morrisville walk

Today Bonnie and I did the Morrisville AVA walk. It's the small Pennsylvania town across the river from Trenton.  These summer mid-week walks need to be 1-2 hours away and involve a road trip. It's important that they aren't in the Lehigh Valley.

I've done the walk before.  But Bonnie is trying to finish up some of her special program books and this one has a lot of them. So off we went.

It took us about 1.5 hours to get there on the back roads. We tried using Starr, but she kept wanting us to go down highways. Who wants to use a highway when the river is so beautiful? Finally we turned her off.

After checking in at the Quality Inn, we set off. First stop was the bridge to Trenton. I quickly remembered that there is little shade on this route.

The route goes thru the government area, and then back over another bridge in Pennsylvania. It returns us to the start point via the D&L Canal Towpath. The comfort station was one of the best I've seen. It's a I-4.5.

I packed lunch—a Moroccan Bulgar Salad— I found it many years ago in a Cooking Light magazine. It's great because it doesn't really need refrigeration. (I used brown rice. Bonnie can't have bulgar.) Though I had everything packed in one of the grocery cooler bags with a bottle of ice. It was delicious.

Bonnie needed gas so we headed over the bridge to Trenton for the last day of cheap gas. We couldn't find a gas station. So we decided to follow Rt. 32 back to Washington Crossing and cross the bridge there. Success.

Then it was back to Pennsylvania and we headed toward home. On 412, we stopped at Owowocow for freshly made ice cream. Why did I get a banana split? It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was just way too rich and I threw half of it out.

One more stop at the local butcher in Hellertown and we were home by 3:30. A good day.

scoping out hellertown

We are working on redoing the old Hellertown AVA walk. If I've read the directions correctly, and used on the online pedometer correctly,  it is a crazy spiral of loops.

There has to be a better way. I know when I see loops I start skipping whole areas. A 10K is suddenly 7.

The small loop at the Heller Homestead and Grist Mill need to be there. It's the history portion of the walk.

More of the rail trail needs to be included. But how? The breaks are about a half-mile apart. If people walk to Meadows Road, there is no safe pedestrian access to Main Street. And it's hard to tell what is what on the map.

It was time for on-foot investigating. Today I concentrated on the trail from the Water Street Park toward Bethlehem. And the natural trail next to it.

The new Water Street Park is lovely. It's amazing what investing some money and time into a place can do. If we start the walk here there will be plenty of parking, indoor bathrooms, running water (for dogs too!) and a picnic pavilion to serve as the start point. Oh, and a playground for kids of all ages.

I parked and was sure to turn on Map My Walk. I was headed into the woods alone. But more importantly I wanted to see how long the nature loop was. It's a mile. At about the half-way point you can go start, next to the creek and come out at a closed bridge. That trail is not as wide, and not as well marked. Think we'll skip that one. This one goes past old cement forms—I'm thinking they held railroad tracks—that have been reclaimed by the forest. When hikers reach the meadow, you curve left and go through the slag fields, and then back into the forest.

When you come out of the slag fields, if you are lucky, there is a doe waiting for you on the trail. It was a 5-minute stalemate, but the deer finally ran away. I was happy ... according to Map my Walk I was about 2/10 of a mile away from my start point.

I came out of the woods, crossed the grass and hopped on the rail trail heading to Bethlehem. 

At the end of the trail was a gate preventing motorists from accessing the trail. In front of me was a trail made by bikers. Ultimately, the dream is to link it to Saucon Park, and then the Greenway to Saucon Park. I can't wait. Then I can walk from my house to Coopersburg! (I know, I'm weird.)

It was maybe three blocks to Main Street. I came out below the Buffalo meat place and The Movies. Clearly I walk like a drunk. There is nothing straight about those lines.

I just took Main Street back to the car. That's when I noticed a new brew pub is opening. I love the name—Lost Tavern Brewing. It's a take, I'm sure, on Lost River Caverns. Which reminded me that I haven't been there in a long time. I'm going this summer.

I decided not to go to the Homestead. My feet were soaked and the air was thick. Another day.

After retrieving the car I actually drove to Lost Cave. Looking at the Hellertown Map it looked like a potential walk route would get really close. And it does. Less than a 1/4 mile way. But the sidewalks end, and the road is winding, with minimal shoulders. Now that would be a walk, wouldn't it?

i found a geocache!

Today I went and collected the dismal numbers for the Bethlehem Volkssport walk. Five. That isn't many. Nine for the first half of the year. I see this walk headed for the endangered list.

I decided I'd do the first half of the first 5K and the first half of the second 5K.  I'm trying to figure out ways to mix it up so that it becomes fresh and new and exciting.

I'd like to add the Rose Garden, but there really isn't anything between town and the Rose Garden to see. The Mount Airy neighborhood with the nice houses is after it.

Anywho, I'm walking over the Broad street bridge and had a vague recollection there was a geocache at the tomb of the unknown soldier. I launch the app and I was correct. And I was three feet away.

they hide these things well. So first I looked on the plaque. Nada. Then I felt the underside of the "tombstone". Nothing. And I was still three feet away. So I checked the fence. And it was there! Whoo hoo. that makes my total 3/I don't know, 21? I have the app for three months, but it is clearly an endangered app on my phone. I've heard the phone app sucks, so that might have something to do with my lack of success. Or maybe I just stink at hide and seek.

Anyway, I finished that first kilometer and then headed to Sand Island to do that loop.

I was feeling confident after the find and looked for two more on Sand Island. Today I was 1/3. I found the location of the other two, but not the cache. As you can see they are small.

Then I came back across the pedestrian bridge and headed to the Industrial Quarter, and did that loop.

I ended up doing a 5K. And it actually might have potential for a revised route. It's the same-old, same-old, but in a different order. Of course the hard part will be figuring out the second 5K. The cemeteries, Main Street and Church street need to stay. I could live without the Center Street hill. And there are many beautiful houses on Market.

We'll see. I must just suggest an overhall.

There's a lot to do with this club in the Philly area, and not much here. Maybe we should have a Lehigh Valley walking event. Perhaps get some new members in the process? We could do it like the State Park Weekend and have the two Bethlehem walks, Allentown and maybe even Hellertown, available. It could be cool.

new adventures

As I mentioned in the previous post I decided this week that at least two days a week this summer, I need to make a road trip to walk. Go to someplace new and exciting and not south Bethlehem. Scratch that. Not the Lehigh Valley. If my vacation week taught me nothing,  it taught me that different is good. Much more motivating.

So this is the plan: Every Tuesday or Wednesday  and every Saturday or Sunday this summer I'm getting in the car and going someplace. Any place one to two hours away.

That's pretty much here to Philly, east into Jersey (Princeton anyone?) and west to maybe Harrisburg, north to Scranton-ish. Clearly, I'd have to google the directions to make sure it fits in the perimeters.

I've done a lot of the Volkssport walks in the northern Philly 'burbs. Since this is for places I've never gone, these are new Volkssport walks I'm interested in:
Promised Land. I haven't been there since I was maybe 12.
Hatfield. It's new.
Ephrata. I've never seen the Cloisters. I cannot believe it.
Harrisburg/Camp Hill
Manheim
New Holland
Susquehannock State Park (Drumore)
Lebanon (They used to have their own club. The Bologna Stompers. Is that not the best name ever?)

I think there are 3 in Wilmington, Delaware
And 10 PAWs walks in Jersey. Though most of the shore walks are three hours away.


Then there are the 10, make it 9 Montco parks I haven't been to yet.

I'm sure there are others. A little research would be needed. I am open to suggestions. If I am going to walk every day of summer vacation I need to stay motivated. It's always more fun if someone comes along. We can pack a picnic. I'll drive.

no girl/boy scouts in montco?

I decided this week that at least two days a week this summer, I need to make a road trip to walk. Go to someplace new and exciting and not south Bethlehem. Scratch that. Not the Lehigh Valley. If my vacation week taught me nothing,  it taught me that different is good. Much more motivating.

So this is the plan: Every Tuesday or Wednesday  and every Saturday or Sunday this summer I'm getting in the car and going someplace. Any place one to two hours away. If someone wants to come along, please do. We can pack a picnic. I'll make another post about this.

Today I picked Montgomery County. Specifically, Green Lane Park. 

I had a map and when I pulled in the road I couldn't find anything. I stopped at the end of the road. It was a boat launch and rental area. Totally at the opposite end of the park from where I wanted to be. I backtracked and followed the signs to the park office. Hopefully I'd find a trail head. If not, I'd find a ranger. Either way it was a win-win.

I found the trail head. Not the one I planed on, but nevertheless it was a trail head.

I parked in the shade and headed for the trail head. I wanted to check the "you are here" map and also locate the Mont Co Trail Challenge Marker. This park is apparently a heart. Only 4 more to go.

The map was full of trails but there were no signs pointing me toward them. I was in a picnic area. There were port-o-potties, tables, pavilions, and an amphitheater. In front of me was the lake and a boat launch.

The lake is long and skinny. Think the shape of Italy. Or a string of sausages. In front of me was a paved road. And I had wanted to take the paved multi-purpose trail. After our adventures with overgrown trails in Western Pennsylvania and getting lost at Tom Sawyer, no more going on natural trails alone. I deduced that this was the multi purpose trail. It took me to the lake and over the dam and ended in another parking lot. Shit.

Back to the map. The Perkiomen Trail was above the star. Near the road. I headed toward the road.

Then I saw people to the left. They were walking on a well mowed grassy path.  They looked like they were headed somewhere. I followed them. We arrived at this grassy field and there were paths cut into it. I thought it was a maze. But there was stops. Then I thought it was a labyrinth, but it didn't go to the center. It was odd. I could see the Perkiomen trail in front of me but couldn't get to it without bushwacking. I was not dressed for that. I finally backed my way out.

I followed the original trail out to the road. On one side it has a really, really wide shoulder and this sign.

When I arrived at this sign post, all my questions were answered. For a while, the trail follows the road.

Some parks or trails are over marked. Like the IRT. You can't throw a stone without hitting some sort of sign. Each one has a little black describing the Girl/Boy Scout project that created it. Does Montco have no scouts that need Gold/Eagle projects? A few well placed signs would do wonders for the trails.

Thankfully there was someone in front of me when we crossed the creek. Otherwise I probably would have ended up on the highway. All I knew was that he disappeared.  I started looking for a turn. It took me into this lovely wooded area. But the path was wide and gravel. I turned.

 I saw a lot of these. People on horses have the right away. I'm not arguing with a horse. And you can hear them coming.

This section of the trail also had one of those exercise courses that Bonnie and Angel love.

I came to a road. This trail went right. There was a parking lot in front of me and another boat launch. There looked to be a path around the lake. And it looked like that might be the dam in front of me. I decided to go that way and leave the trail behind. I was at mile 18.5. The trail is only 20 miles, so I had a long way to go to finish it!

Then I headed back to the Lehigh Valley.

This park has a lot of comfort stations and port-o-potties. I don't think you need to go more than a 1/4 mile for a bathroom. That's damn good.  I used the port-o-potties in the parking lot. I'd give them a P-3.5

left the hood, sort-of

Today Bonnie and I were supposed to walk, but she had PT so didn't come. She missed a great quiche for brunch.

Today I walked from my place, over the Hill to Hill bridge, around thru town, and then back the Fahy Bridge. I tried geocaching, and again was unsuccessful.

When I reached the south side I stopped at the Comfort Suites and took pictures of the south Bethlehem volkssport log book, and crossed the New Street mural off the directions. I am way to cheap to throw them out for one sentence. And there is only 10 left.

Bonnie, stopped at the Dorney Park Comfort Suites after PT and got the pixs of the Allentown book. So I only have north Bethlehem to do.

Now I just need to figure out where I'm walking tomorrow. It will either be an AVA walk, or one for the Montco challenge. Haven't decided yet. Most of the Montco ones are closer.

back in the neighborhood rut

After 9 days of exciting walks in new places, I am back in the neighborhood rut. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I walked in the hood.

Monday, as you recall was to the vampire. My blood work was okay. There were three things that were on the high side of normal, but a better diet and more exercise will fix those. I hope.

Tuesday I also walked in the hood. This time thru Lehigh and down the stairs to the Greenway. It's when I noticed that the mural was being unassembled. I guess they will recycle the mosaics. The buildings are coming down for new construction. I love redevelopment, and pretty much dislike new development (I like food way too much. Stop using up the fields!), but it sucks when they have to remove art. Especially art I worked on!

Wednesday I walked up to St. Lukes, out Brighton and down the ramp. Coming back for a change I went all the way up Ontario.

All three days I kept moving back and forth across the street (when safe) to stay in the shade. It was hot.  Because of this, I discovered that the blocks on the Madison Playground retaining had words next to them. I went to investigate. As you know, I am easily distracted.

 They are puzzles! I always thought they were quilt blocks. Silly me.  This one asks how many quares/rectangles. I couldn't find an answer sheet. 20?

 Ditto for the triangles. 28?

And also mazes.

So fun. It's not something I would have thought of. Sadly, they have been there at least three years and I never took the time to actually look at them.

Maybe the same old boring neighborhood walks still have a few surprises left.

Today's walk is to the Farmer's Market. Of course today it is raining because it's Farmer's Market day. Tomorrow morning Bonnie is coming over. Maybe we'll go down to the Hellertown Rail Trail. It's shady in the morning.

Healthy Summer Update:
As I mentioned earlier, one hurdle is done. I passed my blood work. 

I also finished my health assessment for my Insurance company. Medium risk is not a shock. I'm obese and have high blood pressure. Their advice was the same as the doctor's advice. The same advice I've been hearing for decades. Eat better, drink more water, and exercise. I think I'm making a meme.

BTW on this survey I DO NOT exercise. I am active. This is not the first time I've heard this and it pisses me off. Walking fell under "Active Lifestyle". I clicked brisk walking with inclines. With kick ass hills was not an option. I'd like to see them walk up Frederick Street. That is not an incline. Exercise was the gym stuff. Weights and resistance and crap like that. Get me a park like the one in Cincinnati and I'll consider it. I also didn't notice sports-like stuff--Basketball, football, volleyball, rowing, that kind of thing. Clearly the survey needs work.

I also scheduled the biometric screening for the same day as the mammogram--July 7. Maybe I can get the colonoscopy that day too.

Speaking of obesity, when I was hanging out with the girls last week I referred to myself as fat. They didn't like it. I am not fat. Sweet, but untrue. I think my height hides some of it. Anyway, so I tried to explain to them I was indeed fat. That there is a scale that doctors use to measure these things. You have underweight, normal obese and morbidly obese. I don't think they believed me. I decided to skip the discussion on BMI.

healthy summer, step 1

I resolved this summer to get my act in gear. I now have health insurance and I've pretty much ran out of excuses. Let healthy summer commence. Even though I am terrified.

In January when I went to the doctor, I was handed slips for blood work, mammogram, colonoscopy, gyn and I think that's it. Plus I need to do a health survey for my insurance that will take 30 minutes, and a biometric screening. Which is also at Quest. I guess I should have pre-planned so I only needed to make one trip!.

Today's walk was to the vampire to take my blood. And apparently my urine. Occasionally my blood work comes back wonky, and it has to be redone. Like death's door wonky. Hopefully that is not the case this time. I'll settle for normal.

I also made an appointment for my mammogram. It's July 7. They had a cancellation.  Again, I'll settle for normal. Cancer is not a big health risk in our family, but it doesn't stop my brain from going into full worry-wort overdrive. I am my mother's daughter.

I also tried to call the colonoscopy place. But there phone was busy. So maybe tomorrow. Need to do it while the roomies are not arround. There is no privacy here.

I like to say that the reason I dragged my feet on this is that  I went nearly two full decades without health insurance. But that really isn't it. Bottom line. I don't trust doctors. And I really don't trust tests and hospitals. (I was about 25 when the gyno called in a panic that I had stage 4 ovarian cancer after a routine pap smear. When they redid it. Oops, we were wrong.) So yes, my head is buried deep in the sand and my rose colored classes sparkle with clarity. But my brain spins occasionally with possibilities of things I might have. (5 different kinds of cancer--lung, breast, stomach, ovarian, skin, diabetes, fibromyalgia, MS and that in the middle of the night are going to cut off my right leg. Seriously.  Sometimes I can quiet it. Other times not.

Notice I didn't put arthritis on the list. This is a given. But I doubt if there are joint replacements in my future. No thank you.

Even though I cannot shake the feeling that my life will change dramatically this summer, I will move forward. And hope that none of the nightmares come true.

Off to do my survey.

walking vacation: the end

It's now Sunday and I sat home all day and caught up with life. The mail pile isn't as large as it used to be. Neither are the amount bills in the pile. Auto bill pay is a wonderful thing.

Friday we didn't do too much. It was unwind, unpack, and get ready to go home day. I took two walks in the hood.

Saturday we were on the road by 6:15 am, and headed to Covington, Ky. for a Volkssport border crossing. The check in was at a Hampton Hotel. As always, the desk clerk was nice, and handed us the box. Since breakfast was being served, we stayed away from the guests and found a spot to do our paperwork.

The instruction were good, but hard to read. It looked like a copy of a copy of an inkjet. But it was readable. The map was not. It was small and copied so often that few if any of the street names showed.

We headed out. It wasn't the nicest neighborhood. Lots of hotels and lots of industry. Eventually were got to an area with more hotels and a more downtown feel. It even included a convention center. The instructions said to turn left and go thru the flood gates. We did. There was the skyline of Cincinnati. With the Bengal's stadium on one side of the bridge, and the Reds on the other.

The whole time I am on the riverfront, the theme song from WKRP in Cincinnati is stuck in my head.  We turned to walk along the river to the bridge. The river side of the flood wall was a massive mural. Probably twenty panels.  Amazing. A man running with his dog said if you like these, you should see the mural project downtown. And he whipped out his phone and showed us.  We asked how far. "He said not far. Only about 10 blocks after you cross the bridge." Just go to the library. ANd they were off.

We only did the 7K so we didn't cross all the bridges in the walk. The one I really wanted to do was the Purple People Easter pedestrian bridge. But that was the furthermost away.

About 3/4 the way across the bridge and we look down at the most amazing kids-park ever. Trex Lincoln logs piled up to climb on. A fishnet bridge over a little creek. The coolest stuff ever. We were talking about taking the stairs down and wondering how we could get back out and not have to backtrack to the bridge. A man below told us! so down we went. We checked out the kids park and decided to see what was on the other side. It was an OUTDOOR GYM. In a public Park.

This bird like item, someone crawls inside to provide resistance and then several people can pull down on his wings for an upper body workout. There were elliptical climbers, poles, all kinds of things to work with.

It was not that standard fitness course found in Lehigh Valley Parks. This was a whole other lever of fitness. I think it's something I would actually do. It didn't, for the most part, require super human strength, and flexibility. I was sweating after trying out the stuff.

We returned to the main street and followed the instructions for a while. Using the maps on the street corners to guide us. Bonnie was beat, her knee was hurting, so we decided to bring the car back to look at the murals.

It took awhile to figure out how to get on the bridge with the car. Ultimately we did. And headed to the library.

It was worth the trip. The meter was expensive. $2.25 for an hour. We only had a half hour of quarters. And we really didn't have time to explore more. We had to get home. We chose 2 x 2 blocks. In that small space we saw 6. There are 102 in 36 neighborhoods. Check them out at Artworks Cincinnati. As a bonus I found a couple of terrific ghost signs.

While walking the 2 block square we came across these signs for a 1-2-3 mile route. Clearly Cincinnati is serious about getting healthy!

It was nearly 12:30 and we hadn't left Cincinnati yet. That's most of the drive left to go.

This cicada hung on from St. Claresville, Ohio to Washington, Pa. He waved. He rolled over. He did stupid insect tricks. Finally the 70mph car and the wind speed got the best of him and he blew off. He probably got tired of hanging on. He was there so long we named him Syd.

We didn't get home till 10:30 pm.

day seven, part 2; lights!

I was Ms. Pouty Pants last night because nobody wanted to go to see the bridge lite up. Today I convinced Bonnie to go. Lights come on at twilight. We left about 8:30. Figured sunset was about 9. They started to come on slowly. By the time we walked to Indiana and turned around to come back they were on full force. On the outside.

 Maybe it needs to be darker to get the full effect on the inside. Though the inside of the bridge is much darker than the outside.

By the time we returned to Louisville it was pretty dark. A lot darker than this picture looks. The lights didn't come out very well. I took these with my phone. My point and shoot camera was worse.

All in all it was a good walk. 1/4 mile ramp, a 3/4 mile bridge, and 72 steps and back. Plus a wonderful, consistent breeze from the Ohio River.

Of course now I don't want to go to bed.

walking vacation, day seven; josephine's sculpture garden

Today we headed out to the farm to pick up the three girls and go to Josephine's Sculpture Garden. Then we headed to Frankfort, the state capitol. You could hear a pin drop in the car. Three teens/tweens should make a lot of noise. Would the day be a bust? In a word. No.

We arrived at Josephine's in about 45 minutes. It's actually just off the highway. You can hear the cars on the property. It's the farm once owned by the creators grandparents. Part is farm. Part is sculpture garden, education, and theatre space. (Right now the are doing King Lear.) Part is forest. All of it is magical.

There were four separate trails, but they all joined together in a giant maze. Some items, like the one above you could climb on. It was clear which you could and could climb on, or sometimes even touch.

 Other's like this one you could not.

There were about six permanent sculptures. The rest changes. I saw two spaces that were blank. Something new is on the way.

 Even the bee boxes were painted.

 This one is an arch made from recycled rebar.

 The garage had murals on the front and the back.

There is minimal shade at the sculpture park. On a 95° day it would have been nice. We finished at about 11:30. It was hot. I can't imagine what it was like at 2.

Did I mention it's FREE! We left money in the donation box. It was well worth it.

Bathroom I-4.5

Sadly, it was only about a mile and a half, so more walking will need to be done today.

After lunch we went to Rebecca Ruth's candy factory. The girls, all now friends, wanted to take the tour again. Bonnie wanted Boo Boos. That's the imperfect bourbon balls. They are cheaper than the nice ones and come in a plastic bag. Regardless, they are delicious.

walking vacation, day six: the hood

Today was another work day for Bonnie and her family at the farm. I have super allergies to horses, hay and work, so I stayed back at my sister's house. We did some random errand, and bought her a new computer.

We've been having stray storms. Violent. They come out of nowhere and are gone just as quick. We've been hoping to have burgers on the grill so always make the plan B meal. Today's plan B was spaghetti. But Bonnie needs gluten free pasta. I offered to take the long way to Krogers.

I decided to walk to the end of her street, then work my way up to Westport Road, and back. Basically a square.

My first indication that I was in the south was the magnolias blooming in people's yards.

Then I saw what I thought was a bird house. But it was on a corner. That would be odd. It turned out to be a little free library. Someone stuffed some Watchtowers in there. If it wasn't the beginning of the walk, I might have looked more seriously.

You can imagine my surprise when I found another one a few blocks away. Clearly this neighborhood likes to read.

I've always wanted a peace pole in my garden. I love how this one is home made. Much more organic than the official ones.

Even though I had mapped the route before I left I was not calling my sister in distress today. SO to check where I was, I opened the Geocaching app on my phone. I was a half block away from a cache. I went for it. It so pretty clear where it was. And I still couldn't find it. I tried 2 more before I gave up. I was 0/3 today.

It took about 10 minutes to cross Westport Road to get to Kroger's. It was like an ice box in there. After my walk, it felt fantastic.

I had wanted to go see the pedestrian bridge lite up tonight, but nobody wanted to go along. (Photo from louisville.edu) And if I took the car and the tween, I would have had to take "Anabelle" back to the farm. I have never gone to the farm without getting lost. This would have been so much better than working.

walking vacation, day five, washed out road trip

The headline for this blog was supposed to be the walk was "it's creepy and it's kooky, mysterious and spooky, it's all together ooky". A take on the Addams Family theme.You see, this volkksport walk was in a cemetery.

We left my sister's house at 8:30 and headed to Indiana. The plan was to miss the Louisville rush hour traffic on the bridge. Traffic was dense near the bridge, and early in Indiana, but it cleared out. There was several spots with road construction and they were slow. We made it to Indianapolis in about 2.5 hours. 

When we left suburban Louisville, it was warm and sunny. The weather people said storms late afternoon. Clearly we should have checked the Indy weather. It was quite different. As we drove up 65 to Indy the clouds became grey, then black. It was one giant cloud surround by blue and we were headed for it.

The cemetery was huge. The only option was a 10K and it covered about 1/2 of the grounds. The start point was the mausoleum.  We park at the funeral home and head into the park. As we arrive at the Mausoleum it starts to drizzle. Shit. We sign in, stamp our books, get the directions, and look around. We're in the chapel when we hear the rain. And then the thunder. Then the downpour.

 We kill time walking around the mausoleum. The rain slows. We check the weather map. A skinny band of rain, then a big space, and then a big band. We're good to go. We head back to the car to get umbrellas and then hit the trail. We are no more than 500 feet into it and the sky opens up, big time. The mausoleum was closer, so back we go, to wait out another storm. Since you can't get cell service in there, I go out on the porch to check the weather map. Our skinny band of rain, is now a triple wide, with a skinny band in between the two storms. It is all bright red and orange. This isn't ordinary rain, it's downpours and storms.

A two and a half hour drive for nothing. But this was a cool walk. It was not just to get Indiana and the I stamp.

We picked this trail because it was so unique. There were several others in the city. The "trail wanders the beautifully landscaped and historic grounds of Crown Hill Cemetery - Indiana’s largest and the nation’s 3rd largest private cemetery. The trail includes a large hill known as “The Crown“. The cemetery is the final resting place for many famous and some infamous Hoosiers including President Benjamin Harrison, pharmaceutical founder Eli Lilly, poet James Whitcomb Riley, writer Booth Tarkington, and gangster John Dillinger.

We decided to drive the route.

 The main entrance gate.

 We finally hit the road again about an hour late. We were headed for the highway, when we saw the sign that said SPEEDWAY. What the hell. Let's go. When in Rome ....

It was probably about three miles to the Speedway. We met this guy at a muffler shop on the way.

You couldn't miss the speedway, even in the storm. Actually, it had stopped raining for a bit when I took this pic. You drive in under the stands. The guard waved us thru to the museum.

Again, cars aren't my thing, but why not. We sure couldn't do the walking tour, which I would have preferred.  I loved the one I took at Churchill Downs.

 Inside were all the cars from all the winners for the past 100 years. They were not chronological. We went in one room and being from the Lehigh Valley we asked about Andretti. He took us to the car. For me, that is above and beyond his job.

This is one of the first cars. It weighed 2000 pounds. This one couldn't race. it was too heavy.

It was 3:30 when we left Indy. It was pouring again, and we were certain to hit rush hour in Louisville. I called my sister (Bonnie was driving) and told her we were on the way but the weather was horrible. We'd probably be later. We went about 5 miles and traffic slowed to a crawl. It took
nearly 2 hours to go the next 7ish miles. First we merged to 3 lanes. Then 2. Finally one. For less than 50 feet of construction. It took nearly 2 hours.

It was time to call again. Hi it's us, were still at least an hour and a half (actually 2 hours) away. We had only gone about 10 miles since the last call.

We arrived back at about 7:30.

Today, everyone is working out at the farm again, so I'm carless. I'll be walking in the hood. In fact, my sister needs some groceries, so I'll head to the store. It will feel like I'm at home.

More storms are to roll in so I think I'll spend the afternoon working.