Plan "B" is perfectly okay

I'm almost at the end of summer classes, thank you God.  Taking 6-week classes that are usually 16 weeks is pretty intense.  After the end of the classes, the plan is for me and one of my close friends to go on a summer road trip before we both return back to work since we both work in education.  We had discussed where to go.  My folks live in Utah, so we contemplated going out there, but she wasn't really digging driving that far.  So after much discussion about where we could go in California, we both decided on spending two days up in Santa Cruz and then two days in Lake Tahoe.  We both have never been to either place, so we got really psyched about going.

And then she called me to tell me that she changed her mind and isn't going after all. 

To say I was shocked was an understatement.  She had gotten a little sick, but we were waiting for her to feel better before we got together to pick out hotel rooms and then pay for them.  So that's why I thought she was calling me, to make arrangements to do that.  She said that because she was sick, she felt like she needed more time to prepare before going back to teach.  I was confused by this because we had a full two weeks before we were supposed to leave and about five days after that before she would return from vacation. Besides, she had told me before that she would only need a couple of days to prepare her classroom when we were originally making plans.  She was silent on the phone to give me time to digest what she was telling me.  I asked her if the entire trip was off or if she wanted to go somewhere for a few days.  I guess I just couldn't believe what she was telling me.  I can't force anyone to do something they don't want to do, but it seemed like something else was going on that she wasn't saying.  Regardless, I was extremely disappointed and, to be completely honest, hurt.  Before I left on summer break, I had decided to return to work later in August so that I use up my comp time for this trip and was so looking forward to spending the time together since we had such an awesome trip last summer.

After I got off the phone with her, I tried to do other things not to think about what just happened.  Then I wondered if I should just return to work as previously scheduled on August 1st instead of the 8th since I was no longer going on a trip.  Then something inside of me said, "What are you, crazy??"  Just because she bailed on me doesn't mean I can't still go on a trip.  Why not?  I don't know other people that can go with me because pretty much everyone is married or has kids, but what's so wrong with going myself?  I love to travel and I don't mind getting into adventure, even if it's on my own and, besides, you only live once.  I'm not about to sit here and pout and get madder.  No, I work hard and I deserve this vacation so by God I AM going to take it.  So after looking at places to go, I decided to go out to Utah to visit my dad.  We don't spend enough time together and I've never been to his house during the summertime.  There are a ton of national parks, we can go exploring and I want to spend time with him and my stepmom.  They're getting older and I don't ever want to sit in regret that I didn't spend enough time with my family.  The trip is 1,600 miles roundtrip and will take me through four states.  I'm breaking up the drive into two days, so that's about six hours each day ... totally doable.  When I go out there, I'll be going through St. George and then up to Ogden (north of Salt Lake City) where they live.  Then, when I come back home, I'm hitting Vegas.  Every time I've gone to Vegas, I've stayed at hotels off the strip since they are near my brother's house.  But I decided this time to stay in a fun five-star hotel where I have never stayed before.  So check out where I'll be going:

Any guesses as to which hotel it is?  The best part is that it's completely free!  Actually, my entire trip is because I'm using points from one of my credit cards.  So now I'm really looking forward to this trip, actually more than the one I was going to take with my friend.  I'm still upset about what happened, but you never know what direction life can take you in.  Plans that you may have had can change in the blink of an eye.  That made me think a lot about my weight loss journey.  I must admit - I have moments where I think I should just go back on Optifast so I can loose the rest of the weight quickly and "get it over with".  I'm sure other people can relate to that.  I lost so much weight so fast before.  This road I'm on now seems so long and arduous in many ways.  Of course, I forget how bad I felt while I was on the shakes and all the medical issues I had along the way.  Besides, I don't want to be in a space again where I gain some of the lost weight as quickly as it came off.  That part has been so devastating for me.  I understand that everything happens for a reason and the path I'm on right now is the one I'm supposed to be on right now.  I can continue losing it a slower and healthier pace following my Weight Watchers plan with gluten free and lactose free foods as well as combining that with the therapy session to help work on the emotional part of this journey.  Now that I think about it, plan B really is perfectly okay.