Don't Forget to Dance

One of the reasons that I created this blog was to talk about exercise as a way of life. In the past few years, I have discussed various forms of exercise that I do regularly, used to do, or have tried. If I could only do one exercise, however, it would be dancing. I was excited when I recently read an article about a study that showed dancing to be the best overall exercise that people can do as they age. Apparently, dancing is one of the best ways to improve both balance and mental status. This is a good excuse to dance even more than the 5 times a week that I already do!

I would say that perhaps my favorite kind of dancing is Latin dancing with my husband. I first fell in love with Latin dancing in the 80's when I was doing aerobic dance, and Gloria Estefan was at the height of her popularity.  Later, when I started doing zumba dancing, it was Ricky Martin that made me a salsa dancing fan for life! Salsa, cha cha cha, bachata, merengue, and rumba are all great dances.

Rich and I started doing Latin dancing almost 10 years ago, and since then, have made it our goal to find a Latin club in every city or country that we visit. In the USA, we have danced at Latin clubs in the following: Asheville, Durham, Portland, Santa Monica, New York, Atlanta, Sarasota, St. Armands, and  Puerto Rico. Internationally, our Latin dance experience has included: Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Siem Reap (Cambodia), Santiago (Chile), and Hanoi (Vietnam).

What I have learned in these past 10 years about Latin dancing is that it truly is the universal dance genre. I think it is because Latin music simply makes people happy! Folks in all parts of the world smile when they are enjoying a salsa or bachata. Also, we have found everyone to be friendly and welcoming, no matter where we are. Although many young people frequent Latin dance clubs, (young for me means anyone under 40), there are plenty of folks our age and older who are Latin dancers. At the club that we go to in St. Armands, near Sarasota, there are men and women that have been dancing at the club for the all of the years that we have danced there. There is a nice community feel with Latin dancing.

The skill and enthusiasm of the dancers is inspirational. Speaking of enthusiasm, I would have to say that the two dance clubs that we found in Hanoi had probably the most lively participants of any place we have ever been. Dancers who had been to a club several nights before in one part of town were at another club in another part of town several nights later! As far as my favorite Latin club of all time, I would have to say it would be Club 15 South in St. Armands. Unlike almost all of the other places where we have done Latin dancing, it has live music on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. And it has had some of the best Latin dancers that I have ever seen.

We will continue our Latin dance adventure when we go to Japan several months from now. Until then, I will keep prolonging my life by dancing as much as possible. It is good for my brain, body, and spirit! The Kinks said it well in their song "Don't Forget to Dance":

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no

Don't forget to smile.

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while

Walking the Bridge to St. Armand's Circle

One walking activity that I try to do every time that I am in Sarasota is to walk from Marina Jacks in Sarasota to St. Armands Circle. Marina Jacks is a seafood restaurant that has amazing water views and does boat cruises. St. Armands is the lovely downtown of St. Armands Key. A bridge goes from Sarastota to St Armands Circle, and there is a walking/biking lane on the bridge. The round trip is about 5 miles, which I think is the perfect distance for a fitness walk. So Rich and I decided to do one of my favorite walks on a beautiful day last week.

As soon as we got on the bridge, I realized why I appreciate this walk so much. The views are truly spectacular in every direction. Interesting condos and hotels are everywhere in Sarasota, and the unique mansions on Lido Key can be seen in the distance.The deep blue water is mesmerizing, so that one does not pay so much attention to the noisy traffic on the bridge!

St. Armands Circle is a bustling little area with colorful, interesting restaurants and shops. Our destination was none other than Starbucks, where we had a bold flavored iced coffee with breakfast bacon sandwiches. From there, we strolled around St. Armands, going into some of our favorite shops from years past. One is a gift and garden art shop, with unique artsy items. You know you are near the beach when you look around the shop! Many cards and trinkets have a tropical flavor.

My favorite shop is called Binjara Traders. This shop has a nice selection of jewelry and clothing. But what fascinates me is the selection of Buddhas that they display. I collect Buddhas for my house and garden, and have bought several nice ones from here. This time I ended up buying a pair of earrings.

There are other interesting shops as we took our time looking into the colorful windows. St. Armands understandably attracts many tourists. This place is always bustling!

We walked back with a breezy wind in our faces. Rich turned his hat backwards to keep his hat from blowing away. I turned mine backwards so that I could try to look cool. Rich said that the cool look definitely did not happen! Oh well, it was still a great walk on a picture perfect day!

Adventures in Sarasota: City Walking

Florida weather is very lovely this time of the year, and and entices people do many outdoor exercise activities such as golf, tennis, kayaking, beach walking, and even hiking. Hiking here in Sarasota, unlike the Asheville area, is generally on mostly flat, sandy land. I have always enjoyed walking around town in Asheville, both for exercise and to explore the the various shops and eateries on the way. I decided to use my some of my time here in Sarasota to observe my surroundings by foot. Cars are literally everywhere in this city, and walking can be a risky activity. But driving here can be dangerous also, so I set out on a six mile round trip walk from my neighborhood to the mall.

This walk consists of walking on sidewalk all the way by Highway 41 to the Westfield Siesta Kay Mall. Traffic noise is a constant on this major road. But there are unique sites along the way which help me to block out the hectic stream of automobiles. I love the views of Phillippi Creek, and have a peaceful moment. People come to Florida for vacation to experience these amazing water views.

At 11:00 in the morning, the bright sun is already hot, and I realize that I need hydration, as well as a late breakfast. So I stop at Starbucks and order ice coffee and a bagel. This is nothing particularly special, but there are no local coffee shops along here, and Starbucks is nothing if not consistent. The bagel is good and I get a nice caffeine bolt from coffee. I am ready to forge ahead to get to the mall by the noon opening.

This route has a number of small, older strip malls, but unfortunately, none of these are particularly unique. An exception is Giggles, Sarasota's main exotic wear and adult toy shop. I had driven by Giggles for a number of years until curiosity made me finally go inside several years ago. I ended up buying a "Santa Baby" tank top to wear to my dance exercise holiday class. (Giggles has a good variety of regular dance wear). I want to take another look inside, but unfortunately, it is closed this morning. I will need to make my yearly Giggles visit another day!

At this point, I am less than a mile from the mall. There are several chain stores and restaurants, namely Trader Joe's and Chili's Restaurant. The Trader Joe's on Highway 41 is always busy. Judging from the packed parking lot, I think that this is the single most popular food store in Sarasota.(as it is in most cities).

I get to the mall, and manage to do some light shopping at Macy's. I can only buy things that will fit into my light weight bag. After looking around the mall for an hour or so, I need more hydration before starting the trek back. A colorful little cafe called Cravings has opened where a Starbucks used to be inside this mall. I enjoy a berry iced tea and was refreshed for the walk back home.

The trip back is fast - no stopping at the shops on the way back. Traffic has picked up, and the noise is even louder! I do notice the colorful tube art sculptures called Tube Dude, which are all over Sarasota. The one I see is at an entrance to a veterinarian - a cat being carried on a stretcher!  As as I reach the entrance to my neighborhood, however, there is quiet. I appreciate the calmness.

I have come to the following conclusions after my exercise fitness walk in the city:  1. Always wait for the pedestrian signals at intersections, and start across carefully;  2. Staying hydrated is essential when walking in Florida;  3. Walking to the mall is probably safer in this town than driving. Plus, I get great exercise.
Until my next city walk....!!

Garden Delights

Passionate gardeners know that sometimes the garden overflows with beauty, while at other times, it struggles to stay alive. My garden was inconsistent this year, ranging from plants stressing from too little rain, to an over abundance of rain in the late summer and fall. There are shrubs and perennials I can count on most of the time, like disease resistant roses and a number of low maintenance succulents. But I like to do a "garden review" at the end of each year to assess those plants that truly surprised me and made my head turn every time I spotted them from a distance.

Probably my favorite plant this year was my Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsaoniae). Bleeding Heart Vine is a tropical plant that cannot withstand freezing winter temperatures. I bought this last year to add some color to my spring and summer garden. It was a real show stopper, growing with other summer plants like begonias, geraniums, and fuschia. The blooms start out as white with red tips, and as the season progresses, they change to more red, then a lovely mauve color in the fall. It truly catches my eye every time that I walk by. I brought it in last fall, and kept it as a house plant in my basement. Although it lost most of its leaves after the winter, they came back when I put it again outside this spring. I kept it growing in the pot, and watered only about once a week if there was no rain. (it grows well in part sun conditions). I have brought it inside again this winter, and it will hopefully grow well next year, and be a plant that I always look forward to appreciating in my garden.

My container plants were my second favorite garden items. I planted these containers in May, and they were still looking good through the end of October. This season, I decided to use easy care, reliable plants, like begonias and coleus. Begonias are one of my favorite plants of all time, because of their ability to withstand dry conditions. Many of the large leafed begonias can get by with being watered only once every week-10 days. And yet many will bloom continuously from spring to fall. Coleus needs a little more watering than begonia, particularly if they are in sun, but they will grow extremely well with very little care. Pairing begonias and coleus with evergreen, low maintenance shrubs, like boxwoods and small conifers, is a great way to achieve beautiful results all season. Fuschia is another plant that did extremely well this year. It was still blooming through early November!  They do appreciate a little extra water, but otherwise are very easy to take care of. Containers with beautiful plants simply cheer me up all year!

Finally, I love to plant seeds in the early spring, so that I can achieve summer and fall blooms without spending a lot of money on packs of annuals. My two favorites this year were my summer blooming larkspur, and cosmos. I plant larkspur seeds in early March. They are slow to sprout, but once they do, they grow pretty vigorously. I have noticed that it usually snows in Asheville once or twice in March, and the larkspur actually benefits from this light blanket! The beautiful blue, purple, and pink spiked blooms reach their peak in June and July. This year was a lovely show, and provided a nice setting for a prized garden statue. I planted the cosmos seeds in mid-April. Cosmos is very easy to grow from seed. The blooms really started coming in late July and have continued to last through November! They are a welcome site in the fall garden, and are good for cutting to use in indoor arrangements as well.

Winter will be approaching shortly, and I will miss the joys from my 2017 garden. I am glad that I took photos of these favorites, as it is nice to see what surprises me each gardening year. In the meantime, I will love seeing the foliage and blooms of the plants that I brought inside for the winter!