cedar creek park

Today we went on an adventure. Lydia is always wanting to try new places, and we actively search for stroller friendly routes.

First stop, Cedar Creek Park East. There was a trail but it was rustic. Clearly not stroller friendly. And there was a huge boys soccer tourney going on.

Second Stop, Cedar Creek Parkway West. Much bigger, and another tourney. this time girls soccer.
We couldn't find any place to walk. Back in the car, again.

Final stop. Cedar Creek Park in Allentown. Same old park we always do. This time we headed toward Cedar Crest, around the rose garden and back to Ott. Then we crossed Ott and looped around Lake Muhlenberg and back.

The baby slept most of the time.

Then it was off to the Comfort Suites to do my paperwork for the Volkssport club. The Allentown walk (196) is popular! I have at least three pages of walkers.

North Bethlehem (717) isn't. There were very few on that tally sheet.

Personally, I finished my Distance and Event books, as well as my Pennsylvania book. It is time to send them off to Houston! I've ordered a starter kit for Megan and the Wee One. If my new books don't arrive by the time I leave for Kentucky the trip will be done with the dreaded Insert Cards.

Speaking of finishing. Lydia finished her Gold Award for the President's Challenge yesterday. Unlike me, she will not be doing Platinum. Maybe by the end of summer I'll get to 50%.

it is hard to take a selfie with a baby

Happy Birthday David.

The gang walked today on the Palmer Bike Trail, the portion that serves as the D&L thru Palmer. Usually the walk photos have the baby in the carriage, but I got the silly idea to do a selfie after he was fed and changed. It's difficult. Babies don't cooperate.

Today Bonnie's family arrived right on time, and she left the car running. "I don't think five people will fit in my car with the car seat" she said. We ended up taking two cars.

We started walking in Riverside park off 25th street. It's kind-of under the Glendon Bridge. The lot was empty so we got two prime spaces in the shade, and near the bathroom. The we hit the trail. this is an out-and back trail. If you walk long enough you'll get to Jim Thorpe. Maybe another day. We went about 1.5 miles before the baby was unhappy. Megan was going to stop to feed him, but no benches. Luckily there was a bench where the Palmer Trail and the D&L split.

 As Megan fed the Wee One, Bonnie gave Megan water. It was hysterical.

While they did that, Lydia and I continued on about another mile to the boat launch. Then turned around and came back just as she was diapering the baby. Perfect timing. Then it was time for the trip back.

Somehow I arrived near the front, so I headed off to the swings. And then headed east on the new section of the trail, alone. I wanted to see how long it was, how it went, ect. this connecting strip to Hugh Moore Park was done last year. You used to have to walk on the highway.

As I was walking a few people passed me, and I thought "shouldn't be out here alone". (Easton has had some issues lately with assailants hanging out on the trails.) But all was fine. The path is slightly downhill and straight from the park until the end. Then you start seeing curve signs. The sign below is no exaggeration. The serpentine curves are downright U shaped. The path is divided so no one gets run over by an out-of control bike.

After the wacky curves, I arrived at the Hugh Moore trail head, turned around and walked up hill back. All-in-all I did about 6 miles. The came back and took Adonis for his walk.

Tomorrow we are doing Cedar Beach Park. We are going to try and find the trail behind Dorney, behind Haines Mill.

fridays in the 'burbs

Every Friday I walk with my friend Betsy in the 'burbs of Allentown. Since Bonnie has been off, she frequently joins us. Today she brought the Wee One also.

Let's just say the Wee One did not like his walk today. He cried thru the first half. Slept thru most of the second half. We went a slightly different route that was a little longer. Maybe 3.5 miles. We even took the gravel woods path and thru grass. It worked great.

Then he cried on the way home. So I moved to the back to entertain him. It worked...mostly. Silly stories and songs and being goofy works on a 4-month-old.

I'm kind-of-over crying babies.

Tomorrow's Race Against Racism 5K was cancelled due to lack of entries. Frankly it's a hard concept to advertise. So instead we will be walking the Palmer bike trail. Probably the lower half that connects with the D&L in Bethlehem Township. I'd like to do the new part that connect the River Trail with the D&L in  Hugh Moore Park. I've never have been on that section before.

 

thursday walk

It's that time of the year again. I have to gather up my statistics for the Volkssport group. That means going to the three sites, collecting data and sending the money in. It also means that we have to do those walks. When in Rome ....

Yesterday we did a variation on Bethlehem-South. Megan, Bonnie, the Wee One and I walked to the Comfort Suites, collected our data and then went down the Greenway to Northampton Community College Fowler Campus.  There, Bonnie and I had student massages scheduled. The kids are getting in their practical time before the licensing exam.  Well worth the $20 for the half hour. Bonnie wished she would have booked the hour.

When we walked in the teacher was excited to see the baby and asked Megan if she could borrow him to show the students something. She said yes. She was hoping for a baby massage, but alas, the demo was all about reflexes. She gathered up all the students, and they watched and tested. he was in hog-heaven.

Then we left NCC and headed thru the soccer madness at ArtsQuest to the casino, up the hill and back the Greenway to the Farmer's Market. The baby was getting less happy, but we got our groceries, and headed toward home. At Broughal, he was done. Screaming at the top of his lungs. Tired of the stroller, hungry and shockingly not wet. We decided salads at Wendy's was what was for lunch.

After lunch, with a happier baby, we headed home to visit the roomie.

In a minute were all heading to Betsy's for the 'burb walk. Then I need to stop at Comfort Suites to pick up those numbers.

lock ridge park

Today, Bonnie, Megan, the wee one, and I headed to Alburtis and Lock Ridge Park.  We chose it because we thought it was all was paved. It's mostly paved.

Lydia was sick—she's got Bonnie's 5-pack-a-day cough—so she didn't come. Rumor has it that she spent the day reading. Jealous.

When we arrived we parked and a dog started barking at us. We said out loud "would leave their dog in the car on a day like today?"  I said, maybe they went to the latrine. Five minutes is fine. Then a girl came over and said "he's mine". Turned out they were doing a photo shoot of shelter animals, and he doesn't play well with others so he had to stay in the car.

She was no more than 20 feet away, so he was okay. (Now. He was a pit/bull mix. Abused. Megan noticed the scar on his back. It was ugly. The rescue-girl said that was 100% better. I can't imagine what condition he was in when he arrived."

A loop—with several paths— at Lock Ridge is about a mile and a half, so we walked around twice. But we didn't take the same paths so we were a little closer to 2.5 miles in an hour. The one by the railroad was flooded and we couldn't tell how deep it was. Probably fairly deep. It extended into well onto the grass. So we didn't complete it. We turned around an came back.

There was one much longer path, but that one was not paved. Megan didn't want to jostle the baby around on stones.

I usually only come to this park for the 5K in August. To get to the park we drove to the start point, then followed the 5K route. A lot out-of-the-way but it worked. During a 5K there is no time to look at anything or take pictures. Today, I looked at everything and took pictures. I found two staircases and took them both. The others continued on. That's fine, I'm a big girl. But then I came to a fork in the road and yelled "Which way did you go?" They yelled "left" and I went left and caught up with them. The museum was not open until one, so neither were the bathrooms.

What is this place you might ask? From the Lehigh County website: "What looks like a stone castle was a coal burning iron furnace. The beauty of the furnace and surrounding structures belie their industrial roots."

When you live in the Lehigh Valley you can't escape iron. Or limestone. And by extension cement.

laughing at my nighmare 5k

Today was the second annual Laughing at my Nightmare Run, Walk or Roll 5k. I did worse than last year. I don't know if I am getting slower or if it's because I haven't done many races lately. Maybe a bit of both.

Today it was Bonnie, Megan, the wee one, and me. It started at East Hill Moravian Church and went out Shakespeare to the education campus, around Freedom and East Hills and back. This year there were quite a few walkers, and several non-stroller rollers. It was a nice size group.

There were more rolling hills than I remembered from last year.

Last year Bonnie finished in about 50:30, me at 50:48. This year the wee one came in first at about 50:11 and then Bonnie at 50:13. (The only way she could win is she drug the stroller behind her.) I came in at 51:12 and Megan at about 58:20. This is Megan's first race since pregnancy/birth so she's a bit out of shape. I'm sure in a few weeks she'll also clean my clock.


Since Megan has moved home and has joined the walking group (join might be too strong a word) I need to find places that are stroller friendly, AND that we haven't done to death. Tomorrow we'll be walking at the Lockridge Furnace in Alburtis. Other options are the Tatamy Trail, Penn Pump trail in Palmer, and the Palmer Rail Trail.

water review

I've been thinking that I hadn't done a water review in a long time. But if I buy water, it usually after an event at a convenience store or gas station. They just haven't had anything.

The other day my brother Dave sent me an email asking if I had seen Wat-aah. "Available locally, Barb had a bottle yesterday. Sounds up your alley." You betcha. (My brother knows me well.) I went to the site and it said it was available at Giant so I went there yesterday after walking with Betsy and Logan (a dog) in her neighborhood. (Also redeemed my 60 cents off gas bonus points—$3.02/gallon!) It was hot yesterday and my water was gone. i was thirsty. A perfect day to do it.

No Wat-aah.

It's been a long time since I've looked at the water at the supermarket. My are there a lot of them.

 The first one I noticed was NY20. It's spring water from the Catskills. The bottle is cool with this indent in the handle. It's the one I bought. It tasted wet.  But it was easy to hold. I didn't drink it till I returned home. I couldn't get the cap off.

 The next one I saw was Blk. It's black water. It's gross. It looks like watered down prune juice. Fulvic Acid makes it black. The description in my computer dictionary make sit sound like compost tea. Gross.  This contains 60 different kinds of minerals.

Next to it was 84. This is mineral enhanced spring water from the Catskills. Probably the same source as the NY20 water for twice the price.

I laughed my tush off at the name Skinny water. "Skinny Water’s® goal is to provide consumers with a great tasting functional water containing key electrolytes, antioxidants, vitamins with ZERO calories, ZERO sugar, ZERO sodium, ZERO carbohydrates and containing no preservatives, with all natural colors and flavors." Is that not the definition of plain old water? Water has no calories until you put crap in it. All water is skinny!

I have to admit I love the Ávitae Water  bottle. It had me at hello. This is water with caffeine. Finally there was Karma water. "Karma Wellness Water is a truly enlightened product, born out of the idea that what goes around comes around. A product based on the simple belief that if you do something positive—for others, or for yourself—you’ll get something positive back in return." Basically the flavor/vitiamns are in the cap and you release them into the water.

I should go down the water aisle more often. This was fun.

fitness challenge 2 —geocaching. not.

Today my fitness challenge was to be geocaching. The almighty Wikipedia defines geocaching /ˈdʒiːoʊˌkæʃɪŋ/ as an "outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called 'geocaches' or 'caches', anywhere in the world.

Basically it's a giant scavenger hunt with a GPS unit.

One of my former Girl Socuts —Debi Lehr, now Rice, wanted to try it.  I said sure as long as she had a GPS. She did. Her phone is her job. She does marketing for numerous small business and maintains about two dozen Facebook/Twitter pages for them as part of her job. The plan, today at 9 am. Sand Island.

I registered at the geocaching website on Tuesday in preparation. I set up my location—Bethlehem— and hit submit. A map appeared. In Hebrew. Wrong Bethlehem. But there were a lot of geocaches. Then I had to figure out how to edit it.

Friday I get a FB message. Might be trouble at a Virgina event Sunday. Might have to leave town. Poop. Saturday. Sorry I have to cancel. Crap. (I found out today that the Geocaching workshop at the Wildlands Institute was yesterday. And the Lehigh Valley Geocaching website, hasn't been updated in two years. I guess I should try Meet-up.)

I couldn't try it myself. No GPS. Too cheap to pay for a data plan. Bonnie and Lydia were at the Christening for Bonnie's grandchild. Lydia would have a GPS on her phone. So I went for an ordinary Volkssport walk. Sadly, the Desk Clerk at the Comfort Suites, south Bethlehem, recognized me. Clearly I go there too often.

Today I did the second half of the Bethlehem-South route. Out 4th to Webster (I went to Polk...oops) and back Third. Up the bridge ramp, out Brighton, up Uncas, and back Delaware. At Wyandotte and Delaware I ran into a Girl Scout friend, Elie, and talked for a while. Then I headed down Wyandotte toward home.

Since Adonis was a my house, I also took him for a walk.

volkssport walk, with a twist.

I thought today was the Bethlehem North Volkssport walk. At some point the rearranged the schedule and it was switched to Philly. Who'd want to go to Philly when mass transportation is on strike! Certainly not me.

So Lydia and I did the Bethlehem North walk. With a twist.

Volkksport walks use well established trails and sidewalks. Instead, we followed the route but spent a lot of time walking along the creek, railroad tracks, and offshoots of the main trial. That same old walk was suddenly exciting again.

For example, in Johnson Park we found this in bricks. It say "Monocacy Park". It's a WPA project so it's been there since the 30s. I've walked in this park for 50 years, but never went near the walls and stairs. What else is lurking there?

What about a tunnel. Where does it go? Does Bethlehem have catacombs? what is lurking under the senior center?

We found paths on Sand Island that I never knew about. Today's volkssport walk turned into a bit of an adventure.

more ideas for creative fitness

Anybody interested?

Roller skating. Couldn't do it at 10. No doubt I'll spend the bulk of my time on my ample tushie.

Laser Tag. This is above my 410 limit. But you get 3 games for $18. I have 45 off coupons in one of those coupon books the kids sell. I'm clueless what it's called. It's not the entertainment book. We could probably draft some of friends,  neices and nephews to make a team.

Trampoline Fitness. I haven't found anywhere in the Lehigh Valley that does this. It's a mini tramp with a rail. More than likely, if I do, it will be at a gym. Watch the insanity on YouTube.

In the same vein we've been talking about going to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline fitness park. We've been talking about it so long they are opening one in Allentown. No more road trip toward Philadelphia. Now we must do it. But it isn't ready yet. ):

Swimming. I actually contacted the Bethlehem Recreation department about adult swim lessons. They only have private ones. I wanted a group. Way cheaper. Yes, mom sent us for swim lessons when we were kids. I just didn't learn anything. Swimming laps is good for you. I think.

Hot Yoga. Yes, you read that right. Apparently it's regular yoga in a hot room. You wear tight clothes instead of loose—basically, you sweat your fat off. They are opening a studio in the Lehigh Shopping Center, down by the Dollar tree. Hideous logo. Will they trade design services for yoga classes?

Playground fitness. Yes, you'd need to check your vanity at the door. No way around it. Doing this in the park, you look like an idiot. But I think most of it is doable. Why actually swinging isn't part of the plan I have no idea.

you don't do much walking making balls.

In my town there is a huge music festival every August. It has a fairly large art component to it. This year the local knitting store is planning to yarn bomb it.

It takes a lot of hands and a lot of yarn to do this. So they have started three months early. When I took my sisters panels in the other day they already had garbage bags filled with panels.  They will also hang pom poms from the tree and maybe a foot bridge, to make it even more festive.

I love public art. I love to participate in it. I had to do this. What I didn't realize is how much time it takes.

Or maybe, I didn't realize how much time I spend walking ever day. Last night when I removed my FitBit I wasn't even to 5000 steps. On a Wednesday! Why, Because I was making pom poms from all my leftover yarn. To the point where there is nothing left in the yarn bins. I've even used up the roomies scraps. (I'm fairly sure she is close to being a hoarder. A foot long piece of yarn shouldn't be saved.) I am down to my last basket of yarn. That should be gone tonight.

Bonnie is still sick, or sick of walking, so I was left to my own devices again today. At noon I walked to the south Bethlehem Farmer's Market. I got some organic snow peas, beans, and kale. I also got the tallest asparagus in the world.

Walking home I came straight out Broadway. When I reach Aunt Dorthy's alley the skies opened up. I was drenched when I returned home.

fitness challenge 1—fitness in the park

Fitness in the Park is a series of fitness classes sponsored by the recreation department. Each set is 4 weeks, and it's cheaper if you buy by the set. A single class is $10. Can you tell from the picture which park?

Tuesday night is Power Toning. I've taken a toning class at Lafayette before and it was torture. Maybe it was the instructor. Or maybe it was because it was inside.  Or maybe because everyone in the class was a minus zero in size. Anyway you look at it, this was better.

The instructor was nice. She demonstrated every move and showed adaptions for the physically less fit. I still couldn't do them but it was nice. There were skinny girls but about half were plus size. It was outside. With a breeze. I took my dumbbells but they provided mats. I should have taken my yoga mat.

I did everything, but just less of them, with all the adaptions and then some. Not nearly as high or straight but done. I worked up a good sweat. Might go back again. I confirmed that my muscles are all sleeping and need to be woken the heck up. How do you do that? Squats are out of the question. Even pliés hurt. My knees were singing tonight!

Almost all the skinny girls take the other classes. Monday night is Boot Camp (Todays tip: Take a towel if you don't want to work out on the grass!). It sounds like Hell. Wednesday is Yoga. From the way they were talking it isn't beginners. Better skip that one. I can stand an hour in Hell. Have you met my roommate?

Still looking for more ideas. If you've got them, let me know.

beating the storm and the humidity

Today I walked early. Bonnie is still sick and I wanted to get out before the violent thunderstorms and humidity. Neither materialized.

I decided to do the south Bethlehem Volkssport walk. I'm kind-of itching to get my books full and get new ones. I have two more in the distance book. Three in the total fifty walk book (I think it changes color next time!) and four in the Pennsylvania walk book. All of these will be done by the end of the month. I'll do three walks just collecting paperwork at the end of month!

Things have changed a bit on the Greenway. In the area of the meadow and the Asia gazebo they have built vegetable gardens. With no fence. Clearly this is a pick-your own adventure? The cabbages were huge.

Further down, by the townhouses, people have started planting flowers on the Greenway. I wonder what the city thinks of that. I bet it makes mowing harder. But it sure looks pretty.

The casino, and ArtsQuest area is the same as always. When I arrived at OraSure it started to drizzle, but it never materialized as rain. Coming back thru Lehigh I found more sculptures and more stairs! I'm sure the others will be thrilled about that.

Crossing streets at that hour is a real pain. But otherwise it was a nice hot, sweaty walk.

I thought I try a fitness challenge tonight—Kettlebells. But I read the website wrong. It was drop in, but you needed to be a member. Further investigation led to the discovery that no kettlebell classes are without some sort of membership class. And, a three-hour orientation before you can can take one. Cross that off the list.

I checked the Saucon, Palmer and Bethlehem Tsp Community Centers, and the Y. Nothing new. Nothing different.

Tonight in the park is Power Toning. If we are done with dinner I might try that. Once Bonnie gets well I'll try one of the swim classes.

This fitness challenge takes a whole lot more planning than I anticipated.

sunday afternoon

  His first selfie.

Sunday afternoon I had to babysit for the "blonde tornado". Don't let this cute face fool you. This kid can be a terror. But he wasn't.

He arrived with a bag of games and immediately asked me to play. I had other plans. I told him he need to play by himself so I could finish my work. Then we'd —the dinosaur, him, Aunt Sharon, and I—go someplace special.

He did. We did. He's about 5.10 years old. Too young to walk to and from the Fountain Hill playground and play. We packed water and cups. We looked for appropriate hats —he wore my Volkssport one—and headed for the park. But I forgot to get the car seat when he was dropped off. He told me about it. I strapped him in the center back and off we went.

He was excited to see the playground. He was excited to see the that there were baby swings. Not for him of course —he doesn't like swinging—but for Dinosaur. (Yes, that's his name.) The "three" of us played about 45 minutes. Aunt Sharon took pictures. I did not get to swing!

I did get to ride the bee alone, and with the Tornado.

Everyone went down the slides multiple times.  Dinosaur usually went down head first. Some of us fit better than others.

 We went on rope bridges and moving plank bridges. Frequently.

 Tornado didn't have enough body strength to do the zip bar, but Dinosaur put his full body into it. I was too tall. Even bending my knees.

 I asked him if he wanted to go on an adventure. He was all for it. So we took the trail thru the park into the woods where he picked weeds for aunt Sharon. We did the whole trail, then came back and went down the big hill—it's steep. No bikes, boards or blades are allowed. Then back to Aunt Sharon. Dinosaur was a hot sweaty mess when we got back.

Then it was time to make dinner. I was told he was a fussy eater. Not when you make him help make it. I even almost got him to try peppers. But he really "thought and thought and thought about it and decided I really don't like them". He ate everything else. I ain't fighting for peppers. (Though his measuring skill are poor. I had to dump water off the rice then jack up the heat. Oops!)

After nearly 1.25 hours at the park we ate dinner and watched Frozen. The trolls were so much fun. The ice castle was beautiful. Still trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.

someplace new!

Today we went to the Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary. I'm always looking for someplace new to walk, or in this case hike. I should have taken my stick!

It was hilly. It was rocky. there were signs that said Danger Cliffs. Yep, my kind of place.

Bonnie was still sick (bronchitis) so it was just me and Lydia. This place is near Raubsville, off 611.  We went 412, 212 and then on every back road in the area. When we reached the no outlet sign we kept going. And going. We stopped some pedestrians and asked if there was a nature center. They said at the end of the road. It was.

It was nice. there was a parking lot, a nature center (closed) and bathrooms that could be accessed even when it was closed. The trail maps were in the bathroom.

We decided to do the "river outlook" trail first. I figured there would be a hill. Best get it over with first. Silly me. We went downhill to reach it, holding on to trees and each other. We climbed back up to get out. (Pictures just never show how steep the hill is.) We should not go on trails that feature this sign:

this was out clue to turn around. But no, we didn't take it.

Then we went back to the main trail and went up and up and up. When we reached the top, there was two paths. One going up yet again. Another going down. We went down and eventually returned to the lot.

Sadly we only went about a mile and a half and it took 50 minutes.

walking alone

Friday I walked alone. I don't like walking alone anymore. I'm a spoiled brat and enjoy having people with me. But Lydia was working. Bonnie was sick. And Betsy's father was dying. I was left to my own devices.

Thursday I received an email from Dave, the president of the Liberty Bell Wanderers. We were out of envelopes in Allentown. Originally I figured I'd fill the box on my way to Betsy's. But I wasn't going there, and the box still needed envelopes.

The plan. Fill the box. Walk the Allentown Parks walk. But just the 5K. Filling the box was easy. But the lobby was crowded with all Cedar Crest alumni. It was reunion weekend. I went to Cedar Crest. I've never really been to a reunion. It was fun eavesdropping.

Now should I go to the start point by the pool or not. The route circles around Lake Muhlenberg and comes back past the car.  I knew I'd do the first mile and pack it in. So I parked at the Pavilions. There was no way I'd come close to the car so the temptation to quit would be eliminated.  And it worked!

Three miles. Solo. Unless you count all the goslings and the ducklings.

nothing to do with walking

This is one of my periodic rants. So you might want to skip it. I just need to get it out of my system.

I try really hard to buy American made. Or at least North America. It has to do with jobs, sure. It has to do with growing up in a union house. It has to do with ecology and saving resources. There's really no reason to ship something half way around the world. Pretty much, we can make it here. So we should.

I am not always successful, but I thought, until yesterday, that I read everything and then made a decision. For example, I won't eat anything from China. No safeguards. I'm seriously considering not eating fish from the Pacific. That nuclear waste from Japan should be here soon. I am not eating radio active fish.

Yesterday Bonnie and I walked in her neighborhood. But we went down to South Fourth Street to Walgreens. My allergies had finally gotten the best of me. I needed drugs.  I don't like to take medicine, so I suffer longer than I have to. It's been years since I took a pain killer. The generic Claritin from previous years were half-used and expired. (One in 2009!) I needed a fresh batch. And whatever I pick needs to have it has pseudoephedrine in it. Complete with the song and dance that goes with it to prove you aren't making meth—pick up the little card, take it to the pharmacist, swipe my license, pay and leave.

I've never looked at where meds were made. I assumed it was here I guess. Who'd ship pills around the world? Clearly Walgreen does. Had I noticed it before I opened the box I would have returned them. I'm used to paying more for made in America. But they were open, so I took one. And then I waited for something horrible to happen. It didn't. They are 12-hour ones. They last maybe 5, 6 hours. I'm going back to generic Claritin. As long as it's made on this continent. If not. I'll suffer. Spring is almost over.

kreiderville 5k challenge. 2014 edition

This is a tough course. No way to get around that. We've done this race three times before.  (2011, 2012, 2013). You choose 5 or 10K if you run. No choice for walkers.

We arrive, parked on the lawn and hiked down to the bridge. No crazy lines this year. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday, but  there were less runners and hardly any walkers. I walked illegally. I went to the registration tent and they couldn't find me on the list.

This year the 5 and 10K started at the same time. The course never changes significantly.  It starts with a small hill up from the covered bridge, and you turn a corner, go down a bit. Then you go up. And up. And up. For 9/10 a mile, then turn a corner and go up another 1/4 of a mile. Everything that comes after that is a walk in the park. They don't call this a challenge for nothing.

Halfway up the hill everyone was out of site. Usually I'm in the back walking with Lydia. But she didn't go this year. I had hopes I'd be further front. Hope spring eternal. I was dead last. At the top of the hill I saw these silos filled with corn.

I finished in 55:40. About my time the first year. Last year I was over 60 minutes. the year before 58. The first year 55:37. Of course I didn't cross the finish line. I was a nonparticipant.

These are the signs on the road. I loved them.

volkssport bus trip to lackawaxen

Saturday Lydia, Bonnie and I took a bus trip to Lackawaxen. Exciting, I know. But they rarely offer walks in that area, and we needed Pike county! It was also a destination for the new Border Crossing special program.

The bus picked us up at the Quakertown Park and Ride. It was great not having to drive to Philly. We wouldn't have gone if we did.

We arrived at Zane Gray's house about 10:15. All the paper work was covered on the bus. We picked up our instruction and started walking. It was an odd route. Pretty much out and back, with variations. First we headed to the highway and crossed the Lackawaxen river. Then turned around and came back. We went past Zane Grays house, and headed toward the Roebling's Aqueduct. For those who went to public school like me, and never learned this stuff, my computer dictionary says it is a "a bridge that is constructed to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley."

Crossing the Aqueduct we entered New York. We stopped to take this lovely picture. I look really thin in it. Note to self, stand in the way back! Bonnie and Lydia teased me all day about my hat. I really don't think it looks that bad.

In New York, we went under the bridge and out the D&H canal towpath. (Delaware and Hudson).  We turned around and came back and then back over the aqueduct. and back to Zane Grays house. Then we went into the house and did the little tour. Lots of books. Dick would have loved it. He loved Zane Grey novels. We walked about a 6K.

Then we went for a buffet lunch at the Laxawaxen Inn. It was horrible. Poorly organized, and perfect for 1965—tons of carbs covered with cheese and dressing, and meats, covered with calorie laden sauces. Not a single vegetable. Not a green thing anywhere. The plate were at least 12 inches if not larger. And they were piled high. I ended up eating two meatballs and some baked ziti. And the fruit from the ham. Then I went and got ham. The food sat in my gut all day. My body was saying WTF?

We went outside to wait and met this huge fella. If the almighty google is correct, he is a Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia). His wingspan is up to 6 inches! His life is two weeks. After mating, he dies withing three days. (There's a going out with a bang joke in there somewhere.) this guy wasn't moving much. I think he had his fun and his number was up.

Then it was back on the bus and off to Milton. The museum where we parked (They have Lincoln's blood soaked flag. Why is that not at the Smithsonian?) was having a special Boy Scout program and wasn't open. So we headed to Grey Towers. The last time I was there I was in a car. It's a three mile walk from where we parked to the top of the hill. And there was no time for a tour. We walked the ground and then headed back down. Through a bit more of Milton and back on the bus to come home.

It was 9:30 when I arrived home. And I had to start my online classes. I finished about 12:30, and got up this morning for a 5K.