Vacation Time

I was on vacation two weeks ago, and it was awesome. I wasn't sure how it was going to be, coming just two months after my pacemaker was inserted. First of all, I was a bit nervous about the trip. Resting somewhere in the back of my head was the thought that both the episode of afib I had last May (my first) and the one back in January which took months to finally clear up came just a few weeks after I had flown down to Florida and back. Second, this vacation would be to Phoenix and Los Angeles, places that sounded hot to me. Finally, I was afraid my wife had more planned for us than I would be able to handle.

Well, although I am waiting with bated breath to find out whether the trip and return will trigger an afib episode, I am pleased to report that I handled the Phoenix heat just fine, and Los Angeles just wasn't hot at all. Plus, in terms of having too much physical activity, I pushed myself far harder than my wife did, and it turned into the best part of the trip.

I have felt very tentative about exercise since my surgery. Of course, at first it was simply a matter of recovery. But in those last few weeks before our trip, where I had been given the green light by the doctor to resume my life, I was still feeling like my stamina had faded completely away. It happens to heart patients, so I'm told. I wondered whether I would have to settle for a less strenuous life.

On our first night in Los Angeles, I was looking through the high-end magazines placed in our swanky hotel, and I noticed an issue of Los Angeles magazine with an article featuring ten hikes in the greater L.A. area. I was intrigued, because I hadn't planned out my free time (my wife was on a working vacation and left me with some solo time on my hands). I love walking, and wondered whether I could find some appealing hikes to go on. I focused on two hikes, one out at Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan beaches, and another at Griffith Park. I slotted in the Griffith Park hike for Tuesday.

I almost decided not to go. It was my free time; I didn't know why I felt compelled to drag myself up a hill (Mount Hollywood, in fact). Still, I drove the rental up to Griffith Park Observatory, intent on climbing the "moderate" hiking trail and getting some good views of L.A.

I wended my way up through Griffith Park, through a tunnel and to the parking lot out in front of the Observatory. The Observatory is a magnificent structure, and I was entranced. My magazine article said the hiking trail was at the back of the parking lot, but I'm afraid the observatory building just drew me in. It is a neat place, and it had the views I was looking for. Plus, you can climb up to the roof of the building, walk around the perimeter, and stand on overlooks almost everywhere. By the time I was done there, I had gotten my fill of views of the city. I decided to head back.

It was then that my indecision was at its peak (no pun intended). I had not been able to tell where the trail started, and I really had fulfilled my desire to see the city spread out below me. Yet, I am stubborn, and I had wanted to hike. The temperature was in the mid 60's. and I felt pretty good. I decided to take the long way around the parking lot and back to the car, when to my amazement, I saw the Mount Hollywood trail, right where the magazine said it would be (although it used the phrase, "on the north side of the parking lot", as if I would know which way was north). It was fortuitous. I decided I had to at least try. So I hiked up the hill.

I didn't make it as far as the magazine article described. But I did climb. I actually went much further than I thought I could. I probably wasn't a fast climber, and I do admit to being exhausted when I was done, but I believe that I could have pushed myself to the top. I had a few time and energy constraints, but I don't think I'll ever forget standing above Griffith Observatory, looking down and thinking, "I made it higher!"

I did eventually make it to the beach, and almost completed the hike suggested for the shoreline, on a cloudy windy day. I walked every day of the week I was out in Los Angeles. And by the end of the week, I could honestly say I felt better than I had in a long time. That was what made my vacation awesome.