it's a balmy 35 today.

I haven't walked much in the past few days. The bitter cold turned the sidewalks into skate rink. At least in my neighborhood.

Today it was a sunny and balmy 32 when I headed out around 12:30. The sun, however, was deceiving. It was still cold. Especially when the wind blew.

I did my typical hilly walk with minor changes. Instead of going up Fiot, I went up Ontario. I don't think that it is quite a steep. Maybe. (But I still achieved 35 floors today.) The sidewalks on Wyandotte stunk. Icy sidewalks and 8% grade do not mix. But I stayed upright. Then I went up 8th and thru Lehigh's campus.

I went down Taylor, and came back the Greenway. Out Broadway, Up Wyandotte and out Sioux to home. I guess it was about 2.5 miles.

I take a variation of this route often. There was just nothing new to take a picture of.

School starts again tomorrow. Vacation is over. Let the merry-go-round begin.

lehigh stair climb

We look so happy before we began!

It wasn't a full stair climb, only about 450 stairs, because we only had about 55 minutes. But it was aerobic. We left my place and took the most direct route to New Street—Out Broadway. Not scenic, but efficient. Then we headed up New To Campus Square. Then the stairs began.

Since I knew we only had an hour to get there, climb and get home, we restricted ourselves to the far west side of the campus. By doing this we missed my favorite climb. Maybe I'll do that one day alone.

There is quite a few stairs at Campus Square. Then we headed up toward the student center. On the right is more stairs which took us to the road. To do this walk you basically look right or left, and find the next set of steps. Hoping that they are not dead ends.

We made it almost to the top of the campus. We had one more set of frats/dorms before the top. But there was no time.

This is the view you get near the top. It is so worth the climb. Too bad the leaves haven't finished turning.

Now it's off to Monocacy Park for the Super Secret Christmas Present adventure with Eryn's children. I have a slim chance of making goal today!

southside walk

I haven't walked much at all this week. I have been up to my eyeballs in work. The semester starts in a week and I am hopelessly behind. I feel like a rat trapped in a maze. My pedometer barely nudged past 6K steps. Yesterday, at 10:30 am it was under 700. I had been working since 6:15. My friend, as expected, has surged past me in the weekly Fitbit standings, leaving me in her dust.

Oh well.

Last night Lydia came over and I made her eat eggplant. It must not have been horrible. She went back and got two more slices. Clearly Elin didn't like it. It was one of mom's summer staples. It's really good with applesauce dumped on it. Like a latka.

After eating we took the dog for his 1/2 mile loop. Then I brought the dog back to Pat, and we headed out Itaska towards Lehigh. Our ultimate destination was CVS. Lydia's new-to-me FitBit battery was acting wonky. It needed to be replaced. We headed up Wyandotte, out Summit and to campus. We crossed diagonally across campus, out Packer and down the New Street stairs. Then it was out the alley to a sculpture garden, down to Campus Square. Then down Brodhead to CVS. Ultimately we wove our way home. Sadly it was only 2.5 miles.

walking south bethlehem

Today Lydia and I did a variation of the South Bethlehem Volkssport walk. I say a variation, because we started at my house and trimmed other spots off.

We headed up to Sioux and out Summit to the Admin building at Lehigh and played in their sculpture fountain.

Then it as thru Lehigh and time to take selfies with the sculptures. This bronze lad looks like he's hitting on Lydia! After Zollner we headed down to the green way to the casino and outlet mall then back under the Hoover Mason Trestle.

We stared at it awhile trying to figure out if progress was being made. Couldn't. then continued on our way. They ripped down another building on this route, and the fencing said HMT gate 3? What is that?

It became abundantly clear when we hit the Steel Stacks. They've put up a sign—"HMT Hoover Mason Trestle take a walk through history. Under construction." They are also putting up Musikfest.

All in all it was about 5.5 miles. A good walk at about an 18 minute mile pace. Even better since this is about 5th day in a row I've worn my Birks to walk in.

Before Lydia we't home, we took the dog for a walk.

one thousand three steps

Yesterday we planned to do the Wegman's walk. Lydia overslept and didn't come, Bonnie was a little late, and the walk evolved into the Lehigh stair climb.

We are nothing, if not flexible.

I left my camera at school, so the photos are from my phone. Actually, they are not half-bad.  We headed up the hill to Sioux and out Sioux to Wyandotte. Since this walk is traditionally short, we walked down the Wyandotte street hill to Broadway.

The sidewalks on Wyandotte are a mess. Almost as bad as Fiot.

We headed out Broadway to Fourth, and then to New.  We headed up New to Campus Square. And started our stair climb. Problem is we didn't start counting until we almost arrived at Packer Avenue. Oops. bonnie guess-timated 35. I think it was closer to 75. But oh, well. I was not walking down and redoing them! We took the selfie in front of the Love sculpture.

 Then we started climbing stairs. I have no idea where we were on campus. The picture below is Bonnie going up a long flight next to Grace Hall. We came back down on the other side of the Neuman House and went back up next to Zoellner.

Ultimately we ended up at the top of the hill where the frats and sororities are. Then we had to come back down, trying not to go down stairs.

On our way up we were at about 700+. I said we need to get to 800. But then we were at about 850. So of course we had to get to 900. Which turned into about 925, then we had to get to 1000. It's a horrible mind game.

We were at about 975 so we went down the hill and came back up to 8th Street via  the stairs betweent eh parking deck and Chi Psi. We were three short. So we went down a flight and back up.

Total stairs: 1003.
Total Distance: 4.1 miles.

Then we headed home.

Afterwards I went to New Balance and bought new sneakers. Made in the USA of course.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the St. Patrick's Day 5K in Allentown.

getting back to normal

I'm finally done with my substitute gig. Winter is almost over. Finally my walking life can get back to normal.

Saturday I volunteered most of the day. Then, my Tunesian student and I went to Dave's church for the Italian Dinner. She loves Italian food and the food at school isn't the best. When we arrived, they were running a bit behind—300 people to serve—so we volunteered to help get dessert ready.

Sunday, at the crack of dawn, I was back at the church making breakfast for the homeless. Bonnie arrived to walk shortly after I returned home.

We headed up Bishopthorpe to the hospital. Then out Ostrum and down the ramp of the bridge. We went up Broadhead and thru Lehigh. The sculptures have started to emerge from the snow piles.

 This guy really needs warmer clothes. How did his book and electronic survive the snow?

When we reached Taylor, we came back back Packer. Then out Summit, up Wyandotte, out Souix and home.

Tuesday we walked in Bonnie's neighborhood. We pretty much stuck with Salisbury Road and Lehigh Streets because they aren't well traveled and we could walk in the streets.

Today we walked again in South Bethlehem. This time we headed out Sioux and Summit and went thru Lehigh. This time we went all the way to Zollener and then headed down Polk, I think. The Greenway was still covered with snow so we walked out Mechanic till it ended.

Ultimately we ended up at Arts Quest. We came back first avenue, out Columbia, and Second Street. Then out Broadway and home.

No one arrived in Nome this week, but the real race has begun. The conditions are really bad this year. Hopefully all the animals and mushers make it to Nome safely. Has anyone seen Sharon? Is she still sitting in Anchorage?

fat girl shoveling

It snowed! I really have no idea how much. At some places on my side walk it was 3 inches deep. At others, a foot. It's blowing around like crazy. My guess, about 6 inches. The paper hasn't come yet. I can't find anything on the internet. And the television channels are all having a snow wet dream.(The weather person just said 7.2)

I was out shoveling early, maybe 7:15 am. It's now about 10 and the neighbors are coming out one-by-one. If Sharon still lived in the 'hood we would have been out about 5:30!

It's odd just having to do my property. At one time we were doing five—two elderly neighbors, mine, Sharon, and the empty house in between. We would often do the house next to Sharons also. Then people moved in, the elderly went to live elsewhere, and Sharon moved. Last year my friends house was up for sale, and I did their property. But, thankfully, it sold.

Still I was out there shoveling for the better part of 90 minutes. I did the front and quickly realized I was under dressed for the "arctic blast". My hands were like ice pops. My ears felt like they were going to fall off even though I was wear 2 pairs of gloves and a hat. I came in for warmer gloves, and a hat that covered my ears, and went out again. When I finished that initial batch, I came in for breakfast. After the neighbors shovel out their cars, I'll go tidy it up, and dig out the storm drain. I don't want everyo nes melting snow in my basement.

Then I went out and did the patio, back sidewalk and the driveway. Thank heaven for my neighbor that plows snow in winter. He always plows the alley in front of my house, and then down the hill and out to the street. The city rarely does it. We always joke that they only plow the street if there is a funeral. That isn't quite true. But it seems like it.

All in all I only did about 3000 steps. I was kind-of shocked. My upper body—clearly my weakest point—feels like I spent the morning with Ali.

(OMG! The snow plow just went up my street.)

I think tomorrow I need to help Bonnie unpack her cupboards. Maybe after that I can go to Saucon Valley and try my snow shoes out on the rail trail. It's been a year since I bought them and they have never been worn. Hopefully Bonnie can come along to take a picture. We wear the same size, we could take turns.

In a little while, I'll head out for a snowy walk to the grocery store. I think I'll take the scenic route thru Lehigh. Still don't think I'll make 10K steps today.

(OMG! The snow plow just went up my street AGAIN. Miracles do happen. Will the alley actually get done?)

new students, mosques, pay phones, and lions

This morning I met my new international student from Tunisa. Eid is today, and I asked her if she wanted a ride to the local mosque. She was thrilled. She was bringing three friends.

She thought the service was at 7:15 am, but I got a text that it was 8:30. Then my phone started making the battery is dying noise. We went back and forth a couple times, and decided to leave at 8:00. I know that the mosque has a small lot. So I decided to check the mosques website to see about parking. Good thing I did. The service was at 8. We decided then to leave at 7:30. Then my phone dies.

I head out at 7:10 and arrive at school. No kids. At 7:40 I thought maybe they were at the ISA office. I ran across campus. Nobody. Then I ran back. Finally we connected. They were waiting inside. I was outside. They were expecting my call, but the phone was dead.  Finally we head out. They'd be fashionably late. They were okay with that. We pull onto 22 and it's a parking lot. Accident. It took 20 minutes to got from 191 to 512. Normally that's a two minute ride.

We arrive and it's over. Even if we would have arrived on time we wouldn't have gotten in. I didn't realize that there was that many Muslims in the Lehigh Valley. There was a line for the 10 am service. I told them we'd wait. But then they saw a friend, and his parents invited them for prayers and dinner, so I took them back.

I needed to call Bonnie about walking. I needed to go to Walmart to pick up Pat's Rx. Can you belive there is a payphone at Walmart. The last one, I think, on the planet. Bonnie would meet me when I got home.

Bonnie arrived 5 minutes after I did. We headed out to walk. Up Sioux, out 8th, and thru Lehigh.  We kept going up and up in Lehigh and didn't recognize the neighborhood we came out in. It was 60s 'burbs with split levels and ranches! I saw the blast furnaces, and said to Bonnie, we'll walk toward the blast furnace. Quickly we came to Hill Top Avenue and knew exactly where we were. We headed towards Zollner and I got an idea. Let's look for Volkssport check points.

These are questions you need to answer when you walk, so they know you finished the route.

For the 5K:
CHECKPOINT 1: At 4th and Taylor is Holy Infancy 
Roman Catholic Church. In what languages are services offered? __________, ____________, ______________. (English, Spanish, Portuguese. Oddly no Latin.)

For the 5 and 10Ks: CHECKPOINT: How many smokestacks are on the 
furnaces?__________________. This can be from 6-10. (Depending on which direction you are looking.)

And for the 10K: CHECKPOINT: What was the name of the original commuter railroad which this rail-trail replaced?_______________ (Philly, Easton and Windgap RR Co. formally opened on July 2, 1855.)

To do this, we ended up weaving up and down the "presidential" streets.

Our last stop was 3rd and New Streets. We wanted to visit the Nittany Lion that's been hanging out there for about a month. He's a promotional gimmick for Penn State LV. (I'm surprised he is not covered with graffiti!

However, he would not cooperate for the selfie!

i'm easily distracted, especially alone

Today I had to walk alone. I'm not really into solitude, so I have to make things interesting doing something else.

The basic walk: Go the the Eastern Pennsylvania Wellness Expo and return home. Requirement: Find the marker for the Passport to Health on the Greenway. That's a three mile walk if you stretch it. Somehow I made it nearly five.

Maybe it is because a lot is happening on the better side of town today. People who normally are terrified of the south side, will descend like a plague of locusts and then disappear when it's over. Especially before dark. (Okay, maybe that is a wee exaggeration.)

Things to do today on the better side of town in case you're looking for stuff to do:

• The Eastern Pennsylvania Wellness Expo—ArtsQuest 
• Kops 'N Kids book fair (near Loopers)—free books for kids!
• What's on Fourth, Who's on Third—street fair and chili cookoff
• Earth Day Fair—on the Greenway
• Ulysses Dreams—a play in the amphitheater (Oh that's what that is.) on the Greenway presented by Touchstone Theatre
• Dedication of the Chinese Harmony Pavilion—Greenway by ArtsLehigh

So here's my walk, as a photo essay.

Lehigh's campus is always beautiful. But I never realized until today that all the flowering trees and azaleas were pink. Interesting.

On campus I also found this display/art piece about water bottle waste.

Why are there purple ribbons around the old oak trees?

It's the Greenway, not a street. What's with the street sign. Clearly not made by public works.

For those of you looking for the Passport to Health markers, they are small! It only comes up to my butt. Maybe 2.5 feet. Maybe 3 inch wide. I did my rubbing. It's kind of hard with the screw right in the corner where you need to rub.

Location—If you a heading toward the casino, it's less than a block east of Hayes Street. Just past the PNC bank on the right.

Andy Warhol on a rusty trash can.

Road races past. I like how they are starting to add years. Wouldn't it be cool if it continues and the street is filled with race memories? Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

Eastern Pennsylvania Wellness Expo. Not many people in attendance. Nothing floated my boat. I didn't stop at a single stand. Still trying to figure out why Bath Fitters had a booth. Oh, maybe it's for converting the bathroom shower to handicap accessible?

The Smithonian National Museum of Industrial Heritage is almost done. So exciting. It is the project that began the revitalization of the Steel property. I'm guessing this project is 15 years in the making.

 Love the name. I'm guessing it will be part of one of the fairs today.

 No one seems to clean the poop on the Greenway. it's becoming poop-central. Really, if you're a dog owner, clean the poop!

 Chinese Harmony Pavilion and zen-like native plant garden. I've posted better pixs before. But the garden never looked like this before. I think the Greenway needs a labyrinth.

 Setting-up for Earth Day. Between New and Taylor.

This sign is on the door to a Hair Salon. Why would you take your animal to work if they are mean? Especially as mean as the one in the picture? Wouldn't that keep customers away?

The power company has been maiming trees all over the area. This agressive pruning is supposed to eliminate week long power outages during big storms. I could do a whole blog of their "pruning", but this is a great example.  They've eliminated 3/4 of the tree, leaving one branch section hanging over the street (That other little piece has grown around the wires). Next storm, this baby is falling down. Gravity is against it. I pray I am not driving or walking under it when it does. It's two blocks from my house.

Tomorrow is the CASA 5K and the Zumbathon. I think I'm doing both alone. Haven't heard from Lyd in days, and Bonnie is still on the DL.

hunt for a sculpture garden

Today Lydia overslept so we didn't walk till about 10. We headed out. My original plan was to go up the hill, out to Lehigh, thru campus, maybe around the casino and back the Greenway.

While we were waiting to cross Wyandotte Street, I said—for not apparent reason whatsoever—do you want to go find Lehigh's secret sculpture garden? Lydia is always up for an adventure and said yes. I even told her there would be big hills. She still said yes.

So we walked up the hills and the stairs to the Lookout. In the fog you couldn't tell where we were. I saw no path. Just a road. Another hill. I told Lyd to stay put. I walked up to the next road. Nothing. The road I was on continued, but it looked like more of the same.

On the way back down the hill, I met Lyd. I told her there was nothing. We agreed to go home, check the map on my mac —her phone was uncooperative—then get the dog and come back.

We were right there. Where could it be?

So after parking at a frat, we set out. The dog was in hog heaven. All new things to smell and explore. We turned onto the road that I dismissed earlier and saw a bridge over a creek. Lyd decided to take the dog. It was steep, wood, and wet. She used two hands to go up. And fell coming down. She fell hard. I heard it. Thankfully she didn't break anything. But will be stiff in the morning.

Hurricane Sandy was not good to the trail or the garden. Lots of trees down. We climbed over many.  The dog went under so we had to pass his leash back and forth.  Quickly we started to see art. Or what was left of it.

We went further, till we found Mr. Imaginations arch entrance. It felt like we were entering Brigadoon. The fog was that dense.

The grass was long. The trees were bare. There's was trash everywhere. Sculptures were toppled. Mother nature was trying to reclaim her space, which made it even more interesting. Hopefully in spring the art students clean it up, and fix it up. It was interesting.

On the way out, we saw the toppled marker that indicated the trail.

Turned out to be a fun adventure. Even Adonis had a ball.

lehigh walk

The heat wave continues. The weather people say it's heat wave #6. I say it's still heat wave #1. It's just lasted 6 weeks. Apparently, you need three 90+ days in a row to be a heat wave. If it dips down to a balmy 89, heat wave is over. Bull.

Right now it's 85 with 69% humidity. It needs to be 70% to be oppressive. Again, I disagree. Clearly weather people never leave the air conditioning.

Today's walk needed to be planned with shade. Walking in the sun is not pleasant. I downloaded a map of Lehigh University, and planned a route which zig zagged back and forth across campus. Didn't realize running parallel it would be so hilly. I was wrong. But it was shady!

We left at 8, and did about 3.5 miles, and even some stairs.

It's August at Lehigh, so not many students but lots of Eagles—it's training camp!

Then we found this dorm called Richard's house. Clearly Lyd's dad wasa holding out on us.

Apparently the hobbits and gnomes at Lehigh have been very bad. The entrance to their house has a big, locked gate in front of it. (Actually I think it might have something to do with the catacombs rumored to be under Lehigh.)

They've added sculture since we were last there. This is sheet''s of plastic-like bricks and woven into a basket. Hopefully it has an open bottom, or it will be the place to breed if you're a mosquito! Note to students. Don't open those windows.

todays walk

Today we kept the walk simple. Lyd was still a little sore from yesterdays stair climb. She' not used to using steps anymore, she lives in a modular home.

We left the dog with Pat and then headed up the hill, out Sioux and Summit, thru Lehigh and out 5th. That's where we encountered this car covered with post-it notes. Then we went down Hayes, and came back the Greenway and Broadway.

 3.25 miles, in about 70 minutes.