*This is the 4th of 4 posts on the Spa Weekend. Please see the previous 3 posts for the beginning of this 4-part series. ;-)*
Sunday morning we packed our belongings and headed over to Coronado Island to have brunch at the Hotel del Coronado, a very beautiful historic property. Portions of Some Like It Hot (with Marilyn Monroe) were actually filmed there. I’ve been there a couple of times before and have really enjoyed having lunch on the patio, with a view of the ocean just ahead. This time was a little bit different. The Sunday Brunch is buffet only, so no table service was available. That did dampen the experience for us somewhat. We did still have the view though. I would recommend going for a regular table service meal. It is pricey, hence my inclination to go for lunch.
After brunch we still had some time to kill so we drove to Old Town and walked through reading up on the history. Then we decided to head to the airport and try to catch an earlier flight. We were unsuccessful (and our flight was even an hour delayed) but we relaxed with a book (after such a relaxing weekend how could we get uptight?) and came home when we could, to a very happy, wiggly 130-pound Akita. Sigh… We are back in the real world now.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Spa Weekend Saturday
*This is the 3rd of 4 posts on the Spa Weekend. Please see the previous 2 posts for the beginning of this 4-part series. ;-)*
Saturday was the reason that we went to this resort/spa. After a nice breakfast we headed over to the Chopra Center for the first of our Ayurvedic spa treatments. You can learn more about these types of treatments here: http://www.chopra.com/spa. We didn’t get into the yoga/meditation element of the Chopra Center but boy did we take part in the treatments! My first treatment was actually a combination of the Abhyanga and the Oshadhi. The first one is a rhythmic friction massage designed to move the lymphatic system along and loosens toxins at the cellular level. The second treatment was a blissful body wrap in oil and herbs and hot towels, sheets. I was wrapped up like a cocoon and just relaxed. This treatment is also supposed to be detoxifying. In the meantime, David was also getting wrapped up like a burrito and then spent some time in the steam room. After a light lunch we then headed off to the second body treatment of the day for each of us, the Odyssey Enlivening Therapy. This is the ultimate massage! It’s also a rhythmic massage, actually a combination of 4 techniques. We chose to have the 1 therapist for 1 hour. There is also a 2-therapist for one hour version (for twice as much money, of course). I cannot imagine the amount of blissful relaxation that comes from the 2-therapist version. I hope to experience it someday!
After our treatments ended (sadly) we headed off to the swimming pool Splash Zone where we acted like kids and flung ourselves down the water slides numerous times. Alas, the time came to head back to our room, and shower & change for dinner. Dinner was at the resort. Again, another wonderful meal with top-notch service. I could not have asked for more.
Saturday was the reason that we went to this resort/spa. After a nice breakfast we headed over to the Chopra Center for the first of our Ayurvedic spa treatments. You can learn more about these types of treatments here: http://www.chopra.com/spa. We didn’t get into the yoga/meditation element of the Chopra Center but boy did we take part in the treatments! My first treatment was actually a combination of the Abhyanga and the Oshadhi. The first one is a rhythmic friction massage designed to move the lymphatic system along and loosens toxins at the cellular level. The second treatment was a blissful body wrap in oil and herbs and hot towels, sheets. I was wrapped up like a cocoon and just relaxed. This treatment is also supposed to be detoxifying. In the meantime, David was also getting wrapped up like a burrito and then spent some time in the steam room. After a light lunch we then headed off to the second body treatment of the day for each of us, the Odyssey Enlivening Therapy. This is the ultimate massage! It’s also a rhythmic massage, actually a combination of 4 techniques. We chose to have the 1 therapist for 1 hour. There is also a 2-therapist for one hour version (for twice as much money, of course). I cannot imagine the amount of blissful relaxation that comes from the 2-therapist version. I hope to experience it someday!
After our treatments ended (sadly) we headed off to the swimming pool Splash Zone where we acted like kids and flung ourselves down the water slides numerous times. Alas, the time came to head back to our room, and shower & change for dinner. Dinner was at the resort. Again, another wonderful meal with top-notch service. I could not have asked for more.
Spa Weekend Friday
*This is the 2nd of 4 posts on the Spa Weekend. Please see the previous post for the beginning of this 4-part series. ;-)*
Friday we decided to spend the day at one of my favorite San Diego attractions: The Wild Animal Park. I love that the animals get to reside in very large, natural settings with acres on which to graze. Once we got there we headed over to the fake hot-air balloon ride (still fun to do, anyway) and waited for our turn while checking out the lions’ enclosure. What timing! We got there just as they were being let out which we were told usually happens later in the day. The skies were overcast and the air was a bit chilly, so the lions were so full of energy! It was a treat watching the clubs play with each other, and also they tried to get the daddy to play. Here is one of the many photos we took:
For more photos from the Park, please follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/laurie.d.coleman/WildAnimalPark
You will appreciate that I did sort through all 148 photos that we took and only selected 63 to post here. It’s hard discarding beautiful pics!
Some of the other memorable things that we saw and experienced (the lions are tops on this list) are: The gorillas. The large male gorilla spent the entire time that we were watching trying to get a large white plastic cap from a cardboard box from one of the smaller ones. Basically, it was a slow motion never-ending game of keep-away. Very entertaining! We also enjoyed feeding the Lorokeets. Dave wasn’t too happy that they tried to eat his hat, though! I also really enjoyed watching the elephants. These creatures are just so majestic, and smart! One big male was in a small medical enclosure and I asked his keepers why he was in there. They said he had a sore on one foot and was supposed to be soaking it. So, that’s what the large tub of water was for that he just tipped over! The keeper added water to the tub and told the elephant to put his foot in it. He only repeated it once more, and then the elephant did as he was told. Impressive!
We really enjoyed the Park, and left there near closing time. It was a slow day for them since school was in session and it was Friday. The day was beautiful, not too hot, and the Park was not at all crowded. Definitely one of the best times I’ve had there.
After the Park we were tired, actually sleepy. We headed on to downtown San Diego where we had 7:00 dinner and show reservations. Since we were about an hour early, we headed to a parking garage and got about 30 minutes of nap time in. The dinner/show was at Café Sevilla which is a Spanish restaurant known for their paella. On Friday evenings they have a dinner/Flamenco dancing show downstairs. We headed downstairs, got excellent seats for the beautiful show, had a very tasty dinner topped off with mojitos and sangrias (not too many of them!) and called it a night.
For more photos from the Park, please follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/laurie.d.coleman/WildAnimalPark
You will appreciate that I did sort through all 148 photos that we took and only selected 63 to post here. It’s hard discarding beautiful pics!
Some of the other memorable things that we saw and experienced (the lions are tops on this list) are: The gorillas. The large male gorilla spent the entire time that we were watching trying to get a large white plastic cap from a cardboard box from one of the smaller ones. Basically, it was a slow motion never-ending game of keep-away. Very entertaining! We also enjoyed feeding the Lorokeets. Dave wasn’t too happy that they tried to eat his hat, though! I also really enjoyed watching the elephants. These creatures are just so majestic, and smart! One big male was in a small medical enclosure and I asked his keepers why he was in there. They said he had a sore on one foot and was supposed to be soaking it. So, that’s what the large tub of water was for that he just tipped over! The keeper added water to the tub and told the elephant to put his foot in it. He only repeated it once more, and then the elephant did as he was told. Impressive!
We really enjoyed the Park, and left there near closing time. It was a slow day for them since school was in session and it was Friday. The day was beautiful, not too hot, and the Park was not at all crowded. Definitely one of the best times I’ve had there.
After the Park we were tired, actually sleepy. We headed on to downtown San Diego where we had 7:00 dinner and show reservations. Since we were about an hour early, we headed to a parking garage and got about 30 minutes of nap time in. The dinner/show was at Café Sevilla which is a Spanish restaurant known for their paella. On Friday evenings they have a dinner/Flamenco dancing show downstairs. We headed downstairs, got excellent seats for the beautiful show, had a very tasty dinner topped off with mojitos and sangrias (not too many of them!) and called it a night.
Spa Weekend Thursday
*This is the 1st of 4 posts on the Spa Weekend*
David came up with the wonderful idea of going to a wellness spa for a long weekend after all of my chemo treatments were over. The focus would be detoxifying and a lot of relaxation. After much research we decided to go to the La Costa Resort and Spa. They not only have their traditional spa, but there is also a Chopra Center on the grounds. The Chopra Center was created by Deepak Chopra, M.D. and it’s a kind of East meets West sort of place. It’s been a week since we returned from our spa weekend and I figured I should post it now or never. I’ll split this into a posting for each day.
So here’s Spa Weekend Thursday:
We took off Thursday morning for the short flight to San Diego. The flight was on time, everything went as planned. On the way to Carlsbad (where the La Costa Resort and Spa is located) we stopped off in La Jolla and shared a salad at a café. Then we rushed on up to Carlsbad to check in and just barely made it on time for our 3:00 couple’s massage at the traditional spa. This was a one-hour massage for both and included 45 minutes of alone time in the suite afterwards with our own private Jacuzzi, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, and a bottle of champagne. The Jacuzzi was too hot so we just sat on the loungers and enjoyed the treats.
Thursday evening we had dinner reservations at the Prado in Balboa Park. Very beautiful place, great ambiance, wonderful service, awesome food. Highly recommended.
David came up with the wonderful idea of going to a wellness spa for a long weekend after all of my chemo treatments were over. The focus would be detoxifying and a lot of relaxation. After much research we decided to go to the La Costa Resort and Spa. They not only have their traditional spa, but there is also a Chopra Center on the grounds. The Chopra Center was created by Deepak Chopra, M.D. and it’s a kind of East meets West sort of place. It’s been a week since we returned from our spa weekend and I figured I should post it now or never. I’ll split this into a posting for each day.
So here’s Spa Weekend Thursday:
We took off Thursday morning for the short flight to San Diego. The flight was on time, everything went as planned. On the way to Carlsbad (where the La Costa Resort and Spa is located) we stopped off in La Jolla and shared a salad at a café. Then we rushed on up to Carlsbad to check in and just barely made it on time for our 3:00 couple’s massage at the traditional spa. This was a one-hour massage for both and included 45 minutes of alone time in the suite afterwards with our own private Jacuzzi, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, and a bottle of champagne. The Jacuzzi was too hot so we just sat on the loungers and enjoyed the treats.
Thursday evening we had dinner reservations at the Prado in Balboa Park. Very beautiful place, great ambiance, wonderful service, awesome food. Highly recommended.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Things Are Going Well
Last week was my last chemo treatment, and I am doing pretty well right now. My energy is mostly back to normal (darn, have to start exercising again!) My neuropathy is nagging me, but with time that should decrease and hopefully go away completely. It may take a few weeks. Hopefully not months! I am so ready for everything to be back to normal, including my fingers and toes.
So, my next thing to do is the CT scan on September 23rd. If that's clean then I will just have blood work every three months, and repeat the CT scan in 6 months. So, they just start watching me. I have already scheduled the removal of my mediport. It will be taken out October 9th. It'll be so nice for that to go away! It just sticks out so far on my chest. I hear that on so many people it's hardly noticeable. They must have a nice layer of fat for it to hide underneath. Well, hmmm... I guess I can't complain about being too fat!
Everything should be smooth from here on out, unless this rears its head again. Cross your fingers for me!
So, my next thing to do is the CT scan on September 23rd. If that's clean then I will just have blood work every three months, and repeat the CT scan in 6 months. So, they just start watching me. I have already scheduled the removal of my mediport. It will be taken out October 9th. It'll be so nice for that to go away! It just sticks out so far on my chest. I hear that on so many people it's hardly noticeable. They must have a nice layer of fat for it to hide underneath. Well, hmmm... I guess I can't complain about being too fat!
Everything should be smooth from here on out, unless this rears its head again. Cross your fingers for me!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Final Round Today
This is just a short entry to let my friends and family (the ones who don't use Facebook) know that the final round of chemo started today. I am on the 46-hour pump right now and it will be removed on Thursday. Then, I will sleep non-stop for a couple more days, start bouncing back, then live life normally. I will have a CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis on September 23. I will hopefully be cleared to remove my mediport soon afterwards. I'm not sure yet exactly when I will return to work, but they've been wonderful. It all depends on when I can reliably handle cold & frozen objects.
OK, that's my update. I'm going upstairs to rest now, and catch up on some TV.
OK, that's my update. I'm going upstairs to rest now, and catch up on some TV.
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