The Great American Challenge Stage I.



pretty and sweet





Ravioli




Ceasar



Rack of Lamb

Alaskan King Crab

House salad

Clam Chowder

Turkey Meat loaf



Fresh Lobster



Fast food Cesar

Set

Virginia Beach Boardwalk

French onion soup

The Great American Challenge has begun; NYC, Mass, New Hampshire, Vermont, upstate NY, and Virginia Beach.  We arrived in NYC at night on the 17^th of Oct, checked into my room and were on the streets by 11:00 that night.  My first stop was a night view from the 86^th and 102^nd floors of the Empire State building; cost was around 100.00 dollars for 2 and IMO a tourist attraction worth seeing.    

 The tales of NYC being a city that never sleeps seems to be true, at 2:00 in the morning; the streets were full of the tantalizing aromas from fresh baked bagels, pretzels, and pizza.  The street vendor and corner markets always seemed to be doing a thriving business selling their delicious delectables.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a ready availability of fresh healthy foods in every food eatery I visited.   Crisp garden salads and fresh fruit were on offer at every buffet I saw on display.

I had my food hit list to help guide me through the city and I am a bit disappointed that I was not able to visit a great deli but I did manage to have a few successes.   I ate Rack of Lamb, it was delicious and worth the cost, Cesar Salads seemed to be everywhere, Cheese Cake was every bit as creamy and delicious as I remembered and hoped for.   The Maine Lobster was sweet, tender and memorable. The Alaskan King Crab Legs were sweet, tasty and huge.   I discovered a fantastic burger in Norfolk Virginia, it was called a Garbage Burger and it was; big, firm and delicious.  The waitress, Michelle was great and suggested a couple of desserts I had not thought of; banana cream pie, and fresh baked macadamia nut and chocolate chip cookies hmmm so delicious.

The stories of the American streets being filled with out of shape and overweight people in my opinion is greatly exaggerate.  I toured the 5 boroughs of NYC, Rock port Maine, and several small villages in New Hampshire, and Vermont.  We walked the beach front in Virginia Beach, and everywhere we visited I saw people in motion, aware of what they were eating and focusing on being fit.

 There seems to be a gym on every block in NYC one of which I visited named Boom Boom it was busy, well equipped with plenty of free weights, aerobic and cardio equipment, the locker room was comfortable and clean but it did not offer a sauna.  I tried to buy a day membership at a couple of gyms but was turned away before I was told to go on line to get a free 3 day pass to 24 hour Nautilus, which offered both sauna and steam room. 

 The North East has a health awareness program in progress; McDonalds sells fresh fruit and yogurt!   The menus in small diners and full service restaurants I visited printed calorie values on their menu and almost all had a low calorie selection to choose from.  I was also pleased to stop in a breakfast diner and read a shocking count of 2,400 calories next to a popular big breakfast, this means people who are eating big and fat are making a conscious choice to do so and no one can say:” I didn’t know, it’s not my fault”.  

A killer burger

On this first leg of the GAC I spent a great deal of time driving and had very little opportunity, to train but there were plenty of gyms available. Being on the road no longer means being away from exercise and easy access to healthy food choices.  

The results for GAC part 1 is a victory, great food, and wonderful memories with no weight gains.

Go have some fun,

guide at empire

Geo