I walked my freshly brewed coffee down to the beach with my chair and a book. I sat down, sipped and waited. Right on time the sun slowly emerged above the horizon. The pelicans flew overhead pretending not to notice.

I wanted to press pause and savor the moment, but the sun continued to rise and I continued to sip. Soon it was well above the horizon. Show over, but I sat there a while longer and read my book before heading back to the house.

Ava was now up and ready to go. We hopped in the car and headed north a few miles to grab some coffee and breakfast at a fun little bakery. We sat outside eating, sipping, and talking.

I love vacation! It’s a great time to step back from real life and recharge. Vacation gives me a couple weeks to do some things I really love and take a break from some other things that aren’t my favorite. I don’t have to fix my house. I don’t have to attend meetings. I don’t have to set my alarm.

But, what about fitness? Is vacation also an opportunity to push the pause button on my step goals…since I’m taking a break from all the “have to’s” of my life? The answer is…

…in the coffee.

It’s Fully Integrated

Coffee is fully woven into the fabric of my life. It doesn’t matter whether I’m at work or at home for the weekend. Coffee is part of my daily routine. I’m good with making it myself, enjoying a cup that someone else made, or buying it at a hip little coffee shop.

I also don’t have to think about it. I can’t remember the last time I reached the end of the day and suddenly remembered I didn’t drink my coffee. It simply doesn’t happen.

I drink coffee. It’s an integrated part of my life…even on vacation.

I Enjoy It

I didn’t always like coffee. I loved the smell, but the taste was really hard to appreciate. In fact, I didn’t drink coffee until I was 45 years old. Whenever Ava and I went to Starbucks, I would buy a fancy drink filled with special flavors. That’s what I got for a long time, until it finally hit me that plain coffee would be much cheaper.

So I ordered a cup.

I added sugar to make it palatable, but my coffee still didn’t taste the way it smelled. That was the experience I really wanted. After a month of adding sugar I stopped and tried it black.

Ugh.

There had to be something about coffee that made so many others really enjoy it. I was determined to not give up until I discovered that. It took weeks, but gradually my taste buds changed….and so did my world.

Coffee now feels like it’s been a part of my life forever, even though it hasn’t. I have several cups every day and will go out of my way to get coffee if it’s not easily available. Recently, in Myrtle Beach I walked three miles, early in the morning, until I found a place that was open and ready with a pot of freshly made hot coffee. 

I enjoy my coffee. It makes every day better…especially when I’m on vacation.

I Get To Change it Up

One of the things I love about coffee on vacation is the opportunity to change my experience. I enjoy watching the sunrise on the beach with a steaming hot cup in my hands. I equally enjoy sitting on the deck with a cup reading and watching the beach community below me come alive.

Ava and I get coffee together every morning. It’s her first cup. It’s my second or third. We have a bakery we especially love and go there often, but we also check out different coffee shops up and down the coast. I really enjoy that. Some have a cool, hipster vibe…others simply feel like a spot on the beach.

I never miss a day of coffee while I’m on vacation, but I sure do love the chance to make the experience different and fun.

Benefits Don’t Stop

I love all the research that shows black coffee is good for me. Every time a new study comes out I highlight it in the news on our morning radio show. I’m sure I’m not the only one who appreciates the research being done.

Drinking coffee apparently lowers my risk for a bunch of different diseases, makes me smarter, and improves my mood.

The key is not loading my coffee with stuff and not going nuts with how many cups I’m drinking. And, the beautiful part of this research is those benefits don’t stop when I’m on vacation.

So…neither will I.

More Relationship Time

Ava and I both enjoy coffee. She was a fan long before me, but she also adds stuff to hers. I guess I’m a bit of a coffee snob that way.

We rarely enjoy it together because of my work schedule. Even on the weekends it’s usually a solo experience because I’m still up way before she is.

But, on vacation it’s something we do together just about every day. It may actually be the thing I look forward to most while we’re on away…enjoying coffee together. We have unhurried time to connect. We talk about the kids, the grandkids, our future, and even silly stuff.

Vacation is a special treat because I get to do coffee with my wife.

My Step Goals

So…is vacation an opportunity for me to push pause on my daily step goals…on exercise in general?

The answer is in the coffee.

If you struggle with motivation to stick with fitness this blog will help. Don’t be intimated by the title. That’s my goal…not yours. But, my bigger goal is to help you start a fitness journey that doesn’t stop and builds momentum. If you click FOLLOW (below on your phone and to the right and above on your computer) you’ll get an email with a link to each motivating article the moment it’s published.