Great Escape: Get in the Zumba or Nia Groove and Add Brunch

This week's getaway involves three of my favorite things: Fun, friendship, and food.

I hate exercising, and by exercising, I mean sacrificing my precious parental downtime to run (ok, walk) on a treadmill, huff on a stair climber, and pedal endlessly on a stationary bicycle.

No offense intended if that's your preference, but I need a little lighthearted bribery to get myself out of the door. For those brief moments of time, if it's not fun, I'm not going to bother.

This week, consider leaving the kids with Dad, invite a girlfriend, and work up a sweat while having fun in a drop-in Zumba or Nia class on Saturday mornings at   on Diablo Boulevard in downtown Danville.

With roots in South America, Zumba gets your heart rate up as you move through a series of dance moves to Latin and international music. By the time you are done, you will have worked every major muscle group in your body, worked up a good sweat, and probably laughed quite a bit.

Nia is fusion fitness that draws on Eastern and Western movement forms, blending dance, martial arts, yoga and healing arts. The practice works on flexibility, agility, mobility, strength and stability.

After an energizing and fun workout, walk down Hartz Avenue and have brunch at one of the many breakfast eateries. A particular favorite is , located in the historic Danville Hotel building. If the weather is nice, grab an outside table and people watch.

Over a cup of Blue Bottle coffee, enjoy their savory breakfast pudding, which one Yelp reviewer described as "out of the box" and "just right." Another favorite is the breakfast sandwich.

Drop in Zumba and Nia classes are each Saturday morning, from 10-11 a.m. at Two Left Feet Dance Center, 194 Diablo Blvd., in Danville. Cost for Zumba is $8 per class, and Nia is $12 per class. For more class information contact the center at (925) 831-8111, or visit their website. 

Sideboard is at 411 Hartz Ave., Suite L, in Danville.