Independence Day

Happy Independence day! This has been in my top three independence days ever! We slept in, and then woke up in time for the continental breakfast, but this was no ordinary hotel breakfast. When we arrived at we were seated, and our order taken. Coffee and orange juice were served immediately. It was just like going out to eat, except after the meal there was no check to pay. Too bad Cassie and I were still stuffed from the late dinner the night before and couldn't eat more than cereal and a muffin. Tomorrow we will take advantage. After breakfast, we

called Shawn to ask for directions to the beach. He directed us to the Atlanic Beach and Fort Macon. The beach was fun, and then we checked out Fort Macon. We headed back to Beaufort, and checked out the ubiquitous Front Street shops. The shops were fun to look through, and had a lot of good souvineer/gifts. We shopped until we spent too much, then headed back to the hotel room to drop off our loot and change for dinner and the fireworks display. We met Shawn, Jill, and their son Ian at The Net, a local seafood restaurant. I tried what Shawn called the classic Beaufort seafood meal: fried shrimp, cole slaw, and french fries. I know what your thinking, 'what kind of dietitian eats that food?' Well, every kind of food can be included in a normal person's diet. So this was my splurge for the trip, and it was worth it.
Next event, fireworks! We drove down to the neighboring (and much larger) city of Morehead to see their display. It took a while to find seats. We ended up sitting on the end of a dock directly in front of where the show was going to be. We couldn't have asked for better seats. Before Morehead's fireworks display began, we were able to see the two neighboring cities fireworks from across the water. Ian was telling Cassie and I about how every year during the fireworks display at Morehead, the uninhabited island where they set them off at catches on fire. This was supposed to be a bonus to the regular fireworks displays we had ever seen. So when they finally started,

we were not surprised to see some light behind the treeline. Within a matter of minutes, right across the waterway from us raging flames were topping the trees. Soon the flames had made their way across to the island's beach and then spread both left and right heading toward each end of the island. All this time, fireworks were still being deployed from the back side of the island. I don't believe anyone was really watching them though. Next, everyone on the dock was asked to move back to land. Firefighters with hose in tow were running down the dock. My first thought was "there is no way the flames could jump that far across the water to this dock, and why aren't they making the boats out there move further away?" Then it all became clear when a police boat pulled up to the dock and the firefighters jumped in and headed closer in to apparently get the flames under control. I guess they can't really have a plane come and dump water with all these fireworks going up into the air. By this time, the fireworks finally was visible. That was the shortest, yet most interesting fireworks display of my life.

Photos are of Fort Macon in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. It was used during the Civil War first by the Confederate Army until surrenduring to Union attacks in 1861.

Tuesday, July 3

At 8 am we arrived at the Diet and Fitness Center (DFC) to observe a resting metabolic rate (RMR) test that clients can recieve at an additional cost. The RMR is measure of how many calories you expend in a day without including any activity. There are several ways to measure this, but the method they used was a machine connected to a computer that you breath into it. It tracks the amount of oxygen that you inhale which the computer can determine from this the amount of calories you expend at rest. The dietitians give all clients an estimated RMR using a formula. Many people think they have a slow metabolism to explain being overweight, however many tend to be in the normal RMR range. After the test, we went to observe the basic nutrition class new students attend. It was interesting, and the clients seemed to find it extremely informative. Next we went to work front of the house in foodservice. This means we were out with the servers trying a new method to get clients served quicker. After lunch, we each observed a counseling session. This was educational to see, since rarely are students able to sit in on one on one counseling sessions in a private setting. Next it was off to the coast! We left the DFC early to pack up and hit the road for Beaufort, North Carolina. The next 2 days we'll be at Duke's Marine Research Lab. The drive took three and a half hours. When we got there, we found our hotel, The Beaufort Inn, right on the Bogue Sound (a waterfront). Our hotel room was paid for by Duke. We walked the three blocks down to Front Street where all the restaurants and
shops are in Beaufort to meet our Shawn, our Duke Marine Lab tour guide. He and his wife showed us around and took us to a great restaurant for dinner called the Blue Moon Bistro. We had a 3 course meal that was simply fabulous.

Picture is of Beaufort from Duke Marine Lab across Bogue Sound.

Sunday, July 1

Today was orientation at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center (DFC). This old renovated YMCA building is now host to people from around the world who come to learn about making lifestyle changes to obtain a healthy weight. Sunday is orientation for the new group coming in. People come to stay typically 2-4 weeks (up to 3 months) to change their behaviors to lose weight and keep it off for good. Cassie and I sat in to observe, and somewhat go through the process. We only get to be here until Tuesday which barely seems like enough time to scratch the surface of how it works. What I understand so far about the center is that people come and live in a building across the street. They are fed three meals a day along with three snacks all prepared at the center (by Bon Appetit). There are many activities and services available including, doctors, nutrition counseling, psychology counseling, weight room, exercise classes, pool, cooking demonstrations, and massages. Several non-health related activites are accesible like water coloring, movies, baseball games, museum visits, etc. We ate dinner there with everyone else and to my surprise the food had no taste at all. The sodium restriction is 1500mg a day, approximately 1/4th the sodium the average american consumes daily. I thought they would have food with more flavor for people to understand that food can taste good without a lot of sodium.

Saturday, June 30

Didn't do a whole lot today. I Spent most of the day on the computer. For the evening Cassie and I fancied ourselves up and went out to Brightleaf Square for a late dinner. We chose an authentic Italian restaurant. I felt like I was back in Italy because I couldn't understand the waiter who was speaking Italian, we were seated outside in a little square, the food was delicious, and there was gelato! Even a violinist was playing in the square. The only thing we were missing was the wine.

Friday, June 29

Our last day at Student Health, it was hard to leave. We wrapped up the Devil's Choice, and most of the Merchant On Points (MOP). We will have to send the completed MOP later, because we don't have all the necessary information yet. One of the restaurants will have a new menu in two weeks, so we have to wait to complete it. Around noon we went with Lindsey and Karen from Student Health to the farmer's market held by the hospital every friday during the summer. Everything looked good. The most interesting thing was the lavender lemonade. A rather interesting concept, combining something that generally you like the smell of with something that taste good. Anyway, after the farmer's market Anna took us to lunch on behalf of the Student Health department. We went to her favorite restaurant in Durham. It had a nice ambiance and was very tasty. After lunch we went back to student health for about an hour, and just talked to Anna. She showed us a few more tools she uses like the food record and the levels of care.

Thursday, June 28

This morning we checked in with Anna, and then headed over to The Lobby Shop to finish our list of food items to be included in the Devil's Choice. We had completely finished this by lunch. We checked out yet another on campus restaurant called The Loop. The food was great! We ran into Jim (Foodservice Director). He said he was working on us going to the Marine Lab sometime in the next week. We'll see if it works out. After lunch, we headed back to Student Health to type some things up. While we were there, the staff had an advisor's meeting which Anna invited us to attend. All of the advisors to the various student health educator groups were there to discuss things for the fall semester. Whole foods was for dinner and ate it there. They have a really great salad bar; I'd venture to say the best I've ever had at a grocery store. After dinner, we got directions from a grocery store worker to the Durham Bull stadium. After a few missed turns and a trip down the highway, we got a great parking spot just oustide the front entrance. It was hotter in the stadium than outside because of the shape and roof over the seats. No wind either. But it was nice to get out and see some people in Durham. There were a lot of people there for a Thursday game. Unfortunately, the Bulls were playing like the Royals and losing 12-0. So we left in the 8th inning. We will have to go again.

Wednesday, June 27

Today began at 9:00, with a walk to the Student Health Center. Anna gave us a ride over to East Campus to sit and work in the Oasis room. Cassie and I worked on the booklet for late night meals while getting massages in their massage chairs. That is THE WAY to work, let me tell you. We stayed there until about 12:30, then headed over to the marketplace for lunch. This was our first lunch over there since we worked there the first few days. The line of campers and dancers was stretched clear out the door, down the steps and into the lawn.
After lunch, we took the bus back to our apartment, got in the car, and finished up going to meet with each of the Merchant on Points for our late night meal guide. It was very helpful to go to the restaurant and talk with the managers about how they prepare their menu items. It's interesting that all chains or franchises have this information available and none of the local places have any nutritional information on what they serve.
Then, to the pool to end such a nice day.