on to your cruise ship, so we were free to explore the town for the afternoon before needing to board the ship. Seward is a really cute little town; it actually wouldn't be that difficult to walk end to end, but they also have a free public shuttle making a loop around town during tourist season. 

On the left is Mount Marathon, which has an annual 5k race up and back down it.
The record finishing time, for a mere 5k distance - oh, and 3,000 feet up - is 42 minutes.

For lunch we went into the Ranting Raven for quiches and croissants. Then we took the shuttle to the last shuttle stop at the end of town and walked another mile to so to a disc golf course on the grounds of the middle school. I think this might be one of my favorite courses. Partly because it's only 9 holes :) (instead of the usual 18), but also it has good signage to find the next hole, relatively short fairways, and though some brush to keep things interest, it wasn't too dense so even if you landed in it you could still find our disc.


The disc golf course was on the end of town nearer the port, so after playing we just walked to the ship. We got settled in our stateroom for the remainder of the trip, and after dinner the ship started sailing. We spend the evening exploring the ship and getting a taste of all the available activities - mini golf, daily sheets of puzzles in the library, the gym, and karaoke.

Alaska Honeymoon: Anchorage

Earlier in the honeymoon: Washington

After arriving a few hours later than scheduled, we eventually got picked up by our motel shuttle. We stayed at the Puffin Inn - it was perfectly adequate and safe, and even fairly convenient with a bus stop just across the street, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, other than that it was the most reasonably priced one we found during what I presume is peak tourist season in Anchorage. (Just little things, like only one bedstand next to a queen bed (really, you can't shell out another $20 to have a surface next to both sides of a bed that will likely house two people?), that made it seem a little off and dated. Certainly not a honeymoon-level hotel, at any rate.)

We started our first day in Alaska by taking the bus into downtown to rent bikes (definitely recommend Downtown Bicycle Rental - the employees were quite helpful getting us situated on bikes and pointing out things on the map, and the owner checked us back in and was really nice).

Our bike route

 We started by heading out on the Coastal Trail. We took a brief detour back into town to have lunch at Organic Oasis, a wonderfully hippie place with fresh juices and wheatgrass shots (I had the former, Abe had the latter). It's not all vegetarian, but certainly has plenty of veg options! If I'm remembering correctly I had the Moroccan hummus wrap, and I definitely remember correctly that I enjoyed it.

Coastal Trail

We continued along the trail to Kincaid Park, where there's a disc golf course nestled among the stunning hills and vegetation. There were some spots that seriously more closely resembled what I thought Hawaii looked like than Alaska. I just walked the course while Abe played, as it was super challenging - very hilly, and lots of brush to lose a disc in. Apparently skiing takes place on these hills in the winter, which sounds absolutely terrifying to me, with all the trees around, but I'm sure it's just as lovely to look at in the winter.

Kincaid Park

We then continued biking through the park and back towards town. Anchorage is a fairly bike-friendly town, but in a different way than Portland. It seems that the culture expects bikes to act like pedestrians, and share the paved paths alongside the roads with them, rather than be on the road with cars. Fortunately there are lots of those paved paths and it was easy to get around. Along one such path, maybe a mile or two out of the park, next to a fairly busy road, we saw a moose! He meandered onto the path, hung around for a couple minutes, then headed back into the woods. 

After giving the moose some space, we biked on to Moose's Tooth for dinner. Moose's Tooth is known for its pizza and beer brewing; it was ridiculously crowded, even on a weeknight. Obviously, I liked the pizza, but surprisingly I also liked the beer that Abe got! We ended up buying a growler of an apple ale. 

We returned the bikes to the shop lateish in the evening, having gone a total of 27 miles for the day. (When getting the bikes, we were told the shop was open til 10, but we could return them after that and just lock them up outside. "What time does it get dark", I asked. Um, not until after midnight. Dusk wasn't a factor in when to get back!). A few blocks walk took us to a bus stop to get back to the motel.

This was at 9:30 pm!

The next morning, we were exhausted from the past couple days, and after breakfast went back to our room for a nap. We eventually headed out for lunch, this time trying out Middle Way Cafe. Similar mission as Organic Oasis, tons of veg options, but felt a bit more commercialized (in fact, while we were eating there, the manager was having a meeting at the table next to us with representatives of a beverage company about the possibility of having bottle drinks available, including some more mainstream brands). 

We spent the afternoon at the Anchorage Museum. I was particularly intrigued by the Five Gyres plastic trash display; we also checked out the hands on science, native history, and oil pipe exhibits. 

Five Gyres exhibit

Fireweed

Dinner was at the Spenard Roadhouse, another place that was highly recommended, where we met up with a friend of Abe's who was spending the summer in Alaska working as a railroad guide. Though having more of a conventional pub-style menu, we still found a few veg items to enjoy. There were also some great housemade drinks.

We took advantage of the well-lit evening with a stop by Westchester Lagoon Park, which was supposed to have a disc golf course, but unfortunately it wasn't set up for the summer yet; we found the tee pads but not baskets. We took the bus back to the motel and prepared for an early morning the next day to catch the train.

Alaska Honeymoon: Washington

Our Alaska honeymoon actually began in Washington. After spending the morning the day after our wedding packing and running a few last minute errands, we drove up to the west side of the Puget Sound. We stopped along the way to play disc golf in Shelton, then for for dinner in Belfair at the Rice Bowl. The Rice Bowl was a tiny bit sketchy looking, but turned out to have really good food, and an extensive menu with a variety of Asian cuisines.

Seems like a lovely backdrop for starting a honeymoon.

Our destination for the night was the Cedar Cove Inn in Port Orchard. This is a beautiful B&B with a lovely view of the sound.

One note: there isn't AC, but airing our the room with windows and french doors (which open onto a balcony that if I recall correctly goes all the way around the house) through the evening and a fan going kept it reasonable. A minor lack of modern conveniences can be easily forgiven, though, with all of the old fashioned features and charm.

Seriously the prettiest toilet I've ever seen.

After checking in we headed out to the local high school pool for some laps (we were still tri training at this point). The pool was set on "long course" (50 meters, compared to 25 yards or meters), which was the first time I'd experienced that. Despite having swam more than that in one stretch, there's a mental challenge to it when you don't have a wall touch at smaller intervals.

Port Orchard, WA

The next morning we got up early for a sightseeing run of Port Orchards. After quick showers we joined the other guests for breakfast, which was a crepe-type dish, the name of which I can't remember. But it was airy and delicious! We enjoyed the landscaping on the grounds for a bit, then headed towards Seattle.

On the grounds of the Cedar Cove Inn.

Along the way we fit in some more disc golf, in Bremerton and Auburn, and had lunch at Tony's Pizzeria. Eventually we made it to SeaTac, where we checked in and had dinner with plenty of time to spare. And then even more time to spare, as our flight was delighted an hour, then two, then two and half. We ended up leaving at almost the time we should have been landing in Anchorage! Fortunately, for our troubles we each got a $100 voucher from Alaska Airlines, but we ended up not arriving until after midnight. 

HTC Training Week 4 & Triathlon Training Week 8 & Honeymoon Week 2

Monday through Friday of this week we were still on our honeymoon; through Friday morning in fact still on the cruise. So still a bit of a challenge to fit in formal workouts around all the other available things to do, but tried to make up for it this weekend once we got home!

Workouts: 

Monday: Swim 500 yards.
Active non-workouts: Walked about 2 miles to the disc golf course just outside of Skagway (at the opposite end from the pier) (we took a bus back) + played half a round of disc golf + hiked about 1 mile on the zip line course. Also stairs (see explanation on previous week's recap). 

The swim was in one of the (two) pools on ship, which I measured with my arm span and think was about 40 feet long. Though short, obviously, it wasn't too short to sort of get into a groove before turning around. It was saline, though, rather than chlorine, and getting a taste of salt in my mouth every time I breathed was just too odd to swim any longer than I did. I'm sure one gets used to it if you swim in a saline pool regularly, but it was just very weird when I'm used to chlorine. (At least I think the swim was Monday, I'm not 100% sure. But sometime during this week I did swim 500 yards in the ship pool.)

Tuesday: Run 3.6 miles (12:41 pace) - in Icy Strait Point. 
Active non-workouts: Walked about 1 mile around town + stairs.

Icy Strait Point isn't really its own town, but more a tourist destination (not fake like Disneyland, it actually is partly educational and has museum exhibits, being the historic site of a salmon cannery, but nonetheless a bit commercialized), so there wasn't a ton else to do there (the biggest attraction was the world's longest zip line - over a mile long - but very expensive and we prioritized other excursions). We did a few loops of a trail that included the beach and the "nature loop" in a forested area; near the end we discovered a pave trail heading towards the nearest actual town (Hoonah).

Wednesday: No official workouts; sightseeing in Ketchikan. 
Active non-workouts: Kayaked for about 2 hours + walked about 1 mile around town + stairs around town (on steep hills where sidewalks turn into staircases ala San Francisco) (I'd estimate the equivalent of 10 flights of stairs) + stairs on the ship.

Among the Tatoosh Islands in the Tongass National Forest.

Thursday: Run 5.1 miles (11:07 pace!) - 32 laps around the ship track. Another cruising day, no port.
Active non-workouts: Rock climbing + stairs.

Friday: No official workouts; getting off the ship and traveling back home.
Active non-workouts: Walked about 1 mile between various forms of transportation.

Saturday am: Run 6 miles (12:22 pace) - HTC practice run 1 of 2. This run was 4 out and backs down and up two hills, entirely running down and doing 0.20/0.05 run/walks intervals up.
Downhill goal = <11:30 pace. Uphill goal = <13:59 pace.
Hill A down/up: 10:34/13:25
Hill B down/up: 10:00/14:00
Hill A down/up: 11:14/13:48
Hill B down/up: 10:52/14:57
The second hill is steeper, allowing for both faster barreling down, and a harder time coming back up. I actually felt really strong after this run, and super proud of my overall pace. Until I went out for my second run of the day, anyway...

Saturday mid: Open water swim 450 yards. The TRI Team has had a couple open water sessions that I missed while out of town, so this was my first time! I briefly panicked in my first attempt of swimming out from the shallow waters where I could touch the ground, but our coach stayed with me (while sending the others, who were more experienced, out with the assistant coach), and by the end of 20-ish minutes, was starting to feel a lot more comfortable. Still need lots of work on sighting, though.

Saturday pm: Run 4 miles (13:29 pace) - HTC practice run 2 of 2. After several hours, fatigue from the morning run had started to set in, and my legs were pretty much dead. I actually came inside a little after 3 miles, intending to quit early, before talking myself back into finishing a minimum distance (I actually initially, as in when planning out workouts earlier in the week, planned to do 6 for this run, as well, but dropped that unrealistic idea basically as soon as I started).

Sunday: Bike 5.6 miles (11.3 mph) - we intended to do our usual 20-ish mile ride in the morning, but slept in, a lot (I guess we needed it - the trip was fun, but not particularly restful). Then Abe had a thing in the afternoon, and blah blah, by the time we set out it was 7:30, and the sun was in my eyes (I don't currently have a pair of prescription sunglasses), and my legs felt soo dead from yesterday's runs. This was all I could manage, while staying on roads without much traffic (cause I didn't feel safe with the sun so low in my and drivers' eyes), and just being so fatigued.

Total swimming: 950 yards
Total biking: 5.6 miles
Total running: 18.70 miles
Total stairs: 190 flights

This is my peak training week for Hood to Coast (two weeks from this past Friday!), and I wish I'd gotten past 20 miles. I also know my low biking was a bit of a cop-out; I should have prioritized it earlier in the day to make sure it happened, and also could have done another stationary bike workout on the cruise.

Saturday's morning run was an absolutely fabulous workout - if I'd done it mid-week as a strength/speed workout, surrounded by easier runs. As part of a weekend with the intent to do several long workouts, not such a great plan. It truly did, to an extent, get in the way of other workouts. Even though my next race is just running, it is in the midst of triathlon training, and I need to be more careful to balance all the disciplines.

HTC Training Week 3 & Triathlon Training Week 7 & Honeymoon Week 1

Why, hello, there! We just got back on Friday from our honeymoon. I didn't have reliable access to internet (for the first few days we were in a part of our motel that was far enough away from the main section so the wifi signal was really weak, and then on the cruise we were in and out of international waters so my phone went into roaming and the onboard wifi was super expensive), but spending time reading or writing blog posts certainly wouldn't have been high on my priorities anyway. :) 

As Abe and I are both training for races, we tried to fit in workouts as much as we could, without sacrificing enjoyment of our trip and the beautiful sights and fun activities. We tended to be pretty active outside of workouts, too, with disc golf and walking while sightseeing and such.

Here are the workouts for the week ended August 3rd.

Workouts: 

Monday: Swim 1,200 meters 
Active non-workouts: Played half a round of disc golf and walked the second half.

After packing and running some errands, we drove up to the west side of the Puget Sound for the first leg of our trip. We got in fairly late, but on the way I did some research and found a local community pool that had an evening lap swim! It was on long course (50 meters, instead of 25 yards/meters), so that was a new experience. Amazing how just the mental aspect of going so far without a wall - even if you know you can go that distance - makes it seem so much harder!

Tuesday: Run 2.0 miles (13:11 pace) - a sightseeing run around Port Orchard, with lots of stops for photos. 
Active non-workouts: Played 2/3s a round of disc golf and walked the last six holes + walked a second round of disc golf.

Unfortunately we had to run up a hill to get this view.

Wednesday: Biked 27.25 miles (10.3 mph)
Active non-workouts: Walked/hiked a very hilly disc golf course.

After flying from Seattle to Anchorage late Tuesday night, we spend Wednesday on rented bikes, exploring the Coastal Trail and other parts of town. The total bike mileage was broken up by meals and a round of disc golf, but had some very challenging hills and totally counted for my long bike for the week!

Thank you random stranger for taking our picture! Getting a selfie with the sign, ourselves, and our bikes proved challenging.

Thursday: No official workouts; mostly riding the bus and walking around town.
Active non-workouts: At least three miles walking.

Friday: Stationary bike 7.5 miles (14.9 mph) in the gym on the cruise ship
Active non-workouts: Played a 9-hole disc golf course + at least three miles walking to/from the course and around town. Around 15 flights of stairs - see Saturday explanation.

We took a train from Anchorage to Seward, to get on the cruise ship for the remaining days of the trip. We had the afternoon free before having to get on, though, so we took the free city shuttle towards the 9-hole disc golf course near one end of town, and then walked to the port to embark. 

Saturday am: Run 3.0 miles (10:55 pace!) on the ship track - HTC practice run 1 of 2. This took 19 laps - we were told 1 mile = 6.3 laps. Pretty amazed by my pace, but it was definitely the flattest surface I've ever run on; even tracks on land I feel like tilt slightly from one end to the the other, but not on a boat deck!
Saturday pm: Treadmill run 1.5 miles (12:28 pace) - HTC practice run 2 of 2. Should have run farther, but just couldn't get into it. We'll call this a cutback week? Plus, you know, honeymoon.
Active non-workouts: Rock climbing! My first time ever doing this - scary the first time, but then started getting fun. Also, lots of stair climbing. Our state room was on deck 3, most of the bars and other entertainment were on deck 6, the dining room we went to the most was on deck 11, the gym was on deck 12, and the rock wall on deck 13. We decided to make a game of sorts trying to limit our elevator rides to one per day. I'd guesstimate we went up and down at around 50 flights of stairs in total each cruising day; maybe 40 flights on port days when we weren't going to and from as many activities on the ship during the day.

This was a cruising day, no port visit, so I tried to fit in a bit more formal exercise.

Not the worst view for running in place!

Sunday: No official workouts. The ship docked in Juneau, so lots of sightseeing.
Active non-workouts: At least 5 miles walking/hiking. Lots of stair climbing.

Total swimming: 1,200 yards
Total biking: 34.75 miles
Total running: 6.5 miles
Total stairs: 105 flights