Lifestyle

It’s nearly impossible to find a travel bucket list ranking that doesn’t contain Porto or Lisbon, Portugal. From spectacular rivers and beaches to pristine medieval architectural wonders, the country is a glowing media darling. Is it all that it is cracked up to be? Let’s follow one bewildered Minnesotan on his excursion from the downtown Porto McDonald’s.   

Something just doesn’t seem right here. My legs are still burning after traversing the 225 steps of Porto’s Clerigos cathedral tower (see photo) and now I am rejuvenating with a “Coca Cola Sem” (Coke Zero) at the nearby McDonald’s....

Updated June 4, 2019  

On Tuesday, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new restrictions limiting Americans’ ability to freely travel to Cuba. The key change was to eliminate visa approval for Americans seeking to visit the island on a cruise or using a private boat or private aircraft. Cruise travel had become the primary mode of tourism for Americans. Also, the Administration eliminated one category of approved group travel, the People-to-People license.  

“There are still a number of ways to legally visit Cuba,...

  Tony Randgaard traveled to Cuba twice recently under the relaxed U.S. travel restrictions. The New York Times and CNN report that President Trump is poised to narrow the Obama loopholes that have enabled thousands of Americans to visit the lost-in-time island since fall of last year. Take in his latest adventure and Minnesota travel tips—before it’s too late.

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I got off the bus in downtown Havana wearing a Gustavus Tennis tee, high hopes and a Cheshire cat smile, cultivated by two months of meticulous planning. I stepped into a frothing stew of pedestrians, vintage Fifties Ford and Chevy taxis, three wheel bicycle cabs and street peddlers. Not to worry, I had been...

The time has come to start working those summer plans into our schedules! It's hard to believe now, but green grass and budding trees are just around the corner. An excellent weekend vacation option, for those of us in the Twin Cities, can be found in the southeast corner of our fair state: Historic Forestville. While the usual favorite summer sites are found several hours north of the cities, Forestville can be found two hours south. With trout streams rather than lakes and nearby wineries outnumbering the breweries, it's a whole different kind of Minnesota! My favorite...

Early planning and preparation can help you succeed through and beyond the holidays. According to one study, the average holiday weight gain was just under a pound, but the cumulative effect can negatively impact health. Although the weight gain during the six weeks pushing to the end-of-year holiday festivities is not as large as once believed, it still adds up, especially if it is not lost each year. The holiday season is full of parties, social commitments, specialty foods, alcohol, stress, cold weather, lack of sleep and a myriad of other distractions that can stand in the way of well-planned...

Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the Lebron and Steph Curry of mountaineering -- yet all they could do was wait. They were holed up in a small tent on the South Col of Mount Everest while the ‘varsity’ team of two climbers was aggressively attacking the last 2,000 vertical feet above them. Their colleagues would become the first climbers to summit Everest, the world’s highest and most unreachable peak. In contrast to other climbers, Hillary and Tenzing were imposing physical specimens. Hillary was 6 foot 5 inches of lean, sinewy muscle and abounding energy. Norgay was larger than other Sherpas and his elite acclimatization to altitude enabled...

We have all been there one time or another. The incessant beeping is sounding from your alarm clock as you hit the snooze button one more time. Before you know it, your early-morning workout session passed you by as you snoozed your way through your good intentions of setting an alarm! You kick yourself every time you find yourself in this morning battle, yet the next day yields the same alarm clock fight! What are some effective ways you can battle your morning alarm clock match and win? Try these five simple, yet effective actions to avoid the snooze! 1. Lay out the clothes you plan to exercise in the...

It’s Grandma’s Marathon. The Boston Marathon. Maybe even the IRONMAN. What do the these major events have in common? They are big, audacious goals that are achieved by putting one foot in front of the other. Many will never achieve them. Some have. Some will. While others will do so over and over again! What do these competitors say when they are asked how they accomplished the seemingly impossible? Focus on the present and set intermediate goals. Sports Psychology research leads us to the same reasoning. Setting intermediate or “process goals” are vastly superior to the big, audacious ones. So why are fitness goals, especially these bold...

Do you find yourself wondering what to eat after a run or other training workout? There is so much information out there on what to eat pre and post workout. How do you determine what to do to get the most out of your workout by refueling it properly? This can be a simple strategy of combining the right food categories to get the most out of your nutrition and training. It is common to over-eat immediately after a strenuous workout. This is a very typical practice if you are training for longer endurance events like a marathon and triathlon. While it is vital for you to consume an appropriate baseline of calories for your typical day-to-day...