day 12 of 18, ghostly edition

Tonight I did the Christmas Historic Haunts tour of downtown. It was fun. Sadly not terrific exercise. But no ghost tour is. Some of the stories were repeats from what I heard on the Revolution one a couple of years ago. The guide was terrific. And the candles were a nice touch.

It began at the Moravian Book Store. (I would have loved to build that tree, but I would not want to re-shelve all those books!) I arrived about 10 minutes before the start. Every time I picked up a book I told myself "no time to read". Five more minutes and I would have spent a $100. My willpower in all things stink. I did buy one book after it was over. It's at the end of the post.

When the guide arrived, a clerk past out the candles and we were off. We headed south on Main, and stopped at the Brethern's House.

Then we moved on to the old Chapel, God's Acre, the Sun Inn, the Hotel Bethlehem and then back for the final story to the Bookstore. The Sun Inn's ghost was documented in an episode of Ghost Hunter's on SyFy.

Clearly, we did not walk far. Maybe, a half to three-quarters of a mile.

This was my purchase. Moravian Walking Guide and Tour Book. It includes walking tours for Nazareth, Bethlehem, Emmaus. The design is weak, but it's packed with stuff. That tiny oval says "Pennsylvania". It made me think maybe there were others for additional Moravian enclaves, like Winston Salem. But since it's published by the Nazareth Historical Society, I doubt it.

day 4 of 18

Sorry, not in the habit of posting everyday. I had the computer all shut down when I realized I didn't post. This is day 4 (but posted on 5).

The Bethlehem–South volkssport walk box is at the Comfort Suites in south Bethlehem.  I noticed after the group walk that the directions were very low. Yesterday I walked down to fill the box.

This is a great spot to take pictures at this time of year. The South Bethlehem Historic Society has an ethnic tree festival that installed after Thanksgiving and stays up through Epiphany. The fifteen or so Christmas trees features most of the countries that came to south Bethlehem to work at the Steel. Easy to identify one like Poland and Russia and England to countries and ethnic groups I've never heard of. It is really nice. It was near check-out time so the lobby was full of people looking.

The ornaments on each tree reflect the cultures and the countries. As does the items under the tree including the skirts. It's amazing how many different styles of nativities there were.

On the walk down I saw that someone decorated the fire escape with garland. If you want to see it, look across the street from Pete's. When I head down there again, I hope there is less traffic so I can get a picture. It probably is against safety regulations but it is pretty.

I took a pretty direct route to the Comfort Suites. And I came home up Monclair and Wyndotte streets. Shorter walks need more difficulty.

Todays walk is to the Fountain Hill Wawa. I'll take the scenic route.

no I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.

Honest. I just have not been doing much walking. While I am looking for my mojo, I am gaining all the weight back it took me years to get rid of. I am eating like it is the end of the world. I've totally lost control.

The excuse of the moment is the end of the term. I am up to my eyeballs in grading. Chained to a computer like it's a prison sentence. Free time is spent chauffeuring people to and fro.

But it's bigger than that. I think I finally pinpointed it.  I've all my walking buddies are unavailable. I need to re-learn to walk alone. And that's hard. I hate solitude. Blame it on mom for having me last. I thrive in choas. Megan is now working. Bonnie is baby sitting. Lydia has no access to a vehicle. Betsy is injured. Angel is almost living at Target till the holidays are over. Even my colleague moved to Virgina. Everybody is unavailable.

In addition, I am sidetracked by Christmas.  

So far I worked on Christmas gifts. (I'm way behind.) We gone to the lights at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, and made candy house with my niece, her cousin and my friend. Next weekend we are all baking cookies and then sharing so we have more flavors and less quantities.

And Bonnie and I drove the baby to Christkindlmarkt. A mile and a half and we took the car. Sinful. But we wanted a happy baby with St. Nick. Ultimately, he did not care for the experience. (Over the weekend the wee one learned to stand up.)

Saturday Bonnie, Lydia, Megan, baby and I did go to Litiz for the Volkssport "Walk Through Time". It was held at 10:11 on 12/13/14. Cool, huh?

Litiz reminds me a lot of Bethlehem. I guess it's the German and Moravian influences. And it's packed at Christmastime. It was crazy finding a parking spot. We had to walk about a mile to the event, and it was so well attended that they ran out of maps. So we had to wait. Babies don't like waiting.

The route was pretty much a square. It went past Wilbur Chocolate, Linden Hall, and the Julius Sturgis Pretzel factory. Oh, and Hendricks' Flower Shop. I'm sure they thought we were nuts taking a selfie in front of their place.

The baby was pretty good. Talking a lot. We were pretty close to the finish when he became really unhappy. Mommy took him with her to get the car and his food. He was screaming by that point.

After getting our books stamped, I headed for my car and Bonnie and Lydia looked for a restaurant. We ended up going to Pork and Wally's. A lot of Liberty Bell Wanderer's showed up there also.

They we nice. The even nuked the babies food so it wasn't icy cold from the car. He had taken a power nap on the way back with the car, and was perfectly happy again.

Bonnie had "ham wings". They looked delicious. It was the shank portion and made to look kind-of like a lollipop.   Smoked ham on a stick. How could you go wrong?

After lunch we headed to Wilbur, and then back to the Pretzel Factory for the tour. I know I went to a pretzel factory when I was about 12 on a school trip or girl scout trip. But I think it was in Reading. I don't ever remember being in Litiz before.

Nice day. And it's a nice day today. Must get my lazy fat butt outside for a walk.

free beer, laziness, and swag

Another lazy week. I was hoping to hit my goals today but it's pouring. Maybe this afternoon.

Updates from last Sunday: There was quite a racquet on FB, Twitter and traditional media last week about the race.  Yesterday I received an email with a photo link (I'm looking down on them all) and an apology for the chaos last week. It also said I could use those free beer tickets this weekend at the festival. Problem is, I tossed them last week. Trash man comes on Tuesdays. Oh well.

Oh, it also gave us this little badge for our website.  That an a coupon won't get you a free beer.

Monday and Wednesday I was in Easton. So busy I could even take a little walk at lunch time. Lydia came over Wednesday night and we took the dog for a walk, then walked south Bethlehem. I were my slide sneakers without socks and paid for it. The tops of my toes were blistered by 2 miles. They were busted open by the time we got home.

Tuesday I walked to the north side and back. I tried to find every hill. Including up Wyandotte street. Good workout in an otherwise lackluster week.

Thursday I had planned on taking the scenic route to the dentist and back. Didn't work out that way. I was in one of my online classes working away when the voice from the yellow chair said "Don't you have a dentist appointment at 10?" It was 9:50. I took the car, then also drove to the farm market.

Thursday I also picked up my Walking Warriors swag at the college. A short sleeve tee shirt and a water bottle. I rinsed out the bottle and used it during class. I made the mistake of filling it ... twice. I was up all night. The tee is grey with walking warriors on the front and the logo on the back in orange. The water bottle is orange with the logo. This is the last week of the challenge. So far I haven't won anything.

Friday in the mail the first level prize arrived for the 165 challenge. Yep, another tee shirt. But this one is long sleeve and a really soft cotton. It will make a nice under shirt. The Tail On The Trail logo is on the back. They also sent a car magnet. I have one from last year. Neither will be on the car.



Yesterday I walked with Betsy in her surburban neighborhood.


Okay, maybe I'm not so lazy after all. But the reality is I'm at 72% of my weekly goal. 25% more is maybe 25K in steps. I might have done that walking the eight miles today. I see little chance of that happening.


Off to work while it's raining.

will race for free beer

Or not. The line was way to long.

The Oktoberfest 5K was today. We had a huge group—Bonnie, Lydia, Megan, Dawn and Lyds friend Joleen. It was cold today waiting for the race. We all wore layers. Most of us wore the shirts we picked up yesterday. Nice, right? I had a pink shirt under mine. It is Pinktober after all.

We planned to meet at the entrance to ArtsQuest at 10 am. Megan and Joleen arrived first, then Dawn and her husband, and finally Megan and Bonnie. The race had at least 4K people. They capped it at 5K and were still selling entries.  It was wall to wall people. The broke us into four waves with beer themed names. We were in the last wave. The first was at the start line near the Welcome Center. The last was in the "Keg" section. The line up for that began at PBS. Yep, we pretty much had to walk two blocks to the start line. It took almost 8 minutes for us to cross. Thank goodness for chip timing.

We quickly splintered by pace. Near the beginning I actually passed Megan and Bonnie. How did that happen? But soon Bonnie passed me. Then Megan. Once we hit the hills, I was doomed. Those two, like my friend Angel fly up the hills. I passed them on the way down. But then they passed me again and it stayed that way.

The course went out first, up Webster, out Columbia and over the Fahy Bridge. Then up Center, out Church, and down around the city center and down Lehigh.  Over to Sand Island, turn around and come back.

I met Bonnie and Megan again on Columbia, near the back side of Looper's. Bonnie said "You caught up". And I said something about them seeing the finish line and they'd speed off without me. But they agreed on the bridge that we'd all cross together. And we did. My foot must have hit first because I finished in 50:48, and they finished in 50:50. Our unison was a little off. Dawn finished in 56:50, and Lydia and Joleen in 63:55.

They did not give us our traditional gingerbread cookie medals at the finish which I found odd. You had to wait in line. It wasn't a horrible line, like the one for beer.

Dawn was going to try and save hers. I don't know about the others. Me, I'm eating it. I assure you, it will be gone by morning. Hope it tastes as good as it smells. I heart gingerbread.

morning star celtic classic 5k

Today was the Morning Star Rotary Celtic Classic 5k. Yeah, it's a mouth full.

We didn't do this race last year, but in 2012 it started at a different place and went to the south side. This year, it began at the Luckenbach Mill, and headed to Union Blvd, out Main, and down the HBI path back to the mill. We went past the mill and out Conastoga Street. We crossed Union Blvd, and headed out the Monocacy Trail to Burnside Plantation. Then we turned right on Paint Mill Road and made an immediate right on to Mauch Chunk Rd. Up Geopp, and down Monocacy and back to the mill.

I finished in a hair over 51. Bonnie in a hair under. Megan came in 15 seconds behind me. Our times were slightly higher than the last time, but trails were not involved. I'm happy with it.

When we first started the race I thought it was odd that a girl had a Camelback for a 5k. On Mauch Chunk Rd we ran into her again. It wasn't a Camelback. It was oxygen! We leap frogged a lot but ultimately she ran into the finish and beat me.

This race always has good cheese, lots of fruit and water, and the best part—men in skirts.

The "boys" were meeting Bonnie and Megan at the event to hang out for a while. I had a meeting with a client at noon, and I didn't bring a cent with me, so I opted to walk home.

lake galena

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the Liberty Bell Wanderers. There was a 10K walk and picnic at Lake Galena in Peace Valley Park near Doylestown. It rained.

Thankfully when we arrived it stopped. And it stopped for the whole two hours we were walking. then it started again. Over 100 people were packed into the pavilion. Plus the food. Plus the pig. Let's just say space was limited. By the end of lunch it was pouring and everyone went home.

The lake loop is a 10K. More or less. Lydia's tracker had it at 7 miles. Bonnie's as 6.2 miles. Didn't ask Megan about hers. Lydia started whining about 4 miles in. I think it was because she ran out of things to take pictures of. We were in the woods.Think I'm kidding? Check her FB page. She post 85 of them!

The lake is man-made. But it's beautiful. A few hardy souls were out in boats and kayaks. But not many. The dam was covered with birds of all kinds. The fields fill of wildflowers. The trail is macadam so there is no gravel slippage under your feet.

Since we saw nobody after about the half way point, I think we were the only ones that did the 10K.

Some sights along the way—

 Orange fungus on a tree trunk. The tree still had leaves but was half-fallen and dying slowly.

 A telephone. You cannot see the cob webs on it. But it worked. Here I thought they were extinct.

 A woodpecker condo. And the tree is still trying to grow. I can't count how many holes are in it.

 Boats lined up waiting to be used.

The pig. Mostly consumed by the time we got back.

Comfort Station I-3.5, and they were plentiful.

Today I'm on my own. Bonnie and Megan are taking the baby for swim lessons, and Lydia (and maybe Dawn) are at Bushkill Falls. I think I'll be doing the south Bethlehem Volkssport walk.

two walks

Last night Lydia and Adonis came over for dinner an a walk. We took Big A out first for his typical 1/2 mile. I was already hot and sweaty and we hadn't even started the main event!

Lyd doesn't like doing hills after work. She's on her feet seeing clients a good portion of the all day. We drove the few blocks to the hospital and parked. The we walked out Jeter avenue towards Salisbury. When we reached Public Road, we played in the park. The swings were nice, and high. The spinning thing was old and made horrible noises.

Then we headed up Public to Graham, and down the long Graham street hill and back to the car. Turns out that loop is 2.5 miles. Not bad for after work.

This morning I headed to Bonnie's to walk in Salisbury. The baby fell asleep so Megan stayed home. We did what she calls the west loop, with all the hills. It's just under 3 miles but I was flop sweating when I returned to her house.

Even with the walk I'm at less than 6K for the day. If it doesn't start to pour, I'm going to need to go out for another walk. I have not chance of catching my friend in the FitBit race, but I at least need to make my goal for the week.

Tomorrow we are doing the two-bridge walk and Veg-Fest. Sunday we'll be doing the Volkssport walk in Valley Forge.

when walking, watch what you buy

After a dismal week again on my FitBit—my friend is kicking my butt—I got some miles in today. Need to get more proactive about getting miles. I have half marathons in November!

Today I walked down to the southside farmers market. I bought potatoes and beets and peaches ... what was I thinking? Oh yeah. Yummy food. I also bought tomatoes, beans, greens, and kifles. The bag was heavy. Thankfully my walking-shopping bags has long handles so I can throw it over my shoulder. But I should take two for balance.

Then I headed down to the Banana Factory to pick up my friend Betsy last night pin. They couldn't find it. Then home. I really didn't go more than about two miles.

Lydia is headed over tonight to walk. Not sure where we are going. Wonder if we could take the dog to ArtsQuest and the casino?

Tomorrow, Bonnie and I are walking, hopefully in the morning. Betsy is in Ohio. Probably Megs and the Wee One will come also. I'm trying to make plans for the weekend but so far have not gotten any feedback from anyone.  I think Saturday we might go over the New Street bridge, out Market, back the Minsi Trail bridge, and home the Greenway and thru VegFest (but it doesn't open till 11). That would be about 3.5 miles. If we go up to Broad we might get closer to 4 miles.

Sunday, not sure. I'd like to do a Volkssport walk.  There are several that are ending. It's hard coming up with places that are baby friendly.

walks I'm planning

People always ask what I'm signed up for. Even though I am mad, frustrated, discourage, and generally pissed off at myself right now these events are a go. I've already paid for the bulk of them.

2015, on the other hand, may be a very different story.

September
1-- Saucon Rail Trail 10K 8:30 am, the give you the best, most comfortable, and ugliest socks ever. Mine from last year are threadbare I wear them so much.

13 -- LBW 30th anniversary walk and picnic. It's a 10K around Lake Galenda.

19 -- Bacon 5k run/walk Challenge if you are crazy, you can eat a half pound of bacon at the half way point. No thank you. I could easily eat a half pound, hell a whole pound, of bacon. But not during a race.  Ordered a larger t-shirt. I'm giving it to Dave. He's a huge bacon, and Iron Pigs fan.

20--Tail on the trail event in Palmer (rt. 33 access point). These usually start around 9

27--Morning Star Rotary Celtic Classic Run/Walk, 8 am.

October 
5--Yuengling Octoberfest 5k run/walk, 10:30 am. Pricey but you get lots of stuff. Most of which I will give away.

11 (maybe)--Turn Bath Pink 5k, 9 am. The pink fire trucks will be there the weekend before.


17-19 -- we've been talking about doing the State College Volkssport weekend. Hard to get counties. But if we are going we'll need to make reservations soon. Even after their staff's fall from grace, Penn State is football.

November
2--D&L Half Marathon. Walker Friendly. 4.5 hour time limit

8--Deja Vue Half. Walker friendly. 5.5 hour time limit. You have to scroll to the bottom of the page for the half.

9-- Across the Bay 10K. I think I told them I'd finish in 1:45. So I'll be under the gun.

hellertown

Today we walked on the Saucon Rail Trail. It was fairly shady, which was good because the temps are rising again.

Lydia and I arrived about the same time as Bonnie's family. The Wee One was asleep.  We parked under the trees by the creek. They were setting up the farmer's market.

The Saucon Rail Trail is an out an back trail. At some point it will connect with the Bethlehem Greenway. We left Water Street Park and headed south west toward Center Valley. At about 1.75 we turned around and headed back.

When we arrived back at the Grist Mill these girls set up a lemonade stand. The lemonade was free, but they were collecting donations for Alex's Lemonade Stand. We had no money but promised to bring some back. (And I did.) For Country Time it wasn't too sweet. I think they added less mix. Total we walked about 3.5 miles.

The theme of the market this week was bee's. People were even dressed like bees. At the honey stand they brought an active hive. Since I'm going on vacation next week I bought very little. It would be compost when I got back. Megan chose Bonnie's groceries since she'll be cooking while Bonnie is gone. Lydia even picked up a few things.

Tomorrow the road trip begins. We'll be heading to The Wild's. I have a 2:00 reservation. I've been wanting to go there for about a dozen years. Then we'll stay the night in Xenia, Ohio to do a Volkssport walk before we finish the trip. There are only four towns in the whole country to do the X-walk. Too bad there isn't another in Zanesville. That's another toughie.

Next report will be from the road.

hippie dippy earth day 5k

Okay, Earth Day was Tuesday. They should have had this last week. But it got a lot of people to the new Lehighton Trail head for the dedication today.

Lydia, Bonnie and I did the Earth Day Hippie 5k. And we dressed the part. Bonnie's tie-dye was almost vintage--almost 13 years old--straight out of her husbands drawer. Mine I made last year at Musikfest. Lydia made hers at the Kutztown Folk Festival. (Maybe we should Maria's girls here when they are up....)

Aren't these little ones cute? Mom pushed the stroller wearing tye-dye from head to toe (plus Birks!)  But these little gals walked almost the whole thing.

There was about 1/3 walkers. Probably more. 

The trail started at the new Lehighton trailhead. This is the new "end of trail" for now. It needs to be connected to the Weissport trail and the Jim Thorpe section. Little by little the trail grows. Soon it will be 165 miles.

It was out and back. It seemed long. The weather was beautiful. Bonnie finished in 52. Me in 52:16, and Lydia in 54! Way to go Lydia. She even ran over the finish to get the solid number.

We were there probably a half hour after the race waiting out the awards. I ate two oranges and was still very hungry when we arrived at the retro diner. This place has not been remodeled since the 1970s. Of course, it's located in a economically depressed town.

The decorations were retro. The plates were retro. Even the candy was retro—Ludens, Denytene, Chicklets and about 15 flavors of lifesavers. When we ordered a Coke, she asked it RC was okay. RC! I haven't heard of that in decades. Frankly I thought they went out of business. Clearly not. A retro diner with retro soda. Nice end of the day.

Yesterday Bonnie and I walked with Betsy. Bonnie's watch said it was 3.5 miles.

Tomorrow Bonnie and I are doing the Beat Beethoven 5K. You have to be back before the symphony is over. Hopefully Beethoven will be there again this year. As you can guess, the race benefits the Reading Symphony.

My camera comes home from Africa tomorrow. I hope it had a good time.

benefits fair

Yesterday was the Benefits Fair at Lafayette. In reality, we just go for the free massage, lunch and the organic smoothies. (Green yummy. Pink sour.) I guess a lot of other people did too, so this year they switched it up and gave you a passport to have stamped. It worked. We stop at nearly every stand. And got a free umbrella at the end. (I lose umbrellas like bread crumbs.)

It was so big this year it spilled into the hall. We signed in and the massages were in the lobby this year. Our timing was perfect and we were next up. Then inside to have our "energy" read. I didn't buy it. You have your hand on this mouse-thing for five minutes and it told you what your body needed. I don't believe a chiropractor. Why would I believe in an herbalist and her wacky computer?

The yoga lady, and her energy balls was good. Penaut and almond butter, oats, cocunut, coca, and who knows what else. Yummy.

We also had our thyroids and neck artery's checked. Mine were fine. My balance, not as much.  My blood pressure was good. We also picked up lots of pens, paper, ate a lot and spent nearly 90 minutes there. Oh, and a collapsible water bottle.

Of course we had lunch and smoothies.

Tuesday, Bonnie, Megan, the baby, and I walked the Greenway and the ArtsQuest/Casino loop. About 3 miles. Then he met is other Great aunties. Thanksfully he didn't wake up till the end. Don't want to scare him. Me, I'm his "Too Great Aunt, Gayle". Too great, indeed.

Today, Bonnie and I walked in her neighborhood and found some trails in Laubach Park. And we played on the slides and the swings. The slide was the old-fashioned metal one. I barely fit. Clearly it's designed for 10 years olds.

tibetian monks

The monks are back. This time they are on the Lafayette campus. So yesterday I decided to walk over and see the sand mandela.

The campus is awash in Tibetian flags blowing in the wind. And national flags because it's international student month. The quad was pretty.

 The first thing I encountered was this couch. The lawn was filled with people enjoying the sun. Every chair was filled. Not this couch. The sign says "the conversation couch". They want you to have a dialogue about faith issues. Clearly nobody was interested.

When I arrived a Hogg Hall they told me to take off my shoes. These are my type of people. Sadly, they were giving a lecture so I couldn't see the mandela. I stayed for awhile and then finished my walk.

three kings day. the 12th day of christmas.

I had a volunteer shift at the crack of dawn, and then did some grocery shopping (300 gas points coupon = 30 cents off!).

I had barely gotten the groceries away and Bonnie call. She had to go walking. Being house-bound with guests, remodeling and the weather was driving her stir crazy. The freezing rain hadn't started yet (it didn't start till well after noon) so we went.

We chose to go down to the Steel. Between the casino and ArtsQuest's 3 Kings Festival we figured the roads and sidewalks would be very clean. For the most part they were.

We parked in one of the ArtsQuest lots, and headed out First to Polk. Then up to Second to Founders Way. Then up to Third, and toward Sands Blvd. Down to the outlet mall, and around the trestle.

Back to First, and back to ArtsQuest. Then we did it again.

It was cold, but a good walk. Good idea on Bonnie's part. I had planned to go out later alone. Good thing I didn't. It became icy quick.

Yesterday I walked up to Bottom Dollar. The sidewalks on Broadway were iffy, at best.

Friday, I walked down to Aharts. The sidewalks were worse then.

peeps 5k

Today was the 5th annual Peeps 5K, held during Peeps Fest. I think I've done all five, and the  two or three 1st night races before that. I'd have to check Pat's drawer to be sure. (She takes the bulk of my shirts. The most athletically dressed La-Z-Boy potato in the world.)

This year it was Megan, Bonnie and I, the others were at work. Since there was no packet pickup, we headed down at about 12:15, picked up our tees and race bibs and then we went inside and walked around a bit. It was very cold out. When we arrived they were having the kids fun run. It was more like a 50-yard dash. We missed the mascot race.

 When we returned outside, it started to snow.

Did I mention is Megan is 7 months pregnant? (I guess that means there was 3-3/4's of us there!)

We were standing around waiting for the race to start. No announcements. No gun. No nothing.  People just started to move! It was weird. Usually, Megan flies out ahead of us, but being pregnant she picked a slower pace. Bonnie kept looking backwards for her. It was also slippery with the snow. Especially the expansion joints on the bridge.

The route was the same as previous years. Out first, up Webster, out Columbia and over the Fahy Bridge. Then up Center, out Church and Market, returning on the Minis Trail Bridge. Megan dropped out at about mile 2--the wee one was not happy--and took the van back. She met Bonnie at the finish.

Bonnie and I crossed the finish at about 53 minutes. Considering the hills, I guess that isn't bad. Bonnie and I finished in a sprint, trying to beat each other. I think it was a dead heat.

Afterward, we went over to the Hotel Bethlehem to change the Volkssport stamp to 2014. Then later, I took the walk box back to the Comfort Suites in Allentown.

Oh, and I walked Adonis three times. Today made up for a little of my laziness this week.

This week I also registered for the St. Patrick's Day 5k, the Idita-Walk, and the Beat Beethoven 5K.