72 Hours in Cape Town

Africa is something that gets in your blood. I can't really explain it until you visit. But I want to come back every single year for the rest of my life. We have been to South Africa twice now and Cape Town was absolutely magical.

Before reading this, I wanted to point out that we paid for ALL of these activities, hotel, and excursions. No one is paying us to say any of these things or post their links. I simply am doing it because I know it's expensive to travel half way around the world and if someone can give someone else a helpful recommendation- it's worth it!

Day 1: We landed in Cape Town at around 11:30am. Directly from the airport, I had arranged for our private tour guide to meet us in order to get the day started immediately so no time was wasted. We did not go to the hotel beforehand so we made sure we were wearing the outfits we wanted to be wearing for the day on our last flight. For months, I had been planning on what we should do and what we should see, so I had my list ready. Most tour guides will make suggestions along the way but I had very specific points of interest that I wanted to experience.

Our first stop was the colored houses on the beach in Muizenberg. We enjoyed the beach for a short while, got coffee at a local restaurant called Knead, and were on our way to see the penguins at Boulder Beach.

As soon as we got to the beach, it started pouring rain (so it was quite empty, which was extremely nice to experience the penguins without a ton of people around). We stayed there for about an hour until the rain got too heavy. We had an absolute blast with the penguins and getting to see them and their babies up close in that environment was amazing.

After we left the penguins, we made our way to Cape of Good Hope. Along the way, we saw a ton of animals, including baboons, ostrich, eland, and antelope.

The rain really started to pick up for the afternoon and the sun sets around 6pm during the winter Africa months so we drove down Chapman's Peak before the sun went down. It was the most beautiful drive and scenery I have ever seen. It was absolutely magical!

After the drive, we went out for a wonderful seafood dinner downtown Cape Town. We got to our boutique hotel, unpacked, and got everything ready for the next morning.

Guide Service: http://toursducap.co.za/en/
Hotel: http://www.seasonsinafrica.com/hotels-in-south-africa/cape-town-hotels/cape-town-hollow-boutique-hotel/
(Both booked through Expedia, which I would highly recommend)

Day 2: The day started off extremely early. Our driver picked us up at 5:15am and we headed off the cage dive with great white sharks! We met everyone at the office, signed our paperwork, and off we went. We enjoyed the sunrise from the boat as we headed towards Seal Island. On the way, we ran into about 350 dolphin that were swimming along the boat for about 25 minutes. It was an extremely magical experience. We then also saw a few large whales on our way to the shark spot!

We were on the boat for about 5 hours and unfortunately did not see any sharks. We heard a report for another ship that a whale had died in the harbor so we think all of the sharks were there instead of the island where we were. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time getting to watch the whales and the dolphins!

Cage Diving Excursion:

After our driver dropped us back off at our hotel, we grabbed a quick nap, changed into hiking gear, grabbed some lunch at our hotel, and met our hiking guide for our sunset hike up Lion's Head!

We started our evening hike around 5pm and made it to the top just as the sun was setting. It was absolutely breathtaking to view Cape Town from that peak and watch the sun go down. It took about an hour as well to get down in the dark (our headlamps saved us, so please- make sure you pack one if you are planning a hike)

We got back to our hotel room around 8pm (our guide took us to run a few errands that we needed to do), we ordered a pizza and got to bed early again because the next morning, we were hiking up Table Mountain.

Guide: http://wildthingsoutdoor.co.za/

Day 3: Our third morning started around 6am when our guide picked us up from our hotel and we headed to Table Mountain. We began the hike up the India Venster trail. It was not easy. It was not for a beginner. We had to scale rocks and climb ledges and walk very small, small paths. But 5 hours later, it was all worth it for the incredible views. We watched the sunrise from the side of the mountain!

Words can't describe it and it's something that I hope all of you experience in person, I truly do!

Normally, there are cable cars working that would have taken us back down the mountain (you can also take them up but we would have hiked regardless). Unfortunately for us, they were undergoing scheduled maintenance so we took another path down that took roughly 2 hours.

It was around 1pm and we headed about an hour away to sand surf in the dunes! Yes, it's a real thing and it was AMAZING! We had such a wonderful time on the dunes and luckily we were the only ones on the dunes. We had an incredible few hours of sand surfing! It's definitely something I would recommend for all adventure seekers!

Guide: http://wildthingsoutdoor.co.za/
Sand Surfing Excursion: https://www.mamba-sandboarding.com/

We arrived back to our hotel room around 7pm and we were EXHAUSTED! We order sushi and stayed in the for the night! We unfortunately were leaving early the next morning so we got everything packed up to be ready in the morning. We had a very short time in Cape Town and I wish we had several more days but we got to experience so much and I wouldn't change it for the world

The Ultimate Alaska Cruise

My husband (Josh) and I absolutely love cruising, it's our favorite way to vacation! This was my sixth cruise and Josh's fifth. We have been fortunate to take a lot of warm cruises (Bahamas, Western and Eastern Caribbean, etc) so for this trip- we decided to switch things up. We have always wanted to go to Alaska and what better way to experience it than with a cruise! 

Day 1: Seattle, WA

We live in Columbus, OH so the morning of our cruise, we had a 4am flight to make it to Seattle by noon. Our boat left the dock at 4pm and I have always wanted to visit the troll that lives under the bridge in Seattle- luckily our Uber driver was super cool and took us to see it before taking us to port

Once we made it through customs, check in, baggage scan, etc- we were on board! The first night on board is also super chill- we booked our spas and treatments for the week*, got unpacked and got our room organized, set up our wifi, met our cabin steward, and enjoyed a beautiful dinner with the most gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean

*We like cruising Carnival because it is a more affordable cruise line which just allows us more flexibility with on board activities like spa treatments, room upgrades, more expensive excursions, etc. Carnival is a great line to cruise, the staff will learn your name on the first day, remember your orders for dinner, etc- it's a great way to cruise and I would highly recommend them for any cruiser! 

Day 2: Full Day at Sea

Typically on a warm cruise, a full day at sea is pretty boring. There's nothing to look at except the ocean and finding 2 lounge chairs next to each other is a Hunger Games scenario (unless you volunteer someone from your group to go save chairs at 5am, it's highly unlikely you will get to lay out next to one another). On this cruise- it was the complete opposite. There are less people on board but our ship had a ton of lounge huts on board in the adult only section of the deck. We also had something to look at on this cruise instead of just water. You are only about 100 miles off shore the entire cruise so you get to see snow capped mountains in the distance the entire time you are on the boat! We spent our second day in the huts and also getting some spa treatments done (we had a couples seaweed and hot stone massage and Josh had a men's facial with a shave while I had my first teeth whitening procedure ever)! 

The day at sea was also the first elegant night- which always means lobster at dinner! We prefer to do the "any time" dining and that allows us to not be confined by a reservation each night. We also sat in the same seat though right by the window with the same servers each night. 

Day 3: Cruising Tracy Arm Fjord

Our third day on the ship was breathtaking. We went to the gym, each had a facial, enjoyed breakfast, and then got situated in our hut on the deck as we entered the Tracy Arm Fjord at around noon. We cruised about 1/4 mile off the coast and everyone had viewing on either side (this was a concern of mine going into this cruise that only 1/2 the boat would see coast and the other would see water but there was things to view the entire time of either side of the boat). We saw so many frozen waterfalls, snow capped mountains, glaciers with seals sun bathing, and the bluest water I have ever seen in my life. We cruised through the Fjord until about 8pm! 

Day 4: Skagway, Alaska

We arrived in Skagway at 7am and had until 8pm to enjoy the city. Our first excursion of the day was a helicopter ride to a dog sled mushing camp. I can't even put into words how magnificent the scenery was from a helicopter! The weather was also the best they have had all year and it was so clear we could see a mountain that was over 90 miles away! We landed in musher camp, got to ride on a sled with 8 dogs over 2 miles, we were able to pet the dogs and also play with the six week old puppies that were in camp.

I asked a ton of questions when we were there and learned so much about the sport while we were there. There were 240 dogs at camp. The camp was on top of a glacier so they sometimes have to move if the snow starts to melt (there's usually 4 feet of snow on top of the glacier). The mushers use the summer camp as training for the dogs. When they run the Iditarod, they usually pull the sled, musher, and 100lbs of supplies. In camp- they pull the sled, musher, and 2-4 others (people like us). This is great strength training for the dogs and allows the mushers to generate income for the coming months of the race. 

The front dogs are usually females as they are smarter and less distracted and the males are typically in the back for strength purposes. The puppies were also the cutest things in the entire world!!! 

We arrived back at the helicopter base camp a little before 11pm and our zip-lining adventure didn't start until 2pm so we had some time to explore the town of Skagway: we enjoyed locally brewed root beer, ate the freshest seafood lunch I've ever had, and explored the shops and sites that the tiny town has to offer. 

We arrived to our zip-lining excursion and had the best time! We were in the world's second largest rainforest and went down 11 lines (it took about 2 hours with a 35 minute drive to and from port). We also were able to enjoy fresh glacier water at the end of the excursion before heading back to town

Day 5: Juneau, Alaska

We woke up in Juneau to quite a bit of rain and fog. We had a 4 hour whale watching tour and salmon bake that was going to take up the entire day (which ended up working out due to the weather). The bus tour took us through the town and we were able to stay dry while also experiencing the country's largest capital (by area). We arrived on the boat tour (which was covered and heated, thank goodness) and had the best time! The boat had complimentary coffee, tea, donut holes, and salmon with crackers for sampling! The naturalist was incredible and so passionate about whales and educating everyone on board. There was a second and third open deck where we all went to once a whale was spotted and we were able to watch a pod of orcas for about an hour and then spotted a humpback and a few sea lions as well. We docked at the Orca Point Lodge on Colt Island where we enjoyed a salmon bake and the best brownies I've ever had! 

Day 6: Ketchikan, Alaska

Our last stop in Alaska was an island off the main land called Ketchikan. There's about 12,000 people that live on the island year round. We went halibut fishing for about five hours! The fishing started off slow and we had to move to a few spots before we started to have any luck. I caught a very small cod that we used as fresh bait and as soon as we switched our bait from salmon to the cod, everything changed. I hooked into a huge halibut and had about a 15 minute struggle to reel him into the boat (they live at 200+ feet so that's a lot of line to reel in). I got him in the boat and measured him (you can only keep them if they are under 44inches or above 80 inches) and mine ended up being 43.5 inches! You can only keep 1 per person so I started fishing for cod and flounder while Josh kept fishing for halibut (he ended up catching 3 and releasing 2). Lucky for us- the filets were sent home to our house for us to enjoy halibut for weeks to come!

The evening of the sixth day was extremely special for us as well. Carnival really took care of us on this trip (I would like to mention that we paid for the entire cruise, excursions, travel, and spa treatments on the boat but they did hook us up with priority check in, free wifi, an upgraded dinner, and a few surprises in our room each night that were above and beyond from past cruises). We enjoyed crab cakes, lobster bisque, surf and turf, and some incredible cheesecake for dessert. It was an amazing 2 hour meal for us and we had so much fun on top of th boat, by ourselves, enjoying each others company. 

Day 7: Victoria, Canada

Our last full day on the boat was so relaxing. We went to the sea day brunch that is always held on the last full day, spent about 5 hours on the deck reading, writing this blog, and enjoying the magnificent views. We then went to he gym (we have been going to the gym and doing 20-30 minutes of cardio and sitting in the sauna each day) and then packed up, got ready to explore Victoria, BC, and headed off the boat. 

We didn't get to Victoria until 730pm which is why we wanted to have our entire room packed up since we planned on staying in port until 1130pm. We enjoyed dinner at Red Fish Blue Fish, walked around downtown, and enjoyed dessert at the Emperor Hotel! 

Day 8: Seattle, WA

We are back in the lower 48! Before we left to head back to Columbus, we enjoyed a local breakfast and then met our friends at the airport for some coffee and laughs before heading through security. Cheyann is a 24 year old who is battling (and winning) ovarian cancer and is one of the most motivational women I know. I am so grateful for this beautiful soul

Companies/excursions we used (we paid for everything, this is not a promotion or ad for any company):
Dog sledding and helicopter ride: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g60877-d1171862-Reviews-TEMSCO_Helicopters_Skagway-Skagway_Alaska.html
Zip-lining: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g60877-d2244355-Reviews-Grizzly_Falls_Ziplining_Expedition-Skagway_Alaska.html
Whale watching: 
Halibut fishing: 

PLEASE NOTE- ALL ACTIVITIES WERE BOOKED THROUGH OUR CRUISE AHEAD OF TIME. BOOKING THROUGH YUOR CRUISE LINE ENSURES YOU WILL BE BACK TO THE BOAT ON TIME AND ALSO IS THE SAFEST WAY TO BOOK ACTIVITIES. 

Helpful what to pack website: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3583/~/what-to-pack

Travel Bucket List

I have compiled a work-in-progress list of all the items on my Travel Bucket List. I have also included all of the items we have already ticked off the list (I say we as in Josh and me, there were a lot of trips taken as a family when I was growing up but I wanted to only include items from married life). Some items are more generic than others and some are oddly specific. I will continually add to this list as new ideas arise! Comment your bucket list ideas if you wish!


Ticked Off The List

• Drink Luwack Coffee In Bali
• Learn to Surf- Bali
• Trek Mt Batur- Bali
• Spearfish- Naples
• Catch Mahi Mahi in Aruba
• Climb the Sydney Bridge- Australia
• Zip Line in Honduras
• Catch a Wahoo In Australia
• New Zealand (All Of It)
• Kayak Down The Chevon River- Dominican Republic
• Visit Wall Drug- South Dakota
• Visit Mt Rushmore
• Las Vegas (6 Times)
• Hike to the Y In Utah
• Cave Tube in Belize
• Feed Monkeys in Belize
• Feed Monkeys in Bali
• Snorkel in the Grand Cayman Islands
• See the Golden Gate Bridge
• Take A Selfie with a Wallaby- Australia
• Go Fishing in New Brunswick
• Snorkel In Curacao
• Spend Two Weeks In South Africa
• Take A Selfie With Big Ben
• Ride Horses Through Mountains in Montana
• Get A Doyle Whip from Disney World
• Cedar Point (12 Times)
• Take a Selfie with a Sea Turtle
• Visit the Troll in Seattle
• Catch a Halibut in Alaska
• Dog Sled in Alaska

To-Do

• Capitano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver
• Eat a Rainbow Bagel in NYC
• 100 Mile Horse Ride through Montana
• European Cruise
• Hawaii
• Greece
• Hike Mt Kilimanjaro
• Tokyo
• Visit All Disney Parks (Orland and Anaheim Complete)
• Kayak Down the Nile
• See the Northern Lights
• Blue Lagoon in Iceland
• Flathead Lake in Montana
• Volcano Descent in Iceland
• Swim in the Devils Swimming Pool
• Visit Dubai
• Swim with Penguins in South Africa
• Para Gliding in Turkey
• Hot Air Balloon Festival in New Mexico
• Climb the Great Wall of China
• Climb Machu Picchu
• Hang Glide over Rio De Janeiro
• Rainbow Mounts in Peru
• Barcelona Stairs to Heaven
• Swim with Sharks- Maldives
• Glow in the Dark Beach- Maldives
• See the Pyramids- Egypt
• Visit the Redwood Forest
• Raft through the Grand Canyon
• Canyoning in Arenal Volcano- Costa Rica

Will Protein Powder Make Me Fat?

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies.

Can you stop asking this question?

Sarah Bowmar Non Sugar Coated Answer:
NO!!!!!! Ok, well maybe. Ok, there is not a single food on this planet that will make you fat. How? It's not about WHAT you eat, it's about HOW MUCH you eat. I could write you a twinkie diet and you could lose fat if you are eating less than you burn- not the most ideal situation and you definitely wouldn't be healthy doing it- but it can be done.

Protein powder, by itself, WILL NOT MAKE YOU FAT. Even if you aren't lifting, drinking a protein shake WILL NOT MAKE YOU FAT. THE ONLY WAY PROTEIN POWDER WOULD MAKE YOU FAT IS IF YOU ARE EATING MORE THAN YOU BURN. SIMPLE AS THAT.

You could literally get fat off broccoli if you are eating more calories than you burn. Silly, right?

Protein powder won't make you bulky. Protein powder won't make you fat. Protein powder is a GREAT WAY to supplement additional protein into your diet instead of eating a chicken breast or another can of tuna. But again, you will gain weight from ANYTHING if you are eating more calories than you burn.

So please, drink a protein shake for me

How To Save Money, And Calories, In Vegas (And Anywhere)!

Josh and I are headed to Vegas for the third time together! If you have ever been, or if you're thinking of going, the food can be quite expensive. Not to mention- it takes quite a bit of time to walk to new restaurants, taxi, etc etc. A "cheap" meal in Vegas would be around $10/person and that's at something like McDonalds (gross). If you are in Vegas for a three day weekend and are planning to eat out for 3 meals a day, you should budget about $200 a day for food alone, and that's on the very modest end.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas, PLEASE, fully enjoy yourself. Find 1 or 2 places per day that you want to try.

You should ENJOY your time, Vegas has some of the most amazing restaurants and buffets in the world- but don't let that ruin your waistline or your wallet. Budget for 1-2 meals a day, max, to enjoy out.

Here's some tips on saving money and saving calories:
1: plan before you go! the night before we leave for Vegas, or any trip, we go to the store to stock up on protein bars. One bar at the store at home is about $2 and counts as an entire meal for us (a lot better than $30/person plus a taxi ride plus an hour of time in Vegas)
2: bring protein powder. you can get a ton of things through TSA- including protein powder. we usually bring about 2 scoops per person per day that we are traveling- plus, it's great for post workout meals and a lot lighter than bringing pre-made protein drinks
3: make sure you pack all of your supplements, especially your greens. the supplements that we use can be found on bowmarfitness.com
4: make sure you bring/pack your ISO bag if you plan to pre make meals and bring them with you, again, you can get all food (other than things like peanut butter) through a carry on bag. use sarah for 10% off on isolatorfitness.com
5: bring an empty gallon jug to fill up water with, even water in Vegas is expensive and there's no point in wasting money if you don't have to!

Should I Lift or Do Cardio First?

If you are wondering this- trust me, you are not alone. This has to be one of my most top asked questions which is what warranted the need for this blog post!

Again, this is all my opinion. If what you do works better for you- then keep doing it.

In an ideal world, splitting cardio and weights would be best. Fasted cardio in the morning and then lift in the evening. If you're like Josh and me, we don't have the time to go to the gym twice a day plus we live over 20 minutes away from the gym- going twice is just not feasible.

We like to lift weights first. There are three main reasons:
1: We like to use our strength for our workouts. Your body only has so much testosterone and strength and we like to capitalize on what we have and get the most out of our lifts
2: We use a pre workout. Using a pre workout before you do cardio is NOT ideal so it would make the most sense to lift FIRST and utilize your pre workout
3: We become sweat swamps during cardio. I personally really care for my skin and don't want to break out nor do I want to lift with swamp butt and be dripping in sweat for 45 minutes while I lift


I really hope this clears up why we choose to lift before we do cardio- it's not rocket science!

How To Stay Motivated

I get asked quite often how to stay motivated. Before I start this blog, I want to say- you need to be motivated from within. If you are constantly making excuses for yourself, you will NEVER get to where you want to be. If you are TRULY motivated, nothing will ever stand in your way

1. Do Not Crash Diet
Crash dieting may result in quick weight loss at first, but as soon as you stop starving yourself or doing a diet that isn't conducive for the long haul, you will gain all (if not more) of the weight right back. If you are interested, I am fitness nutrition certified and have meal plans available on sarahbowmar.com/packages

2. Never Limit Foods
Limiting foods and telling yourself you CAN'T have something is a sure fire way to make your brain only crave the food that you "can't" have. Instead, have planned treat meals in your plan (talk with me or your coach about this). If you need more information on the importance on treat meals, I have an entire post about those! Limiting food won't result in a lifestyle change. On that note- avoiding foods like dairy and alcohol, in my opinion, should be a lifelong decision.

3. Find Alternatives To Cope With Emotion
A lot of people stress eat. If this is you, you need to keep all of your binge food out of the house. You also need to find a new way to deal with stress. For me, it's lifting. For others, it may be running or listening to music or yoga or meditating. Whatever yours is- find that.

4. Ask For Support
There are fewer things more powerful than accomplishing a goal with a friend or spouse. A support system is definitely needed during a weight loss (or weight gaining) journey! Ask for support, take friends to the gym, involve the ones you care about the most!

5. Make A Fit and Fat Basket
Make 2 baskets and label 1 your fit basket and label 1 your fat basket.
Make a bunch of notecards, color coordinate them. For example:
Blue- meal plan
Purple- water
Green- supplements
Yellow- lifting
Orange- rest
(etc)
Label notecards with every single positive aspect of your new fitness lifestyle. Make 30 of each color for each day of the month. So you will have 30 meal plan cards, 30 water cards, etc

At the end of each day, place your daily cards into either your fit and fat basket. So if you stayed on your meal plan the whole day, the meal plan card goes into the fit basket. If you didn't drink the water you should, the water card goes in the fat basket, etc. At the end of the month- you will see really quick where your weak points are and you will know what you need to fix



I hope this helps!!! If you need a coach, I would love to help, my rates are on sarahbowmar.com/packages