irt

The plan, after the half marathon, was to return to short walks—three maybe four miles. But instead we find ourselves doing long distance walks to train for the D&L Half Marathon.

Today, we did the loop of the Ironton Rail Trail. Since I promised Lydia I would walk with her for the half, I stayed back with her, as much as possible. Bonnie moved slightly ahead, and kept looping back.

The Boy and Girl Scouts are the saviors of these trails. All the signage and decoration and benches have a sign attached to them. "Joe/Jane Smith, Troop 123, Eagle/Gold Project 2013".  There is no where that this is more obvious than on the IRT. I think every scout in Whitehall, Coplay, Hokey, and Northampton has worked on this trail.

Today was no exception. New signage on the western side, a couple new nature paths, and a "wildlife observation station", aka a bird blind. Boy is it nice. (That's my butt. Thanks Lydia.) You had to leave the trail and walk, maybe a block, to reach it.

We did about six miles in about 2 hours . It was warm and humid. Now, at 2 pm, it looks like the storms will be rolling in. The rain has already started. Got the laundry in in just the nick of time.

Tomorrow we are going to do about 4 miles on the D&L starting in Riverside Park and heading to Bethlehem.

allentown-parks volkssport walk

Today Bonnie and I tested out the new Allentown-Parks volkssport walk. They are going to retire the "town" one because people don't like walking in creepy neighborhoods to get to cool places. Sadly that's the reality. Maybe when the waterfront reopens I can design a walk that takes you to the art museum, America on Wheels, Trout Hall, ect. without creepiness.

I picked Bonnie up at 7 and we headed to check in at the Comfort Suites. Often check-ins are at hotels/motels. They are open 24/7. After checking in we went back to the car and read the directions. One by one. It was hard and funny because I know where Cedar Creek (aka Beach) Park is.

We parked and started to follow the directions. First stop, Allentown's first "destination" playground.  It's amazing. And totally accessible to everyone. We walked thru the maze of activities on the wheelchair ramp. We would have gone down the extra long slides, had it not rained last night. If I was 2 feet shorter I would have climbed in this spider web. It looks so fun. Maybe I'll need to borrow a child.

Speaking of rain,  it rained hard last night in Allentown, a couple inches an hour. The creek was full and raging. Quickly we discovered that much of the trail was flooded. Entire sections of the lawn were flooded. It was a mess. Our feet were soaked. Several times we went off trail to avoid water. The ducks were swimming on the lawn. And Allen's band was practicing and trying hard to avoid it.

New since the last time I was here (two million years ago) were the "do not feed the geese" signs. $600 is a serious fine.

 We saw no geese. Only geese poop.

We left the park, went to Cedar Crest, back to the park, and headed into west Allentown. When we arrived at Cedar Crest Blvd., we crossed and went into Trexler Park. Made the loop around Trexler, taking the higher road to say hi to the good general. Then out and back up Chew street to Muhlenberg College. Finally we returned to the park via Ott Street.

Today was Bonnie's 10th Volkssport walk. Finally she can send in her Starter book. Next week will be her 11th. We'll be headed to Tamaqua for that one.

Tomorrow, I'm not sure where or how we will walk. The D&L? Intervals? Steps at Lehigh? Guess I need to decide soon.

four town, three miles, one walk

Today Bonnie arrived about 7 and we headed off for a walk. I was sure to carry an umbrella the entire time so it didn't rain.

This was my infamous Fountain Hill walk.  But it really isn't Fountain Hill, because we hit four towns. But it is a hill.

We head up Bishopthorpe to the hospital, up the stairs from the parking lot and then up Graham Street. Clearly too many ups in that sentence. At some point right after the cemetery we cross in Salisbury.

Graham ends on Public Road, so we go down one block and back Cardinal. Wait? Did they mover Jeter Avenue? We find Jeter, take Jeter to Dotson, and do the long down on Dotson. Cross thru the Bottom Dollar lot and head up Gauffs Hill, then up Dorothy back into Fountain Hill, then up and down Moravia. Down Lechauweki to Church. Out Church, up by the grade school. Hey! They are building a playground. Wow.

Out Moravia into Upper Saucon Township, down Findlay into Fountain Hill, and back home to Bethlehem.

Do you have that? Confusing I know. But they'll be a quiz tomorrow. (Back in teacher mode.)

Speaking of tomorrow. Friday we will be trying out the new Allentown-Parks walk. Cedar Creek and Trexler, as well as Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg.

sugar crusher finale and lehigh parkway

Today was my final weigh in for the Sugar Crusher test panel. I lost 8 pounds. My numbers went down slightly, but they were good to start with. I lost the most inches in my legs.

I don't know why, but they've asked me to be part of the final group for the book. My reply to the email was "Really?" My food journals were snarky. I ate the occasional wrong food. And I made few of their recipes. The roomie said no to everything. The photo shoot is next Friday. I have a nail appointment. My feet are a mess. Guess I'll need to reschedule. The roomie will not be happy.

I picked up Bonnie at 6:30 and we headed to Rodale. She read while I did my testing. I think it was less than a half hour. Then we headed for the Lehigh Parkway.

We parked in the first lot and began with the loop that goes towards 15th street. I think I've been on it once before. It was paved. That doesn't happen often at the Parkway. Then, when we arrived back at the lot we headed to the iron bridge. Since it was a Tuesday, we thought it was safe to walk on the road. We crossed the bridge, and headed back. It came in a hair under 3 miles. Oh well. The humidity was high, and I was soaked.

Lydia has decided to do the D&L Half Marathon in November. So I signed up also. Let the training begin....again. One woman from the sugar group will be joining us. Bonnie will too. Probably

Bonnie has agreed to test the Volkssport walk in Allentown with me Friday. It will  cover Cedar Creek and Trexler Parks, as well as Muhlenberg College.

What she doesn't know is that when we are done, we're going to Allen Appliance on Allen street and checking out Sub Zero fridges. Don't think I can afford one, but I'll look. My fridge is fine. Lydia had a power surge a few weeks ago and it fried her appliances.  The PPL is only giving her a little money for replacements. And she is not planning on staying in the trailer. It makes no sense to buy a new fridge. I suggested she take mine (I get the PPL money) and I buy a new one. However, I try to only buy "Made in America". (Cue the Union Lady song) I was successful with my dryer and with my furnace. The furnace is made in Philly. The dryer is a Speed Queen, made in Wisconsin. When the washer dies I will buy it's mate. The difference was about $200. Sub Zero is also made in Wisconsin. Hmmmm. Maybe I should move to Wisconsin? GE's line of fancy appliance Monogram appliances are made in Tennessee. But those run 8-10 grand. Way out of my budget.

I fear the price difference for Sub Zero will be significant also. It will be a shame, because I fell in love with a stove too. Someday before I die I hope to remodel the kitchen.

the art trail has art!

Well, a little art. But it's a start.

At the trailhead on 13th street the sign said it was 2.2 miles to the end of Scott Park. Then how in the world did we manage to walk nearly six miles? I don't know. As Lydia says "these trail maps lie!"

We started at 13th street, walked past the dog park, the Easton Cemetery, and the entrance to Lafayette. Then we headed down third, made a quick left after the highway, and headed to Larry Holmes Drive. We walked thru both Riverside Park and Scott Park. We played on the swings. It was a perfect day.

While in the parks we took pixs of the river. The one below—a railroad bridge over the Delaware—I think Lydia took. Look at that beautiful reflection.

 I saw on FB about the D&L half marathon. I wasn't planning on doing another half, but Lydia posted interest on FB. If she decides to do it, Bonnie and I will do it too. And this time, we will --okay, me. I don't think Bonnie can walk slower--try and stick together. Walking with someone will improve her time. I bet we can shave 15 minutes or so off it. No walking alone head games.

tail on the trail event—bethlehem

Today was the Bethlehem Tail on the Trail event. Most of the gang was there—Dawn, Lydia, Bonnie and me. Of course we all met at my house, then Bonnie drove us over town.

We parked under the Fahy Bridge on Sand Island and walked to the basketball courts where the walk started. Last time they gave us car stickers, sunscreen and hand sanitizer. This time we got D&L buttons, sunscreen and sanitizer. I sense a theme. But then the corporate sponsor is St. Luke's.

During the opening speeches, the director of the D&L Heritage Corridor said they were expecting a few hundred people to do the program. They ended up with a few thousand. That must be the reason none of the prizes have arrived yet.

The bikers went first, then the runners, then the walkers. There was maybe six bikers. And a handful of runners. The rest of the people walked. Bet there was a hundred.

We headed over the bridge from Sand Island. We were to go 1.5 miles, just past the Minsi Trail Bridge, to the lock, turnaround and come back. If you wanted to go out 2 miles, you could go to where the trial was closed for renovations. We went the full distance and turned around. Others kept going.

Afterwards there was fruits, veggies and warm water. What is the point of a cooler if it has not water or ice?

Total distance 3.7 miles. But my Fit Bit pedometer says 2400 steps. I won't make my goal for this week. Why? I put the Fit Bit on this morning and did some work in the yard, then went walking.  After lunch I went to shower and it wasn't there. Turns out I lost it at 572 steps this morning. I would have been well over the 10K daily  to make the goal. Oh well.

the week that was

This week I started my new work schedule. Tues/Thrs I have off during the day. My sole class begins at 6 those days. Since my mornings are free, Bonnie and I are walking together.

Tuesday we walked in her Salisbury neighborhood. When we arranged it the night before she said no hills. We did hills.

Wednesday I barely walked. Work all day and then a faculty meeting from 4-7. By the time I got home it was dark. No energy to do a Leslie tape.

Thursday we walked here. Again, Bonnie says no hills. Again, we did a lot of them.

Today we walked with Betsy in her suburban neighborhood.

All works were just over three miles.

Tomorrow we are doing the D&L in Bethlehem. It's a Tail on the Trail event.

an expensive summer

This summer I've been spending money like I have it. I don't. I'm just really good at saving. (Thanks. mom.) Had I known at the beginning of summer that I would be down three classes in September, I probably wouldn't have done a lot of this. Oh well. If you wait for the perfect time it will never come.

Let's start with house stuff. My house is over 100 years old. Everything always needs to be fixed. But the payoff is great. You get to live in a house that's got history and character. In a real neighborhood, even if it is declining. I'd much rather repair things than live in a McMansion in the 'burbs. Or worse. What my mother called a cracker box. Little boxes all the same.

I made a list of things I wanted to do this summer. Walk every day. Learn how to create e-books. Point the foundation. Install a fence to keep out the neighbors dogs. The list grew and grew.

First, the roof leaked. That needed to be repaired. It was. Not too bad.

Then, after asking lots of people, I found a brick pointer at the Wawa. You can find everything at the Wawa. He checked out on the internet and thru the BBB. Plus they are family owned and operated. And in Fountain Hill. Done.

Next up, the fence. I posted a plea on FB for a local person. One of my students referred me to one. He did a great job on the fence. Ca-ching.

The patio Glenn put in about 20 years ago was rotten. Once the fence went up it look even worse. I had the carpenter give me a price.  It was for a plain old deck and cost less than the fence. The pretty diagonal pattern Glen did would have been too expensive. As would have the Trex. I settled for safe and ordinary. It looks terrific. Ca-ching.

Then of course it's fall, so the school taxes and house insurance are due. Thank goodness I live on the south side. Ca-ching.

And I hired a lawn boy.

Personally, things are also getting expensive. The biggest item is the chiropractor. At the 4th of July walk, I made contact with a chiropractor. The initial exam was a $20 donation to the Easton Y.  I went a couple times, he took x-rays and lets just say they weren't pretty. But then I am a Carl girl. Bottom line. I signed up. I've been going about 6 weeks. Do I feel any different? I don't think so. It's a pain in the butt to go, but I signed a year contract, so I'm forced to follow thru. Hopefully the next set of x-rays will be better. Then it will be worth it. Maybe. I don't want the spine issues of Elin. A year of chiro is just over $3K. Or $49 a visit. That's why I took the plan. Ca-ching!

Now I need to go look for Obama-Care before the end of the year. Swell.

I'm sure I forgot something.

What does all this have to do with walking? Little. It's my blog and I get easily distracted. And sometimes I just need to vent. However, since I need to tighten my belt, the first thing to go is 5Ks. All those entry fees add up.

now that's a view worth walking to

Sunday we took the scenic route home. The plan was to go to Kinzua State park to walk the skyway and then go to Williamsport to do a Volkssport walk. As always, plans change. I really like flying by the seat of my pants, don't you?

We left Erie and headed east. That put us in New York. We crossed the state, thru the Seneca Nation, and crossed back into Pennsylvania on 219 at Bedford. While still in New York we saw the billboard for the Zippo Museum. When we reached Bedford, the sign said this exit. Of course we went. What was odd, at least to me, was that there was a troop of Boy Scouts there. Now sure, Case knives are also made there, but 50% of the museum was lighters. Girl Scouts would have NEVER approved of that field trip. What was even odder, at least to me, was some of the boys were buying lighters. Clearly things are done differently in North Central Pennsylvania!

It took another 20 minutes or so to reach Kinzua. The DEP's website says "The 329-acre Kinzua Bridge State Park offers visitors a chance to walk the Kinzua Bridge Skywalk. Located in McKean County, this park is the home of the newly reinvented Kinzua Viaduct. The Viaduct, once known as the longest and tallest railroad structure at 2,053 feet long and 301 feet high, was partially destroyed by a tornado in 2003. In 2011, the engineering masterpiece was reinvented as a new pedestrian walkway where visitors can stroll 600 feet out on the remaining support towers, peer miles out into the Kinzua Gorge as well as peer down into the partial glass platform at the end of the walkway."

Clearly it was the shortest walk of the weekend, and the most spectacular.

It was also clear that no food could be found in the Allegheny State Forest. We must have driven 2 hours before finding an ice cream stand that served food too.  It was a popular spot. I thought as soon as we ate, places would pop up. Nope. Even when we reached Route 80!

On the drive from Kinzu we decided not to go to Williamsport. It was getting late. It's a good thing. It was Little League weekend. The one weekend a year NOT to go to Williamsport.

 

saturday, the main event

4:45 am came early yesterday. The sleepy half-marathoners got up and dressed and headed out of the hotel at 5:30. We —Bonnie, Megan (with a foot injury), Lydia and I—were not alone. The lobby of the hotel was filled with half-marathoners.

It was cold out when we left.

We arrived at to Presque Isle at 5:40, and to the parking area at 6. There was a steady stream of traffic headed in. When we arrived at the designated parking, the lot looked filled. We didn't want to go to the next lot. Who wants to walk more? Lucky for us they opened more spaces in the front of the lot. Yeah us. Briefly, we had a front row spot.

They asked us to arrive an hour early, and we did. But we didn't want to stand around in the cold. So we sat in the car until 6:45. The sun was up and it was considerable warmer.

Traffic must have been really backed up. They didn't start the race till 7:20. Bonnie of course took off with a start, leaving the rest of us in her dust. I managed to catch up to her by the half mile mark. My goal was to stay caught up till mile 9. I did, but it was exhausting.

Megan and Lyd walked together the first four miles. Then they split up. The race went from one end of the island to the other and back. The turn point was about 6.5 miles. I think we had passed 7 when we heard Lyd on the other side of the bushes. She was a mile to a mile and a half behind.

I kept losing and catching up to Bonnie. She had made friends with the walkers in front of us—Dr. Brian, Uncle Bob and the son. Dr. Brian makes Bonnie look slow. But she never lost a beat. Me, I lost many and had to power walk often to keep up.

By mile 9 I couldn't keep up any more. She went ahead and soon was out of site. A little while later I saw Megan talking to her.  Where did she come from?

Soon Bonnie took off and I caught up with Megs, we finished the race together. I can't remember times, but Bonnie was around 3:31 and came in third in her age group.  Megan and I came in around 3:34. When we finished I had Megs call Lydia. She had just crossed 11 miles and wanted to give up. Her hip pain was back. Megan yelled into the phone "YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP. Aunt Gayle will meet you at mile 12."

And I did. We walked the last mile or so together.

After the race we went to Bob Evans for a huge breakfast. Then we went to the movies.

I also earned my 35,000 steps badge on FitBit. I can't possibly see how I'd have a 40K day unless I did the one day hike again.

friday in erie

It was a very busy Friday.

The day started with a 10K Volkssport walk that cover every square inch of downtown Erie and the waterfront. It began at the Avalon Hotel. We were sitting there and saw an interesting sculpture in the courtyard. Turns out it was a frog. In medieval armor. It was created in 2001, and executed by someone I went to grad school with. Small world. It was not the last frog we encountered. Some survived the years better than others.

The trail we took was part of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail series. There's maybe nine of them. Mostly in New York. There was a lot of history on this trail, and a lot of historic markers—both Pennsylvania and Erie. We read some of them.

It also went past the Civic Center and the Seawolves. In the lot we found this little guy ready to batter up. 

Then we headed down to the waterfront. The Niagra was out of town. Kind of disappointing. But we went to Bicentennial tower. But they don't let you use the stairs. You must use the elevator—the view is fantastic from the top. You can see Presque Isle, the monument and one of the lighthouses, not to mention downtown Erie.

As we walked the route,  we walked around and thru "Celebrate Erie" several times. It took several blocks and a couple of parks. It is a four day celebration of music, art, and really delicious-looking carnival food, and a little real food too. Part of the festivities included chalk drawings down one full block. Above they are working on Jim Morrison. His hair will be pink and purple.

After picking up the car, we headed to Presque Isle. The goal was to survey the route for tomorrows race—the terrain, how long it took to get there, and of course look at lighthouses. There were none to climb.  The course is fairly flat, and has sections of shade and sun.

Bonnie had picked up some brochures and one thing was a boat tour.  So we took it. It was 90 minutes. Captain Gene was informative but I had a hard time hearing him. The girls in front of me were possessed by a Chatty Kathy dolls! He kept shooting them "the look". They didn't notice. I wanted to say shut the f*@k up. But I didn't.

The cruise was 90 minutes. Afterwards we drove the second half of the course.  With a stop at the Presque Isle lighthouse (now someone's home), walking in the sand, and dipping our toes into Lake Erie.

Our final stop before an early dinner—we had no lunch—was to pick up our race packets at the convention center.

We are all set for the main event tomorrow. We need to be there by 6, so we are leaving the hotel at 5:30 am.

Early to bed tonight!

erie or bust!

Wednesday I went to Zumba. I was the first time in about three weeks. They changed everything. But it was nice. People missed me. There was even a guy there.

Thursday at 5:30 am we packed up the car and headed to Erie. We picked up Lyd at 6, and headed up the turnpike and out the long expanse of Interstate 80. Then finally up Interstate 79. The hotel was at the exit ramp! It only took about 6.5 hours with a break for dinner.

Megan arrived about a hour and a half later. Our first stop. The Presque Isle Winery. After tasting and buying we headed back to the hotels. No tours. Bummer. We parked at the hotel and went to the o'Charleys for dinner.

Clearly not much exercising happening.

I managed to stay on the stupid diet, even in the car. And there was Tootsie Rolls!

30k steps!

Yesterday, I took my sister home and for some reason looked at my pedometer. It was 28k+. It was about 6-7 pm. Could I actually reach 30K in one day?

Then I forgot about it.

Last night I was getting ready for bed and looked at my daily total. I was less than 300 shy. I was not going to let this opportunity pass. So I walked up and down the hall and thru my bedroom, back in forth, for 300 steps. When I went to bed it was 30,005. Milestone achieved.

Will I reach 35k on half-marathon day? We'll see.

This morning Bonnie and I headed out for a 5 mile walk. It started to rain, and then stopped, then started, and ultimately only did about 2-3/4 miles. We were soaked when we got home.

I spent the rest of the day working, or working in the garden.

While I was in the garden, my nephew who's 11 asked if he could "play on my computer". I told him it wasn't a toy. He was unhappy.

saucon valley rail trail

Lydia sitting on a throne made from a tree stump.

Today Lydia and I did 10.5 miles on the Saucon Valley Rail Trail. Basically we walked from Hellertown to Southern Lehigh and back.

I've never walked the whole thing. Some things I noticed. When you change towns, the stripe color on the posts changes. Full mile posts are tall. Half mile on a little shorter. And quarter miles posts are short.

New things—the Hellertown section now has interpretive signs to read. The Lower Saucon section had a small lot and a port-o-potty. Now it has a large lot, picnic tables, and two port-o-potties. The Upper Saucon section has dog poop bags, recycle bins and trash cans. Overall, great improvements. There are also benches now along of of the trail.

 Railroad spikes and other debris, as yard art, on the trail.

Lydia did well the first half. Then the cramps kicked in. Then some odd hip pain. I knew she was in trouble. She only spoke when spoken too. That's not her. We got to the lot and I said, "if I knew where this was I'd pick you up". It turns out it was off Bingen Road.

Then I said "When we get to Meadow Road, you can wait and I'll walk back and get the car".

"At Meadow Road, we'll only be a mile away from the car. I'm not giving up". Secretly I was doing a happy dance. The old Lydia would not have said that. Not only did she not give up, but she went to the farmers market with me afterwards.

We always find butterflies on these walks. Lydia says they are her mom watching out for her. I guess there are a lot worse things to be reincarnated as.

Also a fawn near Meadow Road.

Thursday we leave for Erie. The half is on Saturday. Normal length walks resume after the half.

two bridges walk

Lydia and I went walking this morning the Hill to Hill bridge to the Minsi Trail bridge. It was nice to walk in the city, after so many training walks on the area rail and canal trails.

We started at my place, headed out Itaska, Broadway and up Wyandotte and headed up and crossed the Hill to Hill. From the bridge we could see the quiet, empty, and unopened Musikfest. That's the closest Lydia will get to MF! Her favorite place at MF is Take A Taco. We headed up Main to find T-A-T, and then out Broad Street to 1st St. Down 1st, past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, back into Musikfest (under the bridge) and back up to Central Church. 

We headed out Church past the  Moravian settlement, City Hall with a tour of the Japanese Tea House, and sculpture garden, and on to Niski Hill Cemetery. (I must find out when it changed names. All the gates say Union Cemetery) Out Market to the Minsi Trail Bridge, and walk back the  Greenway to Task my house. A quick break and then we were off again to take Adonis for his walk. 

In total we did 6.6 miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes. 

Since the fence was finished yesterday, I had a patio full of yard waste. Lydia and I spent about an hour picking-up the weeds and chopping the bushes, and packing them into compost bags. then we packed the car and took it all to the compost center.

We finished the day with a trip to Illick's Mill to have Lydia's Passport to Fitness recorded.

Tomorrow, more yard work—all the plants need to be replanted and mulch laid. But not before we do 10-11 miles on the Saucon rail trail. There's a half marathon next weekend!

yee haw! my volkssport trail was approved!

"Hi Gayle,
At our meeting last night, we all agreed to add Bethlehem - South to our Year Round Events for 2014.  ...

By the way, everyone was excited to hear about the new Beth. walk.  I think it will be very successful."

You cannot believe how excited I am. I had to do more work last night before it could be turned into national. I needed directions to the hotel, what special walking programs it qualified for, and agree to the 2A rating.

2A means moderate hills and pavements.

"Special programs" are walks you do toward a goal. Like finding 20 diners, cinemas, that type of thing. While we were doing the test walk, Dave kept asking about water towers, and pointing out flag poles. Now I know why. Honoring our Flag is a special program. As is Water Towers. The south Bethlehem walk qualifies for  Flags, Cities in Song, National Register and Fraternal Organizations. Locally it also qualifies for two Pennsylvania counties—Northampton and Lehigh.

Here's the synopisis I wrote. I'm sure they'll tweak it:

This walk takes you thru Lehigh University, the South Bethlehem Greenway (a rail-trail), pass the skatepark, and thru the former Bethlehem Steel. Right now the redeveloped area includes a casino, hotel, outlet mall, PBS station, arts campus, skating rink, and of course, Steel ruins. The walk continues into Fountain Hill past the mansions of 19th century Bethlehem movers and shakers.

In fall I'll have to actually write the trail. This won't go into effect until January. I have a lot of history to look up!

finished pasports and covered bridges.

Last night Lydia and I headed to Trexler Nature Preserve to do the covered bridge trail. On the way, we saw a couple more of the covered bridges. That complete the Covered Bridge Trail.  There are three surrounding the park. There are two more a mile down the road. We did not go to Schlicher's Bridge (1882) near the entrance to the park. It was damaged by Sandy and is had a tree on top of it the last I looked. I'm guessing there is no money in the budge to fix it.

Adonis was not happy because he didn't get a walk. But the game preserve is about a half hour away. It was 6 pm when we left. No time for puppies.

 First stop was Covered Bridge Park in North Whitehall. There we found the Manasses Guth Bridge (1858). It's a "Burr arch truss design, has lengthwise planking, and rests on a stone/mortar abutments with long wing walls capped with concrete."

Lydia was kind of excited. It was the first time she actually drove on one.

The next stop was supposed to be a mile away at Wehr's Bridge (1841) on the other side of Covered Bridge Park. But we missed the turn and ended up doing it last. Wehr's is also a "built in the Burr arch truss designed bridge."

As we entered the park we crossed Rex's Bridge (1858). "The structure is built in the Burr arch truss design, and the high  arches can be seen through the side openings. Rex’s Bridge has  a floor of lengthwise planking over crosswise planking, and the original stone wing walls have been covered with cement and painted white."

Our final bridge was our destination—Geiger's Bridge (1860). "Upon approaching the entrance of the bridge, its unusual stepped portal design that distinguishes it from other bridges is immediately noticeable. At one time, a pipe, through which water was pumped from the Jordan Creek to nearby orchards and farms, ran from end to end across the bridge. Remnants of  the cement foundation and pumping apparatus still remain on the side of the bridge. Built with Burr arches, the bridge has a floor of lengthwise and crosswise planking. The stone wing walls have  been painted white, and one on the south side of the bridge has been shortened due to the topography."

We parked next to the bridge and headed out to finish Lydia's Passport. The Covered Bridge trail is only 1.25 miles round trip. The trail was actually kind of busy last night.

Since Bonnie and I had already been there, the post was easy to find. Mission accomplished.

Neither Lydia or I had sneakers on. We wore Birks. Her's were rubber. Why? Our next stop was fording the creek!

When I got home I notice my Fit Bit was no longer tracking. Battery was dead. My score for today is less than 300 steps. And I went to Musikfest!

five miles, adventures, stairs, swings, and bouncing bees

Clearly I should have taken my camera today. This picture is from last year, or at least winter/fall. It was cool today but not that cool! Do I look different? I doubt it.

Bonnie came about  7 and we headed up to Moravia. Now we are in Lehigh County and Fountain Hill. At Frederick St. we entered  Lower Saucon Township, then back to Fountain Hill.

When we arrived at Lechauweki Spring Park I asked Bonnie if she wanted to explore. Neither of us had our Deep Woods Off, but off we went. According to the Borough website, the property was originally the home of the Lechauweki Springs Summer Resort, built by John Smylie, Jr. (Smiley Avenue. The pieces come together!) This famous mountain resort had three hotel buildings that were situated on a 63-acre tract.Now it's only 5-acres and a passive activity park.

The spring was dry except for a trickle of water. There's a gazebo, and we followed what might have been a deer run, or bike run. Coming out we found a gravel path  with signs telling us about the property. All in all we did about a 1/2 mile in this little park. (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/7537290)

We headed toward KidsPeace and back down to Broadway. Crossed at the Bottom Dollar and went out Spiegel Street to Stanley avenue and the playground recreation area.

Of course we played on the swings for a bit. As we were heading to the walking path, Bonnie saw these bouncing bug things and got on one. I think hers was a snail. I got on the bee. It was like doing supported squats. Finally we got back on the road and went out Russel and Jeter avenues. Then down the stairs thru the hospital parking lots, and down the steep hill and out Ostrum. Now we are in both Northampton County and Bethlehem again.

At the bridge we head south to the Five Points and up Wyandotte to Sioux. Out Souix and down Bishopthorpe.

For breakfast I made us omelets with leftovers—roasted potatoes, peppers, beans, spinach, feta, and broccoli. I'm sure I forgot something. Bonnie cut up all the veggies and also washed my dishes. Embarrassing. Clearly they hadn't been done since Friday. Why? The designated dishwasher will only wash them every three days, otherwise there isn't "enough". Today was her day. Well at least I know they are clean. Thanks Bonnie.

this time we were on the delaware canal!

Today we went to Wy-Hit-Tuk Park in Williams Township to hike the on the D&L. We've hiked a lot of Lehigh Sections from Bethlehem north, but this is the first time south of Easton,  on the Delaware.

It's quite different than the Lehigh sections that we have been doing. It's narrow, rustic, and has minimal signs. One place was all grass. At one point early on, Lydia asked what trail we were on because not of the D&Ls "signage" was there. Not even the mile markers.


We started in the park. There were beautiful comfort stations. And walked down the parks nature path crossed a bridge and connected to the D&L.

This trail runs adjacent to 611. It is very noisy. There are no buffers. The motorcycles screamed down the street. There were many pedestrian bridges crossing the canal. But we saw no parking. There weren't many houses, but clearly access was being provided.

We did see a family of ducks. All the kids. No mama or papa.

And a blue heron or two. Hard to tell if it was the same one, twice.

We only crossed one street. We found a few cabins and a foot bridge but are clueless where one would park if they lived there.

Ground Hog Lock was supposed to be 3.4 miles away. Lydia's phone measured just over four. Bonnie's fancy watched measured just under 4. So total we walked about 8 miles.

At the Ground Hog lock, the D&L signage returned, plus a couple of state markers. The bathrooms were inside and nice from what i hear.

After we finished, we took the BOGO coupons that we earned doing the Passport to Fitness, and rode the Josiah White II at Hugh Moore Park. It takes about 40 minutes to go less than two miles. We learned a lot about life on a river boat, how the canals were built, and the identity of some of the ruins we've been looking at over the past couple weeks.

The tickets included the museum and the lock tenders house. We didn't have time to do  either of those things. We'll take the tickets and go back another day.

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